HomeMy WebLinkAboutCompass Kitchener - 2021-05-05COMPASS KITCHENER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
MAY 5. 2021 CITY OF KITCHENER
The Compass Kitchener Advisory Committee met electronically this date, commencing at 4:00 p.m
Present: Ms. J. Stephens -Wells - Chair, Ms. E. Duhaime, Ms. R. Lavender, Ms. L. Terry, Ms. L.
Trumper, Ms. K. Williams. Messrs. J. Orbegoso and O. Samad were in attendance for part of the
meeting.
Staff: K. Cooper, Manager, Strategic & Business Planning
L. Korabo, Committee Administrator
1. STRATEGIC PLAN EVALUATION OF COMPLETED PROJECTS
Compass Kitchener continued its evaluation of the completed Strategic Plan projects as follows:
Comalete Streets
Ms. K. Cooper then shared information regarding the `Complete Streets' project identified under
the People -Friendly Transportation theme of the Strategic Plan. The definition of a `complete'
street refers to a street working well for pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders and motorists. This
project was finished by the end of 2019 — ahead of schedule.
She shared specifics of the guidelines used to determine if a street is `complete' as well as details
on the scorecard staff use to compare before and after scenarios when determining the best
possible design prior to reconstructing a street. The scorecard also assists CLT when evaluating
overall progress towards the Complete Streets vision, helps Council to understand the streets
which would benefit the most from funding and assists residents with understanding why
changes are being proposed.
Staff have been using this scoring since 2020 but are finding it challenging to document all the
changes; however, are still finding great value in the assessment being undertaken to identify
the best streets. Documentation is needed to demonstrate the success of the program and all
for review/improvements. Mr. D. Kropf, Active Transportation Planning PM, has indicated he
would be available to meet with Compass Kitchener to gather improvement changes at an
appropriate time in the future.
Urban Desian Manual
Completion of a new Urban Design Manual was identified under the `Vibrant Economy' theme
and was completed and approved in September 2019. The goal of the Manual is to build a
vibrant city by making strategic investments to support job creation, economic prosperity, thriving
arts and culture, and great places to live. It provides a set of expectations, is a guiding document
and provides a design vision. It is broken into three parts:
A. Guidelines for various land uses and built forms;
B. Supplementary guidelines from other studies; and,
C. Design standards.
The Committee was advised that the development industry has found this document to be very
useful as it provides a desired pro forma standard. The Manual sets out a vision for the city and
encourages developers to frame their new projects around these desired parameters. Several
examples of where these design guidelines have been incorporated were listed.
Ms. R. Lavender commented on the amount of content to be reviewed and it was suggested that
a possible recommendation from Compass Kitchener could be that a `citizen's guide' version be
prepared.
Mr. O. Samad entered the meeting.
Compass Kitchener members then undertook a roundtable discussion to clarify certain aspects
of the street development process within Kitchener, noting that projects can range between 12
months — three years. Comments were also shared regarding the need to simplify the language
as some of it seems overly technical in nature. More simple language would make the document
more accessible to a wider variety of residents.
COMPASS KITCHENER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
MAY 5, 2021 -14- CITY OF KITCHENER
1. STRATEGIC PLAN EVALUATION OF COMPLETED PROJECTS (Cont'd)
Mr. J. Orbegoso left the meeting.
As members had many questions, Ms. K. Cooper agreed to develop a series of questions that
will assist with the evaluation process. The questions will help members focus their review from
the position as a resident.
Online Portal
Ms. K. Cooper provided an overview of the `My Kitchener Portal' project, noting the tremendous
amount of citizen input that was gathered during an extensive consultation exercise. This project
is identified under the `Great Customer Service' theme of the Strategic Plan.
Staff developed the portal focused on ensuring the website provided the information citizens
wished to see, not the information the city thought should be provided. Ms. Cooper advised the
portal was released in beta format, allowing additional feedback from users to help improve the
site prior to finalization.
The portal includes a customizable dashboard to show content relevant to users. Ms. Cooper
commented that the Citizen Dashboard provided in the portal is a very different kind of
dashboard than the one which the Committee has proposed to track progress being made
relative to the City's Strategic Plan. The Committee may wish to address that in the comments
provided as part of their evaluation. The portal has received great uptake from the community
with 4000 accounts being set up in the first month of operation.
2. OTHER BUSINESS
Regarding the All Advisory Committee meeting scheduled for tomorrow evening, Ms. Cooper
provided an overview of the interactive setup being followed, specifically noting the use of
breakout rooms and the Mentimeter tool to gather feedback.
3. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 5:25 pm.
L. Korabo
Committee Administrator