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Home My WebLink About2021-12-16 GRAAC Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee Date: Thursday, December 16, 2021 Location: Zoom Meeting Present: Donna Hartzler, Shannon Sweeney (City of Kitchener), Heather Clark-Harris, Rob Bender, Brenda Robinson (Co-Chair), Paula Saunders, Lolita Paroski (City of Kitchener), Jolene MacDonald, Trevor Tamlin, Carrie Speers, Teresa McQuillin, Melanie Garbarz (Region of Waterloo), Tamara Bell, Robyn Jackson, Dawn Clelland (Co-Chair), Mamie Sealey-Baker, Ashley Sage (Township of North Dumfries), Ilidia Sa Melo (Township of Woolwich) Regrets: Janis McKenzie (City of Kitchener), Tracey Murray (Township of Wilmot), Councillor Debbie Chapman (City of Kitchener), Lindsay Raftis (Township of Wellesley), Councillor Sue Foxton (Region of Waterloo), Councillor Sandra Hanmer (City of Waterloo), Berny Wesselink Absent: Brad Sayles 1. Welcome and Introductions 2. Approval of November Minutes and December Agenda Dawn motioned to accept December agenda; Jolene seconded. All in favour. Donna motioned to accept November minutes; Heather seconded. All in favour. 3. Declarations of Pecuniary Interests None 4. Region of Waterloo, Status Update, Melanie Garbarz - Melanie provided the Annual Status Update. - The summary of the report will be posted on the Region website. - Engaged regional depts and GRAAC. - The COVID-19 Pandemic and focus on vaccination distribution posed challenges for advancing some actions. - There was a GRT Mobility Plus service review. GRAAC also consulted on the GRT on-demand Service to Breslau, the multi-use trails, website resource — page assist, micro mobility, site plan review and many other items. - Accessibility audits completed for libraries and museums. - There are some key actions for 2022 o Completion of"The Working Mind" training by regional department o There will be a diversity, equity and belonging team added in Human Resources o Diversity Census o Training on creating accessible videos o Wayfinding on ION stations o Tactile crosswalks Comments/Feedback - We provided paper resource on Multi-Use trails. o It has been distributed to appropriate staff. 5. Region of Waterloo, GRT Status update, Neil Malcolm, Pat Morabito - Grand River Transit (GRT) is committed to: o The continuous development of accessible public transit services. o Working to ensure its facilities are barrier free. o Providing barrier free employment and employment opportunities. o Establishing communication services that respect the abilities of all customers, employees, and the community. - GRT provides three public transit services: Conventional bus service, ION light rail service and MobilityPLUS a specialized service. - Ridership was 11.4 million in 2020; down 48% from 2019 (21.9 million) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021, ridership is anticipated to be 9.2 million due to the continuation of the pandemic. - There are more than 50 conventional service routes, all of which are utilizing low floor buses. o ION LRT provides barrier-free, level boarding and alighting at 19 stations o MobilityPLUS currently has 4051 active registrants in 2020. There are 34 vehicles that offers complimentary service for MobilityPLUS customers. o MobilityPLUS (rural) — Kiwanis Transit has 2, 257 active registrants in 2020 and 8 vehicles. North Dumfries has 80 active registrants. - GRT's entire fleet (conventional and MobilitiyPLUS) is low-floor accessible. Annual upgrades are done to meet accessibility standards. - More than 71% of stops are considered accessible. Approximately 13% have accessibility issues - GRT is in the process of developing an enhanced accessibility standard that would accommodate a wider array of disabilities. - Continuing forward, bus stops will be upgraded to accessibility standards as the Region's sidewalk network is expanded. - Automatic Vehicle Location and Communication (AVLC) System upgrade is complete. - Feedback is a key input service delivery and annual service plans, including those elements dealing specifically with accessibility. As of March 2021, customer feedback submissions online have been enhanced to improve response times, incident tracking and identify trends. - GRT saw a good bump in ridership in last 4 months. It is up 60-65%. - GRT successfully launched online booking for MobilityPLUS riders as well as the ability to receive notifications for upcoming trips and imminent bus arrivals. As of August 2021, GRT launched real-time service alerts for emergency detours, trip cancellations and ION light rail disruptions via a dedicated twitter account (@alertsGRT) as well as a service alerts page on the GRT website. - In 2022 there will be some new customer self-services, BusPLUS vehicles will be equipped with audio- visual equipment and Integrated Voice Recognition (IVR) will be