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Students challenged to engineer accessibility at Canatara bandshell

Tyler Kula
Published on: November 16, 2019

About six teams of local high school students are participating in an engineering design challenge to improve accessibility at the Canatara Park bandshell. One of the teams, all twelfth graders at St. Patrick’s high school, includes Ivan Lange, (front left) Juliette Rossi, Lily Taylor, and Josh Allen. They’re pictured at the bandshell with their engineer mentor for the challenge Brooke Wilson (back left), Professional Engineers of Ontario Lambton Chapter representative Jennifer Ladanchuk, and the City of Sarnia’s manager of recreation and planning Ryan Chamney. Tyler Kula/Sarnia Observer/Postmedia Network

Students challenged to engineer accessibility at Canatara bandshell. Read full article.

Disability and Information or Communication Barriers

Information or communication barriers exist because not all people read or understand in the same way. For instance, some information or communication barriers are:

Disability and Information or Communication Barriers. Read full article.

Audio-only fire alarms
Lack of large print and Braille on elevators, signs, or room numbers
Live events or public meetings without captions or Sign language interpretation
Forms, pamphlets, or menus offered only in standard-sized print
Telephone-only contact information

Preventing and Removing Physical Disability Barriers

In our last article, we explored how physical barriers limit access for people with various disabilities. In this article, we will consider how organizations can prevent or remove barriers. Preventing and removing physical disability barriers makes organizations welcoming to people of all abilities.

Preventing and Removing Physical Disability Barriers. Read full article.

Disability and Physical Barriers

Many barriers that people with disabilities face are physical or architectural barriers. Physical barriers happen when features of buildings or spaces limit people’s access. For instance, some physical disability barriers are:

Disability and Physical Barriers. Read full article.

Steps without ramps, elevators, or lifts
Lack of automatic or push-button doors
Low lighting or weak colour contrast
Narrow sidewalks, doorways, or aisles
High shelves
Tables without knee and toe clearance

Disability Barriers

Many mandates in the AODA are designed to help organizations recognize, prevent, or remove disability barriers. In our next series of articles, we will explore what some types of disability barriers are. Moreover, we will also consider how to recognize, prevent, and remove them.

Disability Barriers. Read full article.