Accessibility Advisory Committee

0:03And we're going to start with the Indigenous Territory Acknowledgement.

0:07As we gather, let us take time to reflect on our privilege to live and work in Guelph,

0:12a city built over rich Indigenous histories.

0:15We're guests here, and we should reflect upon the responsibility to care for this land,

0:19the people who live here today, and the generations to come.

0:22If our actions today can move us towards reconciliation,

0:25we should take pause and make those decisions with intention and gratitude.

0:30This place we call Guelph has served as a traditional lands and a place of refuge

0:35for many peoples over time, but more specifically, the Atta Wanderang and the Hadna Shone.

0:41This land is held as the treaty lands and territory with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

0:46Guelph lies directly adjacent to the Hadamand Tract and is part of a long-established traditional hunting ground

0:52for the six nations of the Grand River.

0:54Many First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples who have come from across Turtle Island call Guelph home today.

1:00And there's a link in the agenda if you'd like to learn more about the Indigenous Territory Acknowledgement.

1:07So the first thing on the agenda is a disclosure of conflict of interests.

1:12Does anyone have any conflicts of interest to declare?

1:20I see and hear none.

1:22So next we need the approval of the agenda.

1:25Would anyone like to approve the December 19th agenda?

1:31I will.

1:32Ted, perfect.

1:34And a seconder.

1:42Oh, Deborah, perfect.

1:43Thank you.

1:45I always forget if we need to vote on this or not.

1:48And any opposed, Leanne, is the agenda one that we need to see if anyone's opposed?

1:56I can probably answer that question.

1:58I think if it's been moved and seconded, it's a good practice to vote and call if there's any opposed.

2:03Okay, thank you.

2:04So is anyone opposed to the approval of the agenda?

2:10I don't see or hear anything.

2:13Awesome.

2:14And then we need approval of the minutes from the last meeting that we had.

2:18Would anyone like to move to approve those minutes?

2:24I will.

2:25Thanks, Ted.

2:26And we've got Sue as a seconder.

2:28Awesome.

2:29And do we have any opposed?

2:33I don't see or hear any.

2:35So that is approved.

2:36Perfect.

2:37And now we can move right into the items on the agenda today.

2:41We are starting off with a discussion about the 2026 municipal election methods for voting.

2:48And we have a five minute staff presentation from, I believe, Jennifer Slater.

2:52Hi, Jennifer.

2:54Hi, Cherit.

2:55I think I had confirmed with Leanne there is no staff presentation.

2:58It was just the materials provided for this item for information.

3:02So we wanted to give as much time as the committee would like to discuss their motion.

3:07Appreciate it.

3:08Thank you so much.

3:09That's great.

3:10So if everyone's reviewed the materials that were emailed to us, there was a note that was taken after the meeting that we had, the workshop meeting that was facilitated, that had kind of a catchall of what was discussed.

3:25And then also a report from clerks with where they were at.

3:32So that means that we have some time for a AC discussion on this and the city is looking for a motion from us on kind of what we're recommending for voting.

3:42So if anyone would like to kick that conversation off, feel free.

3:55I did.

3:56I did end up speaking with clerks and Leanne before the meeting and knew they were looking for a motion.

4:04So I ended up drafting a motion because I was at that facilitation and I've been involved in this discussion for so many years now about accessible voting.

4:13So I drafted a motion that I think probably accurately encompasses what we would like staff to do, especially from the conversation we had.

4:23And I also drafted a second motion just regarding that meeting that we had.

4:28I didn't I didn't find it to be especially reflective necessarily of our I found the note taking to not be very reflective of our discussions in that meeting and some other people in that meeting said that as well.

4:48That's actually in the notes that they provided is that the AC requested that the notes not be looked at because they weren't seeming to be reflective of the conversation we were having.

4:59And that instead we wanted staff to just lean on the verbatim recording of that meeting to get our actual perspectives.

5:06And after looking over the materials that were provided, I feel even more strongly that those notes aren't reflective and I'd rather them just watch the recording of the actual meeting.

5:15So I have a drafted a motion asking that staff disregard those point form notes that were provided by the facilitator.

5:22And if they want to know our opinions, they should look at the meeting recording and get our words verbatim from us.

5:29So that's one of the motions that I had sent through.

5:31And then the other one is regarding our recommendation for voting options, which we discussed in that meeting as well.

5:39So I don't know if maybe could someone pull those up and then maybe people will want to talk about those or move those.

5:50So the first motion that I put together was kind of was about the voting options.

5:56And we had talked in the meeting about how there was a lot of discussion in that workshop about how leaving out any of the voting options will likely leave out someone and how we really felt strongly that online or internet voting and remote accessible vote by mail will help bridge some gaps that are current.

6:19And I think that's one of the things that I think is currently present in the last couple of elections that have made it impossible for some disabled individuals to vote, but that our overall opinion was that we would like every accessible option provided.

6:32Whether or not the city will be able to do that, we're not sure.

6:34But I put together a motion that just says in order to accommodate independent voting for all residents of Guelph, the AC recommends that the city offer online internet voting, remote accessible vote by mail, vote by phone, vote by mail, and door to door vote from home options for upcoming municipal elections.

6:52The AC feels that leaving any of these options out will leave some disabled voters without access to a confidential and independent way to mark their ballot, providing all options will help the city meet their duty to accommodate those individuals under the Ontario Human Rights Code.

7:06Furthermore, the AC would like to highlight the importance of specifically our AVBM and internet voting as the most universally accessible options, which would solve service gaps that have been present in the past two elections for many disabled individuals who've not had access to independent voting.

7:23I know it's long, but I figured it's better to let council see everything that we talked about all in one motion.

7:31So that's the first motion and I don't know if anybody wants to talk about it or move that motion or we've got some time to discuss now.

7:50Is it possible to bring it back up on the screen if it's just a matter, yeah, just to take another look at it. Thank you, Dylan.

