ACAT Meeting - April 28, 2016

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.

Nil.

On a motion by Howard Wax and seconded by Joan Jordan, the agenda was approved with the following amendments:

• Add as item #4, "Workers’ Memorial Day Moment of Silence"
• Add as item #14, "Report from the Metrolinx Accessibility Advisory Committee Meeting" by Raymond Dell’Aera

Michael McNeely is the Advocacy Instructor at the Canadian Helen Keller Centre (CHKC) which is a residential training centre for people who are deafblind. A group of people who are deafblind and their interveners accompanied him to the meeting.

On behalf of the group, he requested:

• That the TTC help make transit more accessible thus easier for deafblind individuals to travel. This can be done by creating awareness and public education.
• That the TTC makes a universal braille transit pass for all deafblind individuals in the GTA because it is a struggle to understand the different passes available now all around the GTA. He stated that the TTC pass should be made accessible by writing in braille to make it easier to read and identify. He stated that deafblind individuals have interveners who assist them, including ensuring their safety when travelling. He stated that most of the deafblind individuals do not know what a companion pass is and because of that, most deafblind individuals do not have a pass (Support Person Assistance Card).

He raised the concern that deafblind individuals are worried about their safety in the subway stations. This is due to the fact that they may have an invisible disability, so others do not recognize their unique needs. As a result, they can have difficulty navigating the subway and communicating with others.

ACAT members informed the group that there is a letter “P” written in braille on the PRESTO cards.

Mazin Aribi thanked Michael McNeely and the group for their suggestions. He recommended they visit the TTC Customer Service Centre on the first floor, 1900 Yonge Street, at Davisville Station, to apply for Support Person Assistance cards and he encouraged them to email further suggestions/questions to ACAT at acat@ttc.ca.

• Whether or not customers should be notified of vehicle type changes
• The issue of scent-free policy and what to do in a situation where an individual had an issue with scent on a Wheel-Trans vehicle was discussed. It was suggested that drivers should be made aware of this policy and Wheel-Trans should provide another vehicle, wherever possible, when the rider is not able to ride the original vehicle. A reminder to customers was placed in the Wheel-Trans newsletter reminding them of the scent-free policy to be followed.

It was noted that, at the March ACAT General Meeting, members suggested that there should be accessible north/south connections between Line 2 and the new 514 Cherry streetcar route. Strategy and Service Planning staff was unable to attend the April meeting but will be able to provide an update at the May meeting.

SPS was informed of the plans for this year’s People in Motion show May 27 and 28, 2016. TTC and ACAT have the same spaces as last year, essentially directly in front of the main entrance.

The newest Nova Bus will be displayed and an experienced customer-focused Bus Operator will be available to answer customer questions. Trip planning via laptop/internet will be available to customers again this year. A large TV will be looping informational videos on topics such as priority seating, low-floor streetcars, PRESTO, and more.

The City’s Disability Access and Inclusion Advisory Committee requested conventional transit service to the medical facilities on Kilgour Road. The medical facilities are CNIB, Rumsey Rehab, and Lyndhurst Centre. There were many reasons why it was not feasible to reroute the Bayview bus; Kilgour is a dead end street with nowhere to turn around. Glenvale Blvd, a parallel street to Kilgour, has speed bumps so it cannot be used as part of a loop. There is a community bus that goes between Sunnybrook and Rumsey Rehab; members felt this should be advertised more.

The next SPS meeting will be held on May 18, 2016.

Communications Subcommittee (CS) – Marian McDonell, Chair

CS held a meeting on April 7, 2016. At this meeting, the February minutes were approved and the following items were discussed.

Travel Assistance Card (TAC) update

Mostafa Omran, TTC Customer Development, advised that further development of the Travel Assistance Card was placed on hold until the revised Wheel-Trans eligibility criteria are rolled out. The initial rationale for the development of the Travel Assistance Card was to support those TTC customers who were not previously eligible for WT but who needed assistance to have a successful travel experience.

Members discussed in detail the challenges many people face when using the TTC conventional services but stressed the importance of encouraging all persons with disabilities to use the conventional system as much as possible. Mostafa Omran stated that the TTC is continuously working towards being more inclusive and accessible. As soon as the new eligibility criteria are developed, Omran will arrange for WT personnel to bring it to CS. This item has been added to the outstanding items list. 

Streetcar/Bus Accessibility Features Video Update

Alicia Fowlie advised that the video campaign “First On Last Off” will be posted on the TTC website and will be used for internal and external purposes. She played the video that explained different aspects of bus accessibility to customers and the internal video for the training of TTC Operators. The videos along with the script were reviewed in-depth.

Flash Cards

The Flash Card was distributed and was created and has been available since the People in Motion Show last year. CS members had concerns about the card in its present state. CS requested that the next version be brought to CS for their input before it is produced. Deborah Brown will review the card, make some changes, and bring to the next CS meeting. The issue will be discussed further at the next meeting.

New Business

• Deborah Brown asked for input for articles/items that could be included in the next WT Newsletter. The draft version was reviewed by appropriate WT staff, ACAT Chair, and CS Chair via email as it needed to go to the printers ASAP.
• People in Motion Show – the Service Planning Subcommittee are planning it with TTC staff.
• Raymond Dell’Aera raised the subject of the gap issues, particularly at Eglinton Station. This information will be added to the Station Information web page. This item will be added to the next CS meeting Agenda for further discussion.
• Writing and Style Guide 2016 was handed out and CS members were asked to review and send feedback to Deborah Brown no later than April 15, 2016.

The next CS meeting will be held on June 9, 2016.

This TTC Board Meeting was held on April 27, 2016, Louise Bark and Mazin Aribi were in attendance. The meeting was live streamed as well. The Board received the ACAT February Meeting minutes.

When the minutes were presented, the following additional points were highlighted:

• Members of ACAT DRS Subcommittee reviewed the new Accessible PRESTO fare gates at Main Street subway station. ACAT members identified barriers with regard to:
  • The height of the Metropass readers. They are higher than any other Metropass card reader on the TTC system.
  • The height of the PRESTO card readers.
  • A request was made to fix the issue before more are installed.

• Now that the TTC Board is getting funds from the Federal Government, how much of it will be designated to the Easier Access improvement projects, such as elevators?
• A joint meeting was held on April 19, 2016 between ACAT DRS Subcommittee and Metrolinx to discuss the proposed accessible station design on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.
• The date of the next ACAT meeting, April 28, from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. at 1900 Yonge St. was announced. Board members were invited to attend.
• A compliment was extended regarding getting the elevator back in service at Queens Quay Station.

Nil.

Nil.