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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-04-28Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee Date: Thursday April 28", 2016 Location: Learning Room, Kitchener City Hall Present: Donna Hartzler, Greg Moore, Keri Cameron, Andrew Tutty, Carrie Speers (Co -Chair), Sharon Giles (Co -Chair), Rob Bender, Paula Saunders, Mike Shipley, Kathie Must, Lolita Paroski (City of Kitchener/City of Waterloo), Vanessa Lopak (Region of Waterloo), Johanna Ellis (City of Kitchener, Recorder) Regrets: Amanda Moorehead, Brenda Robinson, Councillor Kelly Galloway-Sealock (City of Kitchener), Councillor Sue Foxton (Region of Waterloo), Councillor Bob Mavin (City of Waterloo), Julie Forth (Township of Woolwich), Julia Sippel (Township of North Dumfries), Wendy Smith (Township of Wellesley), Dawn Mittelholtz (Township of Wilmot) Absent: Dawn Clelland 1.0 Welcome and Introductions • Carrie welcomed everyone. 2.0 Approval of February Minutes and April Agenda • Motion by Donna Hartzler, seconded by Sharon Giles to accept the February minutes, carried. • Motion by Paula Saunders, seconded by Mike Shipley to accept the April agenda, carried. 3.0 Declarations of Pecuniary Interests • None 4.0 City of Kitchener Outdoor Spaces — Lynda Stewart • 2 draft designs have been developed to renovate Carl Zehr square and the Duke St side of Kitchener City Hall. • Lynda went over all conceptual designs with the committee. • There will be a public open house in June 2016 to share the draft Master Plan. • After the open house, public feedback with be summarized and used to develop a final report for council. Looking at taking to council in August of 2016. Comments: • The huge staircase is not inviting for people in wheelchairs. • Surfaces chosen should be consistent and accessible. • The water jets (Carl Zehr square), should be flush with the concrete. • Different surfacing leads to the door (Duke St entrance). • Prefer poured concrete or stamped concrete instead of pavers. • Orientation strip to front entrance door (for example; duke street entrance has a darker colour concrete leading to the front door) • Jets in the drawings for Carl Zehr Square might be a tripping hazard for a person with a visual disability. If this is the chosen model, would need cane detecting around it. • The information kiosks should be flush on the ground in order to be accessible to all (please remove the slab it is sitting on) and the main board of information should be lowered to a level so that a person in a seated position could use. The information board should use a clear font and have good colour contrast. • Two different options for a stage are presented which both will be accessible. • Provide Colour contrast of "Kitchener City Hall" signage for both Carl Zehr Square and Duke Street entrance. • Follow the Design of Public Spaces Standards, (section 80.25) requirements for the stairs at both Carl Zehr Square and Duke Street entrance (noising, high tonal contrast markings, and tactile walking surface indicators). 5.0 Township of Wellesley Playground — Brad Voisin • Brad Voisin from the Township of Wellesley presented the plans for the playground. • Wellesley and District Lions Club have championed the playground and have received a Trillium grant. • There are saucer swings at the park and the trails will be made of stone dust with the intention of paving them in the future. • The ground surface in the playground is made of pressed woodchips. • There are no steep hills at the park. 6.0 City of Waterloo Accessibility Guide Update — Bebe Khan • Lolita presented a quick recap of what was presented at the February GRAAC meeting on how the city and regional guides are used. • Bebe shared that she will be presenting today updates to the City of Waterloo Accessibility Guide in response to the feedback given by GRAAC. • Bebe presented all of the feedback along with how the feedback is or isn't being implemented in the guide. • Bebe highlighted to GRAAC some areas within the Design of Public Spaces Standard that the City of Waterloo already exceeds and they will continue to exceed. • Bebe shared that the Guide will be going to Council within the next couple months. • Paula thanked Bebe for taking all of the feedback provided by GRAAC into consideration and also for sharing with GRAAC how the feedback has been used. Break 7.0 LRT Platform Designs -- Brendon Simon • Brendon went over the power point. • There are 19 stops on the ION rail route. The major stops have heated shelters. • There are 3 different types of stop layouts: 1. Centre platform 2. Sidewalk side 3. Side of road • Brendon went over all of the accessible audio and visual systems at all of the stops. • Anchor walls will be lit at night and there will also be canopy