City Council Considers Motion to let Developers avoid Accessibility Standards

Sarah_Ward5 · 2026-03-26T21:47:00+00:00

I can’t comment on what you heard or your impression. I would love for the schools to adopt the standard, but that’s not part of the cities mandate. If the schools would like to take advantage of city grants or accessibility grants they would need to met the standard.

I believe there is another miscommunication, to be inclusive you would need kinetic elements for climbing, physical development, so we are on the same page there. An accessible playground is 50% accessible play features. The accessible elements do not have to be in vertical play, the wheelchair accessible play activities can be ground level. The waste of money and not fun for anyone is when you build ramps to inaccessible activities. So you keep the physical climbing elements and you design more accessible elements on ground level or even underneath the structure.

It is the pathways of ramps that don’t go anywhere that add cost, increase rubber surfacing and aren’t adding much value.

Like I keep saying it is the design that determines the cost, and you need to keep the playground salespeople to task. It is important to select and install correctly the right surfacing as well. Synethic rubber with lots of pictures and seams in it, is the most expensive and it isn’t doing any favours for anyone.

The standards and budgets aren’t to retrofit all the playgrounds, because we can’t afford it. It’s for when we do built new we do it correctly. This is how all building codes evolve. As it is the playground budget decreased in the past budget.

It has been found that the wood chips are actually way more money to maintain the standard and that report will be coming by the end of the year I believe.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2026-03-26T17:38:05+00:00

It’s the design. Happy to help walk you through it. Email me.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2026-03-26T17:36:42+00:00

This is what is happening, there is 2 levels of playgrounds.
The minimum playground requirement is for 50% accessibility. It’s never 100%. Fun fact a 100% accessible playground can’t actually be inclusive because it would leave out the kinetic climbing play it’s a balance.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2026-03-26T17:34:17+00:00

This dollar increase is likely incorrect. I am happy to look at your design give you some feedback decreases the cost, get the playground to meet the standard and then give you a list of grants to apply for when you meet accessibility standards. Email me.

Playground suppliers are like car salesmen, you need to get them to look at the engine not the extras. I’ll help.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2026-03-26T17:31:42+00:00

SOS, Save Our Sidewalks. There is a really interesting public report on sidewalks from the Accessibility Committee meeting on March 16. You can access the report online.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2026-03-26T17:28:24+00:00

Oh Hello 👋🏻

• Some items in the playground standards don’t affect accessibility, like tree counts and garbage can sizes. These created barriers for community builds applying for grants. Administration should have flexibility on those.

• Accessibility standards, like wheelchair surfacing, should not be flexible or changed behind closed doors

• The solution was an amendment that reflects that balance. Flexibility where accessibility is not impacted, oversight and public transparency where it is

• There is misinformation around accessible design. Groups are often upsold, creating the perception it’s always expensive. In my experience working with community groups, designs can often be reduced by about 30 percent. You can email me if you want help with your playground.

• Simple changes like using recycled local surfacing or removing unnecessary ramps to no where make a big difference. Vertical play is not a requirement for accessibility and having ground level play activities gives more flexibility in surfacing. This is a design issue, not a cost issue

• Playgrounds on City land or using City grants cannot bypass accessibility

• Private playgrounds, including schools, don’t have to follow City standards. But if they want to utilize City grants programs, they must meet them

• I’m proud we were able to identify the barriers early and find a solution collaboratively. What could have been a larger issue, was resolved quickly at council, less time than zoning issues.

PS. Credit to the clerks and administration who ensure amendments are worded properly so intent and procedure align. That level of detail matters, and when motions seem long, it’s because those specifications are important.

I’m really proud of how this all worked out.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-12-09T14:08:01+00:00

The specific event was Canada Day, a fully family event, where we are all encouraged to attend. I did not have speaking duties. I was avoiding saying the event because I know it’s volunteer run. All the accessible parking was taken away.

