The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) this month reported back on its progress so far, as well as goals still ahead, as part of its Accessibility Action Plan, a provincially mandated initiative that asks municipalities to identify, remove and prevent barriers to accessibility within their communities.
Coming into force last September, the Accessible British Columbia Act identifies local governments across B.C. as accessible organizations, and, as such, they were required to form an accessibility plan, an accessibility committee, and to implement a tool to receive feedback on accessibility issues by Sept. 1, 2023.
At the Sept. 12 regular meeting of council, municipal accessibility coordinator Sarah Tipler outlined progress made so far this year and highlighted actions planned for 2024, a significant year for the RMOW as Whistler prepares to host the 2025 Invictus Games, which will bring together hundreds of athletes from 20 nations to compete in adaptive winter sports.
Between that, an aging local population, and new funding available for accessibility improvements through both the provincial and federal governments, Tipler said there is already plenty of momentum behind the RMOW’s efforts, similar to the lead-up to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games held in Whistler.
“The Accessible Canada Act and Accessible British Columbia Act have made the provincial and federal governments more aware,” she explained following her presentation. “There’s some funding around that wasn’t available before, which of course facilitates getting more things done. Now governments and libraries are required to have a mobility action plan, so that momentum is helping, along with Invictus coming, that’s helping, along with the community aging.
“There’s a lot more momentum, similar to 2009.”
The RMOW was chosen this year as one of 10 B.C. municipalities and Indigenous communities to receive provincial funding administered by the Rick Hansen Foundation. That money facilitated accessibility training for municipal staff, and Rick Hansen Foundation certification for three municipal sites—the Maury Young Arts Centre, the Myrtle Philip Community Centre, and the public washrooms at Olympic Plaza—along with $82,500 in funding for improvements at those sites. Part of that money will go towards the construction of a new accessible washroom at Myrtle Philip, which is also funded in part by a federal Enabling Accessibility grant.
Assessments of existing sites and systems also took place this year, with the ArcGIS Fields Map app used to collect and assess “most of the accessible infrastructure” in Whistler, according to the RMOW’s report, including accessible parking stalls, crosswalks, curb cuts, ramps, parks, washrooms, and signage.
Tipler noted the RMOW has extended the timing of light signals at crosswalks within the village to improve accessibility, but there remain some issues at intersections along Highway 99.
“It’s on Highway 99 where I think are some of the bigger challenges,” she said. “We’ve had some concerns, like the crossing to Nesters where people feel rushed and not always provided with the support they need if they have a visual impairment and need an audio signal there.”
Support for seniors programming in Whistler was also extended in 2023. In the past year, local seniors advocacy group the Mature Action Community delivered the Making Connections dementia program, which facilitates social and recreational programming to support those living with early-stage dementia, along with their caregivers and family.
Among the initiatives on deck for 2024 are: the continued assessments of existing locations and public facilities; the development of “Know Before You Go” videos for key facilities and accessible routes, which will enable people with disabilities to better prepare for their trip to the resort; identifying intersections that could benefit from countdown signals; and the incorporation of accessibility features and commitments into the RMOW’s request-for-proposal template.
Staff also plan to introduce a survey that would be conducted every three years to track Whistler’s accessibility performance and better understand existing barriers.
“I really appreciate the work you’re doing across the organization,” Mayor Jack Crompton said to Tipler at the council meeting. “It’s nice to be able to see that laid out in the way it was and I’m excited to be able to look back two, three, four years from now and see the improvements that have been made that, I think, are going to be so important to allow people to live and be a part of this community.”
For more info, visit whistler.ca/accessibility.
