Accessibility achievements

The City of Vancouver is committed to going beyond compliance to ensure all City services and programs are fully accessible and inclusive to all community members, regardless of ability.

Highlighted accessibility achievements include:

Strategic

2024

• A City-wide internal accessibility committee was formed to support innovation and ensure accountability across the organization
• New Service Animal Standard Operating Procedure adopted to ensure a City-wide consistency in response to animals entering our facilities
• Human Resources moved accommodations from its HR Leave Team to its HR Business Partners who have a close connection with specific work teams across the City

2023

• First full-time ADA Coordinator hired in 2023
• Updated ADA web content is accessible via every page of the City website
• ADA Coordinator position was moved from Risk and Safety (Human Resources) to the Office of Equity and Inclusion (City Manager’s Office) to emphasize the intersectionality of disability and the need to address inaccessibility systemically

Disability inclusion

2024

Disability community brought together to discuss their needs in the Downtown Parking Plan, Interstate Bridge Rebuild Project, 29^th/33^rd Safety and Mobility Project and more

2023

The Office of Equity and Inclusion sent out the “Summer of Neighborly Inclusion” newsletter, bringing awareness to the complex and diverse experiences of our neighbors and Week 10 focused on Disability Justice in 2023

Before 2023

• Several departments, including Public Works – Transportation, Communications, Community Development, and Economic Prosperity & Housing regularly engage the disability community and the City’s development plans are made more inclusive as a result.
• Oftentimes, ASL interpreting is provided by default for these engagement events

Built environment

2024

• Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services upgraded the accessibility of playgrounds at Columbia Lancaster Park, Van Vleet Park, and Homestead Neighborhood Park
• Improved accessible parking options are now available at Memory/Mill Park and Wintler Park
• Blandford Dog Park accessibility has been improved
• Public Works Transportation reconstructed 227 curv ramps and installed 17 Accessible Pedestrian Signals at intersections throughout the City
• Parking Service upgraded downtown pay stations to be more accessible
• Water Resource Education Center increased accessibility at the front entrance and in two restrooms

2023

• Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services constructed accessible and inclusive playgrounds at Marshall Community Park and Esther Short Community Park
• Capital reconstruction projects managed by the Transportation Division (Public Works) along S.E. 1st Street between 164th Avenue and 177th Avenue reconstructed 20 intersection curb ramps, constructed approximately 8,500 feet of new ADA-compliant sidewalks and added Accessible Pedestrian Signals to three signal systems
• Over the past three years, through the Transportation Division’s pavement management program, retrofit hundreds of curb ramps at various street intersections throughout the City. This includes 148 locations in 2021, 196 locations in 2022, and 196 locations in 2023

Before 2023

• Design teams working with Capital Projects must first demonstrate their expertise in accessibility best practices and then are tasked with integrating those strategies into their renderings when working on City projects
• Parking has improved and increased signage in several City-owned lots. They have also incorporated weekend enforcement to help with prohibited violations (i.e.: ADA, fire lane, crosswalks)
• Members of the public with ADA placards can park for free throughout the parking district and in any on-street parking spaces (accessible or otherwise)

Other accessibility

2024

• Fire and Community Development departments adopt the use of communication cards launched originally by the Vancouver Police Department. These cards support those who use a language other than English as their first language by allowing the person to point to their communication preferences
• Procurement and IT added accessibility requirements to new purchase requirements which stipulate that any new technology acquired must meet the current digital accessibility standard
• The City’s intranet (on Sharepoint Online) is now much more accessible
• Communications has updated the City Writing Style Guide and Social Media Handbook with new accessibility standards

2023

• All training videos in the Workday employee learning tool have captions
• The City’s new web platform, rolled out Sept. 2023 and managed by the Communications Department, is fully accessible, compliant with current WCAG AA standards and includes an accessibility menu where accessibility settings can be customized to meet individual user preferences and accessibility needs
• Accessibility needs were included in the design process of the City’s new brand. Attention was paid to contrast ratios, complementary colors, and font types for readability and comprehension

Before 2023

• Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services offers separate programs specifically for people who identify as having disabilities while, of course, supporting the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in all program offerings
• All Vancouver Police Department staff (including officers) enable Deaf and hard-of-hearing members of the public to indicate which method of communication they prefer via a communication card with symbols for ASL, lip reading, captioning, and more. All VPD staff are also equipped with the technology to quickly jump on a video relay call with a qualified interpreter whenever needed
• Communication began utilizing built-in captioning on Instagram and Facebook stories in 2022. All pre-produced videos shared to the City’s social channels include closed captioning
• Clark Vancouver Television (CVTV) provides closed captioning of the video coverage of meetings and events. The captions appear on cable, web, social media and in the meeting rooms. For meetings with an ASL signer, CVTV incorporated a window to show the signer to viewers
• The Facilities team has updated the language on accessible parking and entry signage at city facilities to be in line with more inclusive language
• All Planning Commission and Transportation & Mobility Commission presentations and material templates are fully accessible. This includes providing all maps in an accessible tactile format as needed