7:58The second portion just while everyone's looking at that the second portion of the motion that talks about internet and our AVBM is trying to reflect the discussion that we had at the workshop about how we can recommend all five options, but the city is very unlikely to actually give all five options.

8:34And if they start cutting options, we would rather they not cut the ones that are currently the most accessible for people who currently can't vote.

8:46And so there was discussion around highlighting that those two are the most are our highest priority in some way and that but that all of them are important and that we kind of you can't have accessible voting without making it accessible to everyone.

9:00But there are some service gaps right now where people can't vote independently and those people would be helped by those two options specifically so we're hoping the city moves forward with at least one of those while still wanting to recommend all five.

9:16Yeah, I understand that is Jen here. I am looking at the last sentence starting with furthermore the AC would like to highlight the importance of specifically our AVBM and internet voting as the most universally accessible options cool, which would solve service gaps.

9:38The way it's worded, could it be understood that if they put in those two and nothing else that would solve, quote unquote, all the service gaps or should we say, significant service gaps or partial or most or something in there.

9:57So we're giving a call for gaps. Yeah.

10:00I like that a lot. I think that's a good idea to add significant service gaps so that it makes sense that it is. Yeah, like you said, it's specific service gaps for some individuals but it's not a fix everything.

10:13Yeah, I don't know how anyone else feels about that. But I did say see an order's hand up. Let me know if I'm mispronouncing your name.

10:23Yeah, that's right.

10:25Perfect.

10:27Yeah, I agree with that. I would move to put that with the minor amendment in.

10:41Perfect.

10:43So we would need a seconder but first, just in case anybody has any further thoughts before we move it. Elizabeth, go ahead.

10:52I was just going to say I would second the motion.

10:54Oh, okay.

10:56No, that's great.

10:58All right. Is anyone opposed? Oh, wait, Deborah has a hand up. Deborah, go ahead.

11:06No, I just wanted to say I thought I wasn't at the meeting on the 14th but I went read through all the materials and I thought the motion really reflects what I think are the right directions and also gives a priority for

11:24the parts of inclusive voting that methods that should be pursued if choices have to be made.

11:36And it also fits with comparator regions where there are lots of existing experiences to draw from except for the R-A-V-V-M.

11:49Thank you so much.

11:50Thanks, Deborah. And click on Brian. I see your hand up. Go ahead.

11:55Hi, thanks, Chair. Appreciate it. Thanks for having us again.

11:59The only question that we had as a staff was to turn door to door. I think and I don't want to assume but I'll make an assumption at this point.

12:06I think that was sort of in line with the pilot program we ran during the last election. We called it vote from home pilot.

12:15You know, there is no one sort of industry defined name. I just the difference between sort of vote from home, which is akin to the pilot that we ran in 2022 versus door to door, which might be might be seen to be something different or nuanced in a different way.

12:30As long as I mean I'm seeing your head nod, but I think that's it's helpful for us just to clarify that what we mean by door to door is a home visit type of program where voters could opt in.

12:40And if they were eligible, we would obviously serve them at their doorstep with it with a ballot and continue on with tabulating in that normal fashion.

12:50So as long as we're that sort of accurate and I'm not making any assumption that that's I think very helpful for us to understand as well.

12:57Yeah, I think in the meeting in the workshop, people were confused by the term vote from home because so many of the options are to vote from home.

13:05So when we heard vote from home, people were getting confused. I like what you said about door to door visit or a home visit, home, visit voting or something like that.

13:18But yeah, that's what we're talking about is the vote from home pilot project. It's just that it doesn't actually let everyone vote from home and it's it was just kind of confusing.

13:26So I put the wording that I thought would make the most sense. But yeah, we can call it whatever the city will understand.

13:36If I can and through you, chair route to the rest of the committee, we can I think you can leave it as is in the wording if you like, I'm glad that we've had the clarity of it.

13:44Again, there is no one sort of industry defined term. We will take door to door in the wording of the motion to mean that that sort of similar home visit pilot program that we offered in 2022.

13:54And we recognize that there's a series of recommendations here of different voting methods that's purely within the AAC is purview to sort of make a recommendation in that regard.

14:04We certainly welcome that. I think as you alluded to in the in the sort of the kickoff is some of the not all of them may be able to offer it.

14:11I think our job now is to go back and determine the resourcing and the ability to offer those all those methods all at once.

14:17But it's good also that there's clarity that you know these would these would serve as many people in the community as possible.

14:25But if you had to sort of select a more narrow few that it would be then internet voting and or the remote accessible vote by mail option.

14:33So I think it gives us good clarity. We certainly appreciate the inputs from the committee in that regard and for clarifying that one aspect. So thank you very much.

14:43Thank you Deborah go ahead.

14:45Interesting. It's interesting because I also had a little bit of confusion there and I thought it might be linked as well to the mobile van initiative in some comparator regions.

14:59And so I wondered if this was an attempt to try and meld the vote from home and the mobile van together into something door to door.

15:08So it's good that there's clarity but I would encourage the city to look at that interesting option as well of the mobile van as a way to do vote from home whatever it's called. Thanks.

15:25Awesome. So would anyone like to move the motion as it is then and a seconder we had an order and Elizabeth looks like an order was still moving.

15:43And we've got Deborah or Ted whoever looks like we've got some seconders. Is anyone opposed.

15:49Chair Ruiz or yes apologies for the interruption. I just wanted to clarify I've got it noted that we're voting on both motions one and two move together. I just wanted to make sure that that that is the case.

15:59I was hoping we could discuss to because I don't know if anybody will want to change it. This I was thinking was just one just for resolution number one. Yeah just for number one.

16:07Thank you for clarifying.

16:09I just want to give everyone a chance to have it and put on to and not just throw it in with the other one.

16:15All right is anyone opposed to resolution one being passed as a motion. I don't don't see or hear any so perfect. That's that's that one done. Thanks everyone.

