01-01-2017, 11:21 AM
(12-31-2016, 02:25 PM)danbrotherston Wrote:(12-31-2016, 01:42 PM)MacBerry Wrote: AODA New January 2017 Compliance Laws
Recreational trails and beach access routes
When an affected organization plans to build or redevelop a recreational trail, it must consult the public, including persons with disabilities regarding:
- The trail’s slope
- The need for and location of ramps on the trail
- The need for, location of and design of rest areas, passing areas, viewing areas, amenities and other pertinent features of the trail
- Where the obligated organization is a municipality, it must also consult with its municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee.
- Organizations must also follow the new requirements, including minimum width and height guidelines and maximum slope requirements.
I wonder if any of these changes will require us to start building better sidewalks.
I also wonder if any of these requirements would have mandated actually having a walkway from the sidewalk to the building I now work in. A brand new building by the way...that doesn't even have a walkway. Honestly.
No front walk? Crazy!
One question I have about these trail guidelines is actually coming from the other point of view. I’m wondering about hiking trails. Clearly, a trail like the Spur Line or many of the other trails in town must be designed to be accessible to everybody. Similarly, if we’re going to build a pedestrian bridge over the expressway or a river, it should be accessible also. But it would not be at all appropriate for accessibility concerns to prevent construction of a hiking trail that is inherently inaccessible. I’m not sure what the proper dividing line is here. Perhaps whether a significant part of the use of the trail is for transportation (in which case it should be accessible to all), or if instead the purpose of using the trail is strictly to have the experience of using the trail (in which case we simply have to accept that not everybody can make use of it).