lighting. • Accessible ramps have a 1:21 slope. There will be pass information displays and an information and fare area. • There will be braille on ticket validators. • There will be wayfinding tiling, edge warning tiling and door marker tiling. GRAAC -- May 2016 Minutes Page 2 • Brendon had examples of different tactile surfaces for the platform. The committee gave suggestions as to which tactile surfaces and colour for those surfaces. There was discussion around the contrast between dark and light and which is the best for people who are colour blind. • There was discussion around colours at accessible doors. There was concern for being able to differentiate between single and double train doors. • There was a suggestion made to have raised edge tactile surfacing to avoid low vision/blind from slipping. 8. Councillors Report • None 9. Staff Report(s) - (switched on agenda from number 10 to 9) • Vanessa - Items coming to GRAAC include: - Information on fare machines (smart cards). - Region of Waterloo Accessible Standard. • Vanessa met with staff regarding interior features and will be meeting with staff next week to discuss outside areas. • In the future, will be meeting with City and Region staff to discuss rest areas. Lolita and Vanessa will bring to GRAAC at a later date. • Lolita - City of Kitchener is inviting residents to a series of workshops, "Building an age friendly Kitchener". ACTION: Lolita will send information out to committee members. 10. Built Environment Update Digital Outdoor Si na e • City of Kitchener is replacing signage at Community Centres. • Committee agreed that white on black is best. • It was suggested not to use red on black because the colours blend into each other. Westmount Sports Park • When the weather is nicer, will meet with City of Waterloo staff and do a walk about. • Let Lolita know if you are interested in attending. • Paula and Lolita will coordinate a date and time with interested members Accessible intersections • Lolita sent the "likes" and "dislikes" sheet to Communications who will draft a one pager. • Will provide GRAAC with a draft at the May GRAAC meeting for feedback. Woolwich. Memorial Centre accessible driveway • A need was identified by seniors to have access to a closer entrance to the Senior Centre main entrance. • A drive by drop off has been suggested with 3 on street accessible parking spaces. • No changes to the existing building or existing parking lot. These are additional accessible parking spaces. GRAAC - May 2016 Minutes Page 3 COMMENTS: • Makes sense for a drive through. There is plenty of existing parking in the parking lot but it is too far from the Senior Centre. Waterloo Park Promenade project • Paula and Lolita attended a meeting on Feb 23, 2016 to learn about the project and provide feedback. • An open invite to members was sent for the March 2, 2016 public meeting to learn about the project and provide feedback. • Now the public and committees are invited to provide feedback on two options that will be presented at an onsite drop in "public information centre for the functional design of the central promenade in Waterloo Park. This drop in public information centre is scheduled for Tuesday, May 3, 2016 anytime between 3:30-7pm. • Let Lolita know if you are interested in attending and she will give you details on the location. Kitchener Farmers Market Bathroom Renovation • Lolita and Paula met with City of Kitchener staff. There are plans in the works to change the existing washrooms on the top floor. Paula and Lolita provided suggestions. • Typically the same comments are provided for washroom accessibility, therefore, Paula and Lolita created a list of the typical accessibility comments. • This draft list was circulated with the GRAAC package. COMMENTS: • Looking for a name for the long slender automatic door opener. Also, these should be positioned where they can be reachable. • The committee discussed taps, soap dispensers and where they should be located, paper towel dispensers, mirrors, using motion paper towels as opposed to the crank machine etc. • Have handles closer to the hinge side of the bathroom stall doors to make it easier for people in wheelchairs to shut doors. • Graspable locks, coat hooks mounted on the side of the wall and not on the doors (in the stalls). • Updates will be made to the list. • This list will be shared with City staff (project managers) to be used in the earlier stages design of washrooms and also can be used for washroom renovations. • Vanessa shared that the Regional Design Guide has a washroom section in it. Motion to adjourn by Donna Hartzler and seconded by Rob Bender -- Carried The next meeting will be in the Conestoga Room at Kitchener City Hall 1:30 — 4:00 sharp Chairing — Sharon Giles GRAAC — May 2016 Minutes Page 4