16:28And then the second motion that I wrote was just in the meeting. There were some parts that I didn't I didn't like the sorry the meeting the

16:38the workshop the facilitated workshop that we had. I was really frustrated was parts of it. I was pretty vocal about that in the meeting. There was one point where she was asking us to list pros and cons of each accessible voting option and I really feel strongly that it's not appropriate to ask us for cons.

16:55And those pros and cons lists made it into the notes even though during that discussion there was a lot of back and forth of people being like this isn't right. You shouldn't be asking a marginalized group to list reasons that we don't get access like reasons that it's bad to give us accessibility.

17:11That's really bad form. And some people were pretty upset about that and a lot of that is not reflected in the notes and then also while we were in the meeting the facilitator would stop and say so what I'm hearing you say is that

17:24it's not what I'm hearing you say is and it wouldn't be quite what we were saying. And she was taking these notes and passing them on to to clerks. So we in the meeting discussed that we didn't want her to be taking any notes and that we felt like the extra person

17:38kind of filtering our opinions through to city staff didn't make any sense and we would rather they completely disregard those notes. And then those notes were included in our agenda though so they're now like on the record publicly available notes that look like they were

17:54reflecting our opinions but very much don't. So at least in my opinion they very much don't. I don't know how others I know how a few others who are at that meeting and spoke up felt about it but I really want to make sure we also get something official and on the record about the fact that we don't want those notes so that if in the future when this discussion is happening at council before the next election if somebody pulls up those notes and said says you know the AC said that vote from mail is a bad idea because what if ballots get lost in the mail.

18:24That's not actually what we said so I want to make sure that there's something on the record saying just ignore that document maybe and look at the actual recording that has us speaking our words.

18:35And that made it into those notes like please don't refer to these notes is in the notes but I want to make sure we get it somewhere else. So that's what that motion is about. I don't know if anybody wants to change it or if someone would like to move it or if there's any other discussion. I'm not sure who else here was at the workshop.

18:51But yeah, go ahead. Okay, I agree. I think they should disregard the notes. Maybe deep six the notes and you're absolutely right. They didn't reflect what we were trying to say.

19:13End of story.

19:15Thanks Ted. Does anyone else have anything they'd like to add to that motion or change about it before we see if anyone would like to move.

19:26Because we don't just have to move them just because I wrote them we can also scrap them that's fine too. I was just trying to keep things efficient because I know this is a big conversation go ahead Donna.

19:39Oh you're muted Donna.

19:40There you go.

19:42I was just wondering if there could be the discussion that we did have it rather than just saying listen to the whole thing that if we could pull out the more the salient parts because it that you know the might get lost.

20:00Yeah, I think that's the important parts of what we were saying that's all because it was a fairly wide ranging conversation might be easier to follow. I don't know who would do that.

20:13Make it narrow down a little bit to the point point form of what we did discuss. Yeah.

20:20The only problem I would maybe see with that is that we're then putting it in city staff hands to decide which parts of the recording are the most important or are the salient parts.

20:32So or even just one or two members figuring out because the whole meeting had a lot of discussion from all the members.

20:39So I would hate for us to have them disregard anyone's. I think it's okay to ask city staff to sit through that whole they asked to have that workshop.

20:47So I think it's okay to ask them to sit through the whole thing and watch the whole recording. They probably will anyway, honestly, but I just don't want anyone looking like well city staff are super thorough.

21:00I imagine they probably already have but I just don't want people using that document instead or or city counselors looking at that document or right.

21:08Right. No, I was just thinking that that we admit someone a couple of people from the committee might pull out what seems more relevant. That's that's all that if the city staff will look at the whole thing and consider everything then sure we should go for it.

21:24Our city staff able to can someone from staff answer whether that's something that staff can do watch the whole recording rather than our notes yet Jen go ahead Jennifer go ahead.

21:33Of course, through your chair route to the committee members. We certainly will view the whole video we have the full video to review when we're considering our recommendation and will certainly be linking to the full video for councils awareness when we provide the report.

21:48To your comments I think very accurately staff wouldn't want to be the ones necessarily pulling out summary as its you know staff pulling what perhaps might be interpreted as the most key items we would if that's something that the committee would like we would certainly look for the committee to provide that to us such that we're not you know influencing or making any assumptions incorrectly so we're happy to to provide full access to the video and if there's any additional summary that the committee would like to provide.

22:18We can certainly receive that and share that as part of our report as well but that's entirely up to you and I appreciate whatever the committee would like to do.

22:27Thank you so much.

22:29I saw Mike's hand up and then it went down but would you like to say anything there Mike.

22:42Right you're on Mike.

22:44Oh okay.

22:46Mike you're muted.

22:58We're not hearing what you're saying.

23:00Mike you are unmuted but we're not able to hear you.

23:04Can you hear me now?

23:05Yeah sorry I forgot to have my mic plugged in.

23:09Yeah I was just going to say yeah I mean as long as staff can watch the video before next time we meet and maybe send out an email maybe a week or two before our next meeting saying hey is there anything that we potentially missed.

23:23I don't know maybe just an idea.

23:28I see Jennifer shaking her head.

23:32Is that not.

23:33So our next step is already having the staff recommendation actually ready to the committee.

23:39We wouldn't be doing any further summary that we would be taking in all the information from the committee including the motion to inform our recommendation but we wouldn't necessarily be doing any additional summaries with our current plan.

23:52So unless we were making a change to that timeline we wouldn't necessarily be adding in additional but we can you know discuss at the next item if there's anything outstanding beyond the committee's motion but at that point we will have the staff recommendations so just kind of awareness of that timing.

24:10Yeah this meeting and the workshop that we had were really to the last chances we have to inform what we're thinking because we've had so many meetings about this.

24:22So that makes a lot of sense.

24:24Thanks.

24:26Could we maybe get that motion back up on the screen Dylan and see if anybody has anything they'd like to change or add or if someone would like to move that just give a minute for every I'll just give a minute for everyone to look it over.

24:48I can read it out if you give me a second with my screen reader.

24:52So the motion is regarding the facilitated accessible voting discussion the AAC requests the city disregard the point form notes provided entirely and only use the meeting recording verbatim to reflect the opinions of the AAC on accessible voting.

25:09Go ahead in order.

25:13I'd like to move to put that forward.

25:19Right.

25:21Can I ask a quick question?

25:23Go ahead.

25:24And is it clear in the description when you're saying point form notes because they're not saying as written by whoever wrote them or the team that wrote them or when they were shared do we need any specificity with them or are they clear enough as is?

25:44I don't know if we have access to that specificity.

25:47I'm not sure if we know exactly who pulled the four the point form notes together just the point form notes that were provided after the meeting that were taken by I think the facilitator but it might have been staff.

25:59Yeah.

26:00Okay.

26:01And so then it's even just saying the point form notes taken at the previous meeting.

26:05Do we want that specificity in there or not?

26:09Just to say like clearly say who are when the point form notes were written or taken or what have you.

26:17If it's not required and open to feedback by all here if it's not required that's fine.

26:24But without the context I wasn't sure if somebody reading that would know.

26:30That's why I put the first part that said regarding the facilitated accessible voting discussion.

26:34I didn't know what we should call that.

26:36It was like a workshop discussion thing.

26:38Right.

26:39So do we want to put a date on it?

26:41Yeah.

26:42Facilitated workshop discussion on X date.

26:45That happened on I don't remember what date but yeah.

26:48It was it was it October 3rd for that one?

26:51No, that was the first date and then not enough people showed up.

26:55Right.

26:56I don't remember the second date but we've got some people with hands up and I think staff have an answer Dylan go ahead.

27:03Thank you chair root.

27:04Yeah.

27:05So we can add the meeting date to that motion we can after the meeting while we're prepping the minutes make sure that we grab the correct meeting date and add that in.

27:12I also just wanted to add in regarding the AAC feedback that the motion you've already passed that motion number one that is the primary piece of feedback that the AAC has now given staff on this topic.

27:24So certainly that recording from the facilitation can still be used.

27:28But really it's that motion that the AAC passed which is now your recommendation to staff regarding accessible voting methods which I think becomes the key piece of feedback that that staff are looking at.

27:41Thank you.

27:42I think the main reason I wanted that second motion discussed at our meeting today is not because I think staff needs more feedback in that meeting it's because I don't want the point form notes used against us in later discussion not used against us that's bad wording makes it seem adversarial which it's not.

27:58But more like I don't want anyone saying look the AAC said accessibility is actually bad you know so it's more to cover us against any misunderstandings than it is.

28:10But yeah go ahead Leigh Ann sorry I didn't see your hand.

28:13That's okay November 14.

28:16Thank you.

28:19So with that amendment would anyone like to move.

28:22That motion.

28:24So that would be regarding the facilitated accessible voting discussion on November 14.

28:30The AAC recommends that the city disregard the point form notes provided entirely and use only the meeting recording verbatim to reflect the opinions of the AAC on accessible voting.

28:40Thank you.

28:43Dylan your hand still up is that a legacy hand or did you have another point.

28:48Apologies.

28:49That's fine.

28:50Okay cool.

28:51Would anyone like to second that Ted move up Donna perfect.

28:56And is anyone opposed to that motion.

28:59Looks like no one is opposed.

29:06Perfect.

29:08We still have a few minutes on this topic but I don't think there's anything else that staff we're looking for from us we have about five minutes staff is there anything else you needed from us in this meeting.

29:19No I don't believe so chair root thank you.

29:24We appreciate the opportunity and it's sort of been a lot of work a lot of discussion which is really great it's nice to have this this sort of coming to coming to the point where we'll have some recommendations back as Jennifer noted back to the committee and we look forward to that and then continue the discussion in the new year with both the AAC and then eventually with council as well.

29:45Perfect thank you so much.

29:47All right that means we can move on to the next item which is the and thank you so much staff.

29:52Everyone from staff who's here there's so many of you.

29:54So I'll just call you staff.

29:56Thank you very much.

29:58The solid waste letter to the federal government solid waste drafted a letter with our.

30:03Our kind of approval and input and everything.

30:07So we have Heather Connell here today.

30:09I think is it Heather or someone else.

30:12Yes I'm here.

30:13Perfect.

30:14Nicole Davis and also here.

30:16I'm going to call Nicole and I didn't see you.

30:18Okay perfect go ahead you've got a five minute overview and then we have five minutes to discuss.

30:23Great thank you chair root.

30:25So I'd also like to provide a status update on some recent actions on the federal regulations as they relate to this motion and the advocacy letter.

30:36As background the legal basis for the federal regulations is the designation of plastic manufactured items as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act which is necessary for the federal government to regulate substances.

30:51A lawsuit was brought against the federal government and the federal court agreed with the plastics producers that challenged the designation of all plastic manufactured items as toxic.

31:01So this means that any proposed federal regulation that is dependent on plastic manufactured items being listed as toxic cannot proceed.

31:10The federal government has indicated that they will appeal the ruling.

31:14If the federal court of appeal grants the federal government's appeal they could potentially place an induction on the decision by the federal court which if granted by the court effectively pauses any enforcement of the ruling.

31:27At this time there's no public information available regarding the status of the appeal.

31:33The city single use item reduction strategy and by love remains in effect and is not affected by the federal court ruling.

31:40The city's authority falls under different legal premises under the municipal act a city may pass bylaws respecting the environmental well being of a municipality.

31:50So given the recent court ruling providing this advocacy letter to the federal government is likely well timed and provides additional information for their consideration in their approach moving forward.

32:03So this leads me to the motion for the advocacy letter which you can see on the screen.

32:09And that is that the AC support and recommend that the single use plastics prohibition regulations advocacy letter be submitted to the director of plastics regulatory affairs division with environment and climate change Canada.

32:22Thanks.

32:25Thank you very much.

32:29We have some time to discuss and ask questions and tweak the motion if we'd like.

32:34Does anyone have anything.

32:37I had a thought about possibly tweaking the motion to add that I don't I don't know the exact wording but something along the lines of given the changes to the federal regulation we would like to continue working with the city.

32:59Because originally the city was working with us on figuring out a way to make sure that plastic straws are available and that plastic bags or bags with handles are available so that people with disabilities can use them and that all got halted by this provincial

33:14or this federal legislation that was passed down. So if the federal legislation ends up being paused or changed or stopped we would I'm assuming we would all really love to revisit that conversation with the city you mentioned that the city is under different legislation but

33:32I would love to add something in there about we would like to revisit the municipal bylaws.

33:40Go ahead Heather.

33:42Yeah I think we're fine with that recommendation, although I don't think we would consider it while the federal government is under an appeal.

33:51So I think that conversation would take place after we hear those final outcomes, especially if I'm posing a junction.

34:01That makes a lot of sense. Thank you.

34:04I don't know what anyone else thinks about that or if anyone would like to put forward their own motion or move the recommended motion or the recommended motion with the addition that we'd like to continue working with staff.

34:16We might not really need to add that in there actually since staff are saying they will continue to work with us on this. That might be irrelevant.

34:28Everyone's so quiet today. It's never been this quiet. Everybody always has their hands up.

34:33I can't move things so someone's got to do something. Hey, in order to go ahead. Do you have any input?

34:40I think we can move to put it forward. I think

34:47because the motion is to send in the letter I think we can just move to put this forward and the staff knows that the committee would like to have more feedback.

35:00When we know what's happening with the federal level so that all groups know what's happening and so can begin discussing next steps.

35:14I see Elizabeth's hand up as well. Go ahead, Elizabeth.

35:18I'm just wondering if we need to add something about the fact that we're really asking them to consider the impact on people with disabilities to the prohibition.

35:29So do we need to make it that clear? Because that's why we're asking them to reconsider, right?

35:37Well, actually this motion is just about the letter that we helped them draft that lists that it talks about all the reasons that it's so impactful for people with disabilities to have access to straws and bags and things like that.

35:48And it reflects the words of a lot of people in these meetings to so if you saw that letter and you are okay with that letter that's what we're looking to move forward.

35:59We've had a couple meetings already where we've kind of listed the impacts and those are in that letter.

36:04No, I realize but what I'm saying is do we have to point that out in the motion or is it enough that it's in the letter?

36:12I think the letter will be attached to the letters attached to this publicly available agenda and it's also available to staff and council and everyone who wants to see it.

36:22So I think we're okay to just say whether or not we want the letter to go through.

36:27Okay, but I don't I don't know what would you want the motion to look like Elizabeth?

36:31No, I'm just that's what that's what I'm asking like for the sake of the motion to stand on its own. Does it have to mention the fact that the letter speaks to issues related to, you know, the use of plastic products for people with disabilities.

36:52That was kind of what I was asking like is it do we need to put that in there?

36:59Who are you asking staff that?

37:01Yeah.

37:02Okay.

37:04Dylan, go ahead.

37:05Thank you, chair.

37:07I think from a procedural standpoint, when you're approving the letter, you're automatically approving all of the content within that letter and to try and sort of repeat the content in the motion might become difficult.

37:18That being said, it's always at the committee's discretion what to include in a motion or not. But I think effectively this recommendation is reiterated and approving all of the content that's included in that letter already.

37:30Okay, glad it.

37:33I saw your hand up for a minute. Did you have anything?

37:36Sorry, no Dylan just said what I was going to say.

37:39Perfect.

37:40In way better terms too.

37:47All right. Elizabeth your hand still up. Did you have anything else or

37:52anything else?

37:54I think the last one that stands we have a Nordle did move to approve the letter and well the motion that was on screen before.

38:02Could we get that back up on screen and then would anyone like to second that?

38:09Ted, I see Ted is seconding. Oh, Deborah, perfect.

38:13All right. So that is anyone opposed to that as well?

38:24I don't see or hear any so that passes. Thank you so much everyone.

38:28I think that letter for us that's really helpful and we appreciate the repeated visits to get our input and the emails to get our input is really nice. Thank you.

38:37Thank you. Thank you and we value your feedback as well. So thank you very much for your input.

38:43Thanks.

38:45All right. So the next item on the agenda is the College Avenue.

38:51My screen reader just made a bunch of noises.

38:57The College Avenue protected cycling infrastructure.

39:01We have a five minute staff overview of the materials that were sent to us and then we also have five minutes for the AC to discuss.

39:09So Benita, I believe is here to.

39:15Hi, go ahead. It's all yours. Thank you so much. Thank you everyone for having me.

39:22So I know that you've heard from us a couple times. I think while I was off last year, you heard from Andrew Miller, a colleague of mine in the engineering department.

39:29So I did provide a staff report or a report to describe the project overall.

39:36So I'll just go through the content on the screen here quickly and open it up for questions.

39:41I think this will be the third time that we've come. So I think everyone should be familiar with the project overall.

39:47I'm not sure if you're familiar with the project, but for sure, happy to have some dialogue about it as required.

39:53So the previous accessibility advisory committee motion that we were working with was that more information be provided before the committee.

40:00could support the design. And specifically there was a request that we look into year-round weather

40:05maintenance, yielding for cyclists to pedestrians and bus users, and also information about how

40:11disability aids would navigate the protected intersection. So we took that recommendation

40:16and we went back. We did quite a bit of background research with different consulting firms,

40:22looked into different guidelines around cycling design and how accessibility can be

40:30best accommodated within design for things like protected intersections. And then we also did some

40:36corresponding with staff in the City of Ottawa and with staff in Burlington. And our group took a

40:43trip down to Burlington to take a look at their protected intersection and see how they work and

40:48do a couple site visits along their sort of route where they have protected cycling facilities.

40:54And that was really, really helpful for us. So we've come back to you now with a little bit

41:02more detailed information on these three recommendations. So first off, for year-round

41:06weather maintenance, I met personally with the manager of the operations department with the

41:13City now. And he's assured us that maintenance can be achieved through the use of existing

41:18equipment that we have now. So mostly that will be the sidewalk plow. We'll be able to navigate

41:24the corners in the protected intersection. And then the operations department is also acquiring

41:30a new vehicle. It's an electric vehicle and that will do all of the sweeping and sand removal and

41:37sort of the maintenance for the other eight months of the year. That's not winter. And then again,

41:41for winter, we'll use the sidewalk plows. We're sort of have our eye looking for the right type

41:46of equipment to sort of complement that fleet. But right now they are certain that they'll be able

41:52to use the sidewalk plows and have said that they can also go out and hand shovel as required. So

41:58I'm not saying that it will be 100% perfect right off the bat. There's always a bit of a learning

42:02curve, especially with a brand new type of infrastructure. But we have had lots of dialogue

42:06with them and they've reviewed the designs quite a few times. So that's the winter maintenance update.

42:12In terms of mitigating conflicts at transit stops, I've met with Guelph Transit staff and

42:20have reviewed with them. And they have again assured me that this shouldn't be a problem,

42:26specifically cyclists coming up to the transit stops. We've done a couple things to modify the

42:33design that we're putting into place. So we've narrowed the cycle tracks as they approach the

42:38transit stops to kind of create a visual kind of the same that we do with traffic calming when we

42:44narrow the roadway to create a visual sense that users need to slow down and need to pay

42:50attention and they're navigating something different on the road. The cycle track is designed in the

42:54same way. So it narrows as it approaches the transit stops. There's a series of paint markings,

42:59signage, and a couple different things. And then in some locations it will also ramp up a little

43:05bit. So cyclists will feel that sense of change of the roadway. So that will help them be aware of

43:12the fact that there are transit users in the area. And Guelph Transit staff have said that there

43:18typically aren't issues seeing people. If someone is waiting in a bus stop, the transit drivers can

43:23see that person that's waiting. So I think that there was a concern that someone waiting in a

43:29bus stop wouldn't be as easily noticed by the transit drivers. But my colleague in Transit has

43:34said that shouldn't be a problem. And if we're seeing any problems, they can look at what's

43:38going on at that specific unique location and maybe remove any advertising panels that are on

43:43the transit stop that might impact visibility or make other changes that are needed. So that's

43:51the cyclists and transit users question. And then in terms of how disability aids will navigate

43:58the protected intersections. So again, we've kind of done what's within our capacity at this point.

44:04So we've consulted with other municipalities. We've been reviewing provincial guidelines and

44:09also city guidelines. So some cities have like the City of Ottawa, for instance, has its own

44:14protected intersection guide. So that was a guideline that we really delved deeply into.

44:20And we also visited other protected intersections, as I mentioned. We're making a couple adjustments.

44:27So there's one corner that we're acquiring some property and we're going to shift the sidewalk

44:32back a little bit to make a wider turning radius and to just space out the cyclists and pedestrians

44:38a little bit there. So we're making some small sort of geometric changes. And then the last thing

44:45was we would like to host a focus group once the intersection is built and welcome anyone who's

44:51interested from the advisory committee to come out and help us understand how the intersection

44:58is working for different users. So as you guys know, this is the first time we're putting something

45:03like this into the City of Guelph. So we don't have, I probably can't answer every single question

45:09right now. We may need to just get it on the ground and kind of see how it's going to feel. But

45:14we definitely do wish to do that. And especially before we move on to College and Gordon or any of

45:19the other potentially busier intersections along that corridor, we do want to meet with some folks

45:25on site and really get their feedback and make sure that we're tweaking things where required.

45:31So that's the end of the presentation part. Again, the recommended motions are up there

45:36on the screen and I'm happy to take any questions or comments that you have.

45:44Thank you so much. Does anyone have any questions or comments? Okay, we've got Deborah and then

45:54Donna's next. I just wanted to say thank you for listening so carefully and responding so

46:03comprehensively and yes to the visit, the site visit. I think that's a great idea and I'm happy to

46:14if I'm able to participate. Thanks. All right, we've got Donna and then Jen.

46:23Hi, I think my mic's on. I think it's great. I just as a driver, sometimes I get confused about

46:33what things mean. For example, the green patches for cycling. I think there should be some

46:41consideration to signage, not a ton of signs, but some explanation in verbally at least that

46:50attracts me and I pay attention to those kinds of things so that you know what's expected of you

46:57as a driver, for example. Yeah, that's it. Thanks, Donna. All right, Jen, go ahead.

47:10Just a really good question. Love all the work and thank you for including a lot of the feedback

47:15that our group has shared. Exciting to see. My quick question was on the second one to be able to

47:22see the completed project and then discuss for improvements. If we're, it's probably going to be

47:32only great things, but if there are ideas for improvements, do we have a sense that that will

47:38be somewhere in 2027 or if there's like will it be responded to with some speed if we're finding

47:49that there is a concern around accessibility of the completed design? Yeah, great question, Jen.

