Over the next four years, the City of London is developing a Multi-Year Accessibility Plan in hopes of removing barriers and creating an accessible and inclusive city for all Londoners. The City is committed to developing a plan that provides continuous improvement of accessibility and inclusion in all public and City-owned facilities and spaces, improves accessibility and inclusion for City of London employees, and delivers accessible and equitable customer service in all the City’s service areas.
To help develop this plan, Londoners are invited to complete an online Accessibility Survey and share input and feedback on their experiences with accessibility in London, how they define accessibility and what can be done to make London more accessible. Londoners are also encouraged to share improvements and changes they have seen other cities implement that could help London become a more welcoming and inclusive city.
“Every Londoner will benefit from a plan whose goals include accessibility and inclusion,” says Melanie Stone, Accessibility and Inclusion Advisor for the City of London. “Building on the learnings from the 2018-2021 Multi-Year Accessibility Plan, we are involving every area of City services to help ensure that City buildings, services, spaces and programs are implemented with accessibility and universal design principals.”
This plan, guided by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), will focus on areas of City responsibility and will include broader education and engagement initiatives in hopes of understanding residents’ experiences of accessibility in London. Feedback and input will be collected until January 30, 2022, when a draft 2022-2025 Accessibility Plan will be published and reviewed before going to Council for approval in June.
“Accessibility is an important part of the City’s anti-racism and anti-oppression work,” says Rumina Morris, Director, Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression for the City of London. “The Accessibility Advisory Committee and the City’s Community Diversity and Inclusion Strategy Committee will review the community feedback and input using an intersectional framework to expand our understanding of inclusion and access. We’re excited to see what this plan will do for London communities.”
As the City begins work on the 2022-2025 plan, it's important to recognize the impact that the 2018-2021 Accessibility Plan has had on improving our community’s accessibility. Residents can view some of the Accessibility Achievements & Highlights for more information on the types of accessible projects the City has undertaken over the past four years.
Residents are encouraged to learn more about the 2022-2025 Multi-Year Accessibility Plan and share their stories, input and ideas by visiting getinvolved.london.ca/AccessibilityPlan.