JOINT PEEL-CALEDON

ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE (AAC)

Glenn Barnes, Chair, presided

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

RECOMMENDATION AAC-21-2006:

That the minutes of the August 22, 2006 Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting be approved.

3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

RECOMMENDATION AAC-22-2006:

That the agenda for the September 19, 2006 Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting be amended to include an additional item under Other Business regarding safety issues at the intersection of Hurontario Street and Steeles Avenue, in the City of Brampton;

And further, that the agenda for the September 19, 2006 Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting be amended to include an additional item under Other Business regarding an update on the Accessibility Advisory Committee membership selection process;

And further, that the agenda for the September 19, 2006 Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting be amended to include an additional item under Other Business regarding a request from the Caledon Community Services for an accessibility audit;

And further, that the agenda for the September 19, 2006 Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting be approved, as amended.

4. COMMUNICATION ITEMS

Harvinder Bajwa arrived at 1:25 p.m.

5. PRESENTATIONS

a. Maria Morizio, Principal, Special Education, and Nancy Tallevi, Planner, Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, Providing an Overview of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board Accessibility Plan

Received

Maria Morizio, Principal, Special Education, and Nancy Tallevi, Planner, Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, provided an update on the Board's Accessibility Plan and activities.

Councillor Hames requested the Board representatives to comment on the lack of provincial funding to support accessibility planning in local school boards and to advise whether the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board will be incorporating the barrier free standards adopted by the City of Brampton. Nancy Tallevi informed the Committee that the School Board is totally reliant on provincial funding which is provided through grants. School boards are directed by the Board to use their current resources to fund other projects or improvements. Nancy Tallevi stated that the funding for accessibility planning is not included in the funding received from the province. The Board has submitted requests to the province to increase funding however, to date, they have not received a response.

In her capacity as a member of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Accessibility Advisory Group, Councillor Hames requested that Nancy Tallevi and Maria Morizio provide her with more information regarding funding issues. Councillor Hames stated that she will present the Board's concerns to AMO and possibly take it to the Province to stress the need to improve provincial funding in education.

Marlowe Horn, Citizen Member, inquired about the availability of the Board's Accessibility Plan on its website. Nancy Tallevi informed the Committee that the Board's main website was recently updated and it might have caused some broken links when the page was accessed. "Access Dufferin-Peel" is the name of the Board's Accessibility Working Plan and information is available on their website at http://w3.dpcdsb.org/CEC/.

Glenn Barnes, Committee Chair, suggested the Board should consider the inclusion of student representatives with disabilities on its Accessibility Working Group. Nancy Tallevi replied that the Access Dufferin-Peel Group meets during the day and conflicts with students' class schedules. However, Nancy Tallevi stated that they do have members with physical disabilities and will consider the suggestion of adding students to the membership of the Board's Accessibility Working Group.

Glenn Barnes also requested that the Board send its newsletters to the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee and the area municipal AACs to open the lines of communication. Nancy Tallevi agreed to send the newsletters on a regular basis.

 

b. Phillip Sousa, Planner; Andrew Leverette, Project Manager, Design and Construction; and Heidi Kazman, Special Programs Coordinator, Special Education Support Services, Peel District School Board, Providing an Overview of the Peel District School Board Accessibility Plan

Received

Phillip Sousa, Planner; Andrew Leverette, Project Manager, Design and Construction; and Heidi Kazman, Special Programs Coordinator, Special Education Support Services, Peel District School Board, provided a summary of their Accessibility Plan.

Naz Hussain, Citizen Member, inquired if the Board has tools in place to identify barriers. Heidi Kazman stated that the Board currently has no formal tools but students do sit on the Accessibility Working Group.

Councillor Hames inquired if the Peel District School Board receives funding from the Province for its accessibility planning. Andrew Leverette stated that the Board receives no direct funding and is currently using its existing resources to fund accessibility planning.

