ACAT Meeting - March 29, 2012

Agenda is not available for this meeting.
Please check the meeting minutes for meeting details.

Agenda is not available for this meeting.
Please check the meeting minutes for meeting details.

Agenda is not available for this meeting.
Please check the meeting minutes for meeting details.

Agenda is not available for this meeting.
Please check the meeting minutes for meeting details.

Valdo Tammark, Chair, called the meeting to order at 1:05 p.m. and attendance was taken.

Nil.

On motion by Howard Wax and seconded by Mazin Aribi, ACAT reviewed and approved the Agenda with amendments. 

Amendments to the February 23, 2012 Minutes are as follows:

• Page 5: "Staff will send reference materials" will be amended to "Staff will send guidelines."
• Section 8, Report on Commission Meeting and Accessibility Matters: The statements regarding Gary Webster on page 6 will be amended to "Gary Webster was removed from his position without just cause. He was temporarily replaced by Andy Byford."

ACAT approved the minutes as amended.

ACTION RESOLUTION: Valdo sent a letter on ACAT letterhead thanking and recognizing Gary Webster’s involvement with ACAT and accessibility issues.

Nil.

Design Review Subcommittee (DRS)

Dorothy Creaser, Chair, provided an update for the Design Review Subcommittee (DRS). The Subcommittee held a meeting on March 21, 2012. Below is a summary of what was discussed at the meeting.

Administrative Matters
The Subcommittee noted and agreed that, rather than attempting to contact the various presenters or TTC offices directly, members are to only communicate with the designated TTC representative for the Subcommittees to convey questions and comments from the Subcommittee as appropriate.
EA III Woodbine Station Update
For the information of new members and as a reminder to others, Glenn Johnston outlined the background of the Easier Access programs and the past involvement of ACAT members in developing concept plans for the Easier Access III Stations (2005 – 2006 concept and costing study), including Woodbine Station, and the ACAT recommendations on station improvement priorities. As a result, the improvements to Woodbine Station are included in the TTC’s 5-year Capital Budget.

Trisha Neilson, Project Coordinator, Engineering Department, spoke about the specific refinements for Woodbine Station accessibility.

Ms. Neilson provided the presentation on the design of Woodbine Station and its accessibility features and paths, including the dimensions of both the corner post elevator and the one of more conventional design. The presentation included two locations where corner post elevators are in use in Toronto if members are interested in visiting them.

The corner post elevator will be larger than the two it was compared to. The elevator control panel will be on a side wall and will meet the TTC’s higher standards for that element of the elevators.

Staff will proceed with bringing the design towards the construction stage.

Annual Accessibility Report and Plan
Glenn Johnston repeated the fact the Toronto Transit Commission had received the staff report and the 2011 year-end Accessibility Report/Plan. It was noted that the TTC’s Accessibility Plan includes the various accessibility initiatives that ACAT had assisted with, including the Easier Access programs. 

The materials also provide a summary of the comments received as a result of the TTC’s 2011 Public Forum. The classification of the public’s comments was carried out by the ACAT Service Planning Subcommittee in a similar fashion as to what has been done in the past. The 2012 Design Review Subcommittee’s list of ongoing and Forum-related items includes Station Design considerations, including consideration of ramps and lifts where appropriate, from the Forum comments.

Other Matters

• Public Forum - May 10, 2012

Glenn Johnston indicated the TTC is largely repeating what had been developed in consultation with ACAT members and successfully used in past years.  However, again this year, the TTC is having difficulty locating ASL translators.

Glenn Johnston indicated that the Canadian Hearing Society had been contacted for ASL interpreters but had not provided what the TTC requested. He asked members to let him know of any ASL interpreters they may know of and for the members to make inquiries with associations and community groups they may be familiar with.

• Town Hall Meeting – March 29, 2012

Glenn Johnston repeated the fact that the TTC’s next Town Hall meeting on improving TTC customer service would be held at York University during the evening of March 29th. The Town Halls do not focus on accessibility, but are open to all members of the public. ACAT members may attend if they wish to obtain an appreciation of the observations, requests for service improvements, etc. that are brought forward.

• Outstanding and Ongoing Matters

It is anticipated that the items to come before the Subcommittee for advice in the near term will include:

• Braille and tactile information and panel design carried from last year
• Queens Quay Stops/Street design presented on April 4th – how to cross from LRV stop to the curb
• Public sector connection to Sheppard-Yonge Station - Developers wanting connections to the station will come in April to talk to DRS
• Bathurst Station - Eglinton Cross-town LRV (ECLRV) - Staff want the possible design to come before the Design Review Subcommittee
• LRV Expansion – Vehicle procurement

TTC staff, who are working on the LRV service which is funded by the Province by Metrolinx, are going to keep the ACAT Design Review Subcommittee involved in the design of the accessible LRVs. Other staff are preparing to provide presentations on the accessible LRV facilities. It is possible that advice and other comments from meetings of the ACAT subcommittees will be shared with Metrolinx staff and/or other advisory committees.

