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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGRAAC - 2012-05-24Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursday May 24th, 2012 Kitchener City Hall, Conestoga Room PRESENT: Gordon Cummer (Co- Chair), Anthony Cashin (Co- Chair), Ken Parker, Carrie Speers, Andrew Tutty, Paula Saunders, Mike Shipley, Dawn Griffen, , Amanda Moorhead, Caillyn Draker, Julia Sippel (North Dumfries), Vanessa Lopak (Region of Waterloo), Charlotte Gravlev (Region of Waterloo), Lolita Paroski (City of Kitchener /City of Waterloo), Councillor Jean Haalboom (Region of Waterloo), Councillor Jeff Henry (City of Waterloo), Councillor Kelly Galloway, Karen Panchaud (ASL Interpreter), Lesley Roach (ASL Interpreter), Linda Pretty (Recorder) REGRETS: David Kuhn, Stephanie Leach, Dorothy Staal, Val Hummel, Johanna Ellis GUESTS: Marty Sawdon re AODA Taxi Requirements and Gethyn Beniston re GRT Masterolan 1.0 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS: • Anthony Cashin called the meeting to order. • Anthony welcomed all members; round table introductions. 2.0 APPROVAL OF APRIL MINUTES & MAY AGENDA: • Motion by Dawn Griffen, seconded by Mike Shipley to accept the April minutes and the May agenda; carried. 3.0 DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTERESTS: There were no pecuniary interests to declare. 4.0 FEEDBACK & FOLLOW -UP FROM PEDESTRIAN SAFETY - Vanessa As a follow -up to the presentation made at the April GRAAC meeting (Item 4.0) by the City of Kitchener, City of Waterloo, City of Cambridge and Region of Waterloo regarding pedestrian safety and accessibility, Vanessa asked the group for comments on the presentation and thoughts for next steps. • The group appreciated the information that was presented, but found the presentations lacked information about roundabouts and accessibility. It was suggested that roundabouts and roundabout safety be discussed informally at either a separate meeting or at a GRAAC meeting - a good exchange of ideas, thoughts, dialogue, etc. Councillor Haalboom entered the meeting. • The group was interested to read more about the paper endorsed by the CNIB. • Gord suggested distributing the paper endorsed by the CNIB and discussing it further at the next GRAAC meeting. He also suggested preparing for another meeting with the municipal transportation staff by reviewing various research sources on roundabout accessibility. ACTION: • Vanessa will send the paper endorsed by the CNIB to members by email for their review. • Vanessa will work with municipal transportation staff to set up another meeting with GRAAC, either at a regular GRAAC meeting or a separate meeting. 5.0 BUILT ENVIRONMENT UPDATE - Paula Saunders Accessible Garden Project Update • The committee met at Trinity Village last Friday to discuss the four proposed sites. • A landscape designer has been hired to plan the gardens. • The gardens are inclusive and are meant for anyone to use. May 2012 - GRAAC Minutes Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursday May 24th, 2012 • The Region of Waterloo, Public Health Department is spearheading this project. • GRAAC will be asked to approve the design at Chandler Mowat CC. • The garden at Trinity Village won't happen this summer. • Paula has not seen any final designs but will follow through and when designs are ready, timelines to review will be decided. • Paula heard of a place in the US that sells accessible garden tools and asked if members knew of anything similar being sold locally. If so, members were asked to email Paula. Indicators on Sidewalks • Paula was part of a group that met with City of Kitchener engineering staff to look at the sidewalk on the corner of Schneider and David Streets. The "brushed surface" on the sidewalk couldn't be detected by most members. • Dawn noted that, in Detroit, rubberized pads are very successful for people who are sight - impaired. Engineers seemed to understand that the surface at Schneider and David wasn't a good surface and will try to find a location with a trowelled surface (cuts in the surface) to look at. Ken told the group that rumble strips are being used in some areas. He will look into it and let GRAAC know where they are. Baden Library • The parking lot has no lines for parking yet and no accessible parking. • An accessible washroom is being built in a small space following universal design. The washroom isn't ready at the moment. Vanessa - Announcements • A second Public Consultation for the Class Environmental Assessment for a preferred alternative design concept for improvements to Manitou Drive is being held on Thursday June 7 from 5 -8:30 at Conestoga Place, 110 Manitour. The Region is undertaking road improvements along Manitou, Fairway and Bleams Road. • Councillor Haalboom asked GRAAC to look at trail /sidewalk connections and make their concerns known. Walking /Cycling in Kitchener • A presentation will be made from 4:30 -8:30 p.m. on June 4 at the School of Pharmacy at Victoria and King Streets, re the future of walking /cycling in Kitchener. Councillor Haalboom will forward an email about the presentation to everyone. 