47:58I think it would depend on the severity of the concern. Like obviously, I believe the city takes

48:07accessibility quite seriously and if we see even things like potholes in the road or a sidewalk

48:12that has a big grade change, all of a sudden we do try to get the crew out to shave that down and

48:16make it a more even surface or highlight it or something. So I think if we're seeing major issues,

48:23then I can't confirm, like give you a set number of days or weeks that we would respond in, but

48:30that we will prioritize issues that are serious and that would prevent people from navigating the

48:35intersection safely. Something like a signal pole is not located in the right place. That

48:42type of thing does take time to move and I'm hoping that we won't have anything that major

48:49coming up. I would see this more as an opportunity for us to see how this intersection works and tweak

48:55designs for future intersections, but acknowledge that if there is a serious concern around accessibility

49:01and how people are navigating or experiencing challenges navigating the intersection, that

49:06we would prioritize that before moving forward with another location. Make sure that we try to get

49:14those things worked out before we don't want to build the same thing again if it's not working for

49:19people. So yeah, I don't know if that really answers your question or not. It's good to have

49:27and I appreciate it. I appreciate that we've talked about it here as well. We just, every place,

49:34every business is going through a spot where expenses right now, everybody has to make tough

49:40choices and prioritize other things and is just hoping that if we're seeing it at a point of

49:47completion that is not considered checked off for 18 months or something, if we do find something

49:54that required, we're recommending an alteration sooner than later. Okay. Awesome. Thanks. Thank you.

50:05Dylan, go ahead. Thank you, Chair Root. I just wanted to clarify for the committee when you get to

50:12moving the motion that it's only number one that we're really asking the committee to vote on here.

50:16I think you've heard from Benita that her team is going to be inviting the AAC for a site visit,

50:21which is great, and it's really just this first motion here that we need the AAC to be voting on.

50:27My point, actually, the reason I had my hand raised, I would like us to vote on the second one

50:31because I'd like to add something to it if possible. I don't know whether this is doable.

50:36Dylan, and maybe you can give feedback, but I was hoping we could amend it rather than that the AAC

50:41be invited to visit the completed site. I would think it would make sense for us to recommend

50:46that the AAC be invited to visit the completed site with staff to discuss potential improvements for

50:51future projects and those members be compensated for that additional labor. I think it's important

50:57that that's pretty far outside of the already big commitment that a lot of people here are

51:01putting forward. I know that the city has made a push to compensate marginalized groups for

51:07additional, for any labor, and this is a group of marginalized folks who are already doing a lot

51:12for the city. I am very excited to be involved in those discussions, and I'm excited that we're

51:18being invited, but I also want to make sure that our labor is being valued. I would like us to

51:25recommend that actually. So exactly as written, just with the addition of and that those members

51:31be compensated for the additional labor. I don't know if anyone has any thoughts on that. Deborah,

51:39go ahead. I'm fully in support of that, and I think it's in line with the principles of the ACOC

51:48that the council just adopted. So I think this would be a great place to start. Awesome. Go ahead,

51:59Dylan. Thank you, Chair Root. Certainly within the accessibility advisory committee's

52:09discretion to pass that resolution, city policies at this point would would not cover compensation

52:15for advisory committee members for that type of event. We're looking to change that. It's not

52:20going to be something that's accomplished within the next couple of months. It'll be as part of

52:24phase two of that advisory committee governance review, and there's no funding available at this

52:29point. So certainly can pass the resolution, but I want to be up front with the committee that,

52:34you know, where this site visit to happen in two months, it's not something staff are going to be

52:37able to accommodate, but where it to happen in closer to a year, likely something that we could,

52:43along with your general attendance at advisory committee meetings and that kind of thing,

52:46we're looking to go a lot broader than just compensation for something like a site visit,

52:51but compensation for all of the time that advisory committee spend supporting the city and their

52:56work. Okay. Could we get, or maybe I'll email you about this. I'd love more clarity on what

53:03is covered under that, because I know there has been some compensation by the city for AAC members

53:09to do work for the city that's outside of just these meetings, like appearing at public speaking

53:15events and things like that. So this feels more in line with that type of work to me, coming out to

53:20a site. We've got to figure out transit. We've got to get there. We've got to take time off work,

53:25so it is something that I think, I don't know what constitutes something that is covered under

53:31something that can be compensated, but either way, it might be great for us to move it and ask for it,

53:35even if it's not possible for us to have it. It's good to have it on the record that it's

53:39something we're pushing for. But yeah, I'll email you about that, because I'd like more clarity

53:44around that. Absolutely. That sounds great. Oh, sorry, Dylan, I didn't mean to cut you off,

53:50Benita, go ahead. Thanks so much. The other thing that I would say is that this wouldn't be by any

53:57means the only opportunity for feedback. So we routinely take feedback from variety of, like,

54:03from all community members. Folks will email us or call and say, hey, can you X, Y, Z, for my portfolio,

54:11it's more related to the cycling network, so can you add green paint here or put up these

54:15bollards to prevent people from doing something, and we are responsive to those requests. So

54:21I don't want to leave you with the impression that the only way for us to hear your feedback and

54:27make any changes based on that feedback is through this specific site visit. If you happen to be

54:32traveling through the area and felt, oh, hey, this actually doesn't work that well, my phone line is

54:36always open and my inbox is always open to everyone, and you would, of course, be welcome to just

54:41send an email and I can go look at the situation and we can talk more about it on the phone. So I

54:48just don't want to leave you with the impression that there's only one way for us to take feedback

54:53from committee members and action it. We feedback action from community members all year long about

54:59such a wide variety of issues. So just to ensure that that part is clear as well. Thank you so much.

55:07We're about at time for this item, so if anybody would like to put forward a motion,

55:13we could get that maybe on the books. Leigh Ann, go ahead. Just really quick, if feedback is going

55:20to staff and it is related to accessibility or barriers, that type of thing, please ensure that

55:24you're copying accessibility at Guap.c. Please, thank you. Perfect. So could we get those motions

55:35back up on the screen? So I have motions I can display, chair Root, number one being the staff

55:42recommendation, number two being sort of the amended version of number two that you've communicated.

55:48We'll just need another member to indicate that they do want to move that amended motion and then

55:53I'm happy to pull it up. Okay. Could I volunteer to move both motions, please? Okay. Thanks, Chris.

