City of Chilliwack seeks feedback on Community Accessibility Plan

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CHILLIWACK — The City of Chilliwack says it is seeking feedback toward its goal of creating a Community Accessibility Plan, through an online survey and in-person engagement sessions happening this summer.

In a news release from city staff Thursday (July 18), the City plans to solicit input from residents about any barriers that residents may have experienced in Chilliwack through city-affiliated services, infrastructure and facilities. The survey is available in the following formats:

• Online: visit engagechilliwack.com/AccessibilityPlan to take the survey.
• Fillable PDF: visit this link to download the fillable PDF. Please email completed surveys to engage@chilliwack.com or mail/drop off at City Hall (8550 Young Road).
• Phone: please call 604.793.1860 and a staff member will complete the survey with you over the phone.
• Paper: hard copies of the survey in large print can be picked up at City Hall reception (8550 Young Road) and will be available at in-person engagement events.

In addition to the survey, City staff will conduct in-person engagement sessions at locations and events around Chilliwack over the summer, including a tent at the Landing playground and spray park this Friday, July 19, a tent at the Pride Festival on Sunday, July 21, and a presentation at Streams Foundation’s Coffee with Seniors Library Social on August 3.

“Through the 2021 Mayor’s Task Force on Inclusion, Diversity, and Accessibility Action Plan, we originally established an Accessibility Advisory Panel, which grew into our Accessibility and Inclusion Advisory Committee, to support the City’s work to improve accessibility,” said Mayor Popove. “We are glad to have some successes, like the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Gold certification of our leisure centres, but we know we have a lot more work to do, and we need input from our residents to make sure we do this right.”

The City of Chilliwack established the Accessibility and Inclusion Advisory Committee in 2023 to help identify accessibility barriers in City services and facilities, advise Council on how to remove and prevent those barriers, and advise on the development of an Accessibility Plan to meet the requirements of the Accessible British Columbia Act.

For more information about the Community Accessibility Plan or to take the survey, please visit engagechilliwack.com/AccessibilityPlan. If you have access needs or questions, please contact the City’s Communications team at engage@chilliwack.com or 604.793.1860.