6.0 AODA PRESENTATION - Gord Cummer • Gord looked at the wording of the Built Environment Standard again. • There is no word yet as to when the Built Environment standard as it pertains to pedestrian accessibility will be regulated as it is tied up in the Ministry. • Walkways - good definition re 50 -60 • Gord talked about items in the standard and how they are defined. • The Built Environment standard only applies to new buildings. • Slopes 5% degree slope - preferred is 2 degrees. • Sides of sidewalks - there should be a clear definition between the sides of sidewalks and other surfaces. May 2012 - GRAAC Minutes 2 Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursday May 24th, 2012 • Street crossings at corners - path of travel should be marked on each side by 8" yellow line with a tactile surface. • Curb ramps: still need an ideal design - should have no more than a 5% degree slope and 60" wide. • There should be no changes in elevation at sidewalks - no bumps at joins. • Beginning and end of curb ramps should be marked - 24" wide and 60" long both at the top and bottom (24 ") with a running strip that is in a high contrast colour and a high tactile surface. 60" x 60" area at top of curb ramp should be flat. • There is a clear definition of "inverted dome design" that is different than we have now. • Sidewalks shouldn't be sloped at the sides. • When the Built Environment Standard is adopted, the assumption is that municipalities will have to follow it on new installations, but not on retrofits. • The AODA alliance has the latest information on their site. • Gord: islands should be at street level or should meet curb ramp standards - 60" x 60 ". Councillor Galloway entered the meeting. • Ken mentioned that at the Belmont trail, a ramp being built that is sloped to the ground as all ramps being built now. • Gord noted that, in the audible pedestrian signals section of the Standard, in all situations where pedestrians and traffic interact, pedestrian safety is paramount. • The Built Environment Standard is in draft form now but will eventually be a regulation. • Lolita will forward the draft Built Environment Standard to the two Engineering staff that are working on sidewalk design. ACTION: Gord will send link to the draft AODA Built Environment Standard to Vanessa to email to the group. BREAK 7. TRANSPORTATION STANDING COMMITTEE Role of Chair passed to Carrie Speers 7.0 (a) AODA Taxi Requirements - Marty Sawdon, Administrator of Licensing, Region of Waterloo • Marty and Vanessa shared with the group research on the current number of regular and of accessible taxi licenses in the Region, along with research on how other municipalities determine the number of accessible taxi licenses to make available. • According to the AODA Integrated Accessibility Standard, the Region must consult with GRAAC when determining the preferred proportion of accessible taxi licenses to be made available in the Region. This preferred proportion must be stated in the next Accessibility Plan, along with steps to be taken to meet this preferred proportion. As such, the Region must determine the preferred proportion by the Fall, 2012. • Currently, there are 360 total cabs in the Region, 15 of which are licensed accessible taxi cab vans (4 %), not counting spare licenses to be used when taxis are under repair or are otherwise not in service. May 2012 - GRAAC Minutes 3 Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursday May 24th, 2012 • The current ratio of regular 4 -door cabs outlined in the Taxi By -Law is 1 for every 1,650 people but consideration is being given to raising it to 1,850. This number does not include accessible vans. • Currently accessible taxi licenses are provided to a taxi broker as they request them. • City Cabs has requested that they be allowed to get an additional accessible taxi cab van, which will be approved in the near future, after the Region amends the current Taxi By -Law. • Some municipalities have "service zones" with fares based on those service zones. The Region of Waterloo considered the regional boundaries to be a single service zones, meaning taxi cabs, including accessible taxis, can travel anywhere in the Region and must use the fare set in the Taxi By -Law. Taxis that are hired to travel outside of the Region, such as those hired to travel to Toronto, are not covered under the Taxi By -Law. • Marty requested GRAAC consider their current experience with accessible taxi cabs, and if they would like to see an increase in the number of taxis. The group was also asked to consider if there is a preferred method of determining the number of accessible taxis — based on proportion of population, based on proportion of regular taxi cabs, or based on a set total number of licenses to be available to any taxi company. • The group asked if there was any data available on the demand for accessible taxis. This information can be obtained by the Region to assist with determining the preferred proportion of accessible taxis in the Region. • In order to be granted a license, cab drivers have to take an additional course to learn how to work with accessible taxis. • Marty reminded the group that taxi companies are allowed to use accessible taxis for non - accessible runs, but that they must prioritize accessible runs. The group and members of the public are encouraged to contact the Region of Waterloo Licensing and By -Law at 519 -575- 4591 if they are told they cannot get an accessible taxi because the taxis are being used for other runs. ACTION The group is asked to consider if there should be more accessible taxis in the Region. This issue will be brought back at a future GRAAC meeting. 