The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutGRAAC 2015-03-26Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee Date: Thursday March 26th, 2015 Location: Conestoga Room, Kitchener City Hall Present: Amanda Moorhead, Keri Cameron, Greg Moore (Co- Chair), David Kuhn (Co- Chair), Sharon Giles, Paula Saunders, Laura Master, Carrie Speers, Mike Shipley, Dawn Clelland, Brenda Robinson, Kathie Must, Councillor Sue Foxton (Region of Waterloo), Councillor Mark Whaley, (City of Waterloo), Vanessa Lopak (Region of Waterloo), Lolita Paroski (City of Kitchener /City of Waterloo), Julie Forth (Township of Woolwich), Val Hummel (Township of Woolwich), Johanna Ellis (City of Kitchener, Recorder) Regrets: Councillor Kelly Galloway - Sealock (City of Kitchener), Andrew Tutty Guests: Donna Hartzler (Township of Wilmot), Rob Bender (Township of Wilmot), Chris Hodgson (City of Waterloo) 1.0 Welcome and Introductions (Greg Moore) • Greg welcomed everyone • Round table introductions 2.0 Approval of February Minutes and March Agenda • Moved by Mike Shipley, seconded by Carrie Speers to accept the February minutes. CARRIED • Moved by Sharon Giles, seconded by Keri Cameron to accept the March agenda. CARRIED 3.0 Declarations of Pecuniary Interests • None 4.0 Draft GRAAC Terms of Reference Revisions (Lolita Paroski, Vanessa Lopak) • Lolita provided a brief overview of what has happened to date. • The Township of Wilmot submitted a formal request (November 24th, 2014) to become a participating municipal member of GRAAC. • GRAAC was made aware of this formal request at GRAAC's December 2014 monthly meeting. • Past Township of Wilmot AAC members have been attending GRAAC monthly meetings as public observers in order to keep current with GRAAC issues. • The GRAAC Terms of Reference required revisions to include the Township of Wilmot, therefore the full Terms of Reference was looked at. Vanessa will highlight the changes. • The Township of Wilmot has also submitted applications for GRAAC appointments. Currently GRAAC only has one (1) Township member. Staff reps reviewed the applications and will be recommending two (2) new GRAAC members from the Township. This will allow for greater geographic representation on GRAAC. • Vanessa highlighted the changes to the Terms of Reference to include the Township of Wilmot. • The biggest change that will affect all current members is going from a 3 year to a 4 year term. This aligns with the term of city councils. • Current members can choose to complete a 3 year term or stay for an additional year. A chart was included with the agenda package. Comments from GRAAC members: • Amend the mandate of GRAAC to include the identification and prevention of barriers. • Discussion and clarification on advising the private sector on accessibility. This is not GRAAC's mandate. • GRAAC is in support and excited to welcome the Township of Wilmot on GRAAC. • All staff reps are currently working on writing reports to council and will include that the revised draft GRAAC Terms of Reference was shared with GRAAC members. All municipalities will be going to council in April 2015. F_-1 7 5.0 City of Waterloo Sidewalk Prioritization Strategy (Chris Hodgson /City of Waterloo) • Power Point presentation — overview /recap of November 27th, 2014 meeting. • Sidewalk prioritization strategy is for missing sidewalks. • It is estimated that, approximately 170 Kilometers of sidewalk is missing (equates to 17M dollars). • There is currently, approximately, 500 km of sidewalk in Waterloo. • Proposed long -term plan (new strategy); prioritize when and where sidewalks will be planned and constructed over next 10 years. • The plan is based on easy -to- use /quantifiable criteria. • Coordinating with 3 committees of council. • Prioritizing the installation of new sidewalks in Waterloo, takes the following into consideration; distance from a LRT Station; distance from a school; distance from a city facility /arena /service; road class; traffic volumes; traffic speeds; employment areas along with many others. • Feedback from GRAAC at the November 27th, 2014 meeting: Committee concerned that some streets were being missed in the process. Suggested also that GRT routes /stops be considered. • Staff acknowledged that funding constrains the number of sidewalks the City can build each year. GRT stops have been captured within the Secondary Criteria. • When there are no sidewalks, people make paths on very busy streets. • Staff took priorities to groups. Staff also prioritized where to put dollars. • Staff is taking the "go to" approach for new construction (accessibility) and tactile surfaces are being installed. MOTION: Paula Saunders put a motion forward as follows: March 26th, 2015 — GRAAC Minutes Page 2 "That the Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee supports and endorses Staff's recommended methodology for prioritizing the installation of missing sidewalks on City streets." Seconded by Amanda Moorhead /carried 6.0 Sidewalk Position Paper - Discussion (Greg Moore) • Should include everyone's needs. People with and without disabilities. • Road clearing measures are important and should be addressed in the letter. • People in wheelchairs couldn't get across the street because snow was pushed to the curb cut. • Unique challenges on streets with no sidewalks. Dangerous for kids walking to school. • All travel paths should be cleared. • All walking paths and sidewalks should be workable and walkable. This is increasingly difficult in the winter months. • Wheelchairs cannot maneuver through the snow. • Emphasis should be put on "inclusivity for all ". Create a community with as little barriers as possible. • Dawn Clelland, Sharon Giles, David Kuhn and Greg Moore will work on the paper. 7.0 BUILT Environment Update (Paula Saunders) • No report 8.0 Transportation Committee Update (Sharon Giles) • Transportation Sub Committee will be holding a special GTSC meeting outside the regular GRAAC meeting schedule. We will start with one meeting, and, depending on attendance, may have up to 4 meetings this year. • The first meeting is being planned, with the intention to talk about LRT. Staff are making arrangements to have an LRT representative at the meeting. • Paula, Carrie, David, and Dawn volunteered to attend the GTSC meeting. • Once meeting details have been arranged, invitation to attend the meeting will be sent to entire membership. 9.0 Councillor(s) Report(s) Councillor Sue Foxton • Spoke with Thomas Schmidt (Commissioner of Transportation and Environmental Services), regarding GrandLinq and website. All the information you require is available on the web starting at Region of Waterloo website. • If you have any concerns regarding access to bus shelters in the winter months, contact the Region. 10.0 Co -Chair Report • Sharon and Brenda attended March 24th meeting regarding City of Waterloo Strategic Plan. • Computers that were available for use at the meeting were very user friendly. March 26th, 2015 — GRAAC Minutes Page 3 • There were many groups that were represented to provide input. • There has been a lot of work done, to date, on this. The words "inclusion" and "accessibility" were brought up often. • Sharon believes they are on the right track and felt there was room to listen to suggestions and feedback. • Brenda was wondering where the input they provided will go. • Lolita will follow up with city staff regarding next steps and share at the April GRAAC meeting. 11.0 Staff Report(s) • Vanessa — Regional of Waterloo currently undertaking Strategic Planning Process. • Focus Group Session set up by Lori Fioze will be held April 15th at 150 Frederick St Kitchener, Room 110. 1 pm — 3pm. • Attendance is capped at 15 -20 people. • Vanessa will follow up with request for interpreters. • Region Accessibility Plan is going to Council in April. 12.0 Other Business • Dawn reported that she had recently been to Vancouver and shared with committee some accessibility features offered there. Bus stop had great features; taxi's with audio telling passengers how much the rate /fare is. • Amanda shared that as of today (March 26th, 2015), text with 911 is now available in Waterloo Region. Motion to Adjourn by Paula Saunders, seconded by Dawn Clelland and carried. Next meeting is Thursday April 23 d, 2015 at Kitchener City Hall in the Conestoga Room March 26th, 2015 — GRAAC Minutes Page 4