Accessibility act for disabled to cost arm and a leg

North Bay Transit is deeply concerned with the direction of Ontario’s proposed accessible transportation standard under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

Transit Manager, Dorothy Carvell said she believes the act is a very good initiative but the lack of harmonization between the new and old standards coupled with the impending cost implications is not something North Bay transit would be able to handle.

“The gas tax money is a good thing but it’s not enough. What we need is a new, more permanent source of funding to support the vast number of changes that must happen by 2025,” Carvell said.

Senior policy, research and property specialist said there are up to five different new standards in the works right now, yet there is lack of communication between the separate groups who are creating them.

He recommended that these separate entities need to communicate more in order to have clarity and harmonization between all standards.

Deputy Mayor Peter Chirico said the situation makes you feel like you’re chasing your tail.

“What happens is, we start dealing with one standard and then a different place creates another standard. Different parts of the accessibility act are created by separate groups, so the act is creating confusion and concern.

The different sectors need to work together so we’re all on the same page and moving in the same direction,” Chirico said.

By 2025 Ontario transits must carry voice recognition systems and other automated systems in buses, shelters and platforms. Upgrades to a single bus (in today’s costs) would amount to $24,000 per bus, not including platforms or shelters.

There is also concern about how the accessibility act will affect the way the Human Rights Code, Building Code and Highway and Road Code interact with each other.

Overall the message is, yes, the city wants to be more accessible to disabled individuals and they support the new initiatives.

The problems are merely cost, funding and orientation based, so the city and North Bay Transit will work hard to get over these hurdles to make the changes possible.