7.0 (b) GRT Masterplan - Gethyn Beniston, Principle Planner, Region of Waterloo • Gethyn Beniston presented the Region of Waterloo 2011 -2014 Grand River Transit Business Plan and reviewed the implementation plan for the transit system. • The full Business Plan and a summary document are available on the Region of Waterloo website. • The group was reminded that riders can call the GRT customer response line if they notice stops that are not accessible (519- 585 -7555 and ask for customer service) or go to GRT.ca to fill out a web form which will go to same call system. • The group asked about using mini -buses for lower volume areas. Gethyn responded that the cost to operate mini -buses is the nearly identical for operating a larger bus. As well, demand alters throughout the day, making it better to use a larger bus. GRT is, however, researching using mini -buses to possibly run neighborhoods and community or senior's centres. Role of Chair returned to Anthony Cashin. BREAK 8.0 NORTH DUMFRIES ACCESSIBILITY PLAN - Julia Sippel Julia reviewed the North Dumfries Accessibility Plan, a copy of which was sent earlier to GRAAC members. May 2012 - GRAAC Minutes 4 Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursday May 24th, 2012 • To allow for easier distribution, digital recordings of council meetings and public meetings are now made for Council . • A list of resources have been compiled for responding to requests for accomodation which includes, ASL, braille documents etc.. • The municipal website has been revamped. • The Fire Department agreed to allow burn permits to be available online - good to have that in a rural area. • Additional staff was hired to facilitate AODA standards and to attend meetings. • 200 metres of sidewalk were installed from the community complex to Greenfield Road. • In 2012, the Region of Waterloo is tendering Northumberland Street to Greenfield to finish that area. The sidewalk is fully accessible and will be cleared of snow. • Staff is working on drafting a formal process to accommodate requests for alternative formats. • Donations were received for an accessible splashpad that is being installed at the arena and will be ready this summer. • Staff is being proactive and submitting plans prior to deadlines (standards). • Staff will produce documents in Word which will then be converted to a PDF using an Adobe program. As reports go to Julia for conversion, Julia will run the Validr program, available through the municipality's web provider, to ensure the reports accessibility via a screenreader. Julia asked GRAAC members to let her know if they see something amiss. • Accessible washrooms and parking will be available at the international plowing match being held from September 18 -22. 9.0 COUNCILLORS REPORTS 9.1 Region of Waterloo - Councillor Haalboom • Information about upcoming events regarding the central transit corridor can be found on the Region's website. • Transportation staff will be meeting to discuss roundabouts on June 21. • Staff is working on goals and objections concerning the King /Victoria hub. • The Region has begun a senior's advisory committee assigned to look at the needs of older adults and to plan for the future. The committee will be ongoing and will explore age friendly communities, conduct a needs assessment, create awareness of services and develop policies for seniors. • The Kitchener in Bloom program is encouraging residents to participate in this year's program by nominating deserving front yards for recognition. Several nominated properties will be included on the August 12 Bloom Bus Tour. 9.2 Councillor Kelly Galloway • Jeff Willmer, former Deputer CAO of the Community Services Department has been hired as the new Kitchener CAO. • Council recently approved the multi -use trails and pathways master plan. 9.3 City of Waterloo - Gord Cummer for Councillor Henry • 2012 Car Free Sundays begin in Waterloo on Father's Day. • A traffic study is starting soon for residents of Uptown Waterloo. May 2012 - GRAAC Minutes 5 Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursday May 24th, 2012 10.0 Co- Chairs Report • Gord was interviewed by CTV /Rogers re telephone /internet voting in KW riding by- election • Paula advised that a consultant has been hired to conduct a study for Rockway Centre to look at how the facility and site can meet the current and future needs of older adults. • PLEASE NOTE that GRAAC will not meet in July, but will have a regular meeting in August. • Although GRAAC has never discussed elections, possibly prior to new elections the group could forward recommendations to area Councils. 11. Adjournment/Next Meeting A motion was made by Gord to adjourn. The next meeting will be on June 28 at 1:30 p.m. in the Conestoga Room at Kitchener City Hall. May 2012 - GRAAC Minutes 6