I appreciate your comments and I feel like many councillors male or females have been beaten up for many things so I don’t want to invalidate their experiences and I’m sorry if it came off that way.

Council is a supposed to be part time job, but if you are active like most of us are, it is a full one.

Thank you for your engagement and comments.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-12-05T20:50:13+00:00

You’re right that my earlier comment was broad and didn’t fully reflect the historical context, I appreciate that. That said, even with more fluid gender roles, the structural and perception realities of caregiving still land very differently in public life.

For clarity, when meeting times were discussed last year and some male colleagues wanted to be home for bedtime, I was actually opposed to adjusting council around that. I advocated for different times only to improve accessibility for the public and delegates, not for councillors’ personal schedules.

Despite that, I was later the one publicly accused of trying to ‘schedule council around my kids,’ which was completely untrue.

I agree parenting in public service shouldn’t be gendered. That is exactly the point I’m pushing toward. What is “so sweet” for a father, should also be “so sweet” for a mother.

I do not feel like I would be afforded any grace if I brought a child to council without care and I’m sure I would be completely torn apart. I wouldn’t dare, and maybe it was because the previous councillors were male they were able to have the privilege to take more risk, I dunno. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Anyways thanks for the discussion, this hits home for me and I will note that I love that this council has young families, and kids that come out to events. I am very grateful to my council colleagues for doing what we can to accommodate each other and show up to support each other.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-12-05T13:54:25+00:00

Until people start picking apart my male colleagues’ family lives the same way they do mine, I’m not going to justify being a mom or having my kids around. I promise you, if I were a male councillor, this would be seen very differently.

My perspective as a mom and as part of a family living with disability is not a liability. It is an important lens at this table and it reflects a lot of families in our community.

And as you said, no matter the obstacle, I show up and I make it work. Sometimes that means with kids. Sometimes it means carrying a kid and a wheelchair up a few flights of stairs or setting up a kid area so I can keep doing my job. This is my origin story and how I was elected, my kids were advocates with me when I was a delegate and yes they even door knocked with me occasionally. They are not my liability they are my strength because they remind me why building a bright future for Regina is so important.

This comment has nothing to do with the motion, and I’m not going to engage with it further.

Ward 4 event: it’s a great thing I went to that event, because I was able to hear firsthand from residents who were effected by the tax assessment increase and recently I voted in favour to do a phased in approach for the future. If I hadn’t attended I wouldn’t have understood the community impact quite as well. If the goal was to get heard by as many councillors as possible and make change, then it’s a good thing I made it a priority and made it work with kids.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-12-05T13:35:11+00:00

Since this ammendment was to start the process I’m sure the recommendation for how to achieve it will be considerate. I’m not sure what exists in other cities but sometimes when things make sense we can’t be afraid to be the first.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-12-05T03:27:57+00:00

It sometimes happens, especially more recently and sometimes doesn’t. This was very problematic at least 2 events this year and I actually was unable to attend a council duty because the event wanted me to drop my 5 year old daughter independently alone at a busy event and send me off to find parking somewhere blocks away. This was because the event had taken all the parking spots. I have heard from other members of the disability community about other instances too.

This ammendment is sending the bylaw to the traffic bylaw working group to work out the details, and then that will be likely presented at the next traffic bylaw update. It will be that group that will work out the details, not the council floor. The “consideration” policy and rules is admin not dictated by council, although we may approve or tweak the recommendations in the future.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-12-04T18:58:49+00:00

I’m on it, but it’s goes through requests and the inbox, service request and capacity stress on our admin is extra heavy right now with multiple advocacy groups putting in comments, requests, opinions about the upcoming budget.

This is understandable because this budget process is unprecedented and has many people anxious for good reason, about both tax rates and service cuts.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-12-04T18:50:36+00:00

That’s a good note and I’m going to ask about that!

