Board Meeting - February 29, 2012

(Public meeting to commence at 10:00 a.m. to deal with Declarations of Interest and a resolution to conduct a portion of the meeting in the absence of the public. The Commission will immediately meet in the absence of the public (referred to as “Committee of the Whole”) to deal with Confidential Items and will reconvene the portion of the meeting open to the public at approximately 1:00 p.m.)

Resolution to conduct a portion of the meeting in the absence of the public (Committee of the Whole) in accordance with Section 29 of the TTC By-law to Govern Commission Proceedings and section 190 of the City of Toronto Act

• Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension – Contract A35-26 – Risk Management
  (This report contains advice or communications that are subject to solicitor-client privilege)

Nil

Meeting (open to the public) – 1:00 P.M.

Committee Room 2, 2nd Floor, City Hall

• Meeting No. 1944 - Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Nil

Presentations will be heard at 2:00 p.m. Requests to speak must be registered by 12:00 Noon of day preceding meeting day.

Nil

Nil

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1. Reports with Confidential Attachments (Committee of the Whole)
   • Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension – Contract A35-26 – Risk Management (For Information)
2. Presentations
3. Budget matters
4. Procurement Authorizations
   • Summary of Authorized Expenditures between $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 for the Period December 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011
5. Procurement Authorization Amendments
6. Notice of Awards
7. Service Matters
   • Accessible Transit Services Plan – 2011 Status Report
8. Other Business
   • Metropass Programs – Update (For Information)
   • Wireless Network in the Subway Project – Status (For Information)
   • Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension – Station Names in the City of Vaughan (For Action)
9. New Business
10. Correspondence

A correspondence summary will be distributed at the meeting.

Nil

K. Stintz (Chair), M. Augimeri, V. Crisanti, F. Di Giorgio, N. Kelly, C. Palacio, and J. Parker (Commissioners), A. Byford (Deputy Chief General Manager), V. Rodo (General Manager – Executive & General Secretary), D. Dixon (General Manager – Operations), S. Ghaly (Chief Capital Officer – Engineering, Construction and Expansion), B. Leck (General Counsel - Legal), M. Stambler (Chief Planning Officer), A. Bertolo (Chief Project Manager – Spadina Subway Extension), S. Reed Tanaka (Manager – Engineering Department),  B. Ross (Director – Corporate Communications), C. Upfold (Chief Customer Service Officer), K. Lee (Assistant General Secretary) and D. McDonald (Co-ordinator – Corporate Secretariat Services) were present.

K. Stintz was in the Chair.

Nil

Commissioner Di Giorgio moved that the Commission approve the minutes from meeting no. 1943 and meeting no. 1944 and that the Chair and General Secretary be authorized to sign the same.

The motion by Commissioner Di Giorgio carried.

Nil

Commissioner Parker moved that the Commission recess to meet as the Committee of the Whole to deal with litigation or potential litigation matters, labour relations, employee negotiations, and to receive advice which is subject to solicitor-client privilege.

The motion by Commissioner Parker carried.

Meeting (open to the public) – 1:10 p.m.

Committee room 2, 2nd floor, City Hall

Prior to reconvening with the public portion of the agenda, Chair Stintz took the opportunity to formally introduce and welcome Deputy Chief General Manager, Andy Byford, into his acting role.  Chair Stintz commented on the leadership Mr. Byford has already demonstrated since taking over and indicated that his professionalism during this transition is appreciated by the Commission.  Mr. Byford, in response, indicated that he is honoured to lead the TTC, as would any transit professional, and that he is committed to putting forth his full effort in the service of our transit customers, the Commission and the staff who do a fabulous job day-in and day-out.

Following the introduction and welcome, Chair Stintz then read a number of recent communications submitted by TTC customers detailing some very good customer service experiences they have had while travelling by TTC.  Chair Stintz extended her appreciation, and that of her fellow Commissioners, to the TTC employees who were instrumental in creating these positive customer service outcomes.

a) Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension – Station Names in the City of Vaughan

Tim Simmonds
City of Vaughan

The commission received the deputation for information
(see item no. 8(c) for minute). 

Petitions

Commissioner Palacio introduced a petition from area residents requesting a northerly extension of the routing for the 402 Parkdale Community Bus.

The commission received the petition and referred the item to staff for report back to the Commission.

Nil

Commissioner Palacio moved:

That the commission:

1. Work with City Transportation Staff on finding modifications to affect permanent solutions to relieve congestion and improve health and safety issues on St. Clair Avenue West, as follows:

a) Looking at available technologies to prioritize streetcar movement within the section between Old Weston Road and Keele Street/Weston road, including the stretch beneath the railway overpass.

b) Provide a plan that would allow that section of road to be shared by all users.

The commission referred the foregoing motion to staff for report back to the Commission.

Nil

NIL

1. Reports with Confidential Attachments (Committee of the Whole)

a) Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension Contract A35-26 Risk Management

The Commission:

1. Received a confidential verbal update regarding risk management related to contract A35-26;

2. Noted that the information provided in the confidential verbal update is to remain confidential in its entirety, as it contains information that is subject to solicitor-client privilege.

