Friday, March 8, 2024 – Seven municipalities within the Capital Regional District – Colwood, Esquimalt, Highlands, Langford, Metchosin, View Royal, and Sooke – have partnered to form the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee and to prepare a joint Accessibility Plan (the “Plan”). The purpose of the Plan is to identify, remove, and prevent barriers to individuals in or interacting with the partner municipalities. The Plan will be informed, in part, by this survey as well as partially by facilitated public engagement sessions.
This survey is completely anonymous and will only be reported back as a summary of feedback.
This survey is estimated to be completed in 10-15 minutes or less.
Please feel free to share this survey link with others. The survey is open until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, April 1, 2024.
We appreciate you taking the time to share your insights with us!
The City of Langford is conducting the survey on behalf of the Accessibility Committee member municipalities. If you are having trouble accessing the survey or require an alternate arrangement to help you fill out the survey, please email accessibility@langford.ca or call 250-478-7882.
Focus on Accessibility
In 2021, the Province of British Columbia passed the Accessible BC Act requiring municipalities to develop a plan that addresses accessibility to municipal services, programs, and infrastructure. Everyone will experience permanent, temporary, or episodic impairments over their lifetime either personally, or through caring for someone else. By focusing on accessibility, we can work towards becoming a municipality where every person is able to participate fully and equally and is empowered to pursue the life they wish to live.
Accessibility Plan
To improve accessibility to our municipal services, facilities, and natural and built environments, the City of Colwood is working with other regional municipalities to develop an Accessibility Plan. The Plan will identify and reduce challenges people experience with our:
- Information
- Communication
- Technologies
- Policies
- Practices; and
- Infrastructure
The Accessible BC Act identifies eight standards for inclusion in a long-term Plan. The first iteration of our Plan will focus on the first two of those standards: Employment and Service Delivery. It will take time to eliminate barriers, however the Plan is the first step in identifying how we can improve accessibility going forward.
The Plan must be reviewed and updated every three years and will incorporate information gathered through public engagement opportunities. Opportunities will be advertised on this page as they are scheduled.
Accessibility Committee
An initial Accessibility Committee is comprised of municipal staff from the following partner municipalities:
- City of Colwood
- City of Langford
- Town of View Royal
- District of Highlands
- District of Sooke
- Township of Esquimalt
The Committee will review internal practices for making information, activities, and environments sensible, meaningful, and usable for as many people as possible. Once a robust staff foundation is built, the committee composition can be expanded to reflect the Plan’s revised areas of focus to further enhance access and inclusion in the District of Sooke.
Committee Meeting Agendas and Minutes via the District of Sooke meeting portal. Please subscribe to receive meeting notices, agendas, and minutes.
Meetings will be open to the public and written feedback is welcome.
Public Participation and Feedback
A critical part of developing, monitoring, and updating the Accessibility Plan is receiving valuable feedback from people experiencing barriers. While the first term of the Plan is internally focused, public input is always welcomed and appreciated. Sharing your experiences in or interacting with the municipality will help us to identify barriers and improve accessibility for all people.
We invite your feedback in the following ways:
- Email: accessibility@sooke.ca
- Phone: 250642.1634
- In Person/Mail: 2205 Otter Point Road, Sooke BC, V9Z 1J2
Accessibility Plan and Next Steps
Once the draft Plan is developed, it will be presented to Council for consideration and approval. Opportunities for review and comment on the draft Plan will be posted as available.