The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutGRAAC - 2011-06-23Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 Kitchener City Hall, Conestoga Room PRESENT: Gordon Cummer (Co-Chair), Sharon Giles(Co-Chair), Taposhi Batabyal, Sharon Ward- Zeller, Anthony Cashin, Paula Saunders, Mike Begin, David Kuhn, Ken Parker, Carrie Speers, Kelly Steiss, Val Hummel, Vanessa Lopak, Daryl Denny (North Dumfries) Erin Eldridge (ASL Interpreter), Karen Panchaud (ASL Interpreter), Johanna Ellis (Recorder), Councillor Jean Hallboom (Region of Waterloo), Councillor Kelly Galloway (City of Kitchener), Julia Sippel (Dorth Dumfries) GUESTS: Ryan Lee (Region of Waterloo), Deb Bergey REGRETS (MEMBERS): Saul Herzog, Katherine Nessner, Gail Brunsdon, Kurt Schneider REGRETS (OTHERS): Rik Louwagie, Val Hummel, Councillor Jean Haalboon (Region of Waterloo) 1.0 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS ? Gord called the meeting to order 2.0 APPROVAL OF MAY MINUTES & JUNE AGENDA ? Motion by David, seconded by Ken, carried ? Wellesley accessibility plan deferred. Rik Louwagie sent regrets ? Motion by Taposhi, seconded by Carrie, carried ? Attachment for 911 – Gord to email it out 3.0 DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTEREST ? No conflicts of interest were declared. 4.0 REGION OF WATERLOO WEBSITE (Ryan Lee & Vanessa Lopak) ? Vanessa sent an email to members and staff with the link to the website and to have a look at the revised version of it. ? Ryan Lee from the Region’s I.T. department reported that he kept accessibility in mind when creating the new website. He asked the committee for feedback ? Answers from the questions asked & comments include; - yes the website is connected with GRT and the Waterloo Wellington Airport - there is no current connection with Blackberry but it is being looked into - website is very bright and visual - very easy to navigate - easier and simpler to find things - search engine is a little tough to navigate (currently using GOOGLE as a search engine) - brighter, clearer, nice colour - much easier to use - drop downs are easier to navigate - browser is clearer on Google Chrome then other browsers’ - website works with Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome - text size option will be looked at ? Vanessa turned to the Accessibility page and asked committee if it encompasses all committee needs ? It was noted that the TTY #’s are missing ? Vanessa asked committee to email her with any further questions 1 June 2011 - GRAAC Minutes 5.0 BUILT ENVIRONMENT STANDING COMMITTEE (Paula Saunders) th ? Special meeting June 16 with Ken Lobsinger from the City of Waterloo. They are upgrading washrooms at the Waterloo City Centre. ? Sharon Ward Zeller mentioned that the women and men’s washroom signs are hard to tell apart. ? Paula indicated that eventually, all of Canada will be replacing exit signs with “running man” signs. ? Multi-use pathways: staff is coming back in September with updates. ? Send comments via email. ? Committee would like to set up a time and do a “walk-about” on some of the trails and paths. ? The committee would like to have a draft copy of the Pathways Master Plan before September meeting. ACTION: Kelly Steiss will put in request for a draft copy of the Pathways Master Plan. *BREAK* 6.0 GRAAC WORKPLAN (Kelly Steiss) ? Using a powerpoint presentation, Kelly provided a summary of feedback received from the Committee with respect to their workplan. Feedback/Ideas: ? Committee was receptive to the idea of extending the workplan until the end of 2012. ? Kelly received additional feedback from the Committee. Kelly will coordinate all feedback into the workplan and then re-send to the committee for final approval. 7.0 STAFF UPDATE & AAC SUMMIT st ? On June 21, Region of Waterloo staff reported to Regional council on compliance of the AODA Integrated Accessibility Standard for the July 1, 2011 items. Vanessa will email the report to GRAAC members for information. Due to the limited time the Region had to meet st compliance, consultation with GRAAC prior to the July 1 timeline was not possible. However, members are encouraged to contact the GRAAC co-chairs if they with for the contents of the report to be on a future GRAAC agenda. ? Lorie Fioze, Manager of Strategic Planning and Strategic Initiatives at the Region of Waterloo passed on “a big thank you to GRAAC for providing advice and input on our diversity and inclusion work plan and priorities. Their feedback was very helpful and will be looked at as we move forward into the action planning process.” GRAAC members are asked to connect with Vanessa if they wish to be reimbursed for travel costs for the Strategic Planning session th