Mississauga Continues to Create Accessible Communities For All

With steady progress in removing barriers for persons with disabilities, the City’s 14th Annual Report of the Accessibility Plan shows achievements in modifying parks and trails, transportation and infrastructure.

During her annual update to Mississauga General Committee, Diana Simpson, Supervisor Accessibility Planning, shared the 2016 accessibility highlights which included:

• Hosting the 2016 Ontario Summer Games which included sledge hockey
• Hosting a ParaSport Try It Event for high school students to experience wheelchair rugby and basketball, sledge hockey and sitting volleyball
• Training over 535 volunteers and staff in face-to-face Accessible Customer Service
• Supporting 157 families that have a family member with a disability through the Summer Recreation Inclusion Support Program
• Updating nine trails with paving
• Completing washroom buildings at Lisgar Fields and Dr. Martin L. Dobkin Park
• Receiving the 2016 March of Dimes Award of Merit for Barrier Free Design for the new Meadowvale Community Centre and Library
• Incorporating accessibility improvements into four park projects including Ridgeway Community Courts, Huron Park Picnic Shelter, Lake Aquitaine Spraypad and Paul Coffey Park
• Accessibility improvements to eighteen playgrounds
• Installing 365 new MiWay bus pads throughout Mississauga to make transit more convenient and accessible
• Participation of twenty-six adult volunteers with developmental disabilities in the Summer Work Experience Program (SWEP) and Secondary School Project
• Initiation of the Road to Mental Readiness (R2M2) training program within Mississauga’s Fire and Emergency Services to support a mentally healthy workplace

Mississauga’s Accessibility Plan is updated annually. It is developed using input from the Staff Accessibility Resource Team made up of staff from all departments, in consultation with the Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC). The AAC includes representatives from the disability community, stakeholder community groups and two members of City Council; Councillor Matt Mahoney, Ward 8 and Councillor Pat Saito, Ward 9.

“From hosting the 2016 Ontario Summer Games, to building award-winning community facilities and reconstructing parks and trails, a lot of good work has been done over the past year to make Mississauga more accessible,” said Councillor Saito. “We have worked successfully with our community partners to improve accessibility not just for persons with disabilities, but for everyone.”

“With one in seven people in Ontario having a disability, Mississauga is committed to removing barriers in the city,” said Councillor Mahoney. “A well-designed city can meet the needs of an aging population by providing a more accessible place to live, work or travel.”

Background

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) was enacted on June 13, 2005. The AODA requires the development of accessibility standards with the goal of an accessible Ontario by 2025.

Mississauga’s Accessibility Plan focuses on implementing a range of provincial accessibility standards.

For more information, please contact Diana Simpson, Supervisor, Accessibility Planning, at 905-615-3608, TTY 905-616-3411 or diana.simpson@mississauga.ca