Take the Accessibility Survey

Colwood is working with other West Shore municipalities to develop an Accessibility Plan aimed at addressing barriers faced by the public in accessing municipal services and facilities. As part of the plan development, the Accessibility Committee will be sending out a Request for Proposals to retain a professional in this area to conduct public engagement sessions and gather public input. In order to ensure that we include the right kind of feedback opportunities for the community, we would like your input on the methods of feedback and types of public engagement that best suit your needs. The survey closes on January 31, 2024.

The City of Langford is conducting the survey on behalf of the Accessibility Committee member municipalities. You can access the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee Survey online.  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. You are not required to live within these jurisdictions to participate; anyone may take part in the survey.

Provincial and regional 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 first steps

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.

Capital West Accessibility Committee 

An initial Accessibility Committee is comprised of municipal staff from the following partner municipalities:

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 City of Colwood.

Committee Meeting Agendas and Minutes via the City of Colwood meeting portal.  

Meetings will be open to the public and written feedback is welcome.

Public Participation encouraged

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:

Next Steps

Once the draft Plan is developed, it will be presented to Council for consideration and approval.  Opportunities for review and comment of the draft Plan will be posted on this page.

To view resources visit www.Colwood.ca/Accessibility