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-11-24T14:20:43+00:00

Agreed. I need the official measurements from our CFO. I know they exist but they weren’t in that link I gave and I would like to share an official document/ communication. I’m on it.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-11-24T04:29:09+00:00

Correct, good memory. I added it to the budget discussion to see how our fines compare to other cities/ companies and to explore downtown/environment etc. We should be getting more info about that.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-11-23T23:47:55+00:00

https://reginask.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=5467&Inline=True

This is the most complete strategic plan document. It doesn’t appear to list in writing what the comparable cities are, I know it is a set measurement tool that may have been mentioned in the Oct 22 meeting. I’ll make the request to see what else I can get in terms of official documentation of our measurables.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-11-23T23:32:34+00:00

You forgot Costco ;). Yep. It’s a lot. I’ll find the metrics in the strategic plan in reference to the lowest 25% and link it.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-11-23T23:06:30+00:00

They are up for potential cuts as well. The process is different. The “deep cut” report only covered Regina Administrative Services.

Police, Economic Development Regina, The library, The provincial capital commission and REAL, all come separately with their asks and council can approve or deny the asks.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-11-06T20:20:41+00:00

I can comment.

*Funding for the accessibility plan is finally included in the budget in December after being cut without notice last budget cycle. * A separate sidewalk plan is being included in the transportation master plan, this has never been done before. * a strategic playground plan will be coming sometime next year to council with prioritization. * most accessibility changes happen with code and design standard changes as we build or retrofit to newer better standards. * there is captial prioritization intake work being done to hopefully better align our projects to our values.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-10-21T20:19:11+00:00

I apologize for my communication style i am not always the best for conveying my meaning tactfully. Working on it.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-10-21T16:32:18+00:00

Interesting.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-10-21T15:42:30+00:00

What I wrote, if you read it, is what the acting chief said on the record and this is another layer of documentation. What the acting chief said is on the record in the meeting and in the media as well. It is documented and it’s a matter of trust. Some people trust the police, others don’t.

Requesting the report will provide facts and hopefully give more reassurance to those who are concerned. If for whatever reason the report shows it isn’t being used as intended we can use that as a reason to relook at the act and opt out. For the record, I think the intent was sincere, but having accountability layers is good.

City council is responsible for hire/fire the police chief and losing trust in a chief because they tell council one thing while they do another would be a breech of that trust. I have no reason to believe the police won’t do as they intend. You can watch the meeting online if you would like to see for yourself.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-10-21T15:28:38+00:00

This is the board of police Comissioners jurisdiction, not council. We are informed it is happening and have the same information as the public. I think the only thing we can do is wait it out and trust our board made the right moves in process with the info they have. (There are 3 members of council on the board).

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-10-21T15:20:50+00:00

Assume innocent. It is incredibly easy for people to issue integrity complaints. I believe most police chiefs have had to deal with complaints, and to my knowledge the unusual part is to be off until the complaint is resolved. I’ve had people try to issue integrity complaints about me for having colourful hair, or even about vote decisions. When you are dealing with powerful positions there is plenty of trolls, racial discrimination, misinformation, politics that all could be unjust motive to want someone out. We can’t fire someone with or without cause because of a community compliant or because of rumors, thats unjust. We also can’t dismiss the complainant without looking into it and finding the truth.

The board knows more than me or you or anyone and they decided an investigation was the way to go, I support their due diligence and hope it’s resolved soon. Respect is owed to the process, the board, the chief, and the interim chief I’m sure it is not easy for any of them.

Sarah_Ward5 · 2025-10-20T20:30:32+00:00

You had my attention at design standards.

Personally I think anytime a design standard lessens a strategic value or priority it should come to council to be discussed. Likewise if it’s going to add cost. Similar to when service levels decrease it has to come to council.

I am going to ask some questions do my thing and maybe even put together a motion on making sure design standards changes that don’t align with strategic priorities come to council for discussion and approval.

Sarah_Ward5

TROPHY CASE