Vancouver park board approves recommendations for increasing trans inclusivity

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      On April 28, the Vancouver park board unanimously approved 77 recommendations to make its facilities more inclusive for Vancouver's trans and gender-variant communities.

      A community review process, which included town hall meetings, surveys, emails, and phone calls, involved over 1,300 responses, which led to a 64-page final report by the Trans* and Gender-Variant Inclusion Working Group. The group was chaired by Metha Brown and Drew Dennis.

      The recommendations range from short- to long-term priorities and include:

      • universal signage for all single-stall washrooms and change rooms to indicate that trans and gender-variant people are welcome;

      • trans-inclusivity training for all staff, contractors, and volunteers who interact with the public;

      • increased rental subsidies to partners who offer trans-specific programming;

      • expansion of universal changing rooms and addition of more private changing stalls.

      “The recommendations as presented will greatly improve the quality of access to recreation and active health in Vancouver and help make Vancouver the most inclusive city in the world,” commissioner Trevor Loke, the park board liaison to the working group, stated in a news release.

      The working group will continue until December 1 to help to implement some of the changes, some of which are already underway. The group was formed in May 2013 after the park board voted to increase inclusivity in its facilities.

      You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at twitter.com/cinecraig. You can also follow the Straight's LGBT coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/StraightLGBT.

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