Website Accessibility

Universal Access Design Standards

Town of Stony Plain Website Accessibility Statement
The Town of Stony Plain (the Town) is committed to making its website(s) and web applications accessible to the widest possible audience, including individuals with disabilities. To do this, the Town has adopted the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 created by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).

The Treasury Board of Canada's Common Look and Feel Standards and Guidelines for the Internet and the Province of Alberta's Accessibility Statement state that they have also adopted these standards.

• If you use assistive technology, and the format of any content on this web site interferes with your ability to access the information, please contact:
  
  Manager of Administration
  Town of Stony Plain
  4905 – 51 Avenue
  Stony Plain, Alberta  T7Z 1Y1
  T: 780.963.2151
  F: 780.963.2197
  Email: c.schofield@stonyplain.com
  TTY Relay Service:
  711 (Telus) (Information)
  611 (Bell) (Information)

Please indicate the nature of your accessibility issue or suggested changes, the web address (URL) or site feature, the preferred format in which to receive any information you could not access and your contact information. The Town will work towards making the web page or feature accessible or to provide information to you in a format that is accessible.

Policy
To ensure equal access to electronic and information technologies, the Town of Stony Plain has developed a set of web page design standards in recognition of persons with disabilities.

Design Standards
These standards are influenced by those recommended by the W3C and Access Board. The Access Board is responsible for developing the standards outlined by the amended Rehabilitation Act of 1998. Universal design calls for appropriate use auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure communication.

The Town of Stony Plain has adopted the Design of HTML Pages to increase accessibility to users with disabilities as the primary guideline according to the objectives of the Universal Access for State Design policy. These published guidelines are maintained by professionals trained in the area of assistive and information technology.

The Universal Access Design Standards are being integrated into the Town of Stony Plain portal and will continue to evolve as new technologies and opportunities emerge.

1. Every graphic image will have an "alt" tag and a short description that is intuitive to the user. If a graphic image is used as a navigation element, it will contain text description and direction that is intuitive to the user.
2. For every graphic image that uses an image map, alternative text of the hyperlink will be provided.
3. Photographs that contribute to the content of a page will include a long description or a "D" to denote an alternative description. A "return" link will be provided on the description page to return the user to the page of origin.
4. The Official website of the Town of Stony Plain will have descriptive, intuitive text links and avoid the use of vague references such as "click," "here," "link" or "this."
5. An alternative form of access will be made available for online forms, such as an email address or phone number.
   1. Request Form for Town of Stony Plain Documentation in Multiple Format
6. The use of frames will be avoided, since they cannot be read intelligently by screen readers, create navigation problems and are not supported by all browsers. The Town of Stony Plain cannot, and will not, be held responsible for sites outside the network that utilize frames.
7. Tables will include textual information displayed in a linear form across the table, and cells will be named to aid as reference.
8. Background colours will be avoided, since colour schemes can create problems with legibility.
9. Multiple browser testing will be conducted on the current versions of Firefox, Internet Explorer and Lynx.

Software Utilities
Adobe's PDF Converter allows you to convert regular PDF files to html. One of the required standards is providing, where applicable, an HTML alternative to PDF files. http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/access_onlinetools.html

Checklists
The following "Quick Tips" introduce some key concepts of accessible Web design.  http://www.w3.org/WAI/References/QuickTips/

More information:
Town Accessibility Statement

Accessibility Information & Resources

The World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) contains an extensive list of accessibility resources. For more information see:

http://www.w3.org/WAI/Resources

Microsoft Accessibility Information
Descriptions of accessibility features in Microsoft operating systems and applications, product documentation in accessible formats, a catalogue of assistive technology designed for Windows operating systems, as well as articles, stories, and a calendar of events can be found at:

http://www.microsoft.com/enable

Adobe Acrobat (.PDF Documents) Accessibility
Free tools from the Adobe Corporation are available to assist visually impaired users in accessing the .pdf files on this site:

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/alternate.html

Additionally, Adobe has a .pdf conversion tool that will convert .pdf files to HTML pages. You will find this resource at:

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/access_onlinetools.html

Tips on Adjusting Your Browser

The Town of Stony Plain's website uses fixed text (font) sizes, font styles and colours. If any of these settings interfere with your ability to read the Town's website, you can override these settings by using the accessibility settings of your web browser. The method for changing these setting varies depending on your browser and version.

The following instructions apply to Internet Explorer 6.0, Netscape Navigator 7.2 and Mozilla Firefox 1.0 – running under Windows XP. Please consult your browser's help file for instructions specific to your browser.

Note: this setting applies to all websites that you visit. Remember to reset your browser back to the original settings if required.

INTERNET EXPLORER 6.0
Increasing Font Size - Internet Explorer 6.0

• Tools > Internet Options > Accessibility > Ignore font sizes specified on web pages
• View > Text Sizes > Larger

Changing Font Type - Internet Explorer 6.0

• Tools > Internet Options > Accessibility > Ignore font sizes specified on web pages
• Tools > Internet Options > Fonts

Changing Colours - Internet Explorer 6.0

• Tools > Internet Options > Accessibility > Ignore colors specified on web pages
• Tools > Internet Options > Colors

Printing in a Larger Font - Internet Explorer 6.0

• File > Print Preview > 150% > Print > Print

NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR 7.2
Increasing Font Size - Netscape Navigator 7.2

• View > Text Zoom > Larger

Changing Font Type - Netscape Navigator 7.2

• Edit > Preferences > Appearance > Fonts > Minimum Text Size > 12 (or larger)

Changing Colours - Netscape Navigator 7.2

• Edit > Preferences > Appearance > Colors > Use my chosen colours

Printing in a Larger Font - Netscape Navigator 7.2

• File > Print Preview > Scale > 125%

MOZILLA FIREFOX 1.0
Increasing Font Size - Mozilla Firefox 1.0

• View > Text Zoom > Increase

Changing Font Type - Mozilla Firefox 1.0

• Tools > Options > Fonts & Colors > Minimum Font Size > 12 (or larger)

Changing Colours - Mozilla Firefox 1.0

• Tools > Options > Fonts & Colors > Always use my > Colors

Printing in a Larger Font - Mozilla Firefox 1.0

• File > Print Preview > Scale > 125