Accessibility in all areas of The Forks site undergoing extensive review

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/11/2024 (640 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Forks is undergoing an audit to make Winnipeg’s historic gathering site more accessible to people with cognitive and physical disabilities.

The review comes in partnership with the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities and will encompass the entire 52-acre site, including its facilities, walking paths, parking lots and access points to the Red and Assiniboine rivers in all seasons, The Forks spokesperson Zach Peters said Monday.

“We prioritize making The Forks a gathering place for everyone. To be that, we must always ensure that our infrastructure and amenities are accessible,” Peters said, addressing a crowd of community members and stakeholders gathered at The Forks Market for a morning news conference.

“Ensuring that people who want to come here reflect our community’s diversity, in all ways, is central to our success and to the authenticity of living out our mandate to be a catalyst for our downtown.”

The audit began during the summer and is supported by $34,650 in funding from the provincial government’s Manitoba Accessibility Fund, which provides one-time project-based grants of up to $50,000 to municipalities, non-profits and businesses.

The review will be completed sometime next year, Peters said.

“It’s important for us to understand where there may be accessibility gaps both in winter and summer, as our landscape changes seasonally,” he told the Free Press. “There are things within our site that would already be (considered) accessible, but are they truly, or are there ways for us to continually improve it?”

The audit will culminate in a final report, and the findings will direct future accessibility improvements, including physical infrastructure and staff education, he said.

Implementing changes may require collaborating with external businesses and stakeholders, he added, citing the Nestawaya River Trail and the independently operated Winnipeg Waterways boat tour service as examples.

The accessibility fund awarded $825,000 to 37 organizations this fiscal year and received more than 190 applications, Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said.

Other recipients this year included numerous libraries, non-profit organizations and the municipalities of Bifrost-Riverton, Lac du Bonnet, Ste. Anne, Mountain, Morris and others.

The Manitoba Theatre for Young People, also located at The Forks site, will use the funds to introduce American Sign Language and audio description services at shows.

“You are making creative and critical transformative change across our province,” Fontaine said of the funding recipients.

The minister, whose portfolio includes accessibility, also presented the 2024 Manitoba Accessibility award to Abilities Manitoba for its work on an advertising campaign called “Barrier Town.”

The campaign included a series of short videos and informational graphics depicting a fictional town where people with disabilities face barriers in their daily lives, Fontaine said.

The campaign was recognized globally when it won a gold medal at the Shorty Impact Awards in Los Angeles last November.

The international competition recognizes positive marketing campaigns, and includes previous winners such as UNICEF and Michelle Obama, Fontaine said.

The Manitoba Accessibility Fund launched in 2021 with an initial $20 million investment. It is managed by the Winnipeg Foundation, which has since distributed nearly $2.5 million. Intake for the next round of applicants is expected to open around January.

Funding is not available for applicants needing renovations at private residences.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca