Committee of the Whole

11:13All right, good afternoon everybody.

11:15Thank you for joining our committee meeting today.

11:18It's Tuesday, April 7th, 2026 and it is two o'clock.

11:22So thank you again.

11:24I'll call the meeting officially to order.

11:26And with that right off the top,

11:29if you could stand if you're able

11:30as we recognize our national anthem please.

12:59Thank you.

13:00Moment of silent reflection as we move along here.

13:02Just take a moment.

13:16Great, thank you.

13:17And our territorial acknowledgement as we're gathered,

13:19let us take time to reflect on our privilege

13:22to live and work here in Guelph,

13:23a city built over rich indigenous histories.

13:26As guests here, we should reflect upon the responsibility

13:29to care for the land and the people who live here today

13:32and the generations to come.

13:34If our actions today can move us towards reconciliation,

13:37we should take pause and make those decisions

13:39with intention and with gratitude.

13:42This place we call Guelph has served as traditional lands

13:45and a place of refuge for many peoples over time,

13:47but more specifically the Anwaranarok

13:50and the Honanashoni.

13:52This land is held as the treaty lands in territory

13:54with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

13:58Guelph lies directly adjacent to the Haldeman track

14:01and is part of a long established traditional hunting grounds

14:03for the six nations of the Grand River.

14:06And many First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples

14:09who have come from across Turtle Island

14:11call Guelph home today.

14:15Thank you.

14:16And moving into the agenda,

14:18is there any disclosure of pecuniary interest

14:20or any general nature thereof for any of the items?

14:24Okay, don't hear or see anyone.

14:26So consider that matter closed.

14:29Right off the top, we got a couple staff recognitions.

14:32This is always the fun part.

14:34And we have one that will be read out from Chair Klossin

14:39and the other from Chair Downer.

14:41And so the first one, I'll turn over to you, Chair Klossin.

14:46Yes, thank you, Mayor Guthrie.

14:49This is a very timely recognition,

14:52given that we are reviewing our traffic calming policy update

14:56this afternoon.

14:57So on behalf of council, it's my pleasure

14:59to recognize Nico Koenig along with

15:02Vanita Van Miltenburg and Reza Aming-Fohi,

15:06who are instrumental in providing data analysis

15:09and direction on the city of Guelph's Vision Zero Action

15:12Plan for safe streets.

15:14Being awarded the Ontario Traffic Council's

15:16Transportation Planning Project of the Year,

15:19award 2025.

15:21This competitive award showcases excellence

15:24and innovation in transportation,

15:25planning by the public or private sector.

15:28Congratulations to Nico and the road safety team

15:31on this fabulous achievement.

15:40Thank you.

15:40And another award goes to Katie Grant

15:44for the Next Gen Municipal Leadership Program

15:46at Brock University.

15:48So Katie completed the Next Gen Municipal Leadership

15:51Certificate through Brock University in December of 2025.

15:55This program provides municipal leaders

15:57with an opportunity to learn directly

15:59from the Goodman School of Business Faculty

16:01and experienced industry professionals.

16:05Katie strengthened her understanding

16:06of her own leadership style, learned

16:08how to motivate high performing teams

16:10and refined the mission, visions, and goals

16:12of her department.

16:14This program also focuses on a unique relationship dynamics

16:20within a municipal environment, which

16:21is ever changing these days, including strategies

16:25for preventing conflict, managing crises,

16:28and navigating long term unionized settings.

16:30Katie built awareness of the workplace discrimination issues,

16:34explored, proved, and changed management models,

16:36and identified her own leadership priorities.

16:39By the end, Katie developed a practical, sustainable action

16:42plan to support her continued growth and effectiveness.

16:46That's great.

16:47So congratulations, Katie.

16:53So Chair Klossin and Downer and myself,

16:56we'd like to invite the two staff members to maybe just

17:00come in front of the Guelph sign over here, the Guelph Banner.

17:03And we'll take a couple of pictures to acknowledge

17:05your achievements.

17:51I'm not sure.

17:52I'm stuck in your group.

17:54There's no way to enter.

17:56Is that good?

18:01Congratulations.

18:02That's good.

19:18Great.

19:19Congratulations again to our staff.

19:22Well done.

19:25Council, committee, if it's OK with you, if it's not,

19:30we want to go normal process here.

19:31It's fine.

19:32But in talking to the chairs, we have a lot of consent items

19:37on this entire agenda today.

19:38And only one that looks to be pulled for conversation.

19:42Is it OK?

19:44I talked to the chairs, and they said,

19:45if no one wants to pull any of it,

19:47I could just move the consent for.

19:49So it would be for the delegated authority, which

19:52is under the governance section.

19:54And then there's the 2025 Water Services Annual Report.

19:58And then there's also the taxi tariff as well.

20:04And then that's it.

20:05Does anybody want them pulled?

20:09OK, which one do you want pulled?

20:10Can I have item 5.1 pulled, please?

20:17OK.

20:17So other than that, then, that's the first one.

20:20So I have Councillor Boussadil.

20:23Would you mind just moving consent on the other two, then?

20:25Yeah?

20:26And then, Colas and you're OK?

20:30Comment?

20:30Yeah, go ahead.

20:31Quick comment.

20:31I know a lot of work goes into the Water Services and Efficiency

20:35Report.

20:35And if Water Services is here, I just

20:37want to thank you for all the work and the diligence that

20:39goes on year round.

20:41I don't want this to be passed without you

20:43knowing how much we appreciate the work you do on our behalf.

20:47Yeah, everyone says ditto, shaking their heads in unison.

20:51So thank you very much.

20:52OK, I'll call the vote then on those other two consent items.

20:55So is anyone against those items at all?

21:00No?

21:00OK, so that's you.

21:06OK, so we're not voting on the delegated authority bylaw.

21:11That's under my section.

21:13But we are voting on the Water Services Report.

21:15And we're voting just on the taxi.

21:19Yeah, is that OK, Councillor Goller?

21:21Yeah?

21:22OK, so again, just to reaffirm, is there anyone against?

21:27No one.

21:27OK, so those two items are taken care of.

21:29Before I vacate the chair in, it looks

21:31like I have Councillor Boussadil that wants to maybe just

21:34have a question on the delegated authority bylaw.

21:37For the bring your own something, bring your own events.

21:41OK, go ahead, Councillor.

21:43Thank you.

21:43And through the mayor, please, through the staff,

21:46to the staff, can you help me understand kind of the process

21:49here?

21:50One is the process for designating an event as community

21:54or cultural.

21:55And then it seems as though there is a special event city

21:59permit.

22:00And I'm going to, since this has come out,

22:02I'm just going to share what I hear on the street is,

22:04woohoo, I can take my beer to the park.

22:08And my subsequent question is, the next steps,

22:13will there be consultation with school boards with public health?

22:16I just pulled up the public health report

22:18that states very clearly about a concern with youth well-being

22:22and alcohol availability.

22:24We had the provincial government make alcohol sales

22:27available in convenience stores.

22:30Can you just give me some reassurance about process

22:34and also the next steps in consultation and containing?

22:37So for example, will the city allow alcohol

22:42to be on city parks that abut school board property?

22:47Because I can tell you, people do not

22:49distinguish between city parks and school board

22:52parks where they abut, whether it is for encampments, fireworks,

22:58any of those kinds of things.

22:59So if you can give me some reassurance about the process.

23:03Thank you, Councillor Bustel.

23:04Bustel, and through you to Mayor Guthrie.

23:07I think most of the questions will be for DCO Clark Bush.

23:10But just on the quick response, Councillor,

23:13to your question on the process, what precipitate

23:18or what the impetus for this report

23:20is a change that the AGCO made to what used to be referred

23:23to as tailgate events now bring your own events.

23:26And so those require council designation

23:29for lack of a better term.

23:31And we've historically had a delegation of that authority.

23:35That expedites things.

23:36That speeds up the process.

23:38These aren't coming to council on a monthly basis.

23:41We're not trying to shoehorn in to specific agendas.

23:43And so that's the impetus for this to change this.

23:45But I think you're quite right that it does beg further questions.

23:49And I'll defer to Ms. Clark Bush in that regard,

23:51because there are a series of other city policies

23:54that wrap around the questions and concerns that you had

23:58that I'll defer to her on.

24:00Thank you.

24:01And so through the mayor, this is step one of the process.

24:05And this is a very sort of legislative process,

24:07as DCO O'Brien has said, related to the delegated authority

24:10of the clerk.

24:11And that's for how these events get designated.

24:16To be very clear, the change in the provincial legislation

24:19and what is before you tonight does not

24:21permit individuals to come to parks and bring alcohol

24:25at this moment in time.

24:26And so we are going to work on making sure

24:27that that is clear.

24:28That's not a Guelph specific thing.

24:30That is simply a misunderstanding, perhaps,

24:34of what this new legislation is in regard to.

24:37And so this step is about how those events get designated.

24:41We then, as the facility owner, for lack of a better word,

24:44for parks and facilities, now still

24:46need to look at what changes within our parks.

24:49It wasn't that long ago that this council directed us

24:51to do a study related to alcohol in parks

24:53and made the decision not to permit alcohol in our city

24:56parks.

24:57We now still need to go away and do that work,

25:00now that the province has changed this legislation

25:02and look at what does it mean for, to your point,

25:04Councillor Busuttil, special event permit holders.

25:06So for city facilities, where special events are taking place

25:10at city facilities, we now need to go away and do that work

25:12to update our alcohol risk management policy,

25:15look at what processes will change,

25:17but to be very clear, for alcohol to be consumed,

25:20whether it's under the bring your own or not,

25:22there still has to be a special event permit in place

25:25through the AGCO.

25:28Through the mayor, just a quick follow up.

25:30And my question about the process around consultation,

25:33in particular public health and the concern around youth

25:36alcohol access to alcohol and school board abutting properties

25:41where there are, you know, gateway drive and other schools

25:46where people don't make the distinction,

25:48I assume there will be that rigor in conversations

25:52and making sure.

25:54So through the mayor, as part of our special event permit

25:57process, a public health already does need to approve

26:00our special event permits as does police,

26:02and we'll definitely as well take away those,

26:05to your point, those park adjacent properties.

26:08We can't control what happens, for example,

26:10on school board properties directly,

26:12but we can look at what our policies are that

26:15relate to our parks where people may not recognize

26:17the difference between the two.

26:18So that will be part of the work that we'll take away and look at.

26:22Thank you.

26:25Thank you.

26:26And would you be willing to move then that consent item?

26:28OK.

26:29Richardson, happy to second that.

26:31Thank you.

26:32Anything further on that item then?

26:35All right, I'll call the vote.

26:36Is anyone against?

26:39OK, nobody.

26:41That's unanimous.

26:43See in the park with no alcohol.

26:47OK, and with that, my section is done.

26:51We only have one item then remaining,

26:53and that is for the traffic calming policy, which

26:57is under chair Klossin.

26:58So everyone count to 30, and we'll

27:01start back up with her sitting in the chair.

27:48Good afternoon, and thank you, Mayor Guthrie.

27:51We are now sitting as the Infrastructure Development

27:54Environment Service Area, and we will

27:57be discussing the traffic calming policy update.

28:02But first, we have a presentation from our staff,

28:07and I'm going to hand things over to you.

28:09It looks like Steve Anderson, our manager of transportation

28:14engineering, is stepping up to the mic.

28:15So thank you, Steve.

28:18Over to you.

28:20OK, everyone can hear me?

28:23Perfect.

28:24Good afternoon, Chair Klossin, Mayor Guthrie,

28:27and members of committee.

28:29Today we are here to present the updated traffic calming

28:32policy, shaped by extensive internal and external engagement

28:37and informed by what we've learned over the last five years.

28:41During that time, we've gained a clearer understanding

28:44of what effectively slows drivers down, what

28:47is less impactful, and what our road safety team can

28:50realistically deliver given current staffing level

28:54and budget projections.

28:56Traffic calming is a time-intensive process,

29:00engagement, design, construction, and evaluation.

29:05And it represents just one of the 68 action items

29:09within our Vision Zero work plan.

29:12As requests for traffic calming continue to far exceed

29:17our ability to implement them, this policy update

29:20focuses on transparency and a level of service

29:24we can confidently provide.

29:27In consultation with our customer service experience team,

29:31we are recommending a targeted approach

29:34that prioritizes the 25 streets identified in the report,

29:39rather than creating a list that could take more

29:42than a decade to complete.

29:44This ensures we are prioritizing safety

29:47based on quantifiable risk and delivering a clear achievable

29:51plan for the community.

29:54Once this work is complete, we will return in five years

29:58with an updated plan that reflects staffing and budget

30:04levels at that time and outlines how we can continue

30:08to best support traffic calming needs across the city.

30:12It's likely residents will continue

30:14approaching their counselors about traffic calming.

30:18So we're asking for your approval today

30:20and your ongoing support for the city

30:23to effectively address community safety.

30:27Now I'll pass it over to Nico, our Transportation Safety

30:30Specialist, to provide more specifics on the policy update.

30:40Hello, everyone.

30:42My name is Nico Koenig.

30:43I am the Transportation Safety Specialist with the Engineering

30:45Transportation Services.

30:47Today, I'm presenting the updated traffic calming policy

30:50for your consideration.

31:04OK, thank you.

31:06The traffic calming policy was most recently approved in 2020

31:10to traffic calm local and collector roads,

31:13noting that it would be reviewed every five years.

31:16In 2021, council reduced all local road speed limits

31:20to 40 kilometers per hour.

31:22And because of this change, we paused the intake and review

31:26of new traffic calming requests that came from residents.

31:30Vision Zero and the Safe System approach

31:32were adopted through the Transportation Master Plan in 2022,

31:35reshaping our priorities and road safety approach.

31:39In 2023, accessibility concerns led

31:42to limiting the use of vertical traffic calming measures,

31:45such as speed cushions.

31:48In 2025, the following happened.

31:51Council unanimously endorsed the Vision Zero Action Plan.

31:54The province eliminated the ability for municipalities

31:57to use automated speed enforcement cameras.

32:00In response, the province created the Road Safety Initiatives

32:04Fund, or RSIF, to support municipalities,

32:08including the city of Guelph, in implementing traffic calming.

32:12I'll talk more about that shortly.

32:15We also began a review of the traffic calming policy,

32:18including extensive community engagement.

32:20All of these events today led us to where we are, right here,

32:24presenting our updated traffic calming policy to you.

32:32It's worth reviewing why we traffic calm roads

32:36and what traffic calming is and what it is not.

32:39To start, how is traffic calming related to Vision Zero?

32:43Vision Zero frames road safety around preventing

32:46serious injuries and fatalities from occurring.

32:48And the Safe System approach shows us

32:50how to achieve that by proactively addressing risk.

32:53Most importantly, the Safe System

32:56requires us to address the risk of speeding vehicles.

32:59Here are two broad ways we can reduce this risk.

33:02We can do it through road design, which

33:05physically prevents speeding through elements

33:07like complete street designs, roundabouts, sidewalks,

33:10and traffic calming measures.

33:12Traffic calming, put simply, are physical measures

33:15that drivers either go over or they go around.

33:19These types of designs usually fall

33:21under municipal jurisdiction.

33:24Traffic control and regulation is the second approach,

33:27which is about telling drivers what

33:28to do through rules and guidance, telling them to slow down.

33:33This includes speed limits, stop signs, traffic signals,

33:37and pedestrian crossings.

33:38These are often directed and warranted

33:41through provincial guidelines.

33:43Today, we are focused strictly on traffic calming measures,

33:46road design changes that physically slow down drivers,

33:49and only on local and collector roads,

33:51which help us create the Safe System we need

33:54to reach Vision Zero.

33:55That's why we need traffic calm streets.

34:01Traffic calming works by targeting

34:03the highest and fastest speeds.

34:07Drivers who travel too fast experience discomfort

34:10when they go over a speed cushion, which encourages them

34:13to slow down.

34:15Traffic calming placed correctly can also

34:18maintain steady and appropriate speeds along a corridor

34:20and reduces the pattern of heartbreaking followed

34:23by rapid acceleration, also called the accordion effect.

34:27We have heard concerns about rightability and comfort

34:30of passengers when they drove over certain types

34:33of traffic calming measures.

34:34As mentioned, we paused the use of vertical measures in 2023

34:38due to these concerns so that we could gather more information

34:41and investigate these concerns in detail.

34:44We conducted an experiment and collected data

34:48to help us understand how a traffic calming measure,

34:50like a speed cushion, may affect drivers

34:53and passengers' comfort levels.

34:55This graph that you depicted in this slide

34:58shows the levels of G-force, experienced by passengers following

35:02a transit route in Guelph from beginning to end.

35:06Generally, less or no G-force experienced by a passenger

35:10means high level of comfort.

35:12As you can see, passengers experience constant changes

35:16in G-force during a typical drive.

35:19This happens when accelerating, braking, turning,

35:22or traveling over uneven pavement at certain locations,

35:25like railroad tracks or maintenance hole locations.

35:30When speed cushions are driven at the posted speed limit,

35:33as this graph shows, the force they generate

35:36are no different than what drivers and passengers already

35:39experience on a typical journey.

35:44Let's talk about what we learned through our review

35:46of the traffic calming policy.

35:49Our review showed that restricting

35:51the use of vertical measures, either by spacing them out

35:54too far apart or not using them, reduces

35:56the effectiveness of our traffic calming policy

35:59for lowering vehicle speeds.

36:01We also know that current staffing and funding levels

36:04cannot meet the existing demand.

36:07With more than 250 requests currently in the traffic calming

36:10request queue, it would take over a decade

36:13to address just a quarter of them.

36:16We also confirmed a misalignment in the levels of service

36:19we offer to all Guelph residents.

36:21Equity-focused research conducted

36:23with the University of Guelph shows

36:25that residents who live in higher need areas in Guelph

36:29receive fewer traffic studies, which

36:31are required for traffic calming plans.

36:34This is despite the fact that these higher need areas

36:37see higher numbers of collisions involving people

36:39who walk and bike.

36:42I'll pause here to note our extensive community engagement

36:45efforts, including receiving survey responses

36:47from more than 1,000 Guelph residents.

36:50A major part of our review involved the traffic calming

36:54policy civic circle, which was far more substantial effort

36:57than a typical open house or survey.

37:00We recruited 15 residents from across all wards, drivers,

37:05non-drivers, people walking and biking,

37:08people with mobility challenges, parents, students,

37:10and older adults.

37:12They met with us for four structured sessions,

37:15each several hours long.

37:17During these sessions, participants

37:19learned about Vision Zero, the Safe System approach,

37:22and our existing traffic calming policy.

37:24They reviewed collision data, explored trade-offs,

37:27and heard from road safety experts from across Ontario.

37:31Their recommendations were clear and unanimous.

37:34Traffic calming plans should prioritize community safety

37:37zones first, reflecting the identified risk

37:39to specific demographics like children, older adults,

37:43and people who walk and bike.

37:46Both the Guelph Transportation Advisory Committee

37:49and the Accessibility Advisory Committee

37:51endorse this exact recommendation.

37:54Both advisory committees also recommended

37:57the incorporation of vertical traffic calming measures,

37:59including the use of raised crossings, a measure

38:03I will be introducing in a moment.

38:08So how will this be funded, and how

38:11does it relate to our other road safety funding priorities

38:14like RSIF?

38:16If the updated traffic calming policy is approved,

38:19we will prioritize 25 streets for traffic calming

38:22over the next five years, focusing first

38:25on community safety zones along local and collector roads.

38:28For your information, these 25 proposed streets

38:31are listed at the end of Attachment 1

38:34of the traffic calming policy for your review.

38:37This is different than the second column presented here.

38:41The new Road Safety Initiatives Fund, or RSIF,

38:44is provided through the province.

38:46As part of this initial agreement,

38:48the city of Guelph received $676,904

38:53from the province to implement traffic calming measures.

38:56And as of February 13th, 2026, the province

38:59announced additional funding for this program,

39:02of which the city may be eligible for an additional $2.7

39:06million.

39:08This funding targets locations where speed cameras were

39:12previously operational, places like Colonial Drive,

39:15Water Street, June Avenue, and Goodwin Drive.

39:19To make that distinction clear again,

39:21RSIF goes only to where ASC cameras were placed,

39:24and the traffic calming policy will go to community safety

39:27zones where there was no ASC camera.

39:30The third column of funding is for Vision Zero Initiatives,

39:33which will continue to focus on high risk intersections

39:36and mid-block segments.

39:39Vision Zero Initiatives supports the Vision Zero Action Plan,

39:42of which contains 68 actions, one of which

39:45is updating the traffic calming policy.

39:48The other 67 actions support our efforts

39:50in addressing high risk areas, especially arterial roads,

39:53which is outside the scope of this traffic calming policy.

40:01The updated policy includes both new and existing measures.

40:05One new measure that I mentioned to you already

40:08is a raised crossing or raised crosswalk.

40:12Raised crossings bring the walkway level with the sidewalk,

40:16improving accessibility for people walking,

40:18using mobility devices, or pushing strollers,

40:21while also slowing vehicles at intersections

40:23and mid-block crossings, locations

40:25with a higher risk of pedestrian collisions.

40:28Speed cushions, shown on the top right of the slide,

40:32remain our standard vertical measure

40:34because they allow emergency vehicles and transit

40:36to pass through more easily.

40:39New and existing supplemental elements,

40:41such as custom crosswalks or low impact development,

40:44like stormwater features, provide visual cues

40:47that guide drivers towards slower speeds

40:50and help enhance the public realm.

40:52With our new policy, while our new policy

40:55adds measures to our toolbox, our priority

40:58will be the establishment of physical measures

41:01that most effectively reduce for vehicle speeds

41:03over supplemental measures.

41:07In summary, here are our key updates

41:11to our new traffic calming policy for you.

41:14The new traffic calming policy establishes

41:16that traffic calming measures will be installed

41:18in community safety zones first.

41:20If approved, we will be able to implement traffic calming plans

41:23on 25 streets over the next five years,

41:26using both new and supplemental measures.

41:29All outstanding traffic calming services service requests

41:32will be closed to align with the new policy.

41:35All new requests will be reviewed

41:38under the Council-endorsed Vision Zero Action Plan,

41:41which can consider such efforts,

41:42such as leading pedestrian intervals,

41:45geometric improvements, and seasonal flex posts.

41:48To complete this presentation,

41:50I would like to invite Loraz Freeman,

41:52Road Safety Supervisor, to come speak

41:53and provide a closing statement.

42:00Thank you, Nico.

42:02I hope what Council heard today is that we have learned

42:05a lot over the past five years of traffic calming

42:08under the current policy.

42:10We know where the risk exists on our roads,

42:12and we wanna focus our efforts in an equitable,

42:15transparent, and uniform way moving forward.

42:18To ensure that drivers slow down,

42:20and that our streets remain safe for all road users.

42:24We also know that this policy

42:26has been contentious in the past,

42:28and we now look to you, Council,

42:30for your support, along with the support

42:32that we already received through community engagement,

42:35to help achieve our Vision Zero goals.

42:37We feel it would be disingenuous to continue to add

42:41to a traffic calming list that current staff resources

42:44and capacity cannot deliver.

42:47We all have a shared goal.

42:49Create safe streets, provide good customer service,

42:53and continue to be fiscally responsible to the public.

42:56And we believe this policy meets these goals.

43:00We therefore recommend that the traffic calming policy 2026

43:04included as attachment one be approved.

43:07Thank you for your time, and we welcome your questions.

43:12Thank you, Steve, Nico, and Loraz.

43:15We'll hold our questions for now,

43:17and we will have our two delegates come up to the podium.

43:21We've got Claire Braden coming up first,

43:24and then followed by Andrea Bidgood.

43:28Claire, I think I see you here.

43:30If you wanna come to the podium, you have five minutes.

43:32I'd also just like to point out

43:34that Claire and Andrea both submitted

43:36written submissions as well.

43:38So thank you for those.

43:40And over to you, Claire, when you're ready.

43:43You've got five.

43:44Thank you.

43:46Thank you, Chair Classon.

43:47Thank you, Council.

43:49My name is Claire Braden.

43:50I'm a member or a resident of Ward 3, the Junction Village,

43:53and I am also a member of the Advocacy Committee of GCAT,

43:58Guelph's Community for Active Transportation.

44:01I rely on cycling to get around Guelph

44:03for all kinds of things, day-to-day activities,

44:05like going to school and getting groceries.

44:08I avoid riding on busy arterial roads

44:10because I'm afraid of them.

44:12So when I get to ride on traffic-combed,

44:15local and collector roads,

44:17I'm much more calm and I feel much more safe

44:22because it slows traffic down considerably.

44:25The traffic that's approaching me from behind,

44:28that extra time allows me to move over

44:30and get out of its way.

44:31And when I see it approaching me from head-on,

44:34I don't have to worry that that car

44:36is gonna hit some black ice

44:37and then careen out of control and collide with me.

44:41So basically, I don't have to think what if as much,

44:44and it makes my experience much better.

44:46What I really like about the proposed traffic-combing policy

44:49is that it prioritizes community safety zones.

44:53As a volunteer for GCAT,

44:55I speak to a lot of parents at community events,

44:57such as bike rodeos and community bike rides,

45:01and they all say that the biggest barrier

45:04for them allowing their children to walk and ride to school

45:07is that there is the fear of high-speed traffic.

45:11And research shows that children are walking to school

45:14less and less and biking to school less and less.

45:17So that's why installing traffic-combing measures

45:19in community safety zones first is such a great idea.

45:22It prioritizes the safety of children,

45:24relieves the anxiety of parents,

45:27and it encourages healthy, active lifestyles from a young age.

45:32I'm also a resident of the Junction neighborhood,

45:34a community that sadly lost a neighbor

45:36to a pedestrian vehicular collision last September.

45:40The collision occurred very close to an elementary school,

45:43and I think it's fair to say

45:44that this tragedy sent a shockwave through our neighborhood

45:47and renewed the community's resolve

45:49to prevent similar tragedies from happening.

45:54From my casual discussions with my neighbors,

45:56I did communicate to them

45:57what the major changes are to this policy.

46:00They all unanimously agree

46:01that prioritizing community safety zones

46:04is gonna take us one step further

46:06to preventing that tragedy from ever happening again.

46:10And I'll just add that one of the reasons

46:12I have such confidence in this new policy

46:14is that I did have the opportunity to serve

46:17on the civic circle that helped to develop the policy.

46:20And it was drawn from every ward in Guelph

46:23and from a range of walks of life in ages

46:26and genders and ethnicities.

46:28And we were given the opportunity

46:30to disagree respectfully, and we did.

46:33But what we all agreed on was that children

46:35have to come first with road safety.

46:37So that gives me confidence that most of Guelph

46:40agrees with these changes,

46:42which is to prioritize the community safety zones.

46:46And I would finish by asking council

46:50to fund these traffic calming measures

46:52in the next round of budgets and the budgets thereafter

46:55for these next 25 projects.

46:58Thank you very much.

47:00Thank you, Claire.

47:02Oh, just one second.

47:03I think that we might have some questions from council.

47:07So I've got Phil, Leigh-Ann, and I saw Handa

47:10and Linda over here.

47:13And I just, before I hand it over to them,

47:16I'd like to say thank you for bringing up your neighbor

47:20who tragically passed away.

47:22I know that I speak for all of us when we say

47:25that our hearts break for her family

47:28and for her community as well.

47:31Because there are communities too.

47:34Okay, Councillor Allt.

47:37Thank you very much, Chair Colassen.

47:40Through you to Ms. Brayden.

47:42First of all, thank you very much for your community advocacy

47:44and particularly thank you very much for your advocacy

47:47recently in the Paisley Road, St. Joseph's School area.

47:52I appreciate that you have some professional credentials

47:55related to planning that might assist me in this as well.

47:59But I also recognize that you might have some personal knowledge

48:04from the area that you live in.

48:07I was wondering if you could comment on anything

48:10that you think could be added into this policy

48:13because this is our first look at it per se,

48:17the approval coming in a couple weeks time.

48:21Is there anything that you'd like to see added?

48:24Well, in an ideal world, I'd like it to include arterial roads,

48:28but I think there might be some technical reasons

48:30why that might be very challenging.

48:33One thing that could be added,

48:35and I don't know if this fits into the scope,

48:37but would be perhaps stop signs.

48:40So just thinking to Alma Street from my neighborhood

48:44and neighbors have proposed adding stop signs

48:47in streets like Alma North that are very straight,

48:51that can end up a little bit like a speedway

48:54and it can slow cars down a little bit from block to block.

48:59So that's one thing I would add.

49:01I'm just curious about that.

49:02Adding stop signs on a straight street,

49:05it strikes me that that's fairly straightforward.

49:09Why stop signs per se?

49:13I understand that for some people,

49:15stop signs are just like a cloud in the sky.

49:18They're not really there.

49:20Is there any comments that you want to bring forward on that?

49:22Well, what we all agreed on in our neighborhood group

49:25is that they don't always stop people,

49:28and lots of people roll through stop signs,

49:30but they almost always slow people.

49:33And any little bit of slowing helps.

49:35And I think the thinking was that it might be a little,

49:39maybe a way to fast track some measures,

49:42might be a little bit less expensive than a speed bump.

49:47Obviously speed bumps are maybe the gold standard,

49:49if you will, for traffic calming.

49:53But we agree that we think most people do slow down

49:58to some degree for stop signs.

50:02Thank you very much.

50:05Thank you, Councillor Allt.

50:06Over to you, Councillor Caron.

50:08Great, thank you.

50:09And thanks for your participation on this committee.

50:11I recall the Junction neighborhood meeting a few weeks ago,

50:14and there were some other traffic calming priorities

50:20that we talked about in terms of outside of the 25 priorities

50:25that were based on first come, first serve.

50:27And I wonder if you can outline whether there were

50:31other criteria other than first come, first serve,

50:35and other than school safety zones

50:39that can help inform where our priority

50:41for future traffic calming should go.

50:45Yeah, so I'm trying to recall back to that meeting too,

50:48and think about if there was something specifically

50:49you talked about, if you're talking about areas

50:54outside of community safety zones that would be

50:57probably deserving or would merit,

50:59or warrant traffic calming,

51:01it would be where the vision zero data is saying

51:05that there are hot spots for a collision history

51:08or near misses with where people have reported,

51:12pedestrians or other vulnerable road users have reported,

51:16to feel unsafe.

51:18Yeah, I believe that was part of the conversation,

51:21was that there have been some collisions

51:23that didn't make the top 25 outside of the community

51:26safety zones and whether we need to maybe adjust

51:30how we set priorities.

51:31That's correct, yes, and I think that was what led

51:33to the speaking of how to calm that Alma Street north

51:38between Willow Road and Paisley,

51:40where there's sort of two school catchment areas

51:43channeling people walking their kids to school,

51:46plus going to Drew Park and getting into Paisley Road,

51:52and I think it's St. Peter's, the Catholic school.

51:55Yeah, and I think they're all around.

51:57Guelph, it's not just that area,

51:58but any feeder road into a community safety zone

52:02is experiencing similar challenges.

52:05You mentioned in your presentation

52:07that there was some disagreement within the committee.

52:11Can you outline perhaps where those areas of disagreement were?

52:14The disagreement had to do with the degree

52:17to which we should consult the public

52:20about the installation of traffic calming,

52:23because sometimes consulting or reaching out to the public

52:27is asking permission and sometimes it's asking

52:30if you had it, how would you like it to be

52:33or can it be made a little bit better for you?

52:35And some people were quite sensitive to that being,

52:37I'll just call it a roadblock,

52:39slowing it down, maybe getting in the way,

52:42and other people were more empathetic to people

52:46who might have a legitimate concern

52:48of maybe about like a vertical,

52:50someone who has a sore back going over a vertical bump

52:53in a car, someone hearing the noise at night.

52:58Just for whatever reason,

52:59there was a varying degree of empathy

53:02for how much opposition there might be

53:05or concern there might be,

53:06but I think what maybe cuts through all that

53:08was the idea that community safety zones come first,

53:11and it's kind of a no-brainer.

53:14So we still recognize that community outreach

53:17and consultation is a good thing,

53:20but we should also prioritize community safety zones.

53:23Great, thank you so much, that's valuable context.

53:28Councillor Bustel, please.

53:30Thank you very much for your delegation

53:32and also for recognizing the community

53:36and school safety zones, the active and safe routes

53:38to school is really important

53:40and has been going on for a long time.

53:42I do have a question about GCAT,

53:44I understand you're part of advocacy,

53:46but from my experience,

53:47there's also part of the public education piece of this,

53:50and the staff had a report or a slide up there

53:53about the provincial side and the municipal side,

53:56and I know the mayor and I talked about signage

53:59that comes from the province that we are required to provide.

54:03So my question is about GCAT,

54:06and do you also provide public education?

54:08And a perfect example is, again,

54:10the staff said the leading pedestrian crossing,

54:14you know, where the light goes on

54:16and the number of times that I've seen people

54:18looking at that at eye level and making a right or a left.

54:22So my question is about GCAT's great, that's wonderful,

54:26advocating for more,

54:27but my question is about public education

54:29and the partnership in raising awareness

54:32and working with the community around that.

54:34Is that something that your organization does?

54:37We do it casually or informally, I would say,

54:40when we have community events,

54:41we're always engaging with people.

54:43We don't have a formal script

54:45or I would say educational program.

54:48We do run bike rodeos,

54:50help to run a bike rodeo in your ward,

54:52and Andrea Bidgood who's coming

54:55does a lot of events with children.

54:57So that comes out in our casual conversations,

55:00but we don't have a formal program for that.

55:05Thank you.

55:08Thank you.

55:09I think that is all.

55:10Thank you, Claire.

55:13We've got our last delegation,

55:14which who is Andrea Bidgood,

55:16if you can come on up, I saw you come in there.

55:19And I think Andrea, you know,

55:22you know that you've got five minutes

55:24and it will start when you begin.

55:31Sorry I have a lot of breath, I just spiked here.

55:36I'm really happy to be staying for you guys up here again

55:39and I'm a little disappointed I missed

55:42City Staff's presentation,

55:44but I still want to thank you for your work

55:48that went into this update

55:49and especially for the deeper engagement

55:51through the Civic Circle.

55:54Some of this may have been already said by Claire,

55:56but it gave residents a meaningful chance

55:59to shape those recommendations at a unique time as well.

56:04That was not easy for a lot of people.

56:06So our circle was held in the middle

56:09of the municipal budget pressure,

56:12in the middle of provincial changes

56:13that weakened or shifted some of the tools

56:17that municipalities rely on

56:20and in the middle of, I'm sure you've heard, community grief.

56:24As a bicycle mayor, I spend a lot of time

56:26hearing where people feel welcome

56:29and invited onto our streets and where they do not.

56:33And I think it's important to bridge that into policy

56:38and that's especially why I appreciated seeing

56:42and participating in the Civic Circle

56:44and I hope to see more of that in the future.

56:48Part of the reason this traffic calming update matters

56:51is that the current system has not been keeping up.

56:54So the city's own report says that traffic calming

56:57is meant to improve safety for all users

56:59and to encourage active transportation.

57:02And so we've heard that staff reported

57:04more than 250 open requests

57:07and essentially we are proposing to,

57:10I think essentially wipe that slate and start anew

57:14with the proposed proactive review

57:16of the 25 priority streets over the five years,

57:19which I think is pretty impressive with rolling out,

57:24but I guess we'll see what happens with that.

57:31The update recognizes that the old Wade was not enough

57:34and that the next version has to be more responsive,

57:37more strategic, more equitable and more grounded in risk

57:41over the complaint basis.

57:46I'm sure Claire's already reviewed

57:48the naming the important loss,

57:52but I did wanna bring up that the memorial

57:55in the junction neighborhood ever since I've moved into

57:57this neighborhood myself at Paisley and Alma.

58:03This memorial actually, I've seen change with the seasons,

58:06with the holidays and we have items placed

58:10with care at every corner.

58:12And it shows that this neighborhood has continued to show up

58:15to ask questions at town halls,

58:17to call for safety of streets

58:20and to carry that loss while supporting each other.

58:22And to me, that memorial is not just

58:25an act of neighborhood mourning,

58:28it's a visible form of public testimony

58:32about what safety has cost them there.

58:36Provincial changes may affect the tools municipalities

58:40are allowed to use and we have already seen how the loss

58:45of automated speed enforcement has forced cities like Guelph

58:48to adapt.

58:50We've done our best and we're still working on that,

58:53despite the province forcing us to work harder

58:56and I hope that we can still be dedicated

58:59to adapting as well.

59:02So I think it's important that council supports

59:05a policy framework that can keep growing,

59:08one that prioritizes risks,

59:11works with the tools that are still in our hands

59:13and continues building safer streets for each other,

59:16even when the landscape shifts around us.

59:19So yes, I'm asking you to support this update in city staff,

59:23but I'm also asking for something slightly bigger

59:27to that as well.

59:29And that is to treat this as a baseline we can build from.

59:33It's a broader vision for what we want our city to become

59:37and safety is obviously not a one-time decision or vote.

59:42And it's ongoing work we have to continue to defend

59:46and it means learning from real conditions

59:48and adapting when things get thrown our way

59:50and shaping our policy around how people actually move

59:54through the city or how they would move

59:56if we made them feel safe enough to choose those options.

1:00:00Thank you.

1:00:02Thank you, Andrea.

1:00:03And thank you for your advocacy as Biscule Mayor of Guelph.

1:00:07And yes, the memorial does stand as a powerful reminder

1:00:10of our loss as a community

1:00:12and our important work around road safety.

1:00:18So thank you.

1:00:20Are there any questions?

1:00:21Okay, Councillor Allt and anyone else?

1:00:23Okay, over to you.

1:00:25Thank you very much, Chair Klassen.

1:00:27Through you to Ms. Bitgood.

1:00:30Ms. Bitgood, thank you very much for coming before us.

1:00:33It's a very simple question, I hope.

1:00:35There was reference made to speed cushions

1:00:39as being superior to speed bumps.

1:00:41And I know there are some concerns about speed bumps

1:00:44and bicycles.

1:00:45So the question really is simple.

1:00:47Do speed cushions carry the same concerns

1:00:53for cyclists as do speed bumps?

1:00:57As a cyclist with reoccurring back pain,

1:01:01obviously going over something such as a speed bump

1:01:04that is encroaching into the bike lane

1:01:06is and can be painful for me.

1:01:10That is something I have to decide on

1:01:12depending on how I'm feeling.

1:01:14I'm thankful that it's not permanent.

1:01:16And I know these conditions obviously

1:01:20affect people with permanent conditions.

1:01:23So when it does affect me,

1:01:26that is something I have to put extra thought

1:01:29into my route.

1:01:31Just because I have a lot of pain

1:01:34doesn't mean I don't have somewhere to be

1:01:36such as work or medical appointments.

1:01:38I will decide to either detour

1:01:41or for example, speed cushions do have those,

1:01:48they're not like just like speed bumps are straight across.

1:01:51Speed cushions do have those divots

1:01:53for emergency vehicles to just pass through in transit.

1:01:57So being only two wheels myself,

1:01:59I am able to go through or I'm able to kind of go

1:02:02into the gutter area to avoid that,

1:02:06just to avoid the jostling.

1:02:09But if I were someone reliant on a tricycle for example,

1:02:16that is gonna be a lot sided and in fact worse

1:02:19than just going over one really slowly

1:02:22and in a controlled manner.

1:02:25And thank you.

1:02:26I'm not certain that you have the answer to this

1:02:28but it is a follow up.

1:02:30Because we are looking at traffic safety

1:02:33in a very holistic way.

1:02:36And we have presented to us that speed cushions

1:02:40could be part of the answer rather than doing nothing.

1:02:44Are they the lesser of two evils doing nothing

1:02:47versus speed cushions?

1:02:48And I don't know whether you can objectively answer that

1:02:51but I'm looking for advice.

1:02:53I myself debate about this because it is very tricky

1:02:59to find something that fits everyone universally.

1:03:04Overall, it's really hard to say

1:03:07but the goal is to prevent future injuries

1:03:11and disabilities that could affect people

1:03:13with how they go through the city

1:03:16and go over speed bumps.

1:03:19So it really depends on whether we give someone

1:03:22the option to take a detour or a different mode

1:03:26that avoids that.

1:03:29Or just knowing that it's there.

1:03:32Like I know there's a significant difference

1:03:34between knowing a speed bump is there

1:03:37and going over it in a controlled manner carefully

1:03:40and more slowly versus let's say I hit a pot hole.

1:03:45Like that is going to put me out for more time

1:03:48than knowing a speed bump is there

1:03:50but that's just my experience.

1:03:52Thank you very much.

1:03:53Welcome to spring and potholes are blooming everywhere.

1:03:56Thank you.

1:03:58Thank you Andrea and thank you.

1:04:01I don't think there's any other questions for you

1:04:05but thanks for coming up today

1:04:06and thank you for your participation

1:04:07in the Civic Circle as well.

1:04:10And thank you to Claire as well for your delegation

1:04:12and for the written correspondence.

1:04:15I am looking to put the recommendation on the floor

1:04:18and I've got Councillor Allt and Councillor Caron

1:04:21willing to move in second.

1:04:26And then I've got a speaker list started.

1:04:27So I've got Mayor Guthrie, Councillor Allt,

1:04:31Councillor Aboucetal, Councillor Goller,

1:04:34Councillor Gibson, Councillor Billings

1:04:38and Councillor Caron and Councillor Chew.

1:04:42Just about everyone.

1:04:44Okay.

1:04:45Oh, let's, and excuse me, Councillor Caton.

1:04:50I think your hand up was before Chu.

1:04:53I've got that list started and I will make sure.

1:04:56It's just everyone.

1:04:56The list is everyone.

1:04:58The list is everyone.

1:04:59Okay, let's start with Mayor Guthrie.

1:05:01Thank you Chair and through you.

1:05:04So right off the top I just wanna say

1:05:06I'm asking a few questions just based on some citizens

1:05:10that I talked to alongside Councillor Downer and Coran.

1:05:14We acknowledge that we would just kind of throw these out here

1:05:18because I believe they might be paying attention.

1:05:20And so I just wanted to ask specifically,

1:05:24and I hope that we don't delve into,

1:05:27so I'm starting with looking in the mirror myself

1:05:30to like what about my street here and this thing here?

1:05:33And I hope we don't do that,

1:05:34but I do have to just ask,

1:05:36because in the list of 25,

1:05:38you have a little bit there talking about I think

1:05:40Dimson or Hands Drive up to Gordon area, Gordon Street area.

1:05:45But we have had a lot of things in the news lately

1:05:48just about movement of traffic and pedestrians

1:05:52and other modes of transportation

1:05:53at the Gordon and Stone intersection.

1:05:56And I think I just wanted to know,

1:05:58does the data just not justify at this point

1:06:01a lot of focus on that one compared to the other 25?

1:06:09Through the Chair, Mayor Guthrie.

1:06:12So particularly like those arterial intersections

1:06:15would be handled through a separate action item

1:06:18as part of the Vision Zero Action Plan.

1:06:20We don't, we have traffic on one arterial road, Downey Road.

1:06:27I think we all have a few gray hairs over that one,

1:06:29but so we would stick to some of those other action items

1:06:33for those arterial and intersection type work.

1:06:36Okay, perfect.

1:06:37Thank you.

1:06:39One of the other suggestions,

1:06:40this is more about the building of awareness

1:06:42that an education that we all kind of are nodding

1:06:45our heads in agreement on was the entrances to the city.

1:06:50The entrances to the city have, you know,

1:06:51the welcome to Gualf has our population sometimes.

1:06:56And a lot of those entrances have been,

1:06:59sometimes they have a little signage of statements

1:07:02and things like that about what our principles are,

1:07:04our values are and such.

1:07:06Is there ever an opportunity?

1:07:08I've seen other Vision Zero sort of communities

1:07:10where they have some sort of a welcome to Gualf,

1:07:14but a statement about we are a fill in the blank,

1:07:17you know, place of we value safety, drive, you know,

1:07:21drive and look out for others, something to that effect.

1:07:26Is there, have you thought about that,

1:07:28about our entrances to our city?

1:07:30Just kind of set a statement as people are entering

1:07:33about what we're all about

1:07:34from a safety perspective for all.

1:07:37Through the chair to Mayor Guthrie,

1:07:39throughout the traffic calming policy,

1:07:41you'll see different frameworks for the type of tools

1:07:44that we're gonna use, things like vertical measures,

1:07:46we've talked about horizontal deflections.

1:07:48There's also a section called supplemental measures.

1:07:51And under those, you'll see one feature called a gateway.

1:07:55And that's exactly what you're describing

1:07:57is sort of reviewing holistically through this policy

1:08:00as well as through our Vision Zero Action Plan,

1:08:02some opportunities for engagement through

1:08:06a gateway feature to help sort of notify people

1:08:09that they're entering a community.

1:08:12Okay, I appreciate that.

1:08:13So just two more chair,

1:08:14and thank you very much,

1:08:15trying to go as fast as I can,

1:08:17knowing that you have a long list.

1:08:18So maybe I'm touching on some of the others

1:08:20so they don't have to ask.

1:08:22But the final two, one is just a general question.

1:08:27I know we're sort of, you know, cleaning the slate.

1:08:31It's gonna be a new slate now.

1:08:32We're getting rid of all this backup

1:08:34and we're just gonna backlog, sorry,

1:08:36and we're gonna start a new,

1:08:38but these 25 is our focus,

1:08:40which I support fully just to state that out loud.

1:08:43But it's inevitable that as the mayor and as counselors,

1:08:47we're still gonna get these requests.

1:08:49You are still going to get these requests.

1:08:51Can you just publicly state,

1:08:53how are we going to triage that now?

1:08:56How are we going to be able to communicate to people

1:09:01with this?

1:09:02Because the reality is that people

1:09:04aren't gonna be listening to this.

1:09:05Maybe they won't see it in the news.

1:09:07Maybe as the policy change, they won't know.

1:09:09And these requests will just keep coming in.

1:09:12How are we gonna address that?

1:09:15Through you, Chair, to Mayor Guthrie.

1:09:18Keeping in mind that the traffic calming policy

1:09:20is one of 68 Vision Zero action items.

1:09:23So there are a number of other solutions

1:09:25that we can look at.

1:09:27Nico alluded to some of them,

1:09:29things like leading pedestrian intervals.

1:09:31There's educational components of things

1:09:33like speed feedback signs.

1:09:35There are flex posts that can be seasonally put

1:09:37into the road.

1:09:38So residents wouldn't be precluded

1:09:40from being looked at as a whole

1:09:41when we do those safety reviews across the city.

1:09:44It would just be ineligible for particular

1:09:46traffic calming measures as they relate to this policy.

1:09:48One other component of our Vision Zero action plan

1:09:50is around communications and doing a better job

1:09:53at just that, showcasing to the public

1:09:56what is available to them so that we have

1:09:59consistent road safety messaging across our communities.

1:10:03Great, thank you.

1:10:03Sorry.

1:10:04Oh, go ahead.

1:10:05Through the Chair to you, Mayor Guthrie,

1:10:06if I can just add as well.

1:10:07Just in terms of supporting council,

1:10:09as we move towards the end of the month

1:10:11and into the decision around this policy,

1:10:13it is staff's intent also to provide counselors

1:10:16with key messages and information

1:10:18so you can all speak in a common way

1:10:21with folks who might be approaching you

1:10:22in terms of I was on the list

1:10:24and now I don't understand why I'm not on the list

1:10:25and how do I get back on the list

1:10:27and those kinds of questions that you might all be facing.

1:10:29And so certainly that's part of the work

1:10:31that we intend to give to council

1:10:34around the end of this month.

1:10:36Okay, thank you.

1:10:38Quick yes or no, I'm sorry, I just remembered this.

1:10:40The money coming from the provincial government

1:10:42due to not having the speed enforcement cameras now,

1:10:46that money has to be earmarked for specific things

1:10:49from the province that they're mandating, right?

1:10:52It's not just into a bucket which we can determine.

1:10:55No, it's for specific things, correct?

1:10:58Through the Chair, yes.

1:11:00Okay, thank you.

1:11:01So my last question is just about speed cushions

1:11:04versus speed tables or something like that.

1:11:07So I've never really liked the speed cushions.

1:11:10I've said that a lot a long time.

1:11:12Downy Road is a perfect example of that.

1:11:15So I really don't like them at all

1:11:19but I also understand them

1:11:20and this is the friction sort of moment for me

1:11:23maybe for others too.

1:11:25So I get the emergency vehicles have to go through them.

1:11:28Transit has to go through, the ambulance has to go.

1:11:30So I totally, I get that

1:11:32but I also don't really like them at all.

1:11:35And there's a lot of people that don't like them.

1:11:36I think for some pretty valid reasons too.

1:11:38So my question is, and thank you for this data

1:11:42and the chart of the G-forces.

1:11:44I've never thought I'd see something like that ever.

1:11:46So thank you very much.

1:11:48But is it really that big of a difference

1:11:53between the tables versus the cushions

1:11:57to warrant the cushions?

1:11:59And what I mean by difference is in the time.

1:12:02And some of the research I've done before I came here

1:12:04was saying like if you have that extra two to three seconds

1:12:07on a cushion, I'm sorry, on a table

1:12:10that has to be gone over by a vehicle.

1:12:13It's maybe not that big of a deal.

1:12:14But if you have a stretch of road

1:12:16where it's four or five of them,

1:12:18now you're at like 20 second delay

1:12:20for that heart attack victim that needs to be addressed

1:12:23or for that fire that needs to be got to

1:12:26by the fire department.

1:12:28So have you looked at these 25

1:12:30and looking out past the 25 to determine whether or not

1:12:35we are gonna have scenarios where there's those three,

1:12:38four, five, accumulative speed tables

1:12:43if they were in place versus the cushions

1:12:48to see if that would impact the emergency vehicle

1:12:51transportation as much as we think it would.

1:12:56Okay, through the Chair of America,

1:12:58I think like great job you were dialed in

1:13:00on traffic coming, I love it.

1:13:02We haven't personally in Guelph used a speed table yet.

1:13:05They haven't sort of been widely used.

1:13:08As you can imagine, they would be much more costly.

1:13:11There's a lot more material.

1:13:12They impact drainage on a road with a lot of driveways.

1:13:16There could be some challenges with that.

1:13:18So in terms of the specific measures

1:13:20we've looked at on the 25 streets,

1:13:23we haven't drilled down to that level of detail yet.

1:13:26The speed cushion at this point to your point

1:13:30and they're not universally loved,

1:13:33but the data has shown with the absence of ASC,

1:13:37they are the most effective of getting

1:13:39those high-end speeds down.

1:13:41And they're also probably the most cost effective

1:13:45in terms of some of those other measures.

1:13:48So as we look to these 25 streets,

1:13:51if there are opportunities like we've introduced

1:13:54a raised crosswalk, which is a great measure,

1:13:58but as you can imagine, that would chew up a good chunk

1:14:02of our money more than a number of speed cushions.

1:14:04So it's all balancing out the main goal

1:14:08of getting those top end driver speeds down,

1:14:11but also being mindful of the budget we have to work with.

1:14:15I hope that sort of answered your question.

1:14:18It did, I guess my only part that wasn't answered,

1:14:22Madam Chair, I think, and maybe I misunderstood

1:14:24or misheard you wrong, so my apologies if I'm re-asking it,

1:14:26but is about the impact to the emergency vehicle response?

1:14:31So my question is, is that a table versus a cushion,

1:14:36I understand if there's three, four, five, or six of them

1:14:38in a row on a long stretch, now we're looking at maybe

1:14:4220, 25 second delay for that ambulance

1:14:45to get where they need to go, or that fire truck

1:14:47to get where they need to go, I don't like that,

1:14:48I don't want that, but I'm just wondering in these 25,

1:14:52if there's none of those situations where there's four,

1:14:56five, six, or seven of these in a row,

1:14:58is it a possibility that we could use the tables

1:15:01versus the cushions?

1:15:04Because I can just say that there's a lot of,

1:15:07there's a lot of nuance with these

1:15:09that a lot of people do not like.

1:15:12And the noise thing, I know it came up in a delegation,

1:15:14that's a real thing, but that's a real thing.

1:15:17If you live on a street with a street cushion,

1:15:21and you have the slowing down the vehicle,

1:15:23then the bump, the bump, then the speed up of the vehicle,

1:15:26and it's constant, it is very annoying.

1:15:29I know a lot of people that have those in front of them,

1:15:31and it is very, very annoying.

1:15:33So I don't want that though,

1:15:35to take away from the emergency response.

1:15:37That's where I'm trying to go on my questioning.

1:15:41Yeah, sorry for missing that through the Chair

1:15:42of America, three.

1:15:44We, as part of updating the policy,

1:15:47we talked to paramedic services, we talked to fire,

1:15:52and the design of the speed cushion

1:15:54has almost no impact on their response time.

1:15:59And that was probably further reinforced by that graphic,

1:16:02just to show sort of the minimal impact to that.

1:16:08So certainly, and then every detailed design we do,

1:16:12we would present it to fire, ambulance, operations,

1:16:15all the typical stakeholders.

1:16:18So yes, all of that would be factored.

1:16:24It is unlikely we would do a street

1:16:26with multiple speed tables or various crosswalks.

1:16:30Again, A, just for cost, but B, your other point of like,

1:16:34we would try to spread that out,

1:16:37so we're not particularly making one street

1:16:40very slow to respond to.

1:16:43Okay, thank you Chair.

1:16:44Can I just do a quick comment then,

1:16:45just to get that out of the way?

1:16:47I'm good to support this today, I said I support it.

1:16:49I think, I actually want to just,

1:16:52look at the whole policy and everything is great.

1:16:55But I actually just want to praise staff

1:16:56for just like having the ability to come forward

1:17:00to council and say, we don't have the capacity to do this.

1:17:04Like we can't do it anymore.

1:17:06Thank you, thank you for doing that.

1:17:09We need more of that.

1:17:10We need more of that coming into saying, we can't do this.

1:17:12And what needs to be stated out loud, we have to reset,

1:17:15we have to do something different,

1:17:16and we can only do what we can.

1:17:18And if it has to be on this policy, then so be it.

1:17:20But that type of framing for any issue here

1:17:23needs to continue because we can't then,

1:17:26as the conduits to the citizens,

1:17:27be sort of dangling these like, yeah, they'll get to it,

1:17:30type of, whatever the policy is,

1:17:33when in reality it's not gonna happen.

1:17:35So I just actually really appreciate it

1:17:37from a philosophical level that staff are saying,

1:17:39like, let's just come to council and the public

1:17:41and just tell us how it is.

1:17:43We need more of that.

1:17:44So thank you very much.

1:17:48Thank you, Mayor Guthrie.

1:17:49And just to continue questions and comments,

1:17:52or do you, Councillor Allt?

1:17:54Thank you very much, Chair Klassen.

1:17:57My comments will probably be interspersed with my questions.

1:18:00First is thank you very much to Mr. Gaiman

1:18:02for saying you're going to give us our lines

1:18:07to put out there.

1:18:07It's truly appreciated.

1:18:09Comment to staff, and it might be to Mr. Gaiman as well.

1:18:12I saw very, very clearly that one of the challenges

1:18:16is budget, and I really have to ask the question,

1:18:20sure, we're getting provincial money,

1:18:21but what do we as a city need to put in this

1:18:25to ensure that we are addressing effective traffic safety

1:18:29as quickly and as reasonably as we should?

1:18:34So through you, Chair Klassen, to Councillor Allt

1:18:36certainly appreciating your comments there.

1:18:40As you know, the city has a number of competing interests

1:18:42for capital funding, and so every year

1:18:45as we build the city's capital budget,

1:18:47we use a prioritization framework,

1:18:49and that seeks to balance things like

1:18:50regulatory requirements, growth needs,

1:18:54state of good repair needs, safety needs,

1:18:56protecting the environment in a number of other factors.

1:18:58And so certainly each year staff work through

1:19:01how to best balance a number of those items,

1:19:03and we build the traffic calming related budget

1:19:07to sort of meet that balanced priority,

1:19:09and also acknowledge for the staffing resource levels

1:19:11that we have.

1:19:13It doesn't always necessarily address the pace

1:19:16at which we would like to implement things in the community,

1:19:19but it certainly is balanced against all things.

1:19:22And thank you.

1:19:23I appreciate what Mayor Guthrie said.

1:19:24The forthright comments that were made,

1:19:26I think are incredibly important for us to understand

1:19:30and to appreciate precisely what you've just stated there,

1:19:32that we are dealing with some fiscal challenges,

1:19:37I would have to say.

1:19:39Getting back to physical barriers or physical challenges,

1:19:44pedestrian intervals, I was wondering

1:19:46if we could please comment on that.

1:19:48One of the things, I'm just becoming very familiar with them

1:19:51as I get my bike out, and I see the light change over there,

1:19:55and I get ready to go, and then the pedestrian interval

1:19:58tells me just a minute.

1:20:01We comment on how effective they have been so far.

1:20:05I don't know whether you have any data on that,

1:20:07or whether there are challenges for both cyclists, drivers,

1:20:10and others as well.

1:20:13Through the Charity Councillor Allt,

1:20:15we actually were very fortunate to partner with another group

1:20:19called True North Safety through a Transport Canada grant

1:20:21a couple of years ago, and we were able to install

1:20:24near-miss cameras that looked at conflicts

1:20:26before and after we put in leading pedestrian intervals.

1:20:30We saw a significant safety improvement,

1:20:32and they're actually an initiative that we don't hear

1:20:35too much concern over from the community

1:20:37because they're not really losing that much time,

1:20:40but they give the pedestrian that head start

1:20:42into the intersection to improve safety and visibility,

1:20:45and we're looking to roll out that program

1:20:48in a more robust way in the coming years

1:20:50through our Vision Zero Action Plan.

1:20:52I'm gonna follow up on that a bit,

1:20:53because this did happen to me just Sunday

1:20:57at Stone Road and Gordon Street,

1:21:01where the pedestrian interval light went on,

1:21:04which I nearly went out on, but I didn't.

1:21:06A, is it possible to implement those for cycles as well,

1:21:10and B, what was really challenging for me

1:21:13is as I crept out, was the car that decided

1:21:16to cut right in front of me at that particular point,

1:21:19and a particular safety challenge for me,

1:21:23and I'm hoping you might be able to comment on that.

1:21:26Through the chair to council,

1:21:27so certainly yes, leading bike intervals are a thing,

1:21:32and they might be coming soon

1:21:34to a Wyndham Street reconstruction project near you,

1:21:37and we are exploring one of the things,

1:21:41one of the action, keep going back to the action items,

1:21:43but one of the things we're exploring is turn restrictions,

1:21:46no right turn on red, either through the whole red cycle

1:21:49or a portion of it, so that is on our list.

1:21:53Our friend Nico was tasked with that,

1:21:55and we'll have information coming in the next year or so

1:21:58on that.

1:22:00Well, I'm gonna preclude you a bit

1:22:01because you've already told me

1:22:03that the sequel to Star Wars is coming back already,

1:22:06so the question that I have really is tell me more

1:22:10about right turn and also left turn challenges as well,

1:22:15so I'm wondering whether we need to in some senses

1:22:17increase the number of roads where we do not permit

1:22:21left turns.

1:22:25Through the chair to council,

1:22:26I'll, that would be handled outside

1:22:30of the traffic calming policy,

1:22:31so I'm sort of happy to answer the question,

1:22:33but it's not really embedded sort of in the body of work,

1:22:37but like I say, we have a suite of items

1:22:41we plan to sort of bring back is like,

1:22:44I think for those of you who will be returning to council,

1:22:46you'll probably see us once a year come with a body

1:22:49of updates as we grind through those 68 action items,

1:22:54so you'll probably see something in the next year or so

1:22:57on turning movements, intersection operation,

1:23:00all that type of stuff.

1:23:02And thank you for that.

1:23:04I don't know whether we need to go back over this,

1:23:06but if there's anything additional from staff,

1:23:10why are cushions superior to bumps

1:23:13and why is there an imperative to put them in

1:23:16rather than doing nothing?

1:23:18Because I've heard like Mayor Guthrie

1:23:20from people that have concerns with the cushions

1:23:24and I just, I want to know.

1:23:28Through the chair to council, Alt again.

1:23:30So we've been at this a long time,

1:23:33the original traffic calming policies, 1998,

1:23:37and things evolved.

1:23:38So the speed cushion has evolved from the speed bump

1:23:43slash speed hump, and I appreciate there's a nomenclature

1:23:45and maybe a confusion around that.

1:23:47The advantage to the speed cushion is it does afford

1:23:52larger emergency vehicles to pass through

1:23:54with minimal disruption.

1:23:57It's a lot more effective at taking down the high end speed,

1:24:01but not like the goal of a speed cushion is not to get

1:24:04somebody to crawl over to 15 kilometers an hour.

1:24:08The goal is to get that person going 55 down to 42

1:24:13or something like that.

1:24:14It's a fairly cost effective measure

1:24:16to delegate Andrew's point.

1:24:18There's opportunity for cyclists to not have to go over it.

1:24:23It doesn't impact drainage as much

1:24:24because there are gaps and channels.

1:24:26So there's a number of advantages to a speed cushion

1:24:30to like the, if you think back to some of the original

1:24:33traffic calming we did on like Dufferin Street

1:24:35where the speed bump goes the entire way

1:24:38across the pavement, that's much more disruptive

1:24:41to all road users.

1:24:44Thank you, just two more questions I believe.

1:24:46The next question that I have actually relates to

1:24:49bicycle and accessibility device lanes,

1:24:53I guess I'll put it that way because accessibility devices

1:24:55are using them whether we support it or not.

1:24:59Where do these fit in or do these fit in

1:25:03to what we're addressing right now,

1:25:05especially raised and separated bike lanes?

1:25:09How do they fit into this particular policy?

1:25:17So physically separated infrastructure for cycling lanes

1:25:20really aren't a part of this policy.

1:25:26But in terms of accessibility, cyclists, walking, driving,

1:25:32we really, it's a bit of a teeter-totter here

1:25:34and we're just trying to balance things out.

1:25:37There isn't a perfect solution to encompass every road user.

1:25:41So what we've done through the last year is,

1:25:46thanks to Council's commitment,

1:25:48we now have a road safety team,

1:25:50so we have the resources to do this.

1:25:52We've engaged extensively because the accessibility matter,

1:25:57for those of you who've been on Council for a long time,

1:26:00have heard about this.

1:26:01Nico reached out to the Spinal Cord Institute of Ontario,

1:26:05we have tried to do as much homework as we can here

1:26:09and what we've presented to you for approval

1:26:13is a recommendation to try to balance off

1:26:17all the road users, the accessibility concerns.

1:26:22Like I say, if I could find that,

1:26:26what did Scott say, the magic tree or something,

1:26:29whatever we would present that,

1:26:31but it's a balanced approach

1:26:33is what we're presenting to you here today.

1:26:36And I certainly do appreciate it.

1:26:38I could go on a little bit, but I'm not.

1:26:40I am gonna ask one last question though.

1:26:42And it's one that comes up from my role in police services.

1:26:47What is the role, if any, for the police in traffic calming?

1:26:51This comes up from a number of people

1:26:53who just say we need more police out,

1:26:57policing traffic and cyclists and pedestrians

1:27:00and everybody that uses the road.

1:27:04Through the chair to Councillor Allt,

1:27:05I think the beauty of traffic calming

1:27:07is that it's proactive in nature and it is always there.

1:27:11And so those engineering modifications

1:27:13really help to support a community 24-7.

1:27:17Police enforcement is always going to be

1:27:20the icing on the cake, the supplementary measure,

1:27:22acknowledging that police enforcement budgets

1:27:25are also what they are and they have to attend

1:27:27too many things when a collision happens.

1:27:29That's where all of their resources attend to.

1:27:31So having something there all the time

1:27:34that can reinforce that message,

1:27:36so it's not that you can speed some days and not others,

1:27:40is preferable and that's kind of what we've outlined

1:27:42within this policy.

1:27:43And thank you very much for all the work

1:27:45that's been done on this.

1:27:47Thank you, Councillor Kerron.

1:27:50Thank you.

1:27:51Again, many thanks.

1:27:53This has been a long time in coming.

1:27:55I know when we paused all of the traffic calming requests

1:27:58that were already in the hopper,

1:27:59it caused a lot of angst in the community

1:28:01that this would never get back on a public agenda

1:28:04or that there may be a fatality in the meantime,

1:28:09but now that we've got this new policy,

1:28:10I really feel like we've got some really good tools

1:28:13to work with.

1:28:14Speaking of tools, your suite of tools,

1:28:17as outlined in the report, are often vertical measures,

1:28:20engineering solutions, and we have another whole range

1:28:25of complementary non-engineering tools

1:28:29that I've certainly learned in any PDI I've done

1:28:32at conferences affect people's traffic speeds.

1:28:37And it's the psychological and visual effect

1:28:40of perhaps tree-lined boulevards or on-street parking.

1:28:44And we have an urban forestry plan

1:28:46and we have an on-street parking plan that we're doing now.

1:28:49So can you speak to how other policies

1:28:52outside of the engineering department

1:28:55will interact with our traffic calming in identified areas,

1:29:00such as urban forestry,

1:29:02such as our on-street parking study?

1:29:04Because I think when they all work together,

1:29:06I think we've got a really robust solution

1:29:08to a growing problem.

1:29:12To, through the chair, to Councillor Karen, great point.

1:29:17I think that was really important,

1:29:18thinking about the safe system in terms of

1:29:20how everything's integrated.

1:29:22And that was important to when it was,

1:29:24through the complete street guidelines,

1:29:26they mentioned a number of measures

1:29:27like stormwater features and stormwater extensions

1:29:30and using the use of trees,

1:29:32reactively to changing the roadways.

1:29:34And also proactively when we redesigned new roads.

1:29:37So that was something important

1:29:39to add into our list of measures.

1:29:41So you can see a few things here

1:29:43that add in use of stormwater features and trees

1:29:47as something that we can consider as supplemental.

1:29:50So that supplemental means that we'll look at it,

1:29:53depends on site conditions, depends on budgets,

1:29:56depends on other things.

1:29:57First, primarily we'll focus on vertical measures,

1:29:59but we will look to supplemental measures,

1:30:01which now includes stormwater features and trees.

1:30:05So that's how they kind of play in to each other.

1:30:07Right now, through the complete street design guidelines,

1:30:11traffic calming measures are recommended to be reviewed

1:30:14when complete street, new complete street designs

1:30:17are implemented as well.

1:30:19That's great to know.

1:30:20Often we think of trees as an aesthetic value,

1:30:23but when we call it stormwater infrastructure,

1:30:25it changes the mindset,

1:30:26and now we can call it traffic calming infrastructure,

1:30:29and it changes the mindset again.

1:30:31So thank you for that.

1:30:34Thank you, Councillor Bustel, please.

1:30:38Thank you, and thank you to the staff through the chair.

1:30:41I have a couple of quick questions.

1:30:43My first one is about in your staff report,

1:30:46you speak about the Civic Circle.

1:30:48And just a question, 15 representatives,

1:30:52were all the wards equally represented in that?

1:30:59Yeah, through the chair to you, Councillor Buzatil.

1:31:03Yeah, I believe, I mean, we had at least,

1:31:06we had every ward represented as equal as we could be.

1:31:10I think we maybe have one more than one more,

1:31:12but we had 15 people, so that's your number.

1:31:15Okay, I'll follow up.

1:31:17Ward four.

1:31:19The second question is in the report,

1:31:22it talks about Guelph's most marginalized areas.

1:31:25Can you explain where those are?

1:31:28Yeah, go for it.

1:31:29Through the chair to Councillor Buzatil,

1:31:31this speaks to a body of work we did

1:31:32with the University of Guelph a number of years ago,

1:31:34so without getting too far into the weeds,

1:31:37those marginalized areas are based off of something

1:31:39called the Ontario Marginalization Index.

1:31:42It speaks to 16 different indicators of marginality,

1:31:47so things like low income, single dwelling households,

1:31:50things like that.

1:31:51And so what we did is we essentially created a GIS layer

1:31:54to look at where those communities existed.

1:31:56We then overlaid the information

1:31:58of where we had traffic studies in the past,

1:32:00so where we are hearing from the community.

1:32:02And then we also overlaid collision data

1:32:04to look at where collisions were happening

1:32:06with people who walk and people who bike.

1:32:08And what we essentially found was in the areas

1:32:10that had more equity deserving communities,

1:32:14we heard from them less often, but there were more collisions.

1:32:17And that overall got us thinking about how we could be

1:32:20more equitable in the distribution

1:32:22of our road safety policies.

1:32:24Thank you for that.

1:32:25And through public health, some of my colleagues

1:32:28and I sit on public health,

1:32:29the social determinants of health are part of that.

1:32:32And so are you able?

1:32:33I know there are priority neighborhoods

1:32:35in the city of Guelph.

1:32:36Have you identified those neighborhoods?

1:32:40So through the chair to Councillor Boestel,

1:32:41one of our Vision Zero committee members

1:32:45is a member from public health.

1:32:47So certainly anytime we're looking at sort of data

1:32:50as it relates to road safety

1:32:51and looking at the problem holistically,

1:32:53they're able to provide that perspective.

1:32:55And it's something else that can be used moving forward.

1:32:57It's not identified in these 25 prioritized streets,

1:33:01but data is certainly something that we look at anytime

1:33:04that we traffic on the street.

1:33:06Thank you.

1:33:06It would be helpful for myself as a Councillor

1:33:08to be aware of this and I'll follow up.

1:33:10And that was my supplemental question

1:33:12through the chair is in the 25 streets

1:33:15that have been prioritized, how many of them,

1:33:19whether it's the social determinants of health

1:33:21or the University of Guelph's Ontario Marginalization Index,

1:33:25if I were to do dots next to the streets,

1:33:27how many fit into those priorities?

1:33:33Through the chair to Council Boestel.

1:33:34So of those 25 prioritized streets,

1:33:3812 fell into the prioritization criteria

1:33:42based off of the 2020 policy.

1:33:44So that was before we moved into using equity

1:33:47as a decision-making factor.

1:33:49As you'll see, it's included now

1:33:51in the prioritization process for this policy

1:33:54should it be approved.

1:33:56The other 13 relate to the community safety zone policy

1:34:00which was brought forth to Council last year.

1:34:03And that looks at areas where you would have

1:34:06potentially vulnerable populations.

1:34:08So we've already identified some as being children

1:34:11and seniors, they would be accounted for

1:34:13through the community safety zone policy.

1:34:16Thank you.

1:34:17And if I could through the chair a comment as, you know,

1:34:21Ward 4 is a priority neighborhood

1:34:23with a lot of diversity in there.

1:34:25And my concern is about public education and reporting.

1:34:30When I speak to people at the food hub and so on,

1:34:33they're not aware that just because they were narrowly

1:34:36missed at Willow and Westwood Road

1:34:37that there is a mechanism to even get on

1:34:40to the collision kind of radar.

1:34:42And so my question for staff is about, you know,

1:34:46we can do all these measures,

1:34:47but unless there's a public education piece to this,

1:34:50it's not going to be very successful for cyclists

1:34:52or for drive and so on.

1:34:53So can you comment on that?

1:34:56Sure, through the chair to Council Boestel,

1:34:58all of that work and I think today

1:34:59we're kind of, we're balancing between some of the stuff

1:35:02that fits within the traffic calming policy

1:35:04and some of the stuff that you'll see

1:35:05through the Vision Zero Action Plan.

1:35:07But communications as a whole,

1:35:08regardless of the residents in Guelph,

1:35:11are part of what we're looking at improving,

1:35:14moving forward through the Vision Zero Action Plan.

1:35:17It certainly was reflected in the civic circle engagement

1:35:20that we heard.

1:35:21We did have some newcomers to Canada

1:35:24and some people who represented areas where they said

1:35:26that a lot of the people within their communities

1:35:28were newcomers who wouldn't necessarily know

1:35:31how to ask for traffic calming

1:35:32or be able to express their concerns to the city.

1:35:35So that's certainly on our radar

1:35:37through the Vision Zero Action Plan.

1:35:39Thank you and final just through the chair.

1:35:41Just so I'm clear, these 25 are not prioritized

1:35:46through the equity lens that that'll happen five years

1:35:49from now, those priority street calming efforts

1:35:55would be through an equity lens.

1:35:56So none of these are included

1:36:00through that equity priority list.

1:36:03Through the chair to councillor Busuttil, sorry,

1:36:05maybe I should provide a bit of clarification.

1:36:0712 of the 25 were prioritized based off

1:36:11of the previous policy,

1:36:13which didn't have an equity variable

1:36:16that we looked at through data.

1:36:17We did that work in 2021

1:36:19and the policy was initially approved in 2020.

1:36:23The other 13 are part of,

1:36:26they are in a community safety zone

1:36:28that would have equity data incorporated into it

1:36:32through areas that would be near vulnerable places

1:36:35like schools, hospitals, et cetera.

1:36:37So I would say about half of those would be,

1:36:39it's not to say that the other 12

1:36:41wouldn't necessarily be in an equity deserving community.

1:36:44We just haven't done that work to split the two,

1:36:47but that's certainly an answer we could bring back to council.

1:36:50Thank you very much.

1:36:52Thank you.

1:36:53Councillor Goller, please.

1:36:55Thank you, and through your chair class in.

1:36:58Thank you so much for the staff report

1:37:01and all the work you've done with our community.

1:37:03I wanted to go back to the page one of the staff report

1:37:07on the key findings.

1:37:08You state that based on a research,

1:37:10the traffic common measures introduced

1:37:11under the current traffic calming policy

1:37:16have not reduced vehicle speeds as effectively

1:37:18as those reported by other Ontario municipalities.

1:37:21Could you help me understand based on that,

1:37:23what was 12 doing differently,

1:37:26and which tools are we no longer using

1:37:31because they were not effective in 12?

1:37:34Through the chair to Councillor Goller.

1:37:36So that was specific to looking at the effectiveness

1:37:39of vertical measures in the way that they were spaced.

1:37:42So as we alluded to in the presentation,

1:37:44we paused that work because of some of the concerns

1:37:46we heard around accessibility,

1:37:48and we only implemented one speed cushion per block face

1:37:52to help alleviate some of those concerns.

1:37:56We were able to also look at baseline data of speeds

1:37:59before and after the implementation with that spacing,

1:38:03and we didn't see the speed reduction

1:38:05that we may have seen relative to other municipalities

1:38:09and things like the Transportation Association of Canada

1:38:12that provides guidelines that show a much larger reduction

1:38:16in speed when speed cushions are placed

1:38:19in a more tight fashion along a road segment.

1:38:22Okay, so that means that we were spacing them out too much,

1:38:26and now there'll be more of those speed cushions, perfect.

1:38:29I had a question of clarity

1:38:31following up on the mayor's questions

1:38:33about speed cushions versus speed bumps,

1:38:36just so that I'm clear,

1:38:37the cushions, they're small enough

1:38:39that bikes don't have to go over them, right?

1:38:41And emergency vehicles,

1:38:42they go past them without slowing down, is that correct?

1:38:48Through the chair to Councillor Goller,

1:38:50that's generally correct.

1:38:52Sometimes the way that a road segment is placed,

1:38:55there are speed cushions, the way that they're spaced through,

1:38:58they may go through a bike lane or an area

1:39:01where a cyclist is required to drive over them.

1:39:04In those cases, we consult with our active transportation team

1:39:09so that we're aware of any potential implications,

1:39:12and there's a lot of new tools

1:39:14that are coming down the line too

1:39:15that look at cycling supportive infrastructure

1:39:19that we would look to essentially ensure

1:39:22that we can help support people

1:39:24who might be cycling on the road.

1:39:26The main purpose of using a speed cushion

1:39:28is to try to not impede emergency services

1:39:31because they can drive through them

1:39:33rather than having to drive over them.

1:39:35I appreciate that, Foley, thank you for that.

1:39:38Now, this is the part where I'm struggling,

1:39:40the criteria to select new streets.

1:39:44So we have that they have to meet both the 85%

1:39:48out of 10 kilometers over and a volume measure.

1:39:53Help me understand why there has to be the volume

1:39:56as well as the speed.

1:39:57I'm thinking of a speed like, say, Stevenson.

1:39:59Say that we find that on any given time,

1:40:03people are going over 10 kilometers

1:40:06over the speed limit on average.

1:40:09Why wouldn't that by itself trigger this

1:40:12a road that needs traffic calming?

1:40:16Through the chair to Councillor Goller,

1:40:17one of the elements that we look at

1:40:20when we look at safety risk is the level of exposure.

1:40:24How likely is a collision going to happen?

1:40:27And one metric that tells us that

1:40:30is how many people are driving on the road.

1:40:32So it's certainly something that we've reviewed

1:40:35in other municipal policies to make sure

1:40:37that ours is taking a similar balanced approach.

1:40:40And we use that as a criteria to essentially tell us

1:40:44where the likelihood for risk is

1:40:45because there's going to be a lot more people driving.

1:40:51Okay, okay, I appreciate that.

1:40:53And help me understand how did you draw the lines?

1:40:57Why is it that it's 10 kilometers over an 85% time?

1:41:03Why is it the 900 average daily on a residential

1:41:07and 2,000-hour collector?

1:41:09How did you end up at those numbers

1:41:10having eight kilometers over be the trigger?

1:41:16Through the chair to Councillor Goller.

1:41:19So a lot of it is best practice review guidelines

1:41:22from national organizations.

1:41:25And again, just reflecting on the fact

1:41:28that we have some limitations around staffing and budget,

1:41:31we have to set some thresholds

1:41:33so every street doesn't get passed through.

1:41:37So again, there as this point,

1:41:41it just are some tools to help us identify risk.

1:41:46Okay, I appreciate that.

1:41:48So you're saying that there's more likelihood of people

1:41:51having an interaction with a vehicle,

1:41:54given the high volume.

1:41:55So what about those streets

1:41:57that did get traffic calming measures implemented?

1:41:59I'm thinking Waverly Riverview calendar,

1:42:03all of those got ballards and issues like that,

1:42:06but I don't see them on the list.

1:42:07Does that mean that starting the spring,

1:42:09those streets that previously did have traffic coming

1:42:12are no longer going to see them?

1:42:15Through the chair to Councillor Goller,

1:42:17we considered those already in the pipeline,

1:42:19so we didn't include them.

1:42:20We will be finishing those if this policy gets approved.

1:42:24We will be putting in permanent measures

1:42:28as approved in this policy.

1:42:30So they're going forward.

1:42:32Okay, then help me understand what is the difference

1:42:35because I do see Windsor listed here.

1:42:38And there's that part of that corridor

1:42:40of Windsor, Waverly Riverview.

1:42:43So why is that one listed versus the other ones?

1:42:51Through the chair to Councillor Goller,

1:42:53so that portion of Windsor Street qualified

1:42:57as part of a community safety zone,

1:42:59it's near the school.

1:43:02Waverly had a speed camera,

1:43:05so it would be eligible under the RSIF.

1:43:08So the portion of Waverly that's within

1:43:10that sort of school area,

1:43:14the provincial money can work with that.

1:43:17The portion of Waverly down towards Riverview

1:43:20and Riverview when we finish that,

1:43:22that'll be handled through the city,

1:43:25the existing road safety initiative account we have.

1:43:29Okay, okay, no, I appreciate it.

1:43:30It's good to hear that those streets,

1:43:32and so is calendar still also going to,

1:43:35because they had the bullets for a while?

1:43:37Will those who were placed now for speed cushions,

1:43:40I'm just trying to understand how those

1:43:41historic streets get transferred onto.

1:43:44Right, through the chair to Councillor Goller,

1:43:46so calendar is one of those streets

1:43:49that got some seasonal measures.

1:43:50They didn't necessarily either qualify

1:43:52for the traffic calming or we're not gonna get to it.

1:43:54So those roads that had some seasonal measures

1:43:57will probably keep on doing that.

1:44:02That, so calendar will not be part

1:44:05of a formal traffic calming in the next five years.

1:44:10Okay, okay, so it's particularly on that street,

1:44:12they will not see anything getting put up this spring.

1:44:16Is that correct?

1:44:20If, through the chair to Councillor Goller,

1:44:23if a road previously had some seasonal measures,

1:44:25i.e. flex posts or something like that,

1:44:27they will continue to receive that.

1:44:29Okay, I really appreciate that.

1:44:30Thank you for that clarity.

1:44:32For the 252 streets that were on the traffic calming request,

1:44:37have they all had the studies done?

1:44:39So we did a study, we determined that they did not

1:44:41meet the criteria and then we're telling them the residence

1:44:45because they did not meet the criteria,

1:44:47it's getting dropped off the list.

1:44:51Through the chair to Councillor Goller,

1:44:52so yes, we collect data when we get our service requests

1:44:56to help us understand if it means the threshold

1:44:58of the speed and the volume we just talked about.

1:45:02So some of those streets may have qualified

1:45:04under the 2020 traffic calming policy.

1:45:09The reality is, again, just based on capacity,

1:45:12we wouldn't have addressed it in this five-year window anyway.

1:45:17So we will be very transparent to Terry's point earlier,

1:45:21should this policy get approved?

1:45:23We've already worked with our comms team on what will go out.

1:45:27I anticipate a future question.

1:45:28So of the 252, 52 of them overlap with streets

1:45:34that are presented here.

1:45:35So there will be 200 service requests covering,

1:45:40I think it's 138 streets.

1:45:41I'll confirm that number,

1:45:43where we'll be reaching back to those people

1:45:45and being very clear on what is happening,

1:45:48this policy's happened.

1:45:50You will not see formal traffic calming in the next five years.

1:45:53However, as we were alluded to earlier,

1:45:56we have many other bodies of work we're working on.

1:45:59So you may see something that's not as formal

1:46:02as a traffic calming speed cushions and the like,

1:46:07but that doesn't mean you might not get nothing for five years.

1:46:11There's still that other lens being applied.

1:46:14Our comms team will make that much more eloquent

1:46:16than I just did when we send the email.

1:46:19Of course, I just wanted to be clear.

1:46:22Did we already do speed and volume studies

1:46:25on all of those streets?

1:46:26And based on those results,

1:46:28we're telling folks that they did not qualify.

1:46:30So is that correct?

1:46:34Through the chair, Councillor Goller,

1:46:35we collect speed and volume data anytime we get a request

1:46:39for traffic calming to determine eligibility,

1:46:41but they would have been vetted under the current policy

1:46:45as opposed to this policy

1:46:46as it hasn't been approved by council yet.

1:46:49Okay, thank you for that.

1:46:51And if I could then, just so that I'm clear, moving forward,

1:46:53what are the steps?

1:46:54Someone calls in and complains.

1:46:57What are the steps for staff to decide

1:47:00that they will or will not receive

1:47:03or will not be added to the list of 25 streets?

1:47:11Through the chair to Councillor Goller.

1:47:13So these 25 streets, if approved through this policy,

1:47:18really outlines our body of work for the next five years.

1:47:21So we wouldn't be adding to that list.

1:47:24That would be reviewed in sort of the next cycle

1:47:27when we bring forward a new policy after this five-year cycle.

1:47:31Okay, so to be clear,

1:47:33anyone that calls in three weeks from now says,

1:47:36I need traffic calming for your street,

1:47:38you're gonna say, sorry, it's not on the list,

1:47:40you do not qualify.

1:47:42And we're no longer going to do

1:47:43any more traffic calming studies.

1:47:45Oh, sorry, like speed and volume studies.

1:47:47Is that correct?

1:47:50Through the chair to Councillor Goller.

1:47:51Yes, that's correct,

1:47:52but they would still be eligible to be reviewed

1:47:54through the Vision Zero Action Plan.

1:47:56So not for a traffic calming measure,

1:47:59but for some of those seasonal measures,

1:48:01radar boards, things of that nature.

1:48:03Just, oh, can I just jump in here for one second?

1:48:06So sorry.

1:48:07In the background here,

1:48:08I've been keeping track of our time,

1:48:10and I just wanted to make a mention of it publicly now.

1:48:13So I've been watching everyone's time since we started,

1:48:16and I'm not gonna stop you to continue the clarity,

1:48:19but I will just let you know

1:48:20that you're coming up to your time.

1:48:23Four minutes, 40 seconds.

1:48:25Thank you, thank you.

1:48:27Okay, no, I appreciate that.

1:48:29I think it just, it wasn't clear to me

1:48:31that when we approve this list,

1:48:33anyone else that calls will not be considered or explored,

1:48:36and that's what I'm trying to understand.

1:48:38So there will be no more tests or no more studies

1:48:44to look at the volume of cars on the road

1:48:47between now and the next time

1:48:49that a report comes forward.

1:48:51So through the chair to Councillor Gar,

1:48:54so appreciating that there are some nuances here,

1:48:57and so you've heard from the team

1:48:58there's a Vision Zero Action Plan.

1:49:00It's got 68 actions.

1:49:01There's a number of different ways

1:49:02we're going to look to improve road safety

1:49:04throughout the community.

1:49:05There's a nuance to what is traffic calming

1:49:08and what is not, and that is a hard thing to articulate

1:49:10and a hard thing perhaps for the general public

1:49:13to maybe understand without a bit of education.

1:49:15And so when I speak to,

1:49:16we're going to give you information that you can use

1:49:18to help articulate that to your constituents

1:49:21around the end of the month.

1:49:22That's part of what we're speaking about.

1:49:23So what is the difference between traffic calming?

1:49:25What's the difference between the other ways,

1:49:27like a speed radar board, for example,

1:49:29or other methodologies that can be used

1:49:32to help maybe improve road safety on a street?

1:49:35And so that's what you'll see from the team.

1:49:37There's just different actions and different buckets of work.

1:49:40It's just a bit of a nuance in terms of how we're framing it

1:49:43under the guise of traffic calming specifically.

1:49:46That helps.

1:49:49Thank you, and through you, Chair,

1:49:50I think I'm struggling here

1:49:51because from a constituents perspective,

1:49:54from a residents perspective, they call in,

1:49:55they say, I'm seeing a lot of people

1:49:57speed on my street.

1:49:58And currently we say, okay, there's going to be a study.

1:50:02We're going to look at the volume and the speed of cars,

1:50:04and then we're going to decide

1:50:05whether you get any measures or not.

1:50:07What I'm hearing right now is that for the next year,

1:50:09we're no longer going to do any studies

1:50:11and we're not going to evaluate

1:50:13whether there's too many cars going too fast.

1:50:17Through the chair to Councillor Gow, I will clarify.

1:50:20Not necessarily.

1:50:21Again, we have a data collection budget.

1:50:24And certainly if we get a request on the street

1:50:27where we have no data whatsoever,

1:50:31again, within budget, within resources,

1:50:34we'll go out and collect some data.

1:50:36We're not going to stop.

1:50:38It's not going to be a go away, come back in five years.

1:50:40That's not what we're trying to accomplish here.

1:50:46Thank you.

1:50:47Councillor Goller, has your question been clarified?

1:50:50And if you have anything else,

1:50:51you can follow up with staff before the next council meeting.

1:50:55Okay, great.

1:50:56Thank you very much.

1:50:58I'm moving on through the list.

1:51:00We've got Gibson next, then Billings,

1:51:03Kate and Chu has withdrawn.

1:51:07Thank you through your chair.

1:51:08Great.

1:51:10I'm going to simplify my understanding

1:51:12of Councillor Goller's questions.

1:51:14Can staff take it away a landing page

1:51:16where we can direct residents to,

1:51:18this is how the sites have been selected.

1:51:21This is our prioritization

1:51:22and this is how your new requests

1:51:25will be handled moving forward.

1:51:26I think that's the simplest way

1:51:28to help residents understand

1:51:29where their issues would lie in terms of prioritization.

1:51:33Through the chair to Councillor Gibson.

1:51:35Yes, we have a traffic calming webpage set up now.

1:51:37So we'll go updated to reflect any changes

1:51:40through this policy approval.

1:51:41Okay, thank you.

1:51:42So all my questions were answered.

1:51:43I just got a few comments if you don't mind.

1:51:45Very familiar with vision zeros.

1:51:48I work in big construction industry

1:51:51and it's all about safe work, eliminating risks,

1:51:55trying to reduce risks.

1:51:56And I do admire the aspiration of vision zero,

1:52:00but I also admire what staff are talking

1:52:02about over and over is about a balanced approach.

1:52:05We can't prohibit personal vehicle use in the city.

1:52:08We can't prohibit the risks that exists

1:52:10with vehicular traffic.

1:52:12But what we're doing is a balanced approach

1:52:14to try and reduce and mitigate those risks everywhere.

1:52:17We cancel kudos to staff.

1:52:18I think that's well-messaged.

1:52:20Once we get past the vision zero comment,

1:52:22because I have heard residents say,

1:52:24vision zero will do anything.

1:52:26The vision zero means that's the aspiration,

1:52:27but our approach has to be a bit more balanced.

1:52:31I'm gonna contrast that with the,

1:52:33I know some people are mourning the loss

1:52:35of the electoral camera ticketing things.

1:52:38And I had this great conversation

1:52:41with someone a little bit closer to Queens Park

1:52:42and it was about maintaining the public trust

1:52:44through that tool.

1:52:45So that tool was something that was good.

1:52:47It was useful, but it was easily exploitable.

1:52:50And I just wanna use an example.

1:52:51A city, 40 minutes to the east of us

1:52:54with about 700, 800,000 people in it,

1:52:57had 185 cameras installed across their city

1:53:00and $30 million of revenue coming from them

1:53:03and only $13 million of costs.

1:53:05They were driving $17 million revenue

1:53:07with plans to invest a massive amount more money in them.

1:53:12And the premier caught wind

1:53:13and the premier acted across the whole board.

1:53:15And it's a shame that we don't have the tool,

1:53:18but that's the reaction of the premier

1:53:20when he caught wind of that.

1:53:22By contrast, if we had implemented

1:53:23that same type of strategy and wealth,

1:53:25we would have had 34 cameras installed,

1:53:27about six per ward.

1:53:29That would have driven people crazy.

1:53:31So 34 cameras is the ratio.

1:53:33By contrast, we had 12.

1:53:35So while the community debated the benefits

1:53:39and the negatives of it,

1:53:40we were taking a very balanced approach to that tool.

1:53:43So I just wanna state that publicly

1:53:45that I think that tool was well implemented here in Guelph.

1:53:48We were not exploiting the public trust.

1:53:50There are communities that were.

1:53:51That's my comment on that.

1:53:54The last one I wanted to say,

1:54:00is a dumb comparison.

1:54:02Ultimately, when I hear from residents,

1:54:05I know it's hard sometimes to hear,

1:54:06but the ultimate responsibility

1:54:08when you're operating a vehicle,

1:54:10you are the responsible party for road safety.

1:54:13And so I'm always telling that to residents,

1:54:15we will try our best to balance and mitigate

1:54:17and create the buffers,

1:54:19but ultimately the responsibility lies

1:54:21with the vehicle operator.

1:54:22And they are responsible if they do damage

1:54:25or if they haven't forbid to have a fatal incident.

1:54:30The last comment is, I don't mind the ballards.

1:54:35I think the ballards are the best actually.

1:54:36The streets that I'm aware of,

1:54:37Starwood, Grange, I see the ballards

1:54:39and middle lane ballards.

1:54:41They slow everyone down.

1:54:42They really do.

1:54:43The sleeping police or the speed bumps

1:54:45that people talk about, they work too.

1:54:49They may be a bit more annoying, but they do work.

1:54:50But from my understanding of my experience,

1:54:53the center ballard, the center lane ballards,

1:54:56they just slow everyone down.

1:54:57And that's a credit to the implementation of the team.

1:55:00So thanks very much for that and good work.

1:55:04Thank you, Councillor Gibson.

1:55:06And in three minutes and 10 seconds, no less.

1:55:10Okay, we've got Billings next please.

1:55:14So through you, Madam Chair, I too like the ballards,

1:55:18but I want to drill down with respect

1:55:21to how staff got the AAC to support the recommendation

1:55:26when they have never ever supported,

1:55:28doesn't matter if it's humps or speed cushions with gaps.

1:55:33And then in the report, it says something about,

1:55:36okay, one per block.

1:55:39So I was just wondering for clarity,

1:55:41can you drill down as to why they are supporting

1:55:44this recommendation?

1:55:46And is it going to be just one per block

1:55:49or is it going to be like stated before, one after another?

1:55:55Through the chair to Councillor Billings.

1:55:58So I alluded to a bit previously,

1:56:00like one of the great advantages

1:56:02of having this commitment to a road safety team

1:56:05is we've had more time than ever to really drill down

1:56:09and try to get to the bottom of this.

1:56:11So to Nico's credit, he's spent the better part of 18 months.

1:56:15We talked, like I say, to Spinal Cord Institute's

1:56:18best practice, other municipalities,

1:56:22and we came forward with data and a report to the AAC.

1:56:26I can't speak to why this time

1:56:28they approved it versus previous times.

1:56:31There's been a turnover in that committee,

1:56:33but I think we also came with more data and more research

1:56:38than we've been able to come to that committee with

1:56:40in the past.

1:56:43Okay, so with respect to the data,

1:56:46there was the one slide in the presentation.

1:56:50And I can tell you, going over them,

1:56:53if you suffer with chronic pain, nerve pain,

1:56:57they are more jarring and the pain goes up.

1:57:02So that leads me to the speed tables.

1:57:06So through you, Madam Chair, is it possible,

1:57:09like the cushions, meaning it's not a hump,

1:57:11it's a cushion, because you have the gaps,

1:57:13is it possible to have the speed tables

1:57:16where you still have the gaps

1:57:18for the emergency vehicles and transit?

1:57:24Through the Chair to Council Billings,

1:57:26we haven't looked at that in detail yet.

1:57:28I'm happy to take that away.

1:57:31Should we consider to install a speed table?

1:57:35Okay, that would be helpful.

1:57:38Also, you commented on you wanting to slow traffic down,

1:57:42I'm still on the cushions, slow traffic down to say,

1:57:46going over them at 40, 42 kilometers an hour.

1:57:50But what do the, I'll just say the professionals say

1:57:53with respect to humps and cushions as to,

1:57:58going over them at such a speed

1:58:00where it doesn't damage your car,

1:58:02the shocks, the alignment, the tires and such.

1:58:07Do you know?

1:58:13Through the Chair to Council Billings,

1:58:16one of the challenges with that is,

1:58:19there's such a wide variety of personal vehicles out there

1:58:21in terms of age, design, size,

1:58:24like a Mazda Miata is not a Ford F-250.

1:58:28But let me see what I can find out

1:58:30before the Council meeting and get that back to you.

1:58:36Okay, that would be helpful.

1:58:37Just because of what I've read,

1:58:38it seems like slowing down to 15 to 25 kilometers an hour

1:58:44is the speed of where you don't cause damage.

1:58:46So that would be great if you could do that.

1:58:49Also, under the objectives,

1:58:51you have, we want to reduce cut through traffic.

1:58:56However, if we're going to put these cushions

1:59:00in the same which we have on collectors

1:59:02and you have the residential area there,

1:59:06people will do the cut through in the residential area

1:59:11to avoid that section of the collector

1:59:13where the cushions are.

1:59:15So could you respond to that?

1:59:20Through the Chair to Council Billings,

1:59:23you've hit one of the many challenges we face

1:59:26right on the head there.

1:59:27That is exactly, again, part of the balance we look at

1:59:32in terms of mitigating risk.

1:59:34If we have issues on collector roads

1:59:37where we have a high volume and high frequency of speeding,

1:59:43you know, we want to act on that.

1:59:47So where possible, if there's a neighboring

1:59:51residential street that may take some of the brunt of that,

1:59:54we'll look to see what opportunities we have to do there

1:59:57to not sort of encourage people to use the road

2:00:00that they're not intended to use.

2:00:04Okay, and then last question.

2:00:06So there was a slide and it showed the pick

2:00:09of the speed cushion.

2:00:12And when I look at it, it looks to me like it has,

2:00:17I'm going to say a softer slope to it

2:00:19than the ones on Downey Road, for example.

2:00:22So are the ones on Downey Road, are they speed cushions?

2:00:28Not bumps or whatever, are they speed cushions?

2:00:34Through the chair to Councillor Billings,

2:00:36yes, the ones on Downey Road are speed cushions.

2:00:40We have a template we actually provide

2:00:43to the contractor to install them.

2:00:45So they should be installed all in a uniform fashion.

2:00:50Okay, thank you, Madam Chair.

2:00:53Thank you, Councillor Billings.

2:00:55I'm just going back to my list here

2:00:57and Councillor Katelyn, please, you're next.

2:01:01Thank you, it's for you, Madam Chair.

2:01:03So what kind of vehicle was used for the G-Force study?

2:01:06Because I drive a Mini and if I go over that B-Bump at 40,

2:01:09I'm dukes of hazarded all the way across.

2:01:14Through the chair to Councillor Katelyn,

2:01:16for that particular study,

2:01:17we rode one of the city transit buses.

2:01:20We also did collect data in a personal vehicle.

2:01:24I believe it was a Chevy Bolt.

2:01:27Unfortunately, just the way that data worked out,

2:01:30we weren't able to present it.

2:01:31It didn't collect in the same fashion.

2:01:36So, but aren't the speed cushions designed

2:01:39so that buses can go just kind of straight through them

2:01:41because they have the same wheelbase as the ambulances?

2:01:47Through the chair to Councillor Katelyn,

2:01:49there's to be minimum disruption to a transit vehicle

2:01:54with the design and the speed cushion.

2:01:57Okay, so, all right.

2:02:01So for me, speed bumps are like going over deep potholes.

2:02:04And if you did this test again with like a regular vehicle,

2:02:08I think maybe, because for me,

2:02:10that data just kind of showed me

2:02:12that the quality of our streets are not good.

2:02:14If you can go through a pothole and a speed bump

2:02:18at the same quality as the rest of the road,

2:02:20but it makes more sense if you're going over it

2:02:22with a transit vehicle,

2:02:24which is basically designed to kind of sneak through.

2:02:28So that makes more sense to me now.

2:02:31What is the minimum distance between tire openings

2:02:34for our current speed cushions?

2:02:36What is the wheelbase that can sneak through?

2:02:41Through Councillor Katelyn,

2:02:42let me see if I can get that for you

2:02:43while you ask your other questions.

2:02:47Thank you.

2:02:50Do we have a detour signage for speed bumps?

2:02:53Because that's the AAC asked for only one per block

2:02:58for the areas where absolutely nothing else

2:03:00could be put through from my memory.

2:03:04So that people can create alternate routes.

2:03:08Do we have detour signage for people to get around speed bumps?

2:03:14Through the chair to Councillor Katelyn, no.

2:03:20Do we have maps available for disabled people

2:03:22to be able to create alternative routes

2:03:24to get around pain obstacles like that?

2:03:27Through the chair to Councillor Katelyn,

2:03:28yes, we have a map online

2:03:31that you can filter by layers

2:03:33all of the various road safety tools

2:03:35we have implemented throughout the city.

2:03:40Thank you.

2:03:42What is the process for people to report injuries

2:03:45sustained over driving over speed bumps and cushions?

2:03:53Through the chair to Councillor Katelyn,

2:03:54I don't have that.

2:03:55Let me get that for you before the council meeting.

2:04:00Great, thanks.

2:04:03And were speed bumps in,

2:04:05or it's be cushions rather in the bike lanes

2:04:07included in the discussions with the committee and the AAC?

2:04:13Through the chair to Councillor Katelyn, yes.

2:04:18Were past conversations with the AAC on speed bumps,

2:04:21cumps, cushions and bumps provided to the current AAC

2:04:25for review along with the staff proposed plan?

2:04:29Through the chair to Councillor Katelyn, yes.

2:04:34Can all of those past minutes and conversations

2:04:38be sent to council please?

2:04:39Because I didn't see them attached as a part of the package.

2:04:49Yep, let us take that away.

2:04:51I believe all the AAC committee meetings are on the internet,

2:04:55so we'll get those meetings to you.

2:04:59Thank you.

2:05:02Sorry, I'm going fast

2:05:03because I don't want to go through my time.

2:05:05So I'm very happy with the stop signs

2:05:07being included as an option

2:05:09because on long roads without any stops,

2:05:11I think that most of these speed bumps,

2:05:15or speed cushions that exist currently

2:05:16could have just been a four-way stop.

2:05:19And that is a cheaper option

2:05:22and I like the fact that people do slow down.

2:05:24So I like the fact that that was discussed

2:05:25because I know in the past

2:05:26that was something that wasn't considered an option.

2:05:29So I appreciate that.

2:05:34And how will a roundabout designs

2:05:36address safe crossing for blind people

2:05:39and people with lower mobility to safely cross?

2:05:45Through the chair to council, Kate.

2:05:47There are, again, roundabouts are relatively new options.

2:05:51So that's a fast growing field.

2:05:53So when we actually formally bring that to the AAC,

2:05:56we'll discuss what options exist.

2:06:00And if you don't mind,

2:06:01I have the information on the spacing

2:06:04for the speed cushions that you asked about earlier.

2:06:06I'll just pass it over to Kyle

2:06:07because he's got it right in front of him.

2:06:12The speed cushion itself is 1.9 meters wide.

2:06:17And then depending on the road width as a total,

2:06:22it could be anywhere from 0.4 meters to 0.55 meters

2:06:27between those speed cushions.

2:06:30So we have a design guideline

2:06:33in our linear infrastructure shammer

2:06:36that we can share with you before the next council meeting.

2:06:40Great.

2:06:41Thank you.

2:06:42Has there been a review of the number of vehicles

2:06:43that have a wide enough wheelbase

2:06:45to not effectively be affected by the speed cushions then?

2:06:49Because I know that there's a lot of trucks

2:06:50and other things like that, that have a similar wheelbase.

2:06:53I'm just wondering how many vehicles are actually

2:06:56forced to stop versus how many coast through?

2:07:00Through the chair to council, Kate,

2:07:02we do not have that level of detail

2:07:04on vehicle ownership in the city.

2:07:09Okay, thank you.

2:07:11And through the chair,

2:07:14has there been any considerations for the fact

2:07:16that the federal transportation manual

2:07:19that recommends speed cushions

2:07:20and allows for them to be in bike lanes

2:07:22was created before the onset

2:07:25of Accessibility Standards Canada.

2:07:27So that's the group that goes through and reviews

2:07:31all of the federal documents and plans

2:07:34and has public engagement with the disabled community.

2:07:38So they didn't exist before this plant.

2:07:41The transportation manual is that we use

2:07:45and there hasn't been a review since then.

2:07:47So has there been any consideration in our use of it

2:07:52that addresses the fact that it's not vetted?

2:07:58Through the chair to council, Kate,

2:07:59we'll certainly take a look in detail.

2:08:01We did use national guidelines to help inform this policy

2:08:05from the Transportation Association of Canada.

2:08:09They have guidelines for traffic calming.

2:08:11So that is a federal document we use

2:08:13to help inform this report.

2:08:15Thanks, yeah, I know that you all are using

2:08:17the documents that you're supposed to use.

2:08:18I'm just saying that the documents themselves

2:08:21were not vetted by this group because the group didn't exist.

2:08:23We didn't have that in place

2:08:25because the Accessible Standards Canada

2:08:28and a lot of the other policies that couldn't create

2:08:30that group to go through and review the documents

2:08:32didn't exist then.

2:08:34So am I not saying that you're bad to use it?

2:08:36I'm saying that they're bad.

2:08:38I have not included an engagement process

2:08:41for disabled people to give feedback on it.

2:08:45And you all and I have had a in-depth conversation on this

2:08:48and I really appreciate your time

2:08:50and your team for talking to me about these things.

2:08:55I personally do get injured on speed cushions.

2:09:01I cannot use the bike paths where they're on the bike

2:09:05because I have a trike, my kid has a trike,

2:09:09we will fall into traffic.

2:09:11I really, really support almost everything

2:09:15you've got done in this plan.

2:09:16I think that you did a tremendous amount of work

2:09:19but I think that we're trading injuries

2:09:23because we're not gathering information on those injuries.

2:09:29So we don't have anything to back up the fact

2:09:32that disabled people are being injured

2:09:33because I don't think that we have a clear path

2:09:35for people to report those injuries

2:09:38unless they're planning on suing the city.

2:09:40And I think that most people don't wanna do that

2:09:42because it's an onerous process.

2:09:44So I'm not gonna support it right now.

2:09:47I'll work on a couple of motions

2:09:50to potentially amend some things that I have concerns with

2:09:54in terms of accessibility barriers for the end of the month.

2:09:58But so don't consider my voting no

2:10:02being against the entire project

2:10:04because that's not what it is.

2:10:05There's some things in there that I need to address

2:10:10but otherwise I think you did a really great job.

2:10:13Thank you, Councillor Caitlin.

2:10:15Councillor Chew, please.

2:10:19Thank you, through you, Madam Chair.

2:10:22First of all, great work.

2:10:24Really appreciate just the streamlined process

2:10:27that's being emphasized here

2:10:29and even just the prioritization

2:10:32of what the next five years could look like.

2:10:35I think just on that piece there,

2:10:39like I'm just wondering from a communication standpoint,

2:10:42like is there some opportunity in which we can update

2:10:46that Vision Zero dashboard of yours

2:10:49to highlight some of those community safety zones

2:10:52that's going to be looked at.

2:10:56So I see like Attachment 3,

2:10:58that five-year traffic conkming identification table.

2:11:03I was wondering if there's a way

2:11:05in which you could showcase that visually on that map.

2:11:14Through the Chair to Councillor Chew,

2:11:16on that map I alluded to earlier

2:11:18that shows all of the road safety initiatives we've deployed.

2:11:23One of the layers is the community safety zone.

2:11:26So that's out there.

2:11:28I'm happy to share that link with all of Council

2:11:30if you'd like to see it before the 21st.

2:11:34Yeah, I think just specifically, Steve,

2:11:37would you be able to update that map

2:11:40with a layer of Attachment 3?

2:11:43Just because not all those community safety zones

2:11:45are going to be included, right?

2:11:48Like for example, like there's College Avenue

2:11:50and there's Clair Road and those are arterial roads.

2:11:53And that's not within the scope of this work.

2:11:56So I was just wondering just for communications

2:11:59and transparency and even like ease for us

2:12:02as Councillors to communicate with constituents,

2:12:06if there could be an updated layer that shows

2:12:09some of those identified roadways

2:12:11that will be targeted for traffic conkming.

2:12:15Through the Chair to Councillor Chew,

2:12:16yes, we will certainly do that.

2:12:19Okay, so that's perfect.

2:12:20I really appreciate that.

2:12:22And continuing on that line of transparency,

2:12:26within that communications package,

2:12:28Terry, that you alluded to,

2:12:29do you think that the 250 streets

2:12:32that have been queued up for traffic conkming

2:12:34can be shared with or disclosed to us

2:12:36just so that we can have a heads up?

2:12:38Because I think some of that predates

2:12:40some of our time on Council as well.

2:12:41And like it'd be nice for us to know

2:12:44just from like a knowledge sharing perspective.

2:12:48Through to Chair to Councillor Chew.

2:12:49Yes, that is something that we can share with you.

2:12:52And as Mr. Anderson alluded to earlier,

2:12:55the list kind of shrinks down a little bit

2:12:56when you get some overlapping pieces in there.

2:12:58But certainly that's information we can share.

2:13:01I appreciate that.

2:13:02And I guess, yeah, there's a lot of emphasis

2:13:05on bringing back some of those vertical measures

2:13:08and also scoping out within this five year plan,

2:13:12more permanent measures or supplemental measures.

2:13:17So on that note, like if we're gonna be seeing

2:13:20like those speed cushions,

2:13:22like are they going to be those seasonal rubber rise cushions

2:13:26that we've seen from the testing

2:13:30or we're gonna start to see more like concrete fillings.

2:13:38Is it gonna be sweet?

2:13:39I'm sorry, yeah.

2:13:42I see.

2:13:43Through the Chair to Councillor Chew,

2:13:44we will try to only use those rubberized ones

2:13:48for very temporary reasons.

2:13:50For instance, there's a construction project going on.

2:13:54And we think a residential street

2:13:55is gonna become the unofficial detour.

2:14:00They are very disruptive just by their design.

2:14:03So we try to minimize their use as much as possible.

2:14:06The intent with this list of 25 streets

2:14:09is to whatever measure we choose,

2:14:12it will be more permanent in nature.

2:14:16No, I appreciate that acknowledgement

2:14:19because I think I'm going back to some of Councillor Caden's

2:14:23questioning and line logic.

2:14:24I think some of these measures that have been introduced,

2:14:28albeit it's just for testing purposes,

2:14:31like are quite coercive in nature.

2:14:34And I think there has to be like that balancing act

2:14:36that's applied and not restrained as well

2:14:40when we're trying to prioritize effectiveness

2:14:43over kind of that quality of life, right?

2:14:45Because for some folks, especially on Downey Street,

2:14:48like that's a lived experience every day

2:14:50that they have to deal with

2:14:52with some of the measures that have been put together.

2:14:56So I think if we can take those lessons learned,

2:14:59that can go a long way.

2:15:00And just on that note,

2:15:02I'm really keen on that knowledge sharing

2:15:06and even for us, this is one of those issues

2:15:10where because it's such a high quality of life issue,

2:15:15like with traffic calming, how do I say it?

2:15:20It warrants a lot of front-facing conversation

2:15:22for us as counselors.

2:15:24So like, has there been any like conversation

2:15:28on maybe enrolling the city of Guelph

2:15:31with like the NACTO organization

2:15:34because they have a lot of great like urban design

2:15:37like N Street standards that I think are shared

2:15:41across the board?

2:15:43Like are there opportunities for our organization

2:15:46to get involved in that type of knowledge sharing

2:15:49and facilitation?

2:15:52Through the Chair to Council too, certainly.

2:15:56Any opportunity for us to learn from experts

2:16:00locally, provincially, federally,

2:16:01we are more than happy to do that.

2:16:05Okay, and my final takeaway is

2:16:08if we can kind of improve some of the visualization

2:16:12and scenario testing and kind of show that

2:16:15within that Vision Zero dashboard

2:16:17that you guys have worked really hard to create,

2:16:20I think that could go a long way,

2:16:22especially for us to communicate these interventions

2:16:25that are gonna happen within the next five years.

2:16:27So yeah, that's more of a comment side.

2:16:30So yeah, thank you so much.

2:16:33Thank you, Councillor Chew.

2:16:35And the last Councillor that I have on my list

2:16:37is Councillor Downer.

2:16:42Thanks through you, Chair.

2:16:44So just did all to what others have said,

2:16:46it's a very good comprehensive body of work

2:16:49that you've done and I appreciate it.

2:16:51And I think it's realistic moving forward for the most part.

2:16:58The question I have, why have two?

2:17:00So the one is around the always stops.

2:17:03So as you know, we've had a lot of requests

2:17:07for always stops over the years.

2:17:09People seem to think that putting up stop signs

2:17:12will slow down the traffic.

2:17:15And the message back to them has been

2:17:19that stop signs are not traffic calming measures.

2:17:25And so, and that they'd have to meet certain warrants

2:17:28in order to have a stop sign put in.

2:17:31So what has changed here where it's sort of supplemental

2:17:35and are they the same warrants as before

2:17:38that they would have to meet

2:17:40in order to get those always stops?

2:17:46Through the Chair to Councillor Downer,

2:17:48we use the provincial warrants,

2:17:50if you're correct to do any sort of always stop.

2:17:54And a reason for that, we've spoken a little bit about it

2:17:56is because of compliance.

2:17:59What we refer to in this way for traffic control

2:18:02is more as a supplementary measure.

2:18:03So it wouldn't be that it's used as the entire plan.

2:18:07So for instance, a number of sequential always stops

2:18:10as opposed to putting speed cushions in that area.

2:18:13But it might be used to put one within,

2:18:16assuming it meets a warrant within a larger plan

2:18:19to get that continuity and get people to slow down

2:18:22from one end of a segment to another.

2:18:25Okay, so that it hasn't really changed

2:18:27except we're putting it in the basket more formally now.

2:18:30Is that what I'm hearing?

2:18:34Through the Chair to Councillor Downer, yes.

2:18:35Okay, so the other question I have,

2:18:37so the Access to Really Advisory Committee,

2:18:40so they received a lot of data

2:18:43from spinal cord research groups and whatnot

2:18:46that helped them make their decision.

2:18:48Would we be able to get that?

2:18:50I'm sure it's online in there minutes,

2:18:52but would you be able to share that sort of in an email

2:18:55to Council with the links and of what,

2:18:59so that we could have that same data?

2:19:02Certainly, yes.

2:19:07Okay, thank you.

2:19:09Thank you, Councillors.

2:19:09And that leaves me, and I have 10 questions now.

2:19:12I'm just joking.

2:19:15I just wanted to say ditto as well.

2:19:17I think that my colleagues have asked all the questions

2:19:19that I had, and I won't spend your time with more.

2:19:24I will say thank you for your work on this.

2:19:27I know that it's something that comes into my inbox

2:19:30on a weekly basis, and so acknowledging it at this time,

2:19:33I think is really significant and important.

2:19:36And thank you for all of the work.

2:19:38I mean, I will say, and perhaps you'll allow me this comment,

2:19:42which is if people would slow down,

2:19:46we wouldn't need all of these measures,

2:19:48or we'd need a lot less of them.

2:19:49And so I really hope, and as part of these communications

2:19:54methods that you're producing,

2:19:55that we are continuing to encourage people

2:19:58to actually follow the rules and slow down,

2:20:02because this is creating a lot of problems for your neighbors.

2:20:06So with that, I will stop talking,

2:20:09and I will call the vote on the recommendation.

2:20:14And so is there anyone against?

2:20:17And I'm looking online, and I have three voting against.

2:20:23So Councillor Caiten, Councillor Billings,

2:20:26and Councillor Goller.

2:20:28And so that passes with three voting against,

2:20:32and one, two, 10 voting for thank you clerks.

2:20:38And moving forward, we do have an announcement

2:20:42before we go to adjournment.

2:20:44So I'd like to hand things over to Councillor Caron of Ward 5.

2:20:48Great, thanks.

2:20:49We hate to be in the way of adjournment,

2:20:51but wanted to announce that Councillor Downer and myself

2:20:54have our annual Springtown Hall coming up

2:20:57on Thursday, April the 16th.

2:20:59It'll be held at Jean Little Public School

2:21:01on Youngman Drive in Ward 5.

2:21:04And our topic for that evening will be our five units

2:21:08by right zoning bylaw review.

2:21:12And our guest speaker will be Chris Tawaki,

2:21:14our general manager of planning and building services.

2:21:16So anyone in Guelph is invited.

2:21:18And for any further details and agenda

2:21:23is available on our website, which is ward 5.ca,

2:21:27ward number 5.ca, thanks.

2:21:30Great, thank you.

2:21:31And now I'd like to call for adjournment

2:21:34with Phil moving and Bustetil seconding, all in favor.

2:21:40Oh, whoa, all in favor, everyone put your hands up.

2:21:42I did it backwards to Cam.

2:21:45Let's go back to Cam Marigthery, so anyone against.

2:21:50And that is no one.

2:21:51Have a wonderful afternoon, everyone.

2:21:53And hopefully it's warmer tomorrow.

2:21:57Take care.