JOINT PEEL-CALEDON

ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE (AAC)

William Goursky, Chair, presided.

1. CALL TO ORDER

William Goursky, Chair of the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee called the meeting to order at 1:05 p.m. and welcomed everyone present.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

RECOMMENDATION AAC-25-2007:

That the minutes of the September 18, 2007 Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting be approved.

3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

 

RECOMMENDATION AAC-26-2007:

That an update regarding the Accessible Transportation Family of Services program be added to the agenda to be dealt with under Presentations as Item 5d;

And further, that the agenda for the October 16, 2007 Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting be approved, as amended.

4. COMMUNICATION ITEMS - Nil

5. PRESENTATIONS

a. Alan Tregebov, Architect, YYZ Project Management, Presenting the “River’s Edge” Bolton Condominium Project Site Plan

Received

Alan Tregebov, Architect, YYZ Project Management, provided a high-level overview of the site plan and the accessibility features of the proposed “River’s Edge” Bolton condominium.

Glenn Barnes arrived at 1:20 p.m.

Maureen Tymkow sought clarification regarding the total number of parking spaces on site compared to the number reserved for disabled parking, and whether the total number of allocated disabled parking spaces conformed to current Town of Caledon requirements. Alan Tregebov, Architect, responded that the site would have a total of 88 underground parking spaces with two designated below ground as disabled but there was flexibility for additional spots to be designated, if required. There would also be one space allocated in the visitors parking area above ground. He confirmed that the disabled on site parking allocation was compliant with current Town of Caledon standards. In addition, it was noted that public parking immediately adjacent to the site contained additional disabled parking spaces.

William Goursky requested a more detailed description of the building entrance configuration. Alan Tregebov provided additional information regarding the accessibility features of the entrance, noting that the entrance walkway was at a very subtle two-to-three per cent grade, the doors were power assisted and the vestibule was oversized allowing ample room for a person in a wheelchair to enter and operate the inner and outer doors.

Glenn Barnes suggested that consideration be given to relocating the ground level designated accessible parking space to a location less susceptible to snow removal issues, including the potential piling of snow during clearing operations. Alan Tregebov responded that he would examine relocating the parking space to resolve concerns raised regarding winter maintenance.

The following recommendation was considered and supported by the Committee:

RECOMMENDATION AAC-27-2007:

That the site plan overview provided to the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) on October 16, 2007 regarding the proposed River’s Edge Bolton Condominium Project be received;

And further, that notification of the support of the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee for the afore-mentioned project, as presented, be provided to the Town of Caledon, Planning and Development department.

b. Robert Firkle, Moffat & Duncan Associates, Presenting the “New Palgrave Public School” Project Site Plan

Received

Robert Firkle, Moffat & Duncan Associates, presented the site plan and some of the key accessibility features of the “ New Palgrave Public School” facility, located in the Village of Palgrave within the Town of Caledon.

Maureen Tymkow enquired as to the total number of parking spaces on site and the number that would be allocated to meet accessible parking requirements. Robert Firkle responded that there would be a total of 66 parking spaces on the school site with three of those being allocated for accessible parking. Maureen Tymkow inquired if the proposed portable noted on the site plan would be accessible and the type of surface that would be found between the portable and the school. Robert Firkle replied that portables are typically accessible via a ramp installed on one side of the structure and that the surface between the portable and the school would be asphalt.

Members of the Committee raised a question regarding the role of school board accessibility advisory committees and whether the review of school site plans would be more appropriately conducted in that sphere. Brian Lauder, Community and Development Planner, Town of Caledon, explained that the Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA) refers to municipal accessibility advisory committees exclusively providing site plan review.

The following recommendation was considered and supported by the Committee:

RECOMMENDATION AAC-28-2007:

That the site plan overview provided to the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) on October 16, 2007 regarding the New Palgrave Public School Project be received;

And further, that notification of the support of the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee for the afore-mentioned project, as presented, be provided to the Town of Caledon, Planning and Development department.

