ACAT Meeting - October 31, 2019

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.

Chair Mazin Aribi called the meeting to order at 1:05 p.m. and attendance was taken.

Nil.

On a motion by Sam Savona and seconded by Igor Samardzic, the agenda was approved, with an additional item under New Business – Province's Agreement to Build 4 Priority Lines for TTC Operation.

Mazin Aribi and ACAT members expressed their thoughts, prayers and support for TTC Chair Jaye Robinson and her family and the difficult time they are facing as she undergoes treatment for breast cancer.

Mazin reported that, on October 3, 2019, he chaired the GTHA Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) Joint meeting held at York Region Transit office. Peel Region volunteered to host the next meeting, with the date, time, and location still to be determined.

On October 11, 2019, Mazin attended the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee (TAAC) meeting. A presentation was given on the new initiative to conduct a trial with an automated transit shuttle in the City of Toronto, and to examine the potential for this technology to fill an unmet need in the transit system. TAAC members provided valuable input to City staff. The next TAAC meeting will be held on November 1, 2019, at 9:30 a.m., City Hall, Committee Room 1.

On October 17, 2019, Mazin attended the TTC 5-Year Service Plan stakeholder consultation meeting which was held at Alexandra Park Community Centre. This was part of city-wide stakeholder meetings to discuss the draft 5-Year Service Plan and 10-Year Outlook for Board consideration by the end of this year.

On October 28, 2019, a media announcement was made that Toronto City Council adopted 4 transit projects designed by the Ontario government's transit plan. Details are available on the City of Toronto website.

On October 29, 2019, the ACAT Executive and Wheel-Trans staff met with the agency responsible for taking minutes, to discuss ways to improve the minute taking at ACAT meetings.

On a motion by Anita Dressler and seconded by Craig Nicol, the minutes of the September 26, 2019 meeting were approved.

• Item: Lack of Tactile Information on Stop Poles for Shared Bus Stops - An update will be provided during DRS report.
• Item: Pre-Boarding Announcements on Subway Trains - Completed. Announcements are now operating on all subway trains.
• Item: Give Higher Priority to Resolving Inconsistencies with Wheel-Trans Pick Up and Drop Offs at Subway Stations in support of Family of Services – Ongoing. Referred to WTOS and Lodon Hassan will have staff speak provide an update at the next WTOS meeting.
• Item: GTHA Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) Joint Meeting - Meeting was held on October 3, 2019 at York Region.
• Item: Vertical and Horizontal Gaps on Subway Platform - Ongoing. This Item will be discussed at the next DRS meeting on November 6, 2019.
• Item: Need for Elevator Redundancy at Finch West Interchange Station to LRT Platform Level - Complete.

A suggestion at the quarterly meeting was made to change the word 'redundancy' to 'dual', moving forward. Members felt that the word 'redundancy' could be interpreted as something extra, whereas the word 'dual' expresses a need at such interchange stations.

Although the item was marked as 'complete', members suggested bringing the item back as an agenda item for the TTC Board. The item will be marked as 'Ongoing, in order to track its progress and see what action the Board takes.

• Item: VISION System Stop Calling Announcements - Complete.

Meenu Sikand, Executive Lead, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Centre gave a presentation on the need for TTC service on Kilgour Road.

Meenu expressed a vision of moving customers away from paratransit by providing accessible transportation that allows all people the choice to travel on the TTC.

The Centre services over 200,000 client and family visits per year. This number does not reflect the hundreds of employees who travel daily. She is requesting that ACAT support the frequent, accessible public transportation services on behalf of clients, families, staff, and volunteers as well as the general public, including those with disabilities.

In 2016, changes to service in the area were denied. Currently, based on numbers and testimonials, there are safety, ridership and economic factors that support integrated equitable service.

The closest transit stop is 600 meters from the doors of Bloorview and is also uphill. Those with heart, lung or brain injuries, as well as those with mobility devices struggle with this distance.

Feedback data indicates that poor and inaccessible local transit is one of top reasons for almost 35,000 missed appointments this year so far.

Meenu stated that this will make it easier for users to take conventional TTC.

Questions and Comments from the Committee

Members inquired about Meenu's affiliation with CNIB and stated that CNIB already has a bus stop nearby. Meenu explained that her organization works with staff at CNIB and their clients have reflected that going uphill, with poor access to curbs, for people with sensory and other disabilities, it is difficult to access this stop.

A member inquired about what impact current transit barriers have on trips taken to the area. Meenu explained that out of 34,798 missed appointments, 25,000 identified lack of transit as the reason they missed most of their appointments.

When asked to clarify the desired solution, Meenu stated that they are looking for expert advice and would love to be part of a subcommittee. They are also requesting that reduced travel from the stop to the hospital be part of the solution.

Dennise Carrasco, Client and Family Integrated Care at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Centre gave a real-life testimonial of the impact of not having TTC service on Kilgour road.

Dennise explained how she would plan her transit based on accessible services. She described her route from Lawrence to Sunnybrook, walking uphill alongside Kilgour Road. Dennise does not feel safe walking uphill and often resorts to taking a taxi instead. Depending on the weather and how tired she feels on a particular day, walking uphill is not always an option for her. She states that Wheel-Trans is not always dependable and wheeling on her own is not easy. Dennise states that Kilgour Road and Holland Bloorview needs better primary transit access because it helps families and clients to be independent.

Questions and Comments from the Committee

Members inquired about the exact location of the hill. It was clarified that travelling to destinations on Kilgour Road from the 11 Bayview bus stops on Bayview Avenue requires walking uphill. Some members offered their support on the issue, stating that poor transit has had an impact on safety and independence. It was noted that in bad weather, walking uphill is extra challenging.

Members inquired as to whether the issue was discussed with TTC staff. It was confirmed that the last time the issues was addressed was in 2016. ACAT members would like to look into developing a new community bus route in that area. TTC staff were asked to take a look into the issue and report back with a service plan. Despite reviewing the issue in 2016, staff acknowledged that circumstances and Wheel-Trans trips could have changed since then. As part of their annual service planning process for 2021 starting in January, staff are happy to look into the issue further.

Members decided it would be beneficial to have the Service Planning Subcommittee review the issue, as a starting point, as part of an innovative solution for integrated service options. It would also be helpful to know the number of trips per hour expected to and from these hospitals.

Mazin Aribi thanked the deputants for expressing a need for service in their area. 

Communications Subcommittee (CS) – Mary Burton, Chair

No CS meetings were held since the last ACAT meeting on September 26, 2019.

The next CS meeting will be held on November 7, 2019.

Design Review Subcommittee (DRS) – Craig Nicol, Chair

A DRS meeting was held on October 18, 2019 and a site visit on October 23, 2019.

October 18, 2019 Meeting

Finch West Alstom Vehicle

Metrolinx presented the design of the Alstom vehicle that will be used on Line 6: Finch West, comparing it to the Bombardier Flexity vehicle that will be used on Line 5: Eglinton. The vehicle is 48m long with four mobility device parking spaces spread along its length. There are seven double doors on each side. The full interior layout was discussed including handholds, aisle widths, seating and mobility device spaces.

It was revealed that the seating fabric colours for both the Alstom and Bombardier vehicles does not conform to TTC standard red and blue i.e. no blue priority seating colour.

Questions and Comments from the Subcommittee

DRS members objected to the small number of mobility device spaces, a reduction considering that the shorter Bombardier vehicle also has four spaces. It was suggested that more flip down seats could replace some fixed seats thus creating additional spaces.

Members were concerned about club seating restricting aisle width to 600 mm and limited (570 mm) knee/foot space between seats.

DRS members recommended the seating layout be changed to give a continuous wider aisle to allow mobility device movement throughout the vehicle and remove congestion for all trying to move to and from doors. It was suggested that bench seating would be a better option to allow for better circulation, Metrolinx agreed to investigate this option.

DRS objected to closed space beneath all seats preventing use of this space for service animals or parcels and a reduction in the ability of passengers to move feet back to allow for others to pass as well as impacting the ability of passengers to rise from a seated position.

A concern was raised about poor wayfinding aids in the lack of weather guards at doors, non-continuous horizontal overhead hand grips, horizontal bars that do not lead to stanchions at doors etc.

DRS members objected to the lack of priority seating colour, citing a need for consistency in seating colours to match customer usage elsewhere on the TTC.

Metrolinx undertook to review and respond to the list of concerns raised by DRS.

Finch West Surface Stop Designs

Metrolinx presented both side and centre platform designs reviewing mobility device parking spaces and tactile surfaces for wayfinding and warning.

Questions and Comments from the Subcommittee

A sign with a box outline was suggested to delineate mobility device parking spaces. It was agreed that no direction indicator tiles are required on side platforms. Centre platforms have limited space not allowing the required clearances for installation of direction indicator tiles.

Other Business

A concern was raised about the distorted nature of pre boarding announcements on line 2 T1 trains. Staff will review and report back.

October 23, 2019 Site Visit

DRS members assembled on Pape Avenue outside the Community centre to review tactile route identification signage at closely spaced conventional and Wheel Trans stop poles.

Questions and Comments from the Subcommittee

Members noted that the rounded encapsulation box around each route is helpful.

It was suggested that the use of the braille hyphen for “Wheel Trans” is not necessary.

Members stated that the spacing between the various tactile elements is good.

The Next DRS meeting will be held on November 6 2019.

Service Planning Subcommittee (SPS) – Anita Dressler, Chair

No SPS meetings were held since the last ACAT meeting on September 26, 2019.

The next SPS meeting will be held on November 6, 2019.

Wheel-Trans Operations Subcommittee (WTOS) – Sam Savona, Chair

A WTOS meeting was held on October 17, 2019.

Dean Milton provided an update on the Family of Services Timeline and made a presentation on Wheel-Trans Eligibility, the Specific Conditions, and the breakdown of customers by conditions. The members made some suggestions for future conditions to consider.

Twain Sparks, Assistant Division Manager, Wheel-Trans Transportation, presented on the “No Show” notice which is being updated.

Charlene Sharpe, Manager – Policy and Planning, introduced Marco Iorfida as the new Scheduling and Policy Specialist. He will work with Angela Marley on the subway stops and landmarks, to get consistent wording, information, closing times, etc. as well as to ensure that the TTC website has the same information.

Abraham Stepanian, Subject Matter Expert, provided a demonstration on the changes to the self-booking website with the release of the Phase 2 update, based on suggestions and feedback from customers using a previous version of the self-booking website.

Members inquired whether the self-booking site was tested for the vision impaired. It was confirmed that a vendor has been hired to test all of this. Debbie Gillespie, former ACAT member, will be invited to test the site. ACAT member Mary Burton would also like to test the application.
 
Members discussed the option of having Appeal Panel meetings over Skype. A challenge with video quality was identified as an issue. Members noted that assessing abilities to make recommendations may not be feasible via video. Physically seeing the person appearing face-to-face, as well as their body language, was deemed important.

The next WTOS meeting will be held on November 14, 2019.

DRS:

• Review of Finch West vehicle and surface stops
• Review of tactile signage for transit stop route identification

WTOS:

• Review of Wheel-Trans Eligibility Conditions
• Review of Wheel-Trans updated “No Show” notice
• Review of Changes to the Self-Booking Website

Dean Milton announced that Lema Salaymeh who previously was involved in organizing the public meetings and liaising with Councillors, will be filling in the interim as the Communications Coordinator.

• Family of Services (FOS) Update

Conditional trip matching communication materials have gone out to City Councillors and the public.

Staff is drafting the messaging for the Wheel-Trans web page and the Self-Booking website regarding the Phase 2 upgrade.

A meeting was held on November 4, 2019 with TTC management regarding the CTM/Mobile app communication strategies.

