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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGRAAC-2010-05-27 Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) th Thursday May 27, 2010 Kitchener City Hall, Conestoga Room PRESENT: Sharon Ward-Zeller (Co-Chair), Taposhi Batabyal (Co-Chair), Ken Parker, Gail Brunsdon, Anthony Cashin, Kurt Schneider, Paula Sanders, Mike Begin, Saul Herzog, Lesley Roach (ASL Interpreter), Councillor Jane Mitchell, Vanessa Lopak, Brent Wilcox, Pam Albrecht, Jessica Dillon (Recorder) REGRETS (MEMBERS): Sharon Giles, Amy Ross, Myron Steinman, Gord Cummer REGRETS (OTHERS): Darryl Denny, Rik Louwagie, Val Hummel ABSENT: GUESTS: John Percy, Eckhard Pastrik 1.0 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS: Taposhi Batabyal welcomed everyone to the May meeting and invited everyone to introduce themselves. 2.0 APPROVAL OF APRIL MINUTES AND MAY AGENDA: ? Everyone agreed to accept the May agenda by consensus; no motion was required. ? A motion was made to include Paula Saunders and Mike Begin as attending the last meeting and the minutes to read “welcome everyone April to the meeting”, moved by Ken Parker, seconded by Gail Brunsdon that the minutes from the April meeting be approved, as amended. All were in favour, the motion was carried. 3.0 NEW BUSINESS: Forum Discussion: Home Fire Safety Education John Percy, City of Waterloo ? John Percy introduced himself and stated the reason for the discussion was to find out the best way to educate people with disabilities about fire safety in their homes. He invited everyone to have an open forum discussion about the various options. Comments: ? For visual impairments make educational presentations or promotions with a spoken word introduction. ? When being invited to a session ask what the audience would need, i.e., Braille, large print, internet or advance copy of a CD. th GRAAC – May 27, 2010 1 Q to John Percy: Would the library be used by senior citizens? A: Yes, for large print and talking books. Comments: ? Technical devices in homes are needed for the hearing impaired,and that the homes are accessible in this regard. Persons with disabilities often rent their homes and are not aware of what is available in terms of visual alarms or the latest warning devices. ? Training for all staff is needed on the TTY machines and how they would contact people in case of an emergency (basic training). ? Recorded messages would be good as well. Q to John Percy: How many fire stations are there, and do they all have TTY machines? A: There are seven (7) departments. The larger ones do (Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Region) but possibly not the townships. Q to committee: What do hearing impaired people currently do in case of an emergency? A: Use the TTY machine and call 911, but that doesn’t always work. It is too time consuming to use the Bell Relay direct line. Sometimes people even just call 911 and wait for emergency personnel to show up. Deaf people don’t always know what to do in an emergency; we need to work together for something like a newsletter or the internet. Q to committee: Does 911 know about the needs of the deaf? A: Yes, because people have had to use them. Q to John Percy: Is it possible to keep a computer database that logs homes/sites where persons with special needs reside? A: Anyone who needs assistance should notify their local fire department of their need(s), where they live and phone number. The information is confidential and only used when an emergency arises. You can contact the fire department with any concerns; phone the administration line to be added to the emergency database. Q to John Percy: Is there somewhere on the internet to find out how we can be more safe? A: You can log on to your city website and look under “fire prevention” - that should tell you what you can do. Comments: ? People sometimes rely on using BlackBerrys as a mode of communication; perhaps make a way to contact 911 via text or email? ? Emails do not currently take priority in 911 situations, but emergency services should look into that in the future. th GRAAC – May 27, 2010 2 ? John reinforced the need to make sure you have working smoke alarms in your residence. The fire department does have the right to ticket those who do not. ? In a learning setting, i.e., in a classroom, live examples of fire accidents and how to prevent them might be helpful. ? ASL interpreters in the classroom setting would be beneficial. ? DVDs with closed captioning abilities would be good for those who might not be able to attend. ? John thanked everyone for their time and assured that his questions were answered. ? Taposhi stated that anyone who wants more information should log onto the larger municipalities’ sites. John will also leave his card with GRAAC, should anyone wish to contact him directly. 