2. Presentations

NIL

3. Budget Matters

NIL

4. Procurement Authorizations

a) Summary of Authorized Expenditures between $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 for the Period December 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011It is recommended that the Commission receive this report for information.

Received

5. Procurement Authorization Amendments

NIL

6. Notice of Awards

NIL

7. Service Matters

a) Accessible Transit Services Plan 2011 Status Report

It is recommended that the Commission forward this report to the City of Toronto, Metrolinx, the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services, Transportation, Energy, Infrastructure, and the Ontario Human Rights Commission, noting that:

• this report fulfils the provincially-legislated requirement in the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 for an annual documentation of the TTC’s accessibility plan;
• the status of the TTC’s current activities to improve the accessibility of its facilities and services is described in more detail in the attached Appendix 1, entitled, TTC Accessible Transit Services Plan - 2011 Status Report;
• the TTC achieved a major milestone in its accessibility plan in 2011 as all conventional bus services provided by the TTC are now accessible;
• the TTC is making steady progress in making the TTC accessible, with initiatives underway on streetcar and rapid transit modes;
• TTC’s plans call for retrofitting every transit station in the system with elevators and accessibility features. This is a unique program in the transit industry, world-wide, as no other major transit property that we are aware of is retrofitting older stations in a comprehensive way. Forty per cent of TTC’s stations have been retrofitted to date, however, due to funding constraints, the program will not be completed until 2025;
• Provincial regulations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities, 2005 (AODA) have been enacted which apply to the TTC and other public sector agencies. Staff continue to monitor progress of the Accessibility Standard for the Built Environment, which is the final standard being developed under the AODA. The TTC is in compliance with most of the clauses in the regulations enacted to date, however the full implications for the TTC of a number of the standards remain unclear. As more information is obtained, staff will report to the Commission on the requirements contained in the standards, along with the associated funding implications.
• the Commission has requested that the Province take the lead on implementation of elements of the standards rather than down-loading the responsibility and costs onto service providers; and
• the Province has not made a commitment to fund the costs of complying with the AODA regulations. Additional, unfunded costs resulting from the Provincial requirements may result in increased TTC subsidy requirements from the City, service reductions, and/or fare increases.

Approved

8. Other Business

a) Metropass Programs - Update

It is recommended that the Commission receive the following information updates on the Volume Incentive Program (VIP) and Metropass Discount Plan (MDP) programs:

1. Staff has communicated with university and college administrations in the City of Toronto to re-iterate to them that the administration of the VIP Program can be extended to include all university and college faculty, staff, full-time students, and part-time students; and

2. Staff has implemented changes to VIP and MDP programs in order to streamline administrative, operational, and revenue collection logistics and enable immediate pass price increases when future fare increases are implemented.

Received

b) Wireless Network in the Subway Project - Status

The commission deferred this report to the next meeting of the commission on March 30, 2012.

c) Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension Station Names in the City of Vaughan

Chair Stintz moved that recommendation no. 3 in the staff report be amended so that the station name shall be “Vaughan Metropolitan Centre”.

The motion by Chair Stintz carried.

Chair Stintz moved adoption of the report, as amended.

The motion by Chair Stintz carried.

9. New Business

NIL

10. Correspondence

C1 Alan Yule requesting an opportunity to speak at a future meeting regarding an efficiency plan for the 504 King streetcar route during weekend evenings.

The Commission received the communication for information and referred the correspondence to staff for appropriate action.

The meeting adjourned at 1:45 p.m.

Nil

TTC Chair Karen Stintz formally welcomed Andy Byford, Chief Operating Officer/Deputy Chief General Manager, to his first board meeting in his new acting capacity as the head of the TTC. “Andy has stepped into the role and provided credible leadership to the organization at a time when we’ve had a turbulent few weeks involving a number of employee assaults and a shooting of a Collector this past Sunday,” she said.

Commissioners formally approved the names of the first two stations on the six-station Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension. The terminal station is called Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and the next station south on the line is called Highway 407. Both stations are located north of Steeles Avenue in York Region.

The subway station names were selected after considering input received through public consultations.

Other names considered for Vaughan Metropolitan Centre: Vaughan Centre, Highway 7, Highway 7 West, Jane North, Edgeley, Creditstone and Applewood. Other names considered for Highway 407: Highway 407 Transitway, Highway 407 West, Jane North, Beechwood, Black Creek, Exchange, Peelar, Adesso and Snider.

The TTC station-naming policy dictates that subway stations have a name that makes a direct reference to a geographic location. Of the TTC’s 69 stations, 58 are named for an intersecting or nearby street, six are named for a nearby major destination or landmark and five are named for the district in which they are located.

Here’s a description of the future stations:

• Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station: will be located north of Highway 7 to the west side of the relocated Millway Avenue. The terminal station will be a multi-modal transportation hub with an off-street passenger-pick-up-and-drop-off area and connections to York Region Transit (YRT) Bus Terminal and to a Viva Bus Rapidway, which will run in the centre of Highway 7.
• Highway 407 Station: will be located west of Jane Street and south of Highway 407, west of Black Creek. Station features include an inter-regional bus terminal, 600-space commuter lot and a connection for a future Highway 407 Transitway.