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Home My WebLink AboutGRAAC - 2012-01-26Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursday January 26th, 2012 Kitchener City Hall, Conestoga Room PRESENT: Gordon Cummer (Co- Chair), Anthony Cashin(Co- Chair), Ken Parker, Dorothy Staal, David Kuhn, Carrie Speers, Andrew Tufty, Paula Saunders, Mike Shipley, Dawn Griffen, Julia Sippel (North Dumfries), Val Hummel (Township of Woolwich), Vanessa Lopak (Region of Waterloo), Lori Palubeski (City of Kitchener), Lolita Paroski (City of Kitchener /City of Waterloo), Charlotte Gravlev (Region of Waterloo), Councillor Jean Haalboom (Region of Waterloo), Councillor Jeff Henry (City of Waterloo), Karen Panchaud (ASL Interpreter), Lesley Roach (ASL Interpreter) REGRETS: Amy Ross, Councillor Kelly Galloway GUESTS: Yvette Bon (ROW Co -op Student), Eric Gillespie (Region of Waterloo) 1.0 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS: • Gordon Cummer called the meeting to order. • Welcome to all new members, round table introductions. 2.0 APPROVAL OF NOVEMBER MINUTES & DECEMBER AGENDA: Motion by Anthony, seconded by David Kuhn to accept the December minutes, carried. Motion by Ken Parker, seconded by Anthony Cashin to accept the January 2012 agenda, carried. 3.0 DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTERESTS: — None 4.0 INTRODUCTIONS /ICE BREAKER ACTIVITY: New members were partnered with existing committee members to get acquainted and to share information /interview each other). Pairs were given 10 minutes for this exercise. Committee members then participated in a group sharing exercise. 5.0 STAFF UPDATE: Lori Palubeski, Manager of Programs & Resource Services, introduced Lolita Paroski as the interim staff liaison for GRAAC (to fill in for Kelly who is on secondment). Lolita currently works within Inclusion Services and has now assumed Kelly's portfolio. Vanessa introduced Charlotte Gravlev, interim Manager of Citizen Services at the Region of Waterloo. • Charlotte share a little of her background with the committee. 6.0 COUNCILLOR(S) REPORT(S): Councillor Haalboom (Region of Waterloo) • Regional budget discussions are over. Transit/Mobility plus will stay as is. • It is a tight budget year and very little money was allocated. • The total tax rate impact from the 2012 budget is 2.53 %. 1.30% for Police and 1.23% for Regional Services. • There is a Heritage showcase at Fairview Park mall. This event will showcase 35 separate community groups who will have booths set up describing their contributions to the community. • Kitchener has allocated funds for their 100 year anniversary. Theme is "Berlin City ". Councillor Henry (City of Waterloo) • Budget day is February 13tH • Proposed budget item to shift $50,000 to remove snow from sidewalks, trails etc. • Official plan approval will be by the end of February. January 2012 - GRAAC Minutes • Northdale neighbourhood, between the universities, continues to undergo plans for overhaul with a focus on pedestrian connectivity. • Recreation centre, between the universities, will undergo plans for overhaul. • On Tuesday January 24th, a one hour "virtual" town hall meeting regarding the budget took place. Tools used included facebook, twitter and phone. Public response was positive. The City wanted to ensure that the public could utilize various ways to communicate and participate in this town hall meeting. *Break* 7.0 ELECTIONS: • Val Hummel read the GRAAC Terms of Reference for elections for the GRAAC committee and ran the elections. Voting is restricted to GRAAC members only. Elections of Co- Chairs: Nominated Elected /Acclaimed Co- Chairs 2012 Gordon Cummer (stand) Andrew Tutty (declined) Paula Saunders (declined) Anthony Cashin (stand) Carrie Speers (declined) Transportation Chair: Nominated Carrie Speers (stand) David Kuhn (declined) Ken Parker (declined) Built Environment: Nominated Paula Saunders (stand) David Kuhn (declined) Gordon Cummer Anthony Cashin Elected /Acclaimed Co -Chair 2012 Carrie Speers Elected /Acclaimed Co -Chair 2012 Paula Saunders 8.0 TRANSPORTATION STANDING COMMITTEE: Region of Waterloo AODA update — Eric Gillespie • There are still 20 buses in the fleet compliment that are not yet accessible. These buses are mainly used for school specials. • All buses will be accessible by the summer of 2012 (August approximately). This will allow some Mobility Plus customers to use GRT. • Hired a travel trainer to develop training and work with Mobility Plus to see what needs are not being met. (i.e. door to door services) • Sharon Ward - Zeller is working with the trainer. Eric