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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGRACC - 2022-05-26 Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee Date: Thursday, May 26, 2022 Location: Zoom Meeting Present: Donna Hartzler, Rob Bender, Brenda Robinson (Co-Chair), Paula Saunders, Lolita Paroski (City of Kitchener), Carrie Speers, Teresa McQuillin (Co-Chair), Melanie Garbarz (Region of Waterloo), Councillor Debbie Chapman (City of Kitchener), Amy Ross (City of Waterloo), Ashley Sage (Township of North Dumfries), Councillor Sandra Hanmer (City of Waterloo), Trevor Tamlin, Ilidia Sa Melo (Township of Woolwich), Councillor Sue Foxton (Region of Waterloo), Amy Harron, (Township of Wellesley), Robyn Jackson, Michelle Adams (City of Kitchener) Regrets: Heather Clark Harris, Janis McKenzie (City of Kitchener), Jolene MacDonald, Tamara Bell 1. Welcome and Introductions 2. Approval of April Minutes and May agenda Brenda motioned to accept May agenda; Paula seconded; All in favour. Carrie motioned to accept April minutes; Donna seconded; All in favour. 3. Declarations of Pecuniary Interests None 4. Waterloo Park Circuit, Kelly Harrington, Cory Blaquiere, Andrea Bazler The City of Waterloo has commenced the Park Circuit project. This is a trail loop around Waterloo Park West. It is a recommendation of the Waterloo Park Master Plan 2009. The Park Circuit will be in Waterloo Park West. It will connect to existing paths in Waterloo Park East. Work is currently being done on the concept design of the Park Circuit. It will improve connections to surrounding streets and access to Laurel Creek. The surfaces will be concrete and asphalt in the open areas (3m wide) and limestone screenings in the natural areas (1.5m wide). It will be designed to have longitudinal slopes of 5% or less wherever possible. Cross slopes are being proposed at 2% or less. Construction is planned to start this year. There will be a public event/Open House in Waterloo Park on June 9, 2022, from 4-8 p.m. at the harvest table. (https://www.engagewr.ca/waterloo-park-circuit) Questions or Comments • Is the entrance, shown on the drawing, for cars or pedestrians? The entrance off Father David Bauer will have a new pedestrian entry and upgraded parking lot. • What is limestone screening?A compacted gravel surface like the hard gravel paths you see in wooded areas water can drain through it and it is thought to be less impactful on the environment. • What are the implications of a limestone screening path for a wheelchair or walker? On the flat areas where the gravel is compacted there should be no issues. In wooded areas, with grading and slopes, it may cause an issue for someone in a wheelchair. They will try to reduce slopes where possible, it was noted that some areas in the wooded sections may not be accessible. Staff are only allowed to remove a certain number of trees, so the path in the wooded area is narrower and needs to be permeable. • What snow clearing will be done on the circuit? The asphalt and concrete areas will be cleared, any areas that are limestone screening will not be cleared. • Are there wayfinding signs for people with visual impairments? Way finding sings are a separate project, once the first stage of the construction is done signage will be included. The signage will be the new signage that GRAAC has seen. • Would someone who is visually impaired and uses a cane be able to use the section of trail that is comprised of limestone screening? Carrie noted she always walks on the right side of a trail with her cane on the edge, she noted that if the limestone and surrounding areas are all the same colour that would present a problem. It was noted that in the wooded area with the dark soil next to the path there should be contrast but staff were unsure of the area near the creek. This can be investigated as the project is still in the concept stage. • Is there a handrail on the path near the creek so visually impaired people do not go off the trail and into the creek? It was noted that the creek is very long, and a handrail or fencing would not be practical. It was noted that extra plantings of low perennials and other low plants could be planted densely to provide a barrier and they could be mulched with a dark colour mulch to provide contrast. • It was asked if any branches that are sticking out into the path could be removed. It was noted that once the area is an official trail the forestry department goes in and checks and clears any branches. Eby Farm Playground Update • Kelly noted that the project is moving ahead, and they are close to tendering it. • They had an event in the park a few weeks ago and there is a lot of excitement about an accessible playground. 