THE JOINT PEEL- CALEDON

ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

G. Barnes presided.

1. Call to Order - Glenn Barnes

Glenn Barnes called the meeting to order at 1:50 p.m. and welcomed everyone.

2. Approval of January 20, 2004 Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee Minutes

Glenn Barnes addressed reconsidering resolution AAC-05-2004 regarding the Study of Transportation of Persons with Disabilities.

Glenn Barnes read recommendation AAC-05-2004 from the January 20, 2004, Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting along with the following proposed additional wording:

RECOMMENDATION AAC-05-2004:

That the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee agree in principle with the Study of Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Report Recommendations, subject to receiving more formal business plan information;

(Proposed additional wording)

And further, that staff of the Region of Peel address the concerns raised by the Study of Transportation for Persons with Disabilities, but not captured in the recommendations of Study.

Glenn Barnes noted that he had concerns about the recommendations contained in the Study of Transportation for Persons with Disabilities. The Study raised a number of issues that he felt were not being adequately addressed in the recommendations. For instance, the Study did not clearly address how the proposed 800,000 trips in the future would be provided for persons with disabilities.

Wayne Chan addressed the concern and advised that he has been in contact with the municipal transit providers regarding this issue.

Glenn Barnes noted that another concern was regarding further use of taxi scripts in the Region.

Wayne Chan replied that Paradigm Consultants based the information in the Study on experience they have had in other major Canadian urban centres.

Naz Husain requested that a decision on recommendation AAC-05-2004 be deferred to a later meeting to allow more time to review the study and its recommendations.

Glenn Barnes agreed to defer further discussion to a later meeting after the members had had more time to fully consider the information before them.

RECOMMENDATION AAC-07-2004:

That the minutes of the January 20, 2004, Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting be approved with the exception of resolution AAC-05-2004;

And further, that resolution AAC-05-2004 be reconsidered at the next meeting of the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee.

3. Approval of the January 20, 2004 Joint-Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee Agenda

Glenn Barnes noted that two additional items would be added under Other Business; one regarding the discussion of an AAC press release as added item 5c and the Accessibility Co-ordinator's report as added item 5d.

RECOMMENDATION AAC-08-2004:

That a Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee Press Release and a Report from the Accessibility Coordinator be added to the agenda;

And further, that the agenda of the February 10, 2004, Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting be approved as amended.

4. Communication Items

a) NEWS RELEASE: From the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), dated January 15, 2004, Advising of the Provincial Government's Intent to Hold Six Roundtable Consultations on the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, between January and March of 2004.
Received

Glenn Barnes noted that the Provincial Government was holding a roundtable consultation on the Ontarians with Disabilities Act. He also noted that further information was available from www.gov.on.ca through the Disability Directorate of the Ministry of Citizenship.

Meenu Sikand advised that individual members and/or the AAC as a group can submit recommendations online in response to a question from William Goursky.

William Goursky asked if the AAC should consider a subgroup or committee to draft recommendations for submission.

Glenn Barnes noted that this could be dealt with under item 5d.

5. Other Business

a) Region of Peel - Strategic Plan AAC Consultation (Oral) Facilitated by Janine Elias Joukema, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Executive Offices, Region of Peel

Janine Elias Joukema, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Executive Offices, facilitated a Strategic Plan workshop with the AAC members to develop a Strategic Action that would be included in the Region of Peel's fourth Strategic Plan. This workshop was the result of a discussion held at the January 20, 2004 AAC meeting, where it was recommended that accessibility planning be clearly identified in the Strategic Plan. Janine Elias Joukema set the content for the discussion as agreed to by Glenn Barnes, Christine Zelman and Meenu Sikand. AAC members received a presentation on the importance and need to focus on developing one broad Strategic Action that would serve to:

• Anchor the work of the AAC in the Strategic Plan;
• Provide a foundation for the current and future accessibility plans, and;
• Establish accessibility planning as a key issue and priority.

The AAC members provided several key words and phrases which Janine Elias Joukema recorded.