held on May 25 at the Region of Waterloo Museum. th ? GRAAC was requested to provide feedback on the March 30 AAC District Summit held at RIM Park. Six people responded to the online survey. The survey asked respondents to rate how relevant each of the Summit sessions were; the quality of various aspects of the Summit; what they liked about the summit; suggestions for changes; how comfortable they were advising on issues related to different population; topics of interest for future Summits; and ideas that would enhance the work of GRAAC. A dominant theme in the survey responses was to increase the time and opportunity to network with members of other AAC’s, either through mixed seating arrangements, or increasing the time to network. Suggestions fro future topics included how to advise on plans, how to engage councils, how to follow up with municipalities, involvement in public sector compliance, what the Ministry expects from AAC’s, and the difference between advising and advocating. Respondents made the following comments for enhancing the work of GRAAC: involving more members in discussions; using agenda guides; train GRAAC on diversity awareness; involving other community agencies/groups; education for AODA; having regular standing agenda items based on priorities, such as AODA; field evaluations with city planners; increased dialogue with the Ministry. Other comments included acknowledging the support of staff and the 2 June 2011 - GRAAC Minutes progress in accessibility at the municipalities so far, and concerns that the COW structure has led to off-topic discussions. ? Staff and Co-chairs will review the survey results in more detail, and create a plan to respond or incorporate the ideas and comments from the survey respondents, for future meetings and events. 8.0 ALL COMMITTEE MEETING (Sharon Giles) ? David Kuhn, Carrie Speers, Gord Cummer and Sharon Giles attended this meeting hosted by Compass Kitchener. The purpose of the meeting was to bring together all City of Kitchener Committees of Council. ? Sharon reported that venue and set up was not totally accessible, it was quite uncomfortable. ? Should consult with GRAAC regarding accessibility needs at these meetings and how members could be used more as a resource. ? Meeting was at the old St. Jerome’s building (Wilfred Laurier, school of social services). ? Would like to have more inter-committee dialogue. *BREAK* 9.0 CO-CHAIR REPORT – Summer Break, IAS (Gord Cummer) Members Updates: ? Mike Begin has resigned from the committee due to other obligations. Follow-up regarding Pedestrian Safety: ? Last meeting, Councillor Haalboom made a suggestion regarding pedestrian safety. (from last meeting minutes. “During the last term of Council, Jean had a concern regarding the rights of pedestrians and drivers who don’t stop for them. Municipalities do not have the authority to enforce cars to stop for pedestrians because of the specifications of the Highway Traffic Act. Jean encouraged GRAAC to send a resolution to Bob Henderson, Manager of Transportation Engineering at the Region of Waterloo, outlining the rights of pedestrians from an accessibility perspective. Jean said that she will leave the issue with GRAAC to discuss/decide.” Any suggestion from the committee? ? . Ask Councillor Haalboom to elaborate on this at the next meeting ? Anthony had mentioned how quickly the traffic light changes for pedestrians at the corner of Wilson and Fairway. A suggestion was made that perhaps a “countdown” type crossing light would be a good idea. City of Waterloo Strategic Plan: th ? Waterloo Strategic Plan will be on the agenda at the Monday June 27, 2011 City Council meeting. GRAAC Website: ? Val is working on updating the GRAAC website. Integrated Accessibility Standard: ? Each committee member in the past were given a part of the AODA Standard, research and reported back to the committee. ? Committee members can indicate which portion of the standard they will look at via email. ? Paula suggested that beginning in September’s meetings, each meeting can focus on one area. 3 June 2011 - GRAAC Minutes GRAAC Meetings: th ? Next GRAAC meeting will be held on August 25, 2011. No meeting in July. 10.0 WELLESLEY ACCESSIBILITY PLAN ? Deferred 11.0 COUNCILLORS REPORTS ? Councillor Galloway (City of Kitchener) reported that city council was working on the Economic Development Strat plan (next 5 years). ? Already over budget for 2011. ? Council is working on budget for 2012. ? There is a commitment from Council to implement cycling master plan. 12.0 ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn, David Kuhn nd **Next meeting Thursday September 22, 2011, Conestoga Room, City Hall** 4 June 2011 - GRAAC Minutes