Two information sessions are being planned at City Hall in December regarding trip matching and re-registration.
 
The Customer Handbook and Travel Handbook are being reviewed. This is an ongoing initiative.

Staff are working on Family of Service (FOS) public campaign.

Notifications regarding upcoming construction of Access Hubs has been circulated to Councillors and businesses/residences at various locations.

The Winter 2019 Access Newsletter has started. Content ideas are being suggested and will go back to the Communications Subcommittee for review and comments.

• Customer Experience

New policies are planned to be published by the end of year, including FOS, Fare Policy, Cross-Border Travel, Layover and Multiple Stops, Do Not Leave Unattended (DNLU) and Travelling with Infants and Children. 

To date, a little over 4,000 scheduled FOS trips, a combination of subway, bus and streetcar. 93% of trips are to the subway as this is the largely preferred connection. The projected FOS demand by end of 2019 is 655,000 FOS trips. Many customers take it upon themselves to travel on conventional transit. There are 42 routes and 273 transfer stops to date.

Questions and Comments from the Committee

Members inquired as to whether FOS trips are new riders or people making reoccurring trips. The trend was that the majority were repeat customers. This can be further narrowed down to review the number of unique customers booking trips.

Members were interested in how many legacy customers have re-registered. On average, about 200 a month, totaling close to 3,000 so far, have re-registered, dating back to January 1, 2017 until about a month ago.

• Access Hubs

The negotiation of leases for sites needed to take on land and where multiple permits were required has been completed.

Construction for all remaining hubs will be completed by the end of Q1 2020.

An information session will be held on Tuesday. It was mentioned that, in some cases, vehicles are pulling up to the shared bus stops and not moving. The importance of safely getting people on and off vehicles was discussed.

Questions and Comments from the Committee

It was suggested that stickers be added to the outside of buses, so that people waiting can see it, promoting how important it is for those with mobility devices to get on the bus first. TTC policy and procedures on the matter will be discussed at the next meeting.

Members were wondering if the FOS booking system will recognize the weather and offer more appropriate travel options. A personal account was discussed where a customer was advised to walk 800 meters. This will be further investigated as no customer should be offered a trip that does not involve Wheel-Trans pickup and drop off if the distance is greater than 300 metres. As of now, the system does not recognize weather for the journey. But going forward, an ad hoc review of conditions will be done. 

There was concern over whether those who are already registered for Wheel-Trans will get a less desirable condition or lose their current condition if they appeal. It was stated that in most cases, a customer's current condition remains the same, with additional conditions being added. It is unlikely that their condition would be completely changed.

Members inquired about the situation where they are deemed conditionally eligible but no other conditions are stated. This means they will travel FOS and will make the connection from pickup point to conventional TTC. If other conditions are ticked off, when the condition is present, there would be door-to-door service. If no conditions are ticked off, there is no door-to-door component and customers will travel FOS. Members stated that, in this situation where no conditions are ticked off, the Acc/TTC box should be checked.

It was also stated that if a customer feels that the decision on their conditions is not accurate, there is an appeal process and functional assessments that customers can go through.

It was also advised that once a customer is deemed conditional, their conditions should be included on their profile online. This is a future upgrade that will be implemented.

• Travel Training Update

A Station Orientation Day was scheduled for October 1, 2019 but was rescheduled to October 22, 2019 as the elevator at St. Clair West Station was out of service. Ten customers responded and 8 attended. A photographer from the TTC also attended. The next Station Orientation Day is planned for November 20, 2019 at Broadview Station. This will be advertised on the Wheel Trans self-booking website.

1,078 customers expressed interest in travel training, and 835 were personally contacted. 207 have participated, 154 have completed one-on-one training, 21 customers are in process of booking, 29 have declined, and waiting to hear from 424.

Environics recently shared a list of approximately 300 customers that were interested in travel training when completing the 2018 Customer Satisfaction Survey. These customers have been added to our database so that we can reach out and offer travel training. These newly added customer accounts for the spike in numbers.

