Windsor's accessibility standards haven't been updated in decades, but people are working on it

It's called the Facility Accessibility Design Standard (FADS) — and Windsor's version of it hasn't been updated in almost 24 years.

FADS is the set of specifications and principles by which city properties are built to eliminate barriers for people with disabilities. The City of Windsor adopted its FADS in 2006, but it was based on a standard developed by the City of London in 2001.

Long-time Windsor disability advocate Peter Best, who is legally blind, says that lack of update is absolutely noticeable to people like himself.

"I would say that Windsor is behind the 8-ball," Best told CBC Windsor.

"We who have life challenges have to live in a real world. And the real world is not designed for people with life challenges."

One example Best raises is that only about 10 per cent of Windsor's crossings are equipped with audio pedestrian signals — a feature that makes a life-and-death difference for visually impaired and blind people like himself.

He estimates there are 1,600 to 1,900 Windsor citizens who are in that category.

"First of all, understanding accessibility and overcoming barriers — It's not once and done. It's an ongoing evolution that will always continue," Best said. "You're going to have to modify, change, rebuild, redesign — because that's life."

Peter Best co-chairs the Windsor Accessibility Advisory Committee. For the past year and a half, that committee has been working on updating Windsor's FADS.

A report on the situation is going before the city's Community Services Standing Committee on Wednesday.

When it's approved by council, the new standard will have far-reaching consequences — affecting every city department from police to recreational facilities.

City administration says it can't estimate how much it's eventually all going to cost.

But Ward 1 Coun. Fred Francis, who is also a member of the accessibility committee, has clear feelings about the city covering those costs.

"That's something that we're obligated to do," Francis declared. "Obviously, we're not going to do everything at one time. Whatever the cost value is, it's not all going to be done at one time. It might be factored over a five, 10, 20-year period."

"But this allows us the road map to do what we need to do, to ensure our existing current infrastructure is accessible, open, and welcoming to all residents."

In recent years, Francis has expressed misgivings about certain city capital expenditures: The ongoing construction of a new ice rink next to City Hall, which has a $15.4-million price tag, and the Legacy Beacon street trolley showcase, which is exceeding $10 million in costs.

But bringing municipal properties up to accessibility standards is a different matter, Francis said.

"Those two projects (the ice rink and the trolley) are 'wants.' Those are examples of taking on tens of millions of dollars of new spending on new infrastructure. My argument has always been: We should focus on the needs of the current infrastructure, before we get into the wants of new infrastructure."

Part of the urgency to update Windsor's standard is that the province is expecting it. Back in 2005, Ontario legislated the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, with a stated goal of the province becoming barrier-free by 2025.

Since then, that act and the provincial building code have both undergone changes — while Windsor's FADS has remained the same.

Peter Best believes progress on this issue is long overdue. "Windsor tends to like to talk about things a lot, and a lot of things get pushed to the back of the desk," he said.

"Now, having said that, the city has done a lot for accessibility in playgrounds, doing activities in our city... But I think, in the big areas, the city is intimidated — probably by the cost, and maybe by the lack of knowledge of how to make something more accessible."

Best has been involved in the Windsor Accessibility Advisory Committee since 1992.