Measuring Up with Community Partners

Whistler has signed on to Measuring Up, a program designed to assist municipalities and communities in British Columbia assess the degree to which their citizens with disabilities are active participants in community life.

Measuring Up is about creating an accessibility strategy that encompasses much more than a focus on just physical change to the environment.

As a key dimension of social inclusion, this project will not only allow but also invite all community members to become more meaningfully engaged in civic decision-making.

Timeline

In 2003, an accessibility audit of Whistler Village was prepared as part of the bid for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. As a result, the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) launched an effort to address the barriers identified by the access audit and began the process of developing an accessibility strategy. Community members were invited to form an advisory group to assist staff in identifying priorities and appropriate remedies.

Simultaneously, 2010 Legacies Now developed a framework referred to as Measuring Up for communities throughout the province to achieve accessibility and inclusivity.

In 2006, Whistler was approached by Legacies Now to become a pilot community in the application of the Measuring Up framework.

Shortly thereafter, the Whistler 2020 process, which responds to community needs and proposals, recommended developing an Accessibility Strategy to address the deficiencies revealed by the 2003 audit.

Select Committee of Council

In late 2009, Whistler council created the Measuring Up Select Committee of Council, a permanent advisory body that works to address accessibility issues and find corresponding solutions.

Measuring Up Committee