Questions and Comments from the Committee

Members requested that those on the appeal panel be sent the travel training brochure for review before publishing. Desrianne clarified that the brochure was not recently created, but it is in the process of being updated. The brochure will be shared with WTOS for review before it goes to print.

Members inquired whether or not customers are favoring one mode of conventional transit over another. Staff explained that this is not the case and that training takes place consistently on all modes. Travel by subway is typically the fastest service. However, for one-on-one training, customers are picking their routes; therefore, travel is taking place all over the city. There have been few occasions where customers prefer a surface route as opposed to the subway.

Members inquired as to whether customers are having trouble with streetcar ramps. Desrianne explained that she discusses ramp deployment and slope before the customer boards a streetcar. At this time, the customer is also provided with tips, including navigating the ramp with a mobility device, device speed, and available assistance from the Operator if needed. Few customers expressed concerns with the ramp slope when disembarking on full ramp deployment from the vehicle to street. In general, this uncertainty seems to stem from a customer that is unfamiliar with the vehicle, using a new device, not yet comfortable negotiating slopes, or unaware of how the streetcar Operators can assist. After reminding the customer to descend at a slower pace, that the Operators are available if they need help, and after practice, many customers build confidence and have no further hesitations.

Members asked if staff were tracking or following up with customers that have completed travel training. Staff stated that there is a system newly in place that will assist with this, along with the addition of travel training questions in the Environics surveys. It was mentioned that several travel patterns have been noticed and details and statistics will be shared in the WTOS meeting in December.

No CLP meetings were held since the last ACAT meeting.

A TTC Board Meeting was held on October 24, 2019 at City Hall.

The ACAT approved minutes of August 29, 2019 were received by the Board. There was a question from Commissioner Brad Bradford regarding the door design of TTC buses opening inward rather than outward and whether ACAT was consulted on that. ACAT Chair responded that ACAT members provide input on all accessible features of the bus.

Commissioner Bradford also announced that, in his ward, there will be a launch of the Complete Street Study on the Danforth Avenue corridor from Broadview Avenue to Victoria Park Avenue on November 7 at 6:30 p.m. at Monarch Park Collegiate and ACAT members were invited to attend.

The TTC Board Members approved a property acquisition for Greenwood Station as part of Easier Access 3 (EA3) program. 

The TTC Board approved the staff report regarding Wheel-Trans Cross-Border Travel Study. Staff recommendations were:

1. That the Board endorse the current policy to provide customer pick up and drop off within 1 km boundary of the City of Toronto.
2. That the Board direct TTC staff to continue discussions with the regional transit providers to improve the transfer locations and wait times and to report back to the Board in Q2 2020.
3. That the Board direct TTC staff to continue discussions with the regional transit providers to explore opportunities to cost share on cross-border trips and to report back to the Board in Q2 2020.

The next TTC Board meeting will be held on November 12, 2019 at City Hall.

The ACAT Executive Quarterly Meeting was held on October 8, 2019 at City Hall.

The following items were discussed:

• Comments on 2019 Public Forum on Accessible Transit and the Special TTC Board Meeting

TTC Vice Chair Alan Heisey commented that the Public Forum was very important and TTC Chair Jaye Robinson expressed extreme disappointment that she could not make it.

At the special TTC Board meeting, the debate and discussion was very good but discussion had to be cut short. Some of the topics were very useful for City Councillors and others in attendance. It was noted that there appeared to be less attendance at the Public Forum this year but it was speculated that this situation may be because of the live streaming option.
 
Mazin Aribi stated that the new format of having a special TTC Board meeting ahead of the Public Forum worked well. He recommended that this format be done again and suggested that advertising be improved on both aspects of the event to increase attendance.

• Update on October 3, 2019 GTHA Accessibility Advisory Committee (GTHA AAC) Meeting at York Region

Despite the meeting location being far and the meeting time being early, Mazin Aribi noted that the meeting was relatively well attended. Mazin noted that better communication from the AAC members is required, for example exchange of minutes to ensure everyone is on the same page. The working group has a good representation from a wide range of agencies including Peel TransHelp and GO Transit to name a few.

