From floor tiles to urinals, making spaces more accessible in N.S. will cost millions

Down the hall from Prof. Linda Campbell's office in the Science Building at Saint Mary's University, there's a floor tile pattern of blue waves and green triangles overlaid by large black rectangles. 

Many people walk by without a second thought. But Campbell has watched some people stop at the black rectangles and stand stock-still. 

"They pause. They want to make sure, hey, is this flat?" she said. 

To someone with low vision, the rectangles may look like stairs — a tripping hazard.  

"It's beautiful floor, nice design," Campbell said in a recent interview. "But it's obvious with installing the floor they didn't consider the accessibility aspect. So it will be expensive to fix."

That flooring is just one of thousands of places in Nova Scotia where public institutions know upgrades are needed to meet the province's Accessibility Act goals in the built environment.

For some institutions, the cost of these upgrades could stretch into the millions, and while some provincial funding is available to help, it may not be enough. 

Campbell takes note when design excludes people, and agreed to show CBC some examples in her own work area. She is deaf, and CBC spoke with her with the assistance of an American Sign Language interpreter.

Some of the many challenges include accessible washrooms, the design and placement of wayfinding signs, counter heights, elevators and the placement of door-opening buttons.

To Campbell, accessibility is reflected in the six provincial standards underway to improve the built environment, education, employment, goods and services, information and communications and public transportation.

"In a beautiful world, accessible by 2030, it means everyone can be included in the decision-making, the work, in school and the environment, and they can do what they want, when they want," she said. 

However, of the six standards, "built environment" is the closest to being enacted this year. 

She argues that inclusive and accessible design has been shown to have a long-term benefit. 

"Everybody wants to work there, everybody wants to go there," she said. "From a design perspective, it's a good investment."