Glenn Barnes declared a conflict of interest with respect to Item 5c, being the presentation regarding the Connections Resource Fair, as he is the current Chair of the Coalition for Persons with Disabilities.

c. Matthew Fleet, Community Services Co-ordinator, Coalition for Persons with Disabilities, and Jon Greenaway, Transitions Co-ordinator, Erinoak Children's Treatment Centre, Providing an Overview of the Connections Resource Fair

Received

Matthew Fleet, Community Services Co-ordinator, Coalition for Persons with Disabilities, and Jon Greenaway, Transitions Co-ordinator, Erinoak Children's Treatment Centre, provided a detailed summary of the objectives and plans of the Connections Resource Fair. The date and venue for the fair are still to be determined.

The Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee was requested to provide assistance in the following areas:

• a financial contribution of $500 towards the cost of the venue
• ensuring all Regional departments exhibit the accessibility services at the fair
• marketing to visitors and exhibitors at the resource fair.

RECOMMENDATION AAC-23-2006:

That funding for special events be considered in the 2007 Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) budget;

And further, that consideration of the request of the Coalition for Persons with Disabilities and Erinoak Children's Treatment Centre for financial support of $500 be dealt with at the first meeting of the AAC in 2007.

d. Colleen Grant, Town Prosecutor and Solicitor, Town of Caledon, Regarding the Proposed Town of Caledon Parking By-law for Persons with Disabilities

Received

Colleen Grant, Town Prosecutor and Solicitor, Town of Caledon, highlighted the proposed changes to the Town of Caledon Parking By-law for persons with disabilities. She also urged the Committee to provide input on how to improve the proposed by-law.

Members of the Committee made the following suggestions:

• Post the maximum fine of $1,000 instead of the proposed minimum fine of $300 for illegal parking in designated parking spots for persons with disabilities.
• Review the guidelines related to curb-cuts that should not be blocked or impeded in any way by parking of a vehicle in a specific area.
• Increase the dimensions of the designated parking spaces to at least 4 metres in width.

Colleen Grant advised that she will submit the suggestions to the Town and will provide an update to AAC at a future meeting.

Councillor Paterak departed at 3:10 p.m.

6. REPORTS

7. REPORT FROM THE ACCESSIBILITY PLANNING COORDINATORS

a. Colleen Grant, Town Prosecutor and Solicitor, Town of Caledon (Oral)

Received

Colleen Grant informed the Committee that the Town of Caledon, in collaboration with Caledon Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Rotary Club and Caledon Community Centre, launched a pilot project called "Project Lifesaver". The project aims to help locate children with autism and adults with Alzheimer's disease in the event they get lost.

b. Meenu Sikand, Accessibility Planning Specialist, Region of Peel

Received

Meenu Sikand, Accessibility Planning Specialist, informed the Committee that the International Day of Disabled Persons event will be held on Thursday, November 9, 2006 at the Holiday Inn Select Hotel located at 30 Peel Centre Dr., Brampton, Ontario. Meenu Sikand will provide more details to members before the event takes place and also requested members to provide names of organizations that may be interested in the event. Mr. David Onley, the current Chair of the Accessibility Standards Advisory Council of Ontario, will be invited to speak at the event.

Meenu Sikand also provided an update on the proposed Joint Meeting of the Region of Peel-Town of Caledon, City of Brampton and City of Mississauga Accessibility Advisory Committees (AAC) originally scheduled for Tuesday, October 3, 2006. Meenu Sikand advised that the Chairs and Coordinators of the Accessibility Advisory Committees agreed to postpone the event to early in 2007 in order to have a more effective and productive meeting.

RECOMMENDATION AAC-24-2006:

That the Joint meeting of the Region of Peel-Town of Caledon, City of Brampton and City of Mississauga Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting be held in the first quarter of 2007 at the Region of Peel Administrative Headquarters, 10 Peel Centre Dr., Brampton.

8. REPORT OF THE ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHAIR (ORAL)

Glenn Barnes invited members of the Committee to visit the free wheelchair repair clinic at the Royal Canadian Legion Hall located on Queen Street and West Drive, City of Brampton on September 21, 2006. Members were invited to contact the Legion for more information.