Mazin Aribi reported that Antonia Hammer from Metrolinx stated that Metrolinx will consult with the AAC municipality region where a Metrolinx project is built in the area.

Presentations were given by the GTHA Specialized Transit Working Group, Kim Heathcote from YRT, and by Dwayne Geddes from Wheel-Trans. Information from the presentations included:

• Better communication with AACs about what the Working Group is doing
• Facilitate online information – sharing information with customers about other GTHA transit services
• Harmonized policies and services for more seamless travel across the region
• Comprehensive gap analysis to identify opportunities where we can continue to improve our services for customers
• Continue working on reducing dwell times
• Updates of the TTC’s Family of Services, Conditional Trip Matching, and Re-registration
• TTC Subway Uploads to the Province and Future Metrolinx Projects and the Impact on Accessible Transit

Mazin Aribi indicated that there are ongoing concerns with the subway uploads to the province and future Metrolinx projects. Mazin asked that the TTC continue to monitor and communicate at all times. TTC Chair Jaye Robinson stated that she believes some things will start to flow shortly and that the TTC will ensure that ACAT’s voice is heard. She also mentioned that there are several things that the TTC sees as a priority:

• TTC maintain ownership of the subway
• TTC play a role in the building of additional lines
• TTC have a seat at the table for these discussions

Mazin stated that it is important for ACAT to be at the table from the beginning.

Review of Outstanding Items

• Item: Harmonization of Accessibility Features between Metrolinx LRT stations with existing TTC accessibility standards – ACAT advised that this matter will be referred to an upcoming Design Review Subcommittee meeting for review by ACAT to provide feedback. Ongoing.
• Item: Islington and Warden Stations-Planning and Budgeting Ahead of 2025 – Funding to make Islington and Warden stations accessible is included in the 2019-2028 Capital Budget. Complete.
• Item: ACAT Motion Regarding Metrolinx Eglinton Cross-town LRT Elevator Controls - TTC Staff advised that a change order has been given and Metrolinx has agreed to complete, except at three individual stations where elevators have already been fabricated. Ongoing.
• Item: Accessibility (Provincial) Subways, Elevators, AODA Legislation - Staff is still waiting for a list of what ACAT would like TTC Chair Jaye Robinson to raise to the Province. TTC Chair Jaye Robinson has committed to stay on top of this. Ongoing.
• Item: Need for Elevator Redundancy at Interchange Subway Station - Staff recommended to now use the term “Dual” elevators instead of redundancy. Staff have included this standard in designs moving forward. Ongoing.
• Impact of Curb Side Bike Lanes on Wheel-Trans Customers and Operators in Accessing Certain Pick-Up/Drop Off Locations and Subway Stations that do not have bus platforms - The City of Toronto has not yet provided an update as to how they have incorporated ACAT’s feedback, or not, into the On-Street Bikeway Design Guidelines.  Once provided, a further update will be given. Ongoing.
• Vertical Gaps on Subway Platforms - TTC Staff submitted a report, “Subway Platform Gap Retrofit Program” to the TTC Board on September 24, 2019. Complete.

The next meeting is scheduled for November 26, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., Toronto City Hall, Meeting Room C.

Nil.

Province's Agreement to Build 4 Priority Lines for TTC Operation

Pressure is still to be maintained so that TTC and ACAT are consulted during the development of the design of the 4 priority lines – Scarborough, Richmond Hill, Ontario Line, and Eglinton Cross-town West Extension. ACAT expressed the importance of seeing all extensions lines individually.

Members were concerned that they are not being consulted by Metrolinx. ACAT is hoping to get a seat for future meetings, so that they can ensure that no issues are missed.

The next meeting of ACAT will be held on November 28, 2019, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 1900 Yonge Street, 7th Floor Boardroom.

On a motion by Margo Brodie, the meeting was adjourned at 3:36 p.m.

Rebecca Tyo
Recording Secretary