Gillespie will provide update at a future meeting. • Priority seating at the front of the buses continues to be a small issue. There are those who use these seats that do not necessarily need them. They are for people who require assistive devices. Stickers will be placed in the buses raising awareness as to the purpose of these seats (stickers will be placed at the front of the buses). Also an awareness campaign will be launched utilizing local media. • Layouts and configuration on new buses will create more room /space for strollers and mobility devices. January 2012 - GRAAC Minutes 2 • Bus Drivers will assist persons with disabilities to exits in the event of an emergency bus evacuation. • GRT will provide AODA training to drivers. • If bus stops are not clear (winter for example), drivers will move to the closest accessible location for drop off and immediately report in so the stop can be cleared. • Bus stop announcements for the blind and those with visual disabilities are helpful as are digital bus stop readings for the deaf and hard of hearing. • The only buses without the stop announcement feature(s) are the 20 buses which are being replaced by (approximately) August 2012. • GRT will be reporting information as to when they were not compliant with AODA legislation due to equipment failure, malfunction and detours. GRT will report and inform these incidents to the GRAAC Committee. • Comment was made that communication is important, ahead of time, regarding detours. • GRT does not accommodate 4 wheel scooters. Mobility Plus requires a couple of days notice. • Comment was made that the City of Hamilton has a full ramp with middle entry and exit. They also can accommodate 4 wheel scooters. • Question was asked as to who controls the announcements on the bus. Accessibility announcement system comes on automatically and if there is a malfunction, drivers need to report defects immediately. • Question was asked if there were any plans to increase the capacity of Mobility Plus. In 2011, 2 buses were added and there will be more added in 2013 and 2015 (plans to expand service). • Some customers will be utilizing new accessible GRT transit which will free up some spaces with Mobility Plus. • Taxi scripts are subsidized taxi service which is also available. • A comment was made to organize a day where new buses can be parked in a large parking lot (such as the Auditorium) where persons with disabilities can see how accommodations will benefit them. Paula Saunders and Eric Gillespie to exchange contact information and set a date. • Concern with signage for blind /visually disabled. The signs are too high and hard to read. Current signage meets the standards but GRT is willing to discuss this issue. • Maybe colours need to be bolder in our Region. • Comment was made that some blind /visually disabled people are colour blind. • Eric will do a follow up and, at the GRAAC meeting he attends, will report back. • Eric was thanked for attending and giving the GRT report to the committee. 9.0 2012 GRAAC SCHEDULE, GRAAC CONTACT LIST: • Vanessa handed out hard copies of the 2012 meeting schedule. • Johanna will send out an a -copy to committee. • Vanessa went over details of the meeting schedule including when agenda items are due. • There is still ongoing recruitment of GRAAC members and applications continue to be accepted. 10.0 BUILT ENVIRONMENT REPORT (Paula Saunders): • Public consultation meeting regarding the expansion of Manitou Drive will be held on Thursday February 2nd from 5pm — 8:30pm at Conestoga Place (110 Manitou Drive, Kitchener). • Paula will be meeting with Kitchener Auditorium staff. These meetings will discuss the expansion of the Auditorium (Dom Cardillo Arena). They are increasing seating by 1,000. Paula would like input from the committee as soon as possible. 11. CO- CHAIRS REPORT: • New member orientation was Friday February 13th, 2012. It went very well. 3anuary 2012 - GRAAC Minutes 3 • A report will be presented to Region Committee regarding roundabouts on Tuesday January 26th, beginning at 9:30 am. Gord is registered as a delegation. Anthony will also be attending. • If GRAAC members have ideas regarding last meetings report on outdoor recreation in Waterloo, please advise co- chairs. • Input is welcome from committee members to Economic Development committees, of both cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, regarding AODA expectations in the private sector. 12. ADJOURNMENT: • Motion to adjourn by Ken Parker * *Next meeting is Thursday February 23 d, Conestoga Room from 1:30 — 4:00 p.m. ** January 2012 - GRAAC Minutes 4