Item 5d. was dealt with.

d. Lisa Jones, Transportation Accessibility Specialist and Melanie Stone, Transportation Resource Coordinator, Environment, Transportation and Planning Department, Region of Peel , U pdate Regarding Accessible Transportation Family of Services program (Oral)

Received

Lisa Jones, Transportation Accessibility Specialist, provided a brief introduction of the role of the Accessible Transportation Coordination Office. Melanie Stone, Transportation Resource Coordinator, provided the Committee with a detailed update that included the status of the passenger assistance program, anticipated vehicle delivery dates and the advanced registration of persons interested in participating in the program. She noted that the Accessible Transportation Coordination Office continues to work in partnership with TransHelp to promote the use of conventional transit throughout the Region of Peel where available.

Glenn Barnes noted that during the presentation, staff indicated that they were receiving upwards of 150 calls per month regarding service, recognizing the significant community interest for the service, even at this early stage in the program.

 

c. Meenu Sikand, Accessibility Planning Specialist, Region of Peel , Update Regarding the 2007 International Day of Disabled Persons (IDDP) (Oral)

Received

Meenu Sikand, Accessibility Planning Specialist, Region of Peel, informed the members of the Committee of a number of events planned for the upcoming International Day of Disabled Persons (IDDP) including the following:

• November Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee ( AAC) meeting to focus on the IDDP event;
  • Topical guest speaker(s) to present at the meeting,
  • Awarding of Annual Accessibility Awards,
  • Information and service related booths, and
  • Summary of 2007 AAC accomplishments.
• Profiles of AAC Members to appear on the internal Region of Peel Website;
• Region of Peel staff invited to provide personal hiring experiences;
• Engage staff in accessibility related polls;
• Lunch & Learns; and
• Related topic/speaker to be focus of the management training session scheduled for early December.

Members of the Committee requested that Meenu Sikand e-mail a detailed summary of events to them.

Meenu Sikand sought assistance from the Committee members in support of planned IDDP events. This request resulted in two ad hoc committees with membership as follows:

1. Annual Accessibility Award Nomination Review Ad hoc Committee:

William Goursky and Jim Hardman

2. IDDP Lunch and Learn Facilitation Committee:

William Goursky, Naz Husain and Harvinder Bajwa

d. Lisa Jones, Transportation Accessibility Specialist and Melanie Stone, Transportation Resource Coordinator, Environment, Transportation and Planning Department, Region of Peel , U pdate Regarding Accessible Transportation Family of Services program (Oral)

This item was dealt with earlier in the meeting.

6. REPORTS - Nil

7. REPORT FROM THE ACCESSIBILITY PLANNING COORDINATORS

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

Received

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

Received

c. Meenu Sikand, Accessibility Planning Specialist, Region of Peel (September) (Oral)

Received

d. Meenu Sikand, Accessibility Planning Specialist, Region of Peel (October) (Oral)

Received

8. REPORT OF THE ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHAIR AND MEMBERS

William Goursky, Chair, Joint Peel-Caledon AAC described concerns about meeting attendance of members of the Committee. The members of the Committee spoke about potential options and solutions to improve meeting attendance. As a result of this discussion, members agreed that the following should be undertaken:

• The Chair of the AAC contact members who have been absent to determine if changes could be made to improve attendance;
• The Committee Clerk remind members of Council of the ability to appoint an alternate under the Region of Peel Procedural By-law; and
• Consideration of attendance related concerns including meeting time, day, frequency, and double quorum requirement (majority of citizen and elected members), shall be discussed as part of the “Terms of Reference” project planned to occur in 2008.

Naz Husain sought follow up regarding the request to invite the AAC Chair and Vice-Chair to attend the Region of Peel Accessibility Steering Committee meetings. R. Kent Gillespie, Commissioner of Corporate Services responded that the Steering Committee had not met during the period of time since the September meeting of the AAC. He confirmed that the Chair and Vice-Chair of the AAC would be invited to attend future Steering Committee meetings.

9. OTHER BUSINESS - Nil

10. NEXT MEETING

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Council Chamber, 5th floor
Regional Administrative Headquarters
10 Peel Centre Drive
Brampton, Ontario

11. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 2:50 p.m.