The Subcommittee agreed to hold all-day meetings if that would be more efficient at addressing the outstanding matters.

The next meeting will be held on April 4, 2012 and the primary agenda item will be the Queens Quay Stops/Street design.
Service Planning Subcommittee (SPS)

No meeting was held.

Wheel-Trans Operations Subcommittee (WTOS)

Penny Lamy became Chair of the Subcommittee by acclamation at the March 15, 2012 WTOS meeting.

Penny provided an update of the items discussed at the meeting on March 15, 2012, as outlined below.

Dean Milton reported on the new No-Show/Late Cancellation policy and that 311 individuals exceeded the allowed No-Show/Late Cancellations for February and received an Advisory Letter.

Ross Visconti reported on the Third Party Focus Group progress noting the Conventional Service meetings are completed and the Booking Systems meetings are still in progress.  The Focus Group Reports will be shared with the Subcommittee and ACAT. 

Ross Visconti reported that Trip Booking will be going up to 14 Days in advance for internet and touch-tone bookings only. This will greatly free up the phone lines for those still dialing in to book trips the day before. The introduction of this change is expected to take place in early May 2012.

There was an update on the upcoming accessible taxi contract which will expire on December 31, 2013. A timeline was developed back in June 2011 indicating the Subcommittee’s involvement will be required several times this year.

New business items were introduced by Subcommittee members:

• Multiple escorts on holidays
• Toronto Parking By-Law affects taxis picking up customers in No Parking areas
• Mobility Devices that are larger than registered cause space issues on vehicles
• Tablet and mobile phone App to update vehicle arrival times planned for early 2013

Outstanding items that were not ongoing were resolved at the November 15, 2011 meeting.  Howard Wax asked that it be noted in the minutes to give a big thank you to the Subcommittee staff for their hard work, for being responsible, productive, and innovative.

Communications Subcommittee (CS)

No meeting was held.

Valdo Tammark reported on the February 29, 2012 Commission Meeting, as follows:

• The Spadina Terminal Station will be named Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.
• On March 6, 2012, the Commission was dissolved and new members were elected. Karen Stintz to be the new Chair and the Vice-chair will be elected in October and announced in November.

Nil.

Debbie Gillespie provided background information on the use of the “Step Here” Gadget: The gadget has two parts - a transmitter mounted wherever a talking sign is required and a receiver attached to the person who requires it.

Debbie has requested a report from CNIB about the use of this gadget in Russia and Israel. She will provide a physical presentation to DRS and report back to ACAT when more information is available.

Anna Noviss brought forward an issue regarding the People in Motion Show and this was added to the Outstanding Item list. Dean Milton will put together a group of committee members to discuss the upcoming People in Motion event.

Wheel-Trans and TTC will not have a booth, but ACAT will be present with materials for display. The size and location of the ACAT booth are unknown. TTC will not provide an accessible bus and driver for demonstration due to budgetary constraints.

TTC will provide shuttle service from Bathurst Subway Station to and from the show.

It was noted by Angela Marley that, in media releases, Mazin Aribi was not given the same attention as other TTC members. Bill Frost provided editorial comments on why this was the case.

Angela Marley moved to have the Customer Liaison Panel update be added to the agenda for future ACAT meetings.

Howard Wax brought forward the November 24, 2011 Town Hall meeting summary that has been distributed over the TTC website. ACAT has not reviewed this summary in any of the Subcommittees.

Action: Bill Frost stated that he will review the Town Hall summary for items applicable or of interest to ACAT Subcommittees and disseminate as appropriate.

Penny Lamy moved to appoint two committee members to the accessible taxi contract review issue. WTOS recommended Howard Wax because he has been working on the issue for several years, and one other person whom he could mentor.

William Castor moved, and seconded by Anna Noviss, that Howard Wax and Brayan Bratanov review the Accessible Taxi Contracts and provide ACAT advisement. 

The motion by William Castor carried.

Penny Lamy made note that at least one of the citizens elected to the Commission should have experience with accessible transit as part of the selection criteria.

Bill Frost responded that this issue has been addressed by the Chair of the Commission.

The next meeting of ACAT will be held on Thursday, April 26, 2012, in the 7th Floor Boardroom, 1900 Yonge Street.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:50 pm.

Janet Wright
Recording Secretary