Annual Accessibility Status Update

• Accessibility Advisory Committee change of membership where new community members have been added to strengthen its activity and visibility
• Celebrated National Accessibility Week with an accessibility event in partnerships with the Stratford Festival
• Posted accessibility policies and procedures on the website and provided them in an accessible format, upon request.
• Continued to develop a purchasing policy, which requires suppliers and their staff to comply with the AODA when acquiring goods, services and facilities.
• Prepared the Annual Accessibility Status Report of measures set out in the multi-year accessibility plan, posted it on the City’s website and provided it in an accessible format, upon request.
• All new employees (full-time, part-time, seasonal) receive mandatory accessible training through e-learning modules.

• Continued to provide access to alternate facilities or services wherever possible.
• Provided alternative facilities or services where possible.
• Continued to promote the use of enhanced training provided around accessibility to all new hires through orientation.
• Continued to promote staff training materials and introduced new learning resources

• Developed a strategy to achieve compliance and will continue to monitor, review to increase level of website compliance.
• Continuously work to ensure that documentation uploaded to the City website is in an accessible format.
• Continued PDF remediation to remove non-accessible and outdated PDFs from the current website.
• Continued to receive and follow up on feedback in regard to municipal goods, services and facilities.
• Continued to ensure processes for receiving and responding to feedback are accessible for persons with disabilities by providing/arranging for accessible formats and communications supports, upon request.
• Continue to train designated city staff to remediate and create accessible documents. Skills shared more widely through the City and beyond the corporation.

• Management and health and safety plans in place for Human Resources to accommodate individuals with a disability
• Continued to notify the public about the availability of accommodations for applicants with disabilities in the recruitment process.
• Continue to explicitly acknowledged the availability of accessibility accommodations throughout the recruitment process.
• Please see a list of some of the workplace accommodations that were offered and provided to support employees as they returned to work in 2024.
  • Modified work hours - Including shortened workdays, shifted start, end or break times to accommodate medical appointments
  • Remote work accommodations
  • Modified job duties
  • Modified workspace and technology
  • Accommodations look different for different people and in different roles. The City follows stipulations and limitations identified by health care providers, considers the employee’s role and job duties, and looks at what will permit business continuity. The City includes mental health or psychological/emotional accommodations where possible.
• Continue to work with employees who may need individualized workplace emergency response assistance.
• Worked with employees in developing and documenting individual accommodation plans.
• Continued to inform new employees of policies and procedures to support employees with disabilities, and about the AODA generally, during on-boarding and orientation.

• Continuing to communicate to all transit and parallel transit operators requirements of the Transportation Standards of IASR
• New hired parallel transit staff are required to complete hands-on training on tie-down operation, loading and unloading of customers, use of the lift, and how to position the bus for pick up and drop off.
• The transit division held its annual meeting to discuss the accessibility of the City’s transit system to the public.
• the Ministry of Senior's audited transit services and the City successfully passed and policies and procedures have been enhanced.

 Accessible Playgrounds, Parks, Trails and Parking Lots

• Fully accessible playground installed at Inverness Park
• Installation of barrier-free ramp and power door operator at Administration of Justice Building
• Construction of new barrier-free universal washroom at National Stadium
• Modernization of elevator at City Hall Annex
• Installation of asphalt surface, painted lines, and symbols for accessible parking spaces at Packham Sports Complex (Artificial Turf Field)
• Painted lines and symbols, and installed signage for accessible parking spaces at SERC Matilda St. parking lot
• Installation of asphalt surface, painted lines, and symbols for accessible parking space at Lions Pool

Stratford Public Library 

• Continued monitoring and updating of the website and online content for accessibility
• AODA training for all new employees and volunteers
• Public service staff received training on "Serving Neurodivergent Patrons"
• Managers received training on "Creating Accessible and Neuro-Inclusive Libraries"
• Installed neurodivergent friendly keyboards on two public workstations
• Updated Remote Work policy and procedures

Capital Projects

• Asphalt resurfacing: Tactile plates added along Devon Street between Pleasant Drive and Avondale Street.
• Erie Street Road Widening: Tactile plates added to all intersections within the project limits (West Gore to Ontario). At the West Gore signalized intersection, accessible pedestrian signals were added to all crossings.
• Moderwell Reconstruction: Accessible parking added on Moderwell near St. Joesphs school and tactile plates were installed at the Monteith/Moderwell intersection.
• Oakdale Multi-use Trail was constructed between O’Loane and Foreman. Tactile warning plates were added to the south side of the Matilda/Oakdale ST intersection.
• Perth Line 36 Culvert Replacement: A sidewalk was added to the structure on the south side (for future use).
• New sidewalks at:
  • Foreman (east side between Huron & Hibernia)
  • St. Vincent (west side between W. Gore ST & Cambria)
  • O’Loane (west side between Thomas & Brown Street)
  • McCarthy Road (north side between Deacon & Greenwood Drive West).
• Albert Street Reconstruction (2023-2024): Accessible parking stall added near Canada Post, tactile warning plates at Waterloo/Albert, Nile/Albert and Front/Albert. At the Waterloo/Albert signalized intersection, accessible pedestrian signals were added to all crossings.

•    Review and conduct accessibility audits for all municipal facilities
•    Offer PDF accessibility training to all applicable Staff.
•    Achieve WCAG 2.1 AA compliance 
•    Review Accessibility Steering Committee Terms of Reference 
•    Assess and update existing accessibility policies 
•    Review customer feedback and make changes to programs or services, where appropriate
•    Continue to collaborate with the Accessibility Advisory Committee, persons with disabilities, and the public as required under the AODA.  
•    Support accessibility week (May 25 -31)
•    Facilitate Transit Open House for Accessible Services (November 2026)
•    Develop accessibility feedback for public to weigh in on City strategies and activities

• Continue to develop and enhance training materials for all staff, volunteers, and new hires as AODA standards and regulations evolve.
• Continue to take a ’people-focused’ approach to work towards barrier reduction by engaging with diverse populations across the City.

• Report and work towards correcting the gaps that have been identified through regular audit.
• Digitize the process surrounding booking and registering for the accessible transit services.