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Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee <br /> Date: Thursday, November 25, 2021 <br /> Location: Zoom Meeting <br /> Present: Donna Hartzler, Janis McKenzie (City of Kitchener), Heather Clark-Harris, Rob Bender, Brenda <br /> Robinson (Co-Chair), Paula Saunders, Lolita Paroski (City of Kitchener), Tracey Murray (Township of Wilmot), <br /> Councillor Debbie Chapman (City of Kitchener), Lindsay Raftis (Township of Wellesley), Trevor Tamlin, Carrie <br /> Speers, Teresa McQuillin, Melanie Garbarz (Region of Waterloo), Councillor Sue Foxton (Region of Waterloo), <br /> Jeff Smith (Township of Woolwich), Councillor Sandra Hanmer (City of Waterloo), , Berny Wesselink, Tamara <br /> Bell, Robyn Jackson, Dawn Clelland (Co-Chair), Mamie Sealey-Baker, Ashley Sage (Township of North <br /> Dumfries) <br /> Regrets: Jolene MacDonald <br /> 1. Welcome and Introductions <br /> 2. Approval of October Minutes and November Agenda <br /> Teresa motioned to accept November agenda; Donna seconded. All in favour. <br /> Berny motioned to accept October minutes; Donna seconded. All in favour. <br /> 3. Declarations of Pecuniary Interests <br /> None <br /> 4. Region of Waterloo, Tactile Crosswalks, Jennifer Goetz <br /> Assisting Visually Impaired at Skewed Signalized Intersections, an example intersection in Kitchener would be <br /> Charles, and Stirling. Cameras and smartphones are currently in discussion but not ideal as not everyone has <br /> access to a smart phone. Tactile Guide strips do not work in the winter due to snow removal issues. <br /> Discussions are happening now with Miovision. <br /> Comments/Feedback <br /> ➢ Can a solution not be found in other countries? Have only investigated tactile strips at this point. <br /> ➢ Miniaturized version of a speed bump? Good idea but signage may be a problem <br /> ➢ To increase the size of tactile strips would be costly and could be destroyed by snow plows <br /> ➢ How likely is it that a snow plow could rollover in an urban setting? <br /> ➢ Cobblestones an option <br /> ➢ Pilot project? Try it at one intersection first <br /> 5. Region of Waterloo, GRT Wayfinding at ION stations update, John Lewis <br /> Vision impairments having difficulty navigating the stations, placement of furniture <br /> First objective, set up audits for various stations, focussing on Fairway station. Audits were done in the winter <br /> as snow is an issue if not removed quickly. Braille needed on all signage. Currently using virtual reality <br /> software that will allow staff to walk in someone else's shoes i.e., vision loss. Recommendations will then be <br /> put together to take back to staff. <br /> Comments/Feedback <br />