Disabled users will have to wait another six months or more to see if they can enter Osgoode Hall Court House through the front door.

Toronto and East York Community Council deferred a report by heritage preservation services this week on the estimated $1.5 million construction of barrier-free access to the hall, urging the Ontario Realty Corp. to wait until new provincial standards are established for heritage buildings and to consider all the options.

Heritage officials say the proposed construction to the front entrance, which includes an access ramp, would threaten the building’s heritage value by affecting its most significant views and disturbing its classical architecture; the formal proportions would be altered, the original arch bases would no longer be visible, the original porch would be completely covered and the new handrail would obscure views. 

The hall, nestled between Queen Street and University Avenue in downtown Toronto, was built in 1860 and includes the Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Superior Court of Justice and the Great Library. However, its fenced perimeter and front sandstone steps don’t facilitate wheelchair access.  Furthermore, in their heritage impact assessment released July 16, Ontario Realty state that the current entrances, a barrier-free ramp to the Law Society of Upper Canada and a tunnel in the Court House at 361 University Avenue, don’t meet disability standards.

Heritage officials agree that the current entrances are inadequate, but say Ontario Reality Ontario Reality didn’t fully consider access options beyond the front door, mainly the creation of a new door on the west side of the building.

“They’ve said the construction of a new entrance on the west side is impossible but they haven’t given us any information as to why,” says Marilyn Miller, a preservation officer with the City. Furthermore, she continues, “We need to satisfy ourselves that they’ve considered the alternatives.”

Jim Butticci, a spokesperson for the corporation, says the construction of a new entrance would alter the building and compromise its heritage value. 

Miller agrees but says, “There’s a greater intervention creating a new entrance but you will be keeping pristine the most significant side of the building.”

Ray Cohen, publisher of Abilities, a quarterly magazine covering disability issues, says that the decision shouldn’t be to make a new door, but to make the existing entrance accessible to everyone.

“Particularly with Osgoode Hall, which is an institution that’s very familiar with justice and equality, I would think the symbolism and practicality of making the front door accessible to everyone in the same way would be important,” says Cohen.

Butticci agrees that front door barrier-free access is vital.  “It is where it is, not what it looks like, that is important,” he says.

Despite the council’s deferral, Butticci says that the final construction will be through the front door.

“The City can’t prevent ORC from doing that, but they needs to consult all the interested parties,” says Miller. “Our job is to speak for heritage buildings. There are a lot of people in Toronto that care about heritage buildings and they have rights, too.”

“It’s not a battle,” she says. “We’re not trying to trump anyone.  We want to accommodate everybody. What we’re saying to ORC is ‘Please! Come up with something that’s barrier-free and great, or even better.”

Butticci promises that no matter which option is chosen, it can be reversed.  “The ORC will have a100 per cent ability to entirely change or remove the alteration if required without impacting or changing the existing heritage features of the building,” said Butticci.