Dear Osgoode Community,
A committee of Osgoode students, staff and faculty, along with York Facilities Services staff and accessibility consultants, continue to make inroads into improving the accessibility of our building.
Following on the heels of enhancements to the pillars in Gowlings Hall to assist the visually impaired community in safe navigation, we will now be moving forward with the installation this week of long carpet runners in Gowlings Hall, the classroom wing (1st & 2nd floor), and the ground floor near the Bookstore.
The carpet runners will indicate safe areas to navigate along and feature different textured carpet to bring attention to pivotal points such as doors or hallways. We ask that these walkways be kept clear of obstructions to facilitate continuous traffic flow when using these navigation routes. We hope the carpet runners will provide comfort and ease to our Osgoode community in navigating within the building.
The decision to proceed with the installation of the carpet runners is based on feedback from the community including people with a wide range of disabilities, a review of available resources, and recognition of the need to minimize disruption to the community.
We initially investigated tearing up the floors and putting in tactile flooring: however, that came with a hefty price tag and would have been very disruptive to our building and community. Instead, we went with a retrofit solution to install special purpose carpet runners in the designated areas.
This latest wayfinding initiative is another step toward improving Osgoode space for our community. We recognize that there is more work to be done to ensure that Law School places and spaces are accessible to all. If you have ideas on how to further improve the accessibility of our infrastructure, please email the Office of the Executive Officer at oeo@osgoode.yorku.ca. We welcome your input.
Thank you,
Kelly Noddle Goodman, Manager, Operations Office of the Executive Officer, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University