5. City of Waterloo Parking lot resurfacing, Dupont & Station, Christine Tettman The City of Waterloo will be resurfacing two parking lots and is asking for feedback on the accessible parking spaces in the drawings that were part of the meeting package. The parking spaces in the Station lot were examined, the Dupont lot will be looked at, at a future meeting. It was explained that there are 4 accessible parking spaces being installed in the Station lot. Questions or Comments • How many accessible spots are in the lot? There are 4 and the regulation was used when calculating spaces. • Are there flush curbs when someone leaves a vehicle to access the sidewalk on Regina Street South? It was stated that on the current drawing, there is a curb between the parking lot and the sidewalk. The dangers of using an active driveway to reach the sidewalk were stated. • Amy noted that if someone is exiting a rear entry vehicle in the spots near the driveway, they would be backing off the vehicle into the driveway. Concern was expressed about the speed cars would be entering the driveway. Christine explained that the driveway was not street level. • Will the spaces on Gillen Street connect to the Spurline trail or is the caboose still there? The railway caboose is still there. It was noted that it would be good to have a connection from the parking lot to the trail. • Why are there little islands in the parking lots, is there a reason, they are a trip hazard? It was stated that they are usually added to parking lots as a landscaping feature and have trees on them, it was noted that there are none of this type of island in this parking lot. It was also stated that the islands can be for pedestrians to stand on for safety. • For the parking by Regina Street there is no exit onto Erb St.? There is no exit onto Erb Street. • What if someone wants to park in this lot and go to the Button Factory? The person would have to cross the street. Christine noted that there is a signaled crossing at the Spurline trail. • Should 2 accessible spaces be moved closer to Gillen Street? There is concern with moving the spots to the back of the lot due to the railway track and the lack of an accessible crossing due to the rail line. Christine noted if the city makes adjustment to curb could they use sidewalk to go down to trail • Should the 2 smaller spaces be moved?Are there any advantages of not having the spaces all together? Christine stated the advantage of keeping them together is the pathways of access and suggested it may be best to keep them together, she suggested that one small space could be in the southwest corner and one in the northwest corner. • Carrie felt the northwest corner may be a better option if there is a connection to the sidewalk. • For the small spots for a van with a side entrance is it going to be hard to drive into the spots? Christine stated there is enough space for a turning radius. • Sue stated that if a spot is moved to the northwest corner a parking space may be lost from the parking lot, but if the northwest is the safest and best place for an accessible parking space it should be done. Christine summarized her takeaways: • One small space moves to the northwest corner • One remains in the southwest corner • Curbs to be removed for level access • GRAAC would like an accessible space on the east side at the back of the lot to work with access points to get to 55 Erb St. • Christine would like to attend the GRAAC June meeting to talk about the Dupont lot. 6. BREAK 7. City of Waterloo Election Accessibility Plan, Kevin Gerlach, Julie Scott Each Voting Place shall be accessible to everyone in the community and all voters shall have safe access to the voting location. Additional measures will be undertaken where it is determined a location does not meet our expectations (hiring additional staff or repairing ramps if needed, etc.). Measures will be put in place to ensure voters can vote as independently as they wish or seek assistance from election staff trained in assisting voters. Tools will be identified and used to increase voter accessibility, this may include technology solutions and physical tools. Feedback from this committee and the IIARE team is critical throughout the election planning and post election. Members will be invited to test equipment to provide advice, best practices, and practical end user experience feedback. Accessibility Plan will be shared with this committee and the HARE team for comment. Final Plan shall be posted online and provided to Candidates. Candidates shall also be provided with the City of Waterloo/City of Kitchener Customer Service and Duty to Accommodate Training brochure. All election staff will receive specific training regarding assisting voters and specific staff will be trained for the Waterloo City Centre audio ballot marker and Language Line service. This committee and the HARE team will be invited to test equipment and provide feedback to guide best practice and usage guides. Post-election feedback will be sought leading up to the post-election report Questions or Comments • Have you thought about putting candidates' pictures beside their names on the voting forms or posters with photos? It would be helpful for people with developmental disabilities who may recognize a face but not be able to remember a name. Julie stated it has been raised in the past as a concern and it cannot be done as they have had issues at the polls with people only voting for someone of a certain race or gender. They are talking about what can be done to assist people and have discussed what other resources could be provided for a person to access. The election process is prescribed, but she will take this request away to look at options if this type of assistance is requested. • Some people have environmental disabilities with hand sanitizer that are debilitating, could a process be put in place that they could use an alternate entrance? Julie noted that they have had an issue with Sharpie markers in the past and noted that there is mail in ballot options as well they are looking at scent free product options. • Has online voting been considered? Julie stated