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Home My WebLink About2020-02-27 GRAAC GRAND RIVER ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY GRAACCOMMITTEE Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee Date: Thursday, February 27, 2020 Location: Conestoga Room, City of Kitchener Present: Donna Hartzler, Janis McKenzie (City of Kitchener), Lolita Paroski (City of Kitchener/City of Waterloo), Councillor Sue Foxton (Region of Waterloo), Dawn Clelland (Co- Chair), Carrie Speers, Councillor Sandra Hanmer (City of Waterloo), Heather Clark-Harris, Tracey Murray (Township of Wilmot), Rob Bender, Tamara Bell, Jeff Smith (Township of Woolwich), Trevor Tamlin, Andrena Lockley-Brown, Councillor Scott Davey (City of Kitchener), Ashley Sage (Township of North Dumfries) Regrets: Berny Wesselink, Jolene MacDonald, Greg Moore, Paula Saunders, Sanjay Govindaraj (Region of Waterloo), Brenda Robinson (Co-Chair), Mamie Sealey-Baker, Caitlin Gillis (Township of Wellesley) Welcome and Introductions Dawn called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. Round table introductions 2.0 Approval of February agenda and January minutes Donna motioned to accept February agenda, Andrena seconded Change to February agenda, no member round table item number six, Township of Woolwich, Gibson Park Accessible Washroom will move up on the agenda. Carrie motioned to accept January minutes, Tamara seconded 3.0 Declarations of Pecuniary Interests None 4.0 City of Kitchener, Survivor Garden — Rebecca Roy The design and construction of the proposed Survivor Garden will be donated to the City by joint team Scott Barker and Gateman Milloy. The intent of the garden is to provide an inclusive space in Victoria Park to recognize and support those in our community who have survived illness, loss or trauma, as well as those impacted by another's survivor journey. This garden is Page 1 of 5 aligned with the City's Strategic Plan, is supported by Council, and presents a distinctive and valuable addition to the Victoria Park landscape to support health and wellness. • 2019 public engagement soliciting input on the design of the garden was conducted via online survey posted on the EngageKitchener platform. • The Survivor Garden will be located on the east side of The Meadow area, south of Jubilee Drive, east of the existing parking lot. • Some of the themes summarized from the online survey include: o Desire for use of natural materials and a focus on sustainability, native plant selections o Labyrinth o Spaces for quiet reflection o Safety, sufficient lighting o No corporate sponsorship o Space that is non-denominational • Overarching concept of the survivor garden is to create spaces that support four stages of involvement with nature: o Inward involvement o Emotional Participation o Active participation o Outgoing involvement • These spaces are organized inside a spiral shape which is a shape occurring frequently in nature and the shape of the labyrinth experience at the center of the garden is like the journey to our centre and back out into the world. • Approximately 1 m grade change from Jubilee Drive to the pond. • Seating is provided throughout the garden as individual seating, bench seating and table seating depending upon the stages of involvement • Surfacing has not yet been finalized, but proposed finishes will likely include concrete, exposed aggregate banding, unit paving and flush transitions throughout • Central public art element will be created by a local artist. Project Timeline Page 2 of 5 • The next project stage is to complete the detailed design of the garden, finalizing proposed finishes, site furnishings and custom elements. Construction is anticipated to begin in spring/summer 2020. Questions and feedback to be aware of and consider before construction? • Wayfinding needed • Grading • Circles for persons with visual disabilities would be hard to navigate • Statues in the centre should be geared towards everyone and accessible height/tactile • Sensory garden with raised planters • Accessible seating. Label it for accessible only so that others don't utilize the space or perhaps a stamp embedded into the t&Lie Imlay ue another option. • Cobble unit pavers would be difficult for pay so is -,ravelling using mobility devices and also a potential tripping hazard utilize starnped concrete instead. • Height of the table needs to adjust for people and/or kids to avoid possible injuries. 