New research suggests nearly 60 per cent of public spaces in Calgary, Vancouver and Ottawa are either inaccessible or partially inaccessible to people with disabilities.

The report comes from the University of Calgary-led 害羞草研究所淢apping our Cities for All害羞草研究所� project and is aimed at helping the federal government meet its goals under the Accessible Canada Act of removing barriers for people with disabilities by 2040.

Of the three cities, the research found Calgary finished last with 35 per cent of buildings mapped deemed accessible.

That害羞草研究所檚 compared to 48 per cent in Vancouver and 53 per cent in Ottawa.

害羞草研究所淭here hasn害羞草研究所檛 been a clear understanding in Canada as to what barriers people with disabilities face,害羞草研究所� said Victoria Fast, an associate professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Calgary.

害羞草研究所淲hen the government of Canada enacted this legislation, they acknowledged 害羞草研究所榳e need a better understanding.害羞草研究所� It害羞草研究所檚 our job to help them understand and support them in their goals.害羞草研究所�

The study used geographic data and insights from people with first-hand experience with disability.

Factors taken into consideration include the ability to get into parking spots, building entrances and washrooms, as well as general categories such as lighting, the height of tables, spaciousness, digital menus and customer service.

The information has been released by AccessNow, in collaboration with the University of Calgary and Spinal Cord Injury Canada.

AccessNow provides a free crowdsourcing mobile app that collects and shares accessibility information for cities across Canada.

害羞草研究所淥nly once we measure access, can we improve it,害羞草研究所� said Maayan Ziv, founder and CEO of AccessNow.

害羞草研究所淏y using the collective experiences and perspectives of people with all forms of disabilities, we can drive meaningful progress towards a more inclusive Canada.害羞草研究所�

Fast and Ziv are encouraging other Canadian cities to join the mapping efforts.

The 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability found more than six million Canadians age 15 and over 害羞草研究所� 22 per cent of the population 害羞草研究所� identify as having a disability.

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