Safe and Accessible Journeys

Remove barriers and create safe, accessible door-to-door journeys for all.

Why it matters:
People with sight loss continue to loudly voice that transportation barriers are among the greatest they face, whether they live in rural or urban environments. The issue? Inaccessible transportation systems and built environment barriers that put the community of people with sight loss in dangerous and stressful situations when travelling.

Our efforts
We’ll target Canada’s decision-makers, political representatives, and transit leaders to remove barriers to travel and create safe, accessible transportation options. Here are just a few of the tactics we’ll employ:

- Insist that people who are blind, partially sighted, or Deafblind have a seat at the table in their communities, influencing governments to make local public transit systems accessible and inclusive.
- Recruit and train a new workforce of user testing professionals with diversified lived experience to test and provide recommendations on making our public spaces accessible and usable.
- Develop and utilize technology solutions to provide real-time assistance and support during difficult aspects of an individual’s journey, including when their rights are being infringed upon.

HOW CAN YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE:
CNIB is advocating alongside community members across Canada to break down societal barriers to accessibility and create a more inclusive society for people living with sight loss. We have created these resources to support community members when engaging in advocacy in their local communities, whether as a formal CNIB Community Engagement Volunteer, a person living with sight loss, or an ally who wants to help bring about change.

To know more about how you can bring this change with the right resources, please use the following link: https://www.cnib.ca/en/advocacy-resources?region=on

Intended impact
Our goal is to secure smooth and accessible transportation systems, inclusive from the first to the last kilometre, and to remove the cognitive load that comes along with planning and preparing for every trip. This cognitive load creates questions like “What if I miss a bus?”, "What if my crosswalk doesn't have an accessible pedestrian signal?", “What if my taxi passes me and I can’t see them?” and many others.

- When taking mass public transit like their sighted peers, people with sight loss are confident about being able to get where they need to go when they need to.
- Innovative solutions are in place for accessible ride share options in rural and remote communities.
- Accountability is in place to ensure people are travelling in a safe, accessible way, free from discrimination.

To learn more and support this program, please visit: https://www.cnib.ca/en/safe-and-accessible-journeys?region=on