After all suggestions were received, Janine Elias Joukema reviewed the input from the Committee, noting that it looked like a mix of actions and goals. She reaffirmed that an AAC Action item would be anchored in the Strategic Plan. Janine Elias Joukema indicated that she would summarize the input and draft an option for an Action item for the members to review and comment.

Janine Elias Joukema summarized the next steps for the Region's Strategic Plan review process indicating that a draft of the plan should be in place by the end of February or beginning of March 2004, with the Strategic Plan going before Council in March or April 2004.

Glenn Barnes noted that it will be important for the members to review and reply to Janine Elias Joukema communications in a timely manner.

b) Region of Peel Joint Use Facility Accessibility Design Report Feedback Request (Oral) Presentation by Carl Blancher, Principal Architect, WZMH Architects, Claudina Sula, Principal Architect, WZMH Architects and Pamela Cluff, Associated Planning Consultants Inc. (APC)

Claudina Sula, Principal Architect, WZMH Architects provided a brief overview of the Joint Use Facility (JUF) and the role of WZMH Architects as the lead design team.
Carl Blancher, Principal Architect, WZMH Architects presented an overview of the new facility and how it will be incorporated into the old facility. He also outlined some of the key design goals and the overall size of the new facility.

Carl Blancher circulated a number of concept sketches, floor plans and cross section plans of the new facility and its integration with the existing facility.

Pamela Cluff, Associated Planning Consultants Inc. discussed the incorporation of Universal Design into the new facility. She explained that Universal Design includes accessibility consideration for the physical, cognitive and cultural needs of the community.

Glenn Barnes thanked the team for their presentation and opened the floor for questions.

Richard Paterak questioned the use of a lift to transition between the existing facility and the new facility on the main level. He had concerns about the reliability of such devices.
Group discussion took place on this issue and possible options regarding the transition between the new and existing facility.

Carl Blancher stated that the design team will consider the concerns raised by the Committee with respect to the transition between the two facilities.

Meenu Sikand asked about the number of accessibility parking spots.

Claudina Sula indicated that there would be 400 new spots underground and 17 at grade, of which 9 would be disabled parking spots (5 at grade and 4 below grade).

Group discussion followed regarding the low number of spots and the dimensions of the spots.

Richard Paterak requested that a resolution regarding the proposed ramp be put forward to the design team.

RECOMMENDATION AAC-09-2004:

That the design team for the Region of Peel Joint Use Facility review the use of a mechanical lift to transition between the existing facility and the new facility;

And further, that the design team consider the use of a ramp as an alternative to the mechanical lift and report back to the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee findings.

Additional Items

c) Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee Press Release (Oral) Update provided by Susan Gearing-Edge, Public Affairs Co-ordinator, Communication Services

Received

Glenn Barnes noted that all of the members have completed biographies and asked if the members would authorize sharing this information with Communication Services to aid with the development of a press release on the Joint Peel-Caledon AAC.

All Members consented.

Susan Gearing-Edge indicated that the press release would be provided to all of the local newspapers in an effort to raise the profile of the Committee and the issues being addressed by the Committee. She further requested that Glenn Barnes, Chair of the AAC, provide a quote to be included in the press release.

d) Report from the Accessibility Co-ordinator (Oral) Update provided by Meenu Sikand, Accessibility Co-ordinator, Region of Peel

Received

Meenu Sikand requested assistance from the Committee to help divide the group into subcommittees. She suggested some tasks that could be assigned to subcommittees. She indicated she would circulate a more detailed communication to the members on the creation of subcommittees and that she would coordinate the feedback and establishment of the subcommittees.

Glenn Barnes asked if members of the general public could be added to the subcommittees without the consent of Regional Council.

Kent Gillespie indicated that including members of the public to subcommittees would be fine provided the subcommittee report through the AAC and followed the terms of reference of the AAC.

6. Next Meeting

March 23rd , 2004
1:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Region of Peel Headquarters
10 Peel Centre Dr.
Peel Room, 1st floor
Brampton, Ontario

7. Adjournment:

Meeting adjourned at 4:05 p.m.