The results of a two-year accessibility audit of campus spaces will be released soon, as the data collection portion of the process is projected for completion by the third week of August.
The audit, overseen by Campus Planning and Development (CPD), is a two-year plan spanning six million square feet of University space, in both buildings and external environments.
The spaces are to be evaluated for their compliance with several different codes:
- The Ontario Building Code
- The Acessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Design of Public Spaces
- The City of Kingston and the City of London Facilities Accessibility Design Standards
- The Canadian Standards Association’s “Accessibility Design for the Built Environment”.
The data collected includes recorded measurements, photos and auditor commentary, adding to a database containing high level cost estimates for remediating any items found to be non-compliant.
“The results of the accessibility audit will help CPD plan and prioritize repairs and upgrades that have the maximum benefit for students, faculty and staff,” Queen’s Communications Officer Jasmine Toor wrote via email statement on July 21.
Following the data collection deadline in August, the next step of data input, quality control and data cleaning is set to be completed by the end of September. Afterwards, CPD will compile their report for the University’s senior management to offer remediation options, budgets and timeframes for addressing any issues identified.
The report, according to Toor, “should be ready by winter 2016”, with recommendations based on “a number of criteria, including facility usage, type of usage, and known compliance issues.
Tags
Accessibility, accessibility audit, Administration, campus planning and development, Disabilities
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