5.0 Doon Pioneer Park Community Centre Outdoor Seating — Karoline Varin Public art proposal for the expansion happening at Doon Pioneer Park Community Centre. One percent of the renovation cost is to be used for an art piece. A proposal for a sculptural, functional bench space was put forth. The idea is for the front of the building to mimic a front porch and to be multi-functional as well as visually appealing. The bench would be behind the splash pad, closer to the building. A concrete sidewalk would separate the bench from the splash pad. Grass or artificial turf would be used for the green areas around the bench. The art sculpture itself(the bench) would be constructed from wood. The idea is to make it an inviting, welcoming space for visitors to make the space their own. The dimensions from the ground to the bottom of the bench would be eight inches, between each piece of wood nineteen inches high and sixteen inches in width. Feedback from the committee on the proposed design: • There are only arm rests at each end of the bench, could there be more armrests added throughout to offer people options for seating. • There is no shade in the area where the bench is to sit. A tree was part of the design, however, for budget purposes a tree may not be feasible. Umbrellas are being considered as well, however it was noted might not be economically feasible to keep up. Will explore shade options. • The proposal doesn't seem to be accessible with the turf/concrete transition and there doesn't seem to be room to get around the benches. Instead of one continuous loop, cut it in sections with openings wide enough to accommodate accessibility and maybe use same coloured concrete tiles in the openings as the bench so visually it would continue in one long flow. • There is no back to the bench, back support is more accessible. Page 3 of 5 • Round the corners of the turf at each corner to follow along with the design and make the transition easier 6.0 Member Round Table Sharing — Brenda Robinson Tabled for a future meeting 7.0 Township of Woolwich, Gibson Park Accessible Washroom —Jeff Smith With the help of the Space Chicken Group who competed at the Ontario West Provincial Championship at the University of Waterloo and won the Research award for their accessible washroom project a design has been proposed for the Gibson Park Accessible washroom. Feedback and/or comments regarding proposal: • Landscape design to come to a future GRAAC meeting should be accessible for persons with disabilities. • Adult change table necessary but at this point may only have money in the budget to include a space for it and installation to take place at a later date. • Provide a spot to put things down off the floor i.e. hook • Tactile strips to show where everything is in the bathroom as well as leading to the bathroom • What are the symbols going to be on each door? Jeff to check and bring back to the committee Break 8.0 Tactile Guidance System Awareness — Dawn Clelland An estimated 1.5 million Canadians have some sort of sight loss, as well as, an estimated 5.59 million more Canadians have an eye disease that could cause sight loss. Sense of touch is the most useful sense to a person with visual disabilities, however, does not help in crossing streets, as there is nothing to touch, leaving every person with visual disabilities the need to learn every single intersection on their routes. Tactile guide strips are not new. Japan has been utilizing since the 1960's. By 1977 the Japan National Railway made them mandatory. By 1985 they were mandated for broader use everywhere in Japan. Many countries around the world use the tactile guidance system. Canada also utilizes just not enough, some of the areas lacking would be zebra crosswalks, intersecting sidewalks, public trails. Councillor Sue Foxton suggested sending the report to all the municipalities in order to educate. Ideally done during construction. 9.0 GRAAC Rep's on Committees Updates Region of Waterloo Active Transportation Advisory Committee, Dawn Clelland • Changes being looked at on Fairway Road from Lackner to King, a bike lane addition (multi use lands) and a new roundabout in front of Chicopee Public School. Page 4 of 5 • Pedestrian signal utilized at some roundabouts and thinking about it here. • Current roundabouts are not 100% accessible Region of Waterloo Accessible Taxi, Donna Hartzler • Nothing to report as there have been no further meetings 10.0 Councillor Reports Councillor Sandra Hanmer(City of Waterloo) • Budget passed, pleased to pass on that the Capital budget will work hand in hand with the strategic plan • Multi-modal streets discussions taking place in order to ensure a safe street approach for everyone to use the road. • East Side Library given the green light, shovel to hit the ground in the spring with likely a two year construction timeline • Waterloo Memorial Recreation centre also given a green light and will have the same construction timeline • Mayor's task force on large gathering celebrations ( St. Patrick's Day, Oktoberfest) in order to plan safety for everyone Councillor Sue Foxton (Region of Waterloo) • Bike lanes are not to be utilized by persons using wheelchairs and scooters Councillor Scott Davey (City of Kitchener) • Budget passed, one of the lowest tax increases and biggest investment in climate change. • Love my Hood initiative will be increased 11.0 Co-chair/Staff Reports Nothing to report Meeting adjourned. Next meeting will be on Thursday March 26, 2020— 1:30 p.m. start City of Kitchener, 200 King St West, Conestoga Room Please send regrets to: Janis McKenzie at janis.mckenziep_kitchener.ca 519-741-2200 Ext. 7225 Page 5 of 5