Catholic school board to add universal washrooms at its Oakville, Burlington, Milton facilities

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Published January 24, 2023 at 11:54 am

The Halton Catholic District School Board is looking at a 13-year plan that would ensure all of its facilities have a universal washroom. HCDSB IMAGE

The Halton Catholic School Board (HCDSB) is considering a plan that would ensure all of its schools in Burlington, Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills have a universal washroom.

The feasibility of creating the universal washrooms was presented in a report at the HCDSB’s most recent meeting on Jan. 17.

Cost of renovating current facilities or constructing new universal washrooms is expected to be $4.2 million.

“I think the best path forward would be a phased approach,” Ryan Merrick, HCDSB superintendent of facility management services, said of rolling out the project over a 13-year period.

Merrick said roughly three to five washrooms would be constructed every year.

“Under this model, the purchase can be combined into our long-term facility renewal strategy,” he said.

The installation of the universal washrooms in public buildings is mandated by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, which sets out to make the province more user-friendly for people with disabilities.

“It’s certainly extremely disappointing to see that we’re not accessible to everybody who requires accessibility, and to a great extent,” said Burlington Trustee Brenda Agnew.

“I don’t want to laugh, but it’s amazing that we have to wait 13 years to have fully accessible washrooms when we have students that have moved through our system in that amount of time,” she added.

Merrick included that only 14 of the current the 59 HCDSB facilities have a full universal washroom accessible to the main corridor that is up to Ontario Building Code standards.

He said another 17 of those facilities are in need of only minor work, while 28 of the facilities need major changes to bring it up to code.

As for money to cover the project, Merrick said there are various funding sources, including $9 million available in renewal funding annually that can be used for accessibility.

Agnew says this is something the HCDSB must continue to keep an eye on.

“That this continues to be a priority somewhere along the line and that if we do have additional funding coming through that we keep an eye on this so that we’re fully aware if we have the ability to make a universal washroom we can do that,” she said.

Merrick said there’s very specific building code items that have to be a part of it to classify as a universal washroom. “All new construction has to have them, so as we’re doing new builds, they have to have one, as we do new additions even,” he said.

Requirements that are mandated by the Ontario Building Code include an emergency call button, a washroom be big enough for a wheelchair to turn and there must be a power-operated door.

 

 

 

 

 

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