Council receives update on City’s accessibility plans

Council today received an update on the City’s provincial and federal accessibility plans and its commitment to ensuring the accessibility of all programs, services, goods and facilities. The City of Ottawa remains a leader in accessibility. The City continues to be fully compliant with all applicable requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, with two exceptions: accessible websites and web content under the Information and Communication Standard, and exterior paths of travel under the Design of Public Spaces Standard. The City is also a recognized leader in web accessibility. More than 90 per cent of the City’s web pages are fully compliant with the Act and more than 80 per cent of its PDF files are fully accessible. The City has 69 public-facing web applications and websites, which are owned and maintained by various departments. 50 per cent of these are complaint.  The City is currently updating its compliance agreement plan with the Province. The City continues to demonstrate incremental progress and commitment to meeting the goals of the legislation. In terms of the Design of Public Spaces Standard, there were 99 traffic control measures installed since 2016, including all-way stops, pedestrian crossovers and crossing guard programs, did not fully comply with the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation when implemented. All locations will be made compliant by 2029 with measures such as curb ramps, depressed curbs and tactile walking surface indicators. Since they were identified, 10 locations have been updated and 10 more are being updated in 2025. OC Transpo continues to meet federal Accessible Canada Act requirements. Measures include acquiring new accessible buses, improving Para Transpo services and booking options, and making bus stations and stops more accessible with better infrastructure and wayfinding signs. Council also received an overview of purchases greater than $25,000 made by the City in 2024. The City is a strong supporter of the local economy through its purchases, with 91 per cent of all competitively purchased goods and services being from local businesses and 99 per cent of contracts awarded to suppliers with a Canadian address. Last year, the City spent $2.31 billion on goods and services, of which nearly $1.99 billion were purchased using a competitive process. Council also received the audit report on the automated speed enforcement and red-light camera programs. In 2024, the City operated 77 red-light cameras and 57 automated speed enforcement cameras. The audit highlighted several best practices used in Ottawa compared to other municipalities, including a data-driven site selection methodology and an effective quality assurance process at the City's new automated speed enforcement processing centre. While acknowledging the programs' strengths, the Ottawa Auditor General recommended that management: 

• Revisit how the City allocates revenues from the red-light camera program

• Update how results of the programs are measured and reported.

• Review the site selection methodology for cameras 

• Explore new automation technologies to more efficiently process violations

City management agreed with each of the audit’s four recommendations and is working to implement the recommended changes.  Related topics

• Agenda