4.0CO-CHAIR REPORT: ? Sharon addressed GRAAC’s Terms of Reference and reminded everyone that the mandate is to address accessibility issues affecting the municipalities only, that is, buildings and services offered by the Region, cities and townships. She congratulated the members for identifying issues that lie outside municipal, and therefore, GRAAC jurisdiction. If anyone is unsure about what to do with certain issues, they should feel free to contact the co-chairs for guidance, but advocacy work still needs to be done by members as individuals, or through a community agency or group such as the ILC or the CHS. GRAAC is not an advocacy group, but rather an advisory body to councils. ? On behalf of the Region, Vanessa Lopak is always willing to do some research and brainstorm any ideas to help, as is Pam Albrecht in the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, and township staff. Comments: ? Gail thanked the co-chairs for recognizing this and expressed interest in meeting with Vanessa and Pam to see how she can do her part. ? Anthony also would like to meet with the group. ? Paula has a list of issues and would like to know where she should go with them. She will meet with Pam and Vanessa on a separate occasion to go through the list. ? Pam addressed the issue of a local hospital and added that she did talk to a representative who informed her that, while there is a gap in the accessibility process, the organization is working on it. Pam will keep GRAAC aware of any further updates. 5.0 COUNCILLOR’S REPORT(S): 5.1Councillor Mitchell th GRAAC – May 27, 2010 3 ? Calling out stops on buses has been approved, but probably will not be complete until 2011 or 2012. ? The Regional Museum is now open and accessible. ? The issue of sidewalks cannot be addressed until budget deliberations begin. Comments: ? Paula Saunders remarked that site plans for the new courthouse and the new Waterloo police detachment building have not come before the committee. She also said that the traffic light crossing at King and Frederick needs to be longer also there is no sidewalk at Fairway and Wilson. ? Taposhi said that the issue regarding the sidewalks at Fairway and Wilson and the lights at King and Frederick will be noted and brought back under the Transportation section in a future agenda, and that regional AACs do not look at provincial buildings and site plans. ? Jane Mitchell noted that the new police detachment site is still under demolition, and that preliminary architects’ renderings are still being drawn up. It is not yet ready to be sent for review. 6.0 GRAAC Workplan Update - Pam Albrecht ? Taposhi noted that GRAAC has already seen and worked upon this. At the end there will need to be a motion to approve in order for it to go to council. ? Pam went through a PowerPoint presentation and noted that all Kitchener advisory committees had to create a annual work plan. ? She highlighted activities were identified for 2010 and future activities. This created five (5) areas of focus. ? Each focus item was assigned action items and tasks along with approximate timelines. ? This is a working document and open to change. ? A motion was made to approve the GRAAC work plan, moved by Ken Parker and seconded by Sharon Ward-Zeller; the motion was passed and carried. 7.0 Uptown Streetscape Improvement Project Eckhard Pasttrik, City of Waterloo ? Taposhi introduced Eckhard Pastrik, from the City of Waterloo and explained that the project focus area is from Central to Erb Street in Waterloo. ? Eckhard Pastrik explained that this has been in the works since 2003 and has experienced delays due to LRT (the proposed Regional light rail transit). ? Currently it is at the initial stage with the consultant. th GRAAC – May 27, 2010 4 ? Focus is from the sidewalk to the facade of the buildings. ? Eckhard handed out a document with a list of questions to which he would like the group to consolidate answers and return to him by June th 16. Q: Are you looking at the entrances of buildings and stores? A: Yes, they will be up to date with today’s accessibility standards. Comments: ? Paula Saunders remarked that she has been working on a separate advocacy initiative with some individuals who found the single step entrances into uptown stores to be an accessibility barrier. The group will contact the city separately. ? Taposhi suggested the group discuss what works within the current streetscape, and what needs to be changed.. ? Saul Herzog said that more shade trees would be important. ? Sharon Ward-Zeller said that the committee’s overarching vision would be of a streetscape that is pleasurable visually and attractive, but safe and free of pedestrian obstacles, comfortable, with access to businesses. ? Sidewalk surfaces should be consistent and as smooth as possible to facilitate wheeling, that is, not interlocking brick. ? Improved lighting, better curb cuts, smoother curb transitions, large push buttons for intersections and tactile contrast for visual impairments. ? The vision is also to try to keep the historical buildings and facades that give a sense of history. ? More bus shelters or sitting alcoves or benches. ? More accessible parking currently there is only Willis Way. ? Taposhi summed up the committee’s vision for the streetscape as being primarily pedestrian friendly, free of obstacles, and easily accessible. ? A public meeting will be held in June, and Eckhard will forward the date to Pam. ? There will also be a website within the next week where interested individuals can register for updates. ? The chair suggested that any further suggestions/concerns should be emailed to Pam by June 12, at the latest, and copied to the chairs. 8.0 ADJOURNMENT Ken moved to adjourn the meeting at 3:15 p.m. The next GRAAC meeting th will be held on Thursday June 24 at Kitchener City Hall in the Conestoga Room on the main floor from 1:30 – 4:00 p.m. th GRAAC – May 27, 2010 5