Provincial report finds accessibility issues at new Toronto courthouse

A new report is backing up some of the claims that a downtown courthouse appears to violate accessibility rules.

“We revealed publicly a month ago that these are serious problems in this building. What we now see is that the government has a report in hand from a consultant they hired last year that tells them the exact same thing,” said David Lepofsky, Chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance.

The report, commissioned by the Ministry of the Attorney General and completed earlier this year, focuses specifically on what’s known as Tactile Walking Surface Indicators, raised markings that help those who are visually impaired navigate in and around buildings.

It found that in some areas these indicators were installed incorrectly. It also found that the layout of the ground floor, for example, does not provide a natural path to the washroom or an intuitive exit from the building. It also notes the large and open environment of the courthouse plaza makes it a difficult place to navigate where the wayfinding path can be easily missed. 

Last month, Lepofsky, noted this exact problem among many others in a video titled, “Billion Dollar Accessibility Bungle,” referencing the $956-million price tag of the courthouse located on 10 Armoury Street. 

“It’s just clear vindication. It’s because they are professional experts in accessible design. They were able to drill down into precise details so that they showed for example that not only did the government mess up, but they didn’t even live up to their own commitments,” said Lepofsky.

The new courthouse highrise has 63 courtrooms and 10 settlement conference rooms. The 17-storey building replaced six existing buildings across Toronto opened in March of 2023.

The province has previously noted that the building had been given a Gold Accessibility Certification awarded by the Rick Hansen Foundation.

When reached for comment, the foundation said in part that its certification focuses on “a big picture view of accessibility,” adding “The Toronto Courthouse’s rating is a starting point on their continued journey towards improved accessibility.”

Meanwhile, Lepofsky says a government representative has assured him that they are working on a list of fixes, but said the details remain unclear.

CityNews reached out to the province but did not receive a response in time for broadcast. 

“While this report focuses specifically on these surface indicators, Lepofsky says there is another report forthcoming looking at the larger accessibility issues in this building, but no confirmation on how soon it will be completed.