added to allow for integration of MobilityPLUS with conventional routes. - Completion of University of Waterloo study assessing the accessibility of select ION stations for people living with visual impairments. The anticipated completion is Spring 2022. Once the Region receives the final study and recommendations there will be a presentation to GRAAC. A review of the feasibility of the recommendations. Hoping to identify potential short-term improvements and design considerations to inform future capital projects like ION stage 2. Comments/Feedback - Dawn suggested that the GRT do research globally on how to make stops accessible for the visually impaired. There have been proven, functional, easy methods to achieve this. o Will replied that research is being conducted. - Snow clearing at stops. There are 3 different contractors. However, if they come too early then the plow goes by and blocks in the stop again. - Suggested there be a direct line from GRT to this group. That way documents can be updated on a regular basis. - Currently IBI is working on the Bus Stop guidelines. - Work is being done to better integrate bus stops with cycling facilities. - The guideline will have consistency. - Nice to have enclosed bus stops but is a challenge for the visually impaired. - GRT continues to do their best and follow with AODA guidelines. - COVID-19 screenings happening before every trip. However, GRT moved away from the screening calls. 6. Built Environment Sub Committee Update, Paula Saunders - Tomorrow Paula is doing a site visit of the Conrad Centre (feedback to be used towards the accessibility audit) and will report back to GRAAC in January. 7. BREAK (15 mins) 8. Region of Waterloo, Bus Stop Design Guidelines, William Towns, Laurence Lui - GRT is going to renew and reinvent the 2001 bus stop design guidelines. • There will be upgrades to existing stops. New criteria and standards for new stops as well. • Improved accessibility. o What GRT has heard from Stakeholders thus far ■ Flexibility is important ■ Better documentation of roles and responsibilities. ■ Operational perspectives need to be reflected. ■ Understanding of customer needs • Key components of the guidelines. ■ Stop classification system: Linking amenities, design to stop/ street location, context, and service type ■ Documented processes for stop upgrade roles and responsibilities (e.g., Region vs. area municipalities) ■ Guidance for integrating bus stops with pedestrian and cycling facilities • Ensuring Accessibility in the guidelines. ■ Integrate requirements from AODA and Integrated Standards ■ Update existing /establish new requirements for amenities at different types of bus stops ■ Define standards and guidelines with accessibility as one of the core principles Comments/Feedback o What does GRT do well at current bus stops, what are the challenges and what advice can GRAAC provide? ■ Carrie said she personally appreciates the clear bus stops. ■ Laurence asked for visually impaired if we should use new technology or stick with tactile? • Dawn suggested sticking with tactile. ■ Theresa said the snow clearing is very inconsistent. Suggested 2 doors at stops it makes traffic flow much easier. ■ It was suggested audits of the bus stops be put in a database and everyone can see together what needs to be done. ■ Next steps— GRT will incorporate all feedback from all stakeholders. • Asking for volunteers to review the document. • Carrie, Theresa, and Dawn volunteered. o GRAAC was thanked for the valuable additional input. 9. Committee Updates, All o Dawn provided an update on the Active Transportation Advisory Committee ■ Region of Waterloo appreciates Dawn bringing GRAAC perspective. Dawn's term is up with GRAAC and so is her role with this committee. 10. Councillor Reports, All Councillors - Reports to follow next month 11. Co-chair/Staff Reports City of Kitchener - Lolita - Recognized and thanked Dawn Clelland for her 8 years with GRAAC. This is Dawn's last meeting. - Reminded the members that the January 2022 GRAAC meeting will be GRAAC elections, and that Staff Reps will be sending information out to GRAAC prior to the January meeting. Region of Waterloo - Melanie - Happy Holidays and thanks to Dawn! City of Waterloo - Sanjay - Goodbye to Dawn - Amy Ross will be joining GRAAC in January as the City of Waterloo Staff Rep. Amy starts her next role as Accessibility Advocate in January 2022. - Submitted City of Waterloo compliance report. Co- chair - Brenda - Pickering Service Dogs created standards for Emotional Support Dogs. Brenda has information if anyone is interested. Dawn - Please remember my number. I'll always be here for any of you. Motion to adjourn by Dawn and seconded by Rob. All in favour. Please send regrets to Janis McKenzie —janis.mckenzie&kitchener.ca Next Regular Meeting —Thursday January 27th, 2022 at 1:30pm, ZOOM