they have received Council direction not to pursue online voting until there is a national security standard in place. Sue stated that all the townships have been going electronic with both online voting and phone voting and it is working well for them. • Will there be audio ballot accessibility at all voting stations or only City Hall? Julie noted that there will be audio ballot marking machines. ASL interpretation will be at City Hall and may be added to advance voting dates, but they are not sure which ones yet. • Carrie asked that it be made clear that people needing audio ballot marking need to go to City Hall. It will be on the voter registration cards and in advertising. It was noted that all staff at voting stations are trained to help anyone who may need assistance. • Julie stated that the ASL interpretation is a pilot for the city, and they are hoping to roll it out for everyday support. • Julie thanked the committee for their input and noted they will be reaching out to the committee again in the near future. 8. Built Environment Sub-Committee Updates, Paula Saunders • Paula and Lolita went out to a site on Paulander where a group was given a Love My Hood grant for an accessible garden. They met with staff from the condo and the police who are going to be doing the carpentry for the project. The location is not ideal but there is a bit of an asphalt pathway. The group only have $10,000 in grant money some of it is for education and celebration so there is not a lot of money to put into accessibility. The group have agreed to put in longer narrow gardens on each side of the asphalt and hope to be done in June. • Paula and Amy did an inspection of the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex and are going back on May 27, 2022, for another look around. They will provide a report when it is finished, it was noted that they need to move all the soap dispensers. • Paula asked to discuss the audits being done by a company that was hired by staff at Waterloo to review facilities. It was asked if GRAAC should review the audits that were done by the external company and if GRAAC should be involved. She noted that previous audits GRAAC had worked that the professionals and they taught each other things, but this time GRAAC was left out. • Paula noted that as chair she will do site visits if the committee want them done but she did not want to read hundreds or pages of reports. It was asked if GRAAC go back and look at the sites of if they do not give input because of the consultant. Sandra asked if there was a way to prioritize the facilities. • It was stated that if GRAAC goes out and looks at facilities they need to be connected with staff who can check or add to the report that has already been done. • Paula and Amy will finish he facilities they have already booked and then decide. Brenda offered to go through the reports and do a summary. Amy noted that the inspections do not have to be done for the end of June. If Brenda wants to help with the inspections, Amy stated they could compensate Brenda for Mobility Plus. Paula is going to think about the inspections for the time being. 9. Committee Updates There were no updates to report. 10. Councillor Reports Regional Councillor Sue Foxton — Encouraged the members of GRAAC to bring issues and items missing from the act to the people running for provincial election. 11. Co-chair/Staff Reports Waterloo Region - Melanie Garbarz • No big updates, after the last meeting Kevin Marshall from Active Transportation had a follow up meeting with Brenda and Carrie, changes will be made to the Terms of Reference (TOR). • The TOR was updated to include scooters and mobility devices as part of Active transportation. • GRAAC members can apply to be on Active Transportation committees. City of Waterloo —Amy Ross • Nest week is National Accessibility Week, there will be online activities. Amy will send the list of activities and workshops to the members. City of Kitchener - Lolita Paroski • No updates North Dumfries —Ashley Sage • No updates Wellesley - Amy Harron • No updates Co-Chair Update • Brenda attended the Region's Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan Upstream Fund meeting. There is $2.1 million earmarked toward supporting groups affected by colonization or racism, they are currently looking at how they will decide funding and that the process will be. She asked the members to think about how to make the process accessible for everyone and noted that there are a lot of people who may have intersections with racism and colonization. • A survey has been launched by the Region of Waterloo on community safety and wellbeing and members could use this to comment on the upstream funding. h_ttps://www.engagewr.ca/communitysafetywellbeing/survey tools/upstream-fund-survey) • The members were encouraged to comment on the process to distribute funds and how to apply for funding. Feedback would be needed before the next GRAAC meeting and members would be participating as an individual. • There was a discussion about services and the organizations/community groups who provide them. • It was noted that some community groups that are looking for funding need funding to maintain staff to keep programs running. • Teresa suggested Brenda reach out to Jolene • The members were reminded that GRAAC breaks for the summer and do not meet in July and August. The next meeting is June 23, 2022. The meeting adjourned at 3:59 p.m.