9. OTHER BUSINESS

Additional Items - 9a to 9c inclusive

a. Safety Issues at the Intersection of Hurontario Street and Steeles Avenue - City of Brampton (Oral)

Received

The City of Brampton Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) requested that the Region of Peel Public Works Division review the safety issues and size of the pedestrian islands at the intersection of Hurontario Street and Steeles Avenue, which is under the jurisdiction of the Region. The Brampton AAC noted that the islands in the intersection are not large enough to accommodate a person using a mobility device or someone with a stroller or carrying parcels. The Brampton AAC also noted that the time allocated to cross the intersection is not sufficient for pedestrians to safely cross the roads.

Sean Ballaro, Supervisor, Traffic Operations, and Joe Avsec, Supervisor, Traffic Signals & Systems, Public Works, Region of Peel, provided a brief summary of the location and specifications of the pedestrian islands located at the intersection of Hurontario Street and Steeles Avenue. Sean Ballaro informed the Committee that all intersection islands in the Region were designed in accordance with the standards of the Transportation Association of Canada.

Joe Avsec noted that the Region is planning to install a pedestrian countdown system at the subject intersection to improve crossing from point-to-point. The system has been proven to be effective because pedestrians tend to walk faster when they see that the allotted time is almost over. Naz Husain commented that the visually impaired will not be able to see the countdown and inquired if there are options available for persons with visual disabilities. Joe Avsec said that the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) normally sends a request to the Region to install an audible pedestrian signal in a particular location. Once the request is received by staff, the Region installs the audible pedestrian signal at the requested location. The audible pedestrian signal produces a sound that notifies a person with visual disability to cross the street within the allotted time. However, Joe Avsec noted that the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee could also submit a request to the Region of Peel Public Works department to have an audible pedestrian signal system in a particular location installed.

Sean Ballaro noted that Public Works staff would be pleased to meet with AAC members to visit the location and observe and validate any safety concerns raised by the Committee. Glenn Barnes requested that a representative from the Brampton AAC be included in the site visit.

Staff Direction AAC-01-2006-8:

That the Accessibility Planning Specialist co-ordinate a site visit with representatives from the Region of Peel Public Works Department, the City of Brampton Accessibility Advisory Committee and the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee to review safety issues at the intersection of Hurontario Street and Steeles Avenue in the City of Brampton.

Meenu Sikand, Accessibility Planning Specialist, agreed to go to the site audit on behalf of the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee.

Rules of Procedure Waived

RECOMMENDATION AAC-25-2006:

That in accordance with Procedural By-law 54-1999, as amended, Section III-2(i), be waived in order that the September 19, 2006 Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting continue past 3:30 p.m.

b. Update on the Membership Renewal Process for the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee (Oral)

Received

Members of the committee requested an update on the process for selecting candidates for the new term of the AAC membership. Ava Macintyre, Acting Regional Clerk, advised AAC members that the term of the Committee ends on November 30, 2006. In this regard, the Region is in the process of renewing the membership of AAC and a notice to the public advising of application particulars will be published in the local newspapers. Ava Macintyre also informed the AAC that an Interview Committee will review the applications received and make recommendations to Regional Council at its first regular meeting on December 14, 2006. Ava Macintyre stated that all current members are eligible to re-apply, if they choose to do so.

Naz Hussain requested that an electronic Word version of the notice and the application form be e-mailed to all existing members of the AAC.


c. Audit of the Caledon Community Services (Oral)

Received

Maureen Tymkow advised the Committee that the new Executive Director of the Caledon Community Services has requested that the AAC conduct an audit site review of the Caledon Community Centre to provide advice on improving accessibility to the Centre. Maureen Tymkow stated that if the Committee chooses to do so, she would look into making the necessary transportation arrangements for the members.

Glenn Barnes polled the members of the Committee to determine if they would prefer to hold the next Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting at the Caledon Community Centre or to conduct the site audit separately. The members unanimously agreed to move the next AAC meeting to the Caledon Community Complex.

RECOMMENDATION AAC-26-2006:

That the next Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting be held at the Caledon Community Complex on Tuesday, October 24, 2006 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.;

And further, that the Accessibility Planning Specialist provide members of the AAC with details of the proposed meeting.

10. NEXT MEETING

Tuesday, October 24, 2006
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Caledon Community Complex
6215 Olde Church Road
Caledon, Ontario

11. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 3:43 p.m.