On Thursday, Jul. 23, 2026, the City of Kingston shared that it is starting a “visitor access process” for City Hall, located at 216 Ontario Street. This means that anyone who wants to visit during regular hours will first check in at the reception desk for a quick check-in and guidance, as per the city’s announcement. This change kicks off on Tuesday, Jul. 28, 2026, and there will be signs around City Hall pointing visitors to the reception area.
The municipality stated that this process comes after “a third-party threat risk assessment of City Hall and ongoing workplace health and safety planning.”
“It is a proactive measure and is not being introduced in response to a specific incident or threat,” the City of Kingston explained in a press release.
Kingston isn’t the only place in Ontario making these changes. For instance, those going to Ottawa City Hall must go through security screening, while visitors to Toronto City Hall have to walk through metal detectors upon entry even though they don’t always need to check in unless accessing certain areas.
Once checked in at Kingston City Hall, visitors can access “designated public areas,” and groups visiting for meetings or events are also required to report to the front reception when they arrive, according to the press release.
“City Hall remains open to residents, tourists, visitors, staff and individuals conducting business with the city; this new process is intended to support safety and wayfinding without changing that commitment,” concluded the municipality.
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