TORONTO — The Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF), with support from the Government of Ontario and in collaboration with the MaRS Discovery District, has unveiled a new online Municipal Accessibility Policy (MAP) Toolkit.
The free resource can help municipalities identify and remove built environment barriers in their communities.
“Designed specifically for municipal staff, planners and decision-makers across Ontario — and available to any Canadian municipality looking to make progress on accessibility — the MAP Toolkit provides a step-by-step framework to help local governments develop, implement and update policies that improve physical accessibility in public spaces,” explains a release.
The MAP Toolkit is structured into four sessions that delve into the following areas:
- Get started – Define goals and uncover local built environment accessibility gaps.
- Where you’re at – Prioritize sites and develop or update strategic approaches.
- Shift perspectives – Cultivate empathy and prioritize interventions.
- Plan the route – Build and prioritize business cases, roadmaps and funding strategies.
Each session includes downloadable worksheets and guidance to support everything from a single accessibility design project to a municipality-wide policy overhaul for the built environment, the release adds.
According to the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability, approximately one in four people in Canada have one or more disabilities that limit their daily activities, up from 22 per cent in 2017.
The survey also highlights nearly 60 per cent of people with disabilities experience physical-environment barriers in daily life or at work.
To learn more about the toolkit visit https://www.rickhansen.com/MAP.
