AODA – In Ontario, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) was passed in 2005 to address the need to remove barriers for the disabled in built environments. Under AODA, a formal sign standard was proposed in 2010 and adopted in June 2011, with the goal of making the province fully accessible by 2025. This standard is a simplified version of sections of the International Building Code (IBC). Many sign companies in Canada have used IDC and ADA to address other areas, including contrast levels and tactile letter standards. AODA requires sans serif fonts, combined upper and lower case letters, tonal contrast of at least 70 per cent, Grade 1 braille (compared to Grade 2 braille in the U.S. under ADA) and matte or glare-free surfaces. .

As a code designed to serve more than one-third of the population of Canada, AODA obviously wields enormous influence, which can spill into other provinces that do not have their own codes. Some sign companies, like King Architectural Products in Bolton, Ont., have not only grown to meet AODA’s provincial demands, but have also pushed parts of the code forward along with principles of ADA as best practices for wayfinding systems in other provinces. This process is similar to examples seen in the U.S., where some states developed their own additional guidelines after ADA was adopted, based on more advanced work by the International Code Council (ICC). In fact, as various states gravitated to higher standards, they became common industry practices before ADA was even adopted at the federal level.

The acquisition provides WSI with a well established line of products and additional resources for markets in which WSI sees strong growth potential. With this purchase of additional equipment and placement of additional staff, WSI will continue to lead the architectural signage market and has positioned itself for continued long term growth and development through out the North American Architectural Signage and Wayfinding market.

The Architectural Division will operate as KING Architectural a division of WSI Sign Systems Ltd. and is now operating from a new custom built facility in Bolton, Ontario, Canada KING Products and Solutions Inc. – Architectural Division has been setting the standard for architectural signage and electronic wayfinding for over fifty years through its Toronto (Mississauga) and New York offices and this recent acquisition by WSI will enable KING Architectural to maintain its position as the leading designer and fabricator of high quality Architectural signage in North America. WSI welcomes the staff, clients and contacts of KING Products and Solutions Inc. to KING Architectural and looks forward to working with each of you.