Current building and accessibility codes represent basic, minimal standards that are often not accessible for all. By incorporating the lived experience of persons with disabilities, the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) is working to identify infrastructure issues that are often overlooked in design, make adjustments that can be done easily at low cost, and establish flexible design approaches that can be readily modified in later use.
Alan Perks, Engineer-in-Residence at the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa and Past CSCE President will share examples of the work of the CSCE’s Task Force on Accessibility, which aims to accelerate accessibility and integrate Universal Design principles in engineering practice and education across Canada.
Tracy MacDonald, Senior Bridge Engineer with the New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, will speak about her experience navigating the built environment with a mobility disability and using her engineering background and lived experience to advocate for Universal Design.
This interactive forum will include a PowerPoint presentation followed by a question-and-answer period.
Presenters will include:
Alan Perks – Engineer-in-Residence, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa
Alan Perks is a senior Civil Engineer with more than 40 years of diversified private and public sector experience in the planning, design and operation of environmental, water resources, and municipal infrastructure. He has managed and directed major consulting assignments in Canada, and internationally in India, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe.
He was President of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering during 1998-99. He helped direct the 2010 National Assessment of First Nations Water and Wastewater Systems (625 communities) and has been providing Technical and Management support to smaller municipalities in Eastern Ontario. He was a Keynote Speaker at the 2015 Civil Engineering Triennial Summit held in London, UK. Alan served as a City of Ottawa-appointed Director of South Nation Conservation for eight years. Upon his retirement from consulting practice in 2015, he was appointed Engineer-in-Residence at the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Ottawa.
Tracy MacDonald – Senior Bridge Engineer, New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure
Tracy MacDonald is a 1994 Civil Engineering graduate from the University of New Brunswick. Her 29-year career has centered on design, maintenance, project management, and asset management of bridge inventories. Her work in two Canadian Provinces and one U.S. State, for a combination of government and consulting firms, has resulted in a broad cross section of experience with various agencies and design codes, and helped build a large network of colleagues and resources.
On a personal level, Tracy is a person who has been living with Multiple Sclerosis since 1998 and has been using a wheelchair for mobility full-time since 2014. Through full time work and a love of travel, she has become astutely aware of the challenges of navigating the built environment with a mobility disability. These challenges prompted her to become a Rick Hansen Accessibility Professional in 2020, in hopes of using her engineering background and lived experience to advocate for universal design.
We look forward to seeing you at this CAN Connect Forum.