A new study indicated that nearly 60 percent of public places in Calgary, Vancouver, and Ottawa are either inaccessible or partially inaccessible to people with disabilities.

The report comes from the "Mapping Our Cities for Everyone" project led by the University of Calgary and aims to help the federal government achieve its goals under the Accessible Canada Act to remove barriers for people with disabilities by 2040.

Among the three cities, the research found that Calgary ranked last, with only 35 percent of the mapped buildings considered accessible.

Victoria Fast, an associate professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Calgary, said: "There has not been a clear understanding in Canada of the barriers faced by people with disabilities." "When the Canadian government enacted this legislation, it acknowledged that we need a better understanding." Our mission is to help them understand and support them in achieving their goals.

The study used geographic data and insights from people with direct experience with disability.

Factors considered include the ability to access parking spaces, building entrances, and restrooms, as well as general categories such as lighting, table height, spaciousness, digital menus, and customer service.

This information was also released by AccessNow, in collaboration with the University of Calgary and the Canadian Spinal Cord Injury Foundation, where AccessNow provides a free mobile crowdsourcing app that collects and shares accessibility information for cities across Canada.

Mayan Zev, founder and CEO of AccessNow, said: "Only by measuring accessibility can we improve it." "By using the collective experiences and perspectives of people with all forms of disabilities, we can drive tangible progress toward a more inclusive Canada."

Fast and Zev encourage other Canadian cities to join the mapping efforts.

The 2017 Canadian Disability Survey also found that over six million Canadians aged 15 and older — 22% of the population — are considered to have a disability.