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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-08-25Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee Date: Thursday August 25, 2016 Location: Conestoga Room, Kitchener City Hall Present: Donna Hartzler, Carrie Speers (Co -Chair), Sharon Giles (Co -Chair), Rob Bender, Mike Shipley, Andrew Tutty, Brenda Robinson, Councillor Sud Foxton (Regional of Waterloo), Lolita Paroski (City of Kitchener/City of Waterloo), Vanessa Lopak (Region of Waterloo), Wendy Smith (Township of Wellesley), Johanna Ellis (City of Kitchener) Guests: Geoff Van DerBaaron, Deb Bergey, Justins Watkins, Jason Angel and Ashley Zhang Regrets: Councillor Kelly Gall oway-Sealock (City of Kitchener), Councillor Bob Mavin (City of Waterloo), Greg Moore, Keri Cameron, Paula Saunders, Dawn Clelland, Dawn Mittelholtz (Township of Wilmot), Julie Forth (Township of Woolwich) Absent: Kathie Must 1.0 Welcome and Introductions • Carrie welcomed everyone. • Round table introductions. • Guests Jason Angel and Ashley Zhang (University of Waterloo students) came to observe. 2.0 Approval of June Minutes and August Agenda • Moved by Mike Shipley and seconded by Andrew Tutty. 3.0 Declarations of Pecuniary Interests • None 4.0 Township of Wellesley, Trails and Library Parking — Geoff Van DerBaaron (Director of Planning, Township of Wellesley) Trail • The trail along Greenwood Hill Road, 1.8 meters/6 ft wide. They are hoping to build 400 meters in September/. October. Separation between the trail and road -- 2 meters. • In the first year the surface will be stone dust. Subsequent year will be paved. Two road intersection crossing. There will be a curb cut and tactile warning surface indicators installed. • Looking at installing signage along the trail with trail distance, width and directions. There will be no amenities along the trail. • There are trees along the trail that will not be removed. There may be a little deviation on the trail around the trees. • Trail will be 1.5 kilometers in total. GRAAC —August 2016 Minutes Page 1 Questions/comments: • Suggestion that they put benches along the trail for those who need to take short breaks. (every 30 meters) • Use accessible parking spot guidelines. Must be able to walk 100 meters unassisted from the accessible spot. • Another suggestion would be to have high, flat rocks that can be used to sit on. • There shouldn't be a problem with deviation around the trees as long as the branches and foliage is trimmed and there is signage. • There will be a bit of a cross slope to make sure the water has a run off point. Library Parking (sidewalk at the rear of the library) • Installing a 1.5 meter concrete walkway. The trail will connect to an existing walkway that is at the back of the building at the accessible entrance. • Accessible parking spots will be located within proper accessibility distance. The parking lot and sidewalk are flush. • Question was asked if the library doors move outward or inward. Turning radius is accessible for wheelchairs. Geoff will check and let committee know. 5.0 Region of Waterloo Volunteer Guidelines -- Deb Bergey, Region of Waterloo • Deb works in the Citizen Services area at the Region. Her role now includes corporate volunteer guidelines. • There are approximately 3,000 volunteers at the Region of Waterloo. • Deb is going through the Region's draft guidelines and is looking to discuss with GRAAC what supports can be provided for volunteers with disabilities. • Museum and Sunnyside are the only areas that have full time volunteer coordinators. Other areas may not have formal volunteer management background. • Past practice, for supporting volunteers with disabilities, has been examples where KW Habilitation has provided support workers for their clients that volunteer and assist with programs. How can the Region do a better job of reaching out and how can they support that? Comments: • In rural areas there seems to be a lack of interest from younger people. • Committee members found ways to join GRAAC through ads in newspapers and online. In some rural areas their local accessibility committees dissolved so they applied to GRAAC to be a voice for their town on the committee. What would you be looking for if you want to volunteer? Are there any insights around supporting volunteers? • Accessible meeting areas • Peer supports • Making every volunteer committee accessible. • School systems require volunteer hours in high school. That would be another area to recruit. • A large percentage of volunteers are older adults. • There is a volunteer hub online. GRAAC — June 2016 Minutes Page 2 What are the committee's thoughts on 1:1 supports? • Depends on the type of disability. Mental disabilities can prove challenging at times. • At a provincial level all expenditures for a support person are covered. • People can bring their own support person. • Educate volunteers on committees so they will be prepared if a person with a disability becomes a member of the committee. Break 6.0 Digital Kitchener — Justin Watkins, City of Kitchener • Digital Kitchener is a corporate project to create the city's first digital strategy. • Focus on a way of doing things. • Four year outlook. • Gathering corporate and community outlook. • Have reached out to 740 people to date. • A lot of people are talking about access to fast internet speeds at home and in their work place. • Being more "on demand". How can we access the services whenever and wherever we want. Focus on: • Connected • Innovative • On demand • Inclusive Need to invest in IT infrastructure - Make effective use of partnerships - Need to promote Kitchener history Chicago engaged in digital inclusiveness - Building a smart city that benefits everyone — inclusive - There are assets in our community that people have no idea that we have. - Still looking at what exactly the City's role will be. - How can the city build a broader philosophy around creating a digital strategy. - Example: Can we work community partners to establish a public accessibility standard. Questions/comments • Township of North Dumfries is using LED lights. • High speed fibre optics is coming and Rogers and Bell will have to provide it to all areas. • What equipment is needed for people with low to no sight? Especially when there are people who do not use technology such as iPhones etc. • Try to include "everybody". Not everyone can afford devices like iPads. • This project is still in the development stages. • Sharing this information person to person can be much more valuable to help improve issues. • There are centres in The City of Kitchener that have computers that can be used by the public. (Rockway. Chandler -Mowat and Downtown) • Ideas include, donating computers to places like soup kitchens. • How do we make the choice convenient for people? • What efforts are being made to work together with other cities and the Region? • Kitchener being a "Google" town, how can we tap into that? • We are losing the one to one communication with people because of technology. GRAAC -- June 2016 Minutes Page 3 • Justin commented that they've been working on this for almost a year. Will be wrapped up within the next 3 to 4 months and then rolled out. Will most likely be back to GRAAC with updates. If committee wants to comment further, they can let Lolita know who will pass it on to Justin. 7.0 Councillors Report(s) • No report Break 8.0 Customer Service Standard Update — Vanessa Lopak (Region of Waterloo) • Provided members with updated information on the Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA). • Highlighted components that are related to transportation. • Highlighted amendments to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). • Vanessa will send members surveys for input on legislation. 9.0 Co -Chair Report • Carrie and Sharon attended the Wellness workshop which included an overall look at safe and healthy communities. 10.0 Staff Report(s) • Lolita will forward a survey about Kitchener's events and festivals. Those who have their surveys in by August 31'� will be eligible to win a prize. • Vanessa reported that the transportation standard is under review. • Vanessa will send out the information and communications standard survey along with one on healthcare. • Vanessa will be leaving on maternity leave as of January. She will attend the meeting in December. 11.0 Adjournment • Motion by Carrie Speers and seconded by Donna Hartzler to adjourn. GRAAC — June 2016 Minutes Page 4