Accessibility Provincial Legislation is coming into effect in 2023 and at Tuesday evening's meeting, Niverville Town council gave the go-ahead to make it easier and safer for individuals with disabilities to enjoy their walk around the town.
The Accessibility for Manitobans Act became law in December 2013. “This landmark legislation provides a process to remove barriers affecting people with disabilities and many other citizens. The Manitoba government is committed to achieving significant accessibility progress by 2023”.
Niverville town council has now taken steps to make sure they meet the provincially legislated requirements.
Mayor Myron Dyck explains. “The work being done in town has to do with accessibility throughout the community. As our town continues to grow, we plan to make sure that when we're building infrastructure in our neighbors, like sidewalks, for instance, we have the accessibility requirements to meet the provincial standard and what our residents need. We want them to feel that they can safely get from point A to point B in whatever way they wish to travel.”
The town will be including tactile warning pad-assisted crossings where a sidewalk meets the road at intersections throughout newer developments in Niverville. These warning pads are yellow textured mats that assist a visually impaired pedestrian in navigating through the intersection.
Dyck also notes that there are other details at play here as well. “For example, what are you doing with curbs so that individuals can safely traverse a curb.”
For residential streets in the more established areas of town, Eric King CAO of Niverville says they will upgrade the accessibility requirements once the infrastructure is renewed. “For example, there is a 2023 project coming up where a block or two of the old sidewalk is being re-done in the core area, it would have all new specs in it.”
Council set a goal of meeting accessibility requirements by January 3, of next year.
Older sidewalks in Niverville will be upgraded when new infrastructure is put in place.
Wed, Apr 24, 1:30 PM
Term, Administrative, Education, Technology
Featured
