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Not only were they reminded of their project responsibilities to identify, remove and prevent inaccessibility barriers, attendees at a Buildings Week Toronto seminar heard some disquieting statistics about the number of people with disabilities.

Sixteen per cent of residents worldwide self-identify as having one or more disabilities, said technical accessibility specialist Samantha Ryan.

That figure is rising and a particularly vulnerable segment are seniors, said Ryan, a nationally recognized building code specialist and principal of Calgary-based Accessible Built Environment Factors Inc.

Noting “the silver tsunami is on the rise,” Ryan pointed out 1,000 people turn 65 every day in Canada and 10,000 in the United States.

After providing a recap of accessibility legislation at the federal level and in other provinces, she zeroed-in on Ontario.

The audience was given an overview of recent updates to the Ontario Building Code, with a focus on key changes to Section 3.8 Barrier-Free Design of the 2024 Ontario Building Code, and how those changes will impact their projects.

As a result of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (under Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulations) specific accessible built environment requirements, for public entities not otherwise covered by the OBC, have been implemented.

In a short summary, she highlighted some of those obligations.

A major one is that all pedestrian entrances need to be barrier-free and equipped with power door operators (with some exceptions) as well as any doors between the accessible entrances and suites served by public corridors or corridors used by the public.

There are also now requirements for universal dressing and shower rooms, accessible service counters, accessible assistive listening systems and water bottle filling stations, plus ones associated with passenger elevating devices in regard to platform and door size.

Accessible sign requirements have also been expanded and that includes signs at doors with both visual and tactile information.

“Those signs have to be on the latch side of the door and within reach of people who need to use them,” said Ryan, pointing out the approximate distance to the signs from the finished floor level has to be 1,500 millimetres.

As a lead-in to her presentation, she cautioned the seminar should be viewed as an educational reference only and should not be used in place of any mandated design requirements.

“Always refer to the codes, standards, regulations and mandatory provisions applicable to your projects,” she said.