56:03So number one as written and number two as amended by Lorelai, I'd like to put a motion

56:07forward that those are accepted by the AAC. And do we have a seconder? I will. Oh, perfect. I saw

56:17an order, Ted. Is anyone opposed? I see no one. So those carry. Thank you so much, everyone.

56:29Awesome. So we're moving on to the next. Thank you, Benita, for coming and helping us out with

56:33that. We'll look forward to talking to you more. Thanks very much for your time. Perfect. Thank you.

56:36Take care. All right. Now we have the new construction of the central station. No, we don't. We have the

56:44University Park Playground. I was just joking. The University Village Park Playground. I think

56:49Stefan, is it Stefan who's here today for that? Yeah. Hey, Stefan. We've got a five-minute staff

56:55overview by Stefan and then 20 minutes for the AAC to ask questions and discuss. So go ahead, Stefan.

57:01Great. Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. University Village Park Playground.

57:11You've all seen the report, so I'm just going to get right into the bare bones of this,

57:14and then we can have a bit of time to discuss and answer questions and go through the motions.

57:22So the play space at University Village Park is being designed to be inclusive and barrier-free.

57:30For all Guelph residents of all abilities. Highlights of the design include rubber safety

57:37servicing throughout the entire play area, wheelchair and mobility aid access to all play

57:43elements and play components. There is an abundance of shade incorporated throughout the play equipment.

57:52There is various sensory features both on ground level and elevated play decks throughout the

57:58playground. There are multiple accessible swings. There are multiple areas for seating,

58:07including a shade structure with accessible picnic tables. There will be accessible signage and

58:15wayfinding. There will be accessible routes by way of asphalt pathways connecting an existing bus stop

58:28to the new play space. And there will also be accessible route by way of

58:34asphalt pathway connecting new accessible parking to the new play space. So that was quick, but

58:49that is essentially the design. And I think we can just move into the question period

58:57and the motions. I'll open the floor. Awesome, thank you so much. We've got Chris. Go ahead, Chris.

59:07Yeah, this looks like a definite improvement from the last one we saw when we met last time.

59:12I just have two questions that are just based on functional items. I'm just wondering how

59:18wide the ramps are and what the rise run is just for my own purposes.

59:25The ramps? Yeah. So they're 1.5 meters wide. Okay. And they rise one foot every 14 feet.

59:38Great. Okay, thank you very much for that. I appreciate it. No problem.

59:49All right, does anyone else have any questions or feedback? And did we have a recommended

59:55motion from you, Stefan? I can't remember. I'm trying to pull it up. Yeah, let me just...

1:00:03While you're pulling that up, Deborah, go ahead. I just wanted to echo Chris's comment

1:00:12that this is such an improvement over the last one that we saw. And so thank you for listening to

1:00:20us and giving us what I think is a great playground. I'd love to bring kids there and hang out and

1:00:29so thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. Awesome. I also want to echo that. And I know it's not on

1:00:43the agenda today and we can only discuss things that are on the agenda, but I'm hopeful that the

1:00:47city will continue to engage with us on the other playground that we saw last time because there was

1:00:52a lot of we don't like this kind of expressed. And then I just want to make sure it's not just

1:00:58left hanging in the air and that someone loops us back in with what's happening with that. So again,

1:01:02I know we can't discuss that today any further really, but Leanne, I don't know if you can connect

1:01:07with staff and figure out a time they can loop us back in. But yeah, this is a great improvement

1:01:14over that. I would agree. Any other questions or would anyone like to move that motion that we

1:01:25support the design of this playground? Laurel, I sort of jump in here. I would support the motion

1:01:30to move forward with this. Yeah, don't apologize. Jump in all you want. Yeah, that's great.

1:01:36I fully support this motion. I think it's a great playground. I think it would look great in the

1:01:39city. It'd be great for other places to look in on and sort of get our leadership from. So this

1:01:45is a great standpoint for me from my perspective. So I'd like to move that this that the motion be

1:01:51accepted by the AC. Is that a seconding hand debba or do you have yep, that's a seconding?

1:01:57Perfect. Does anyone oppose to that? All right, it looks like that carries. So the AC is

1:02:05supporting that. Thanks so much, Stefan. It was very informative and helpful.

1:02:10You're very welcome. Thank you. Have a good day. You too. All right, so now we're going to the

1:02:16Central Station, new construction. The city's constructing the wealth bus stop Central Station.

1:02:21They're reconstructing. So we have Amir here today. Hi Amir. Hi. To discuss. Go ahead, you've got a

1:02:31five minute overview and then we have about 15 minutes to discuss. Thank you everyone for having

1:02:37me here. I'm attending this meeting for the first time. So I'll introduce myself plus the project.

1:02:44And my name is Amir working for Facilities Department. I'm working on a project for

1:02:53transit and we are at very initial stage of design of this project and we thought of that we can

1:03:01share with you what we have and maybe we can have your feedback, some room for improvement to this.

1:03:10Let me share the layout that we have. Basically, this is going to be a mix use facility and main

1:03:20focus is for public waiting area, public washrooms and improving on the passenger experience,

1:03:31connectivity from local transit buses to metro leaks and GO bus and GO train.

1:03:40I will start with some overview of what we have on this layout. Basically, on

1:03:52southeastern side of the junction of McDonnell Street and Cardin Street, we have a triangular

1:04:00space that we have for this building. The main advantage for having this on this location is that

1:04:08it is very much central to the terminal. Secondly, transit is the main user of the terminal. They

1:04:18have around 21 bays in total out of that. About 13 are being used by transit. So all they can

1:04:27monitor from this particular location. They can connect with other modes of transportation.

1:04:38Just starting with a few features that we have in our consideration. On this McDonnell Street,

1:04:46we are expecting in the future campus from Conestoga College and there will be increased

1:04:55pedestrians and passengers crossing the road and all. So we have considered providing a

1:05:04plaza option where we can give more space so that the area don't get congested in this location,

1:05:1301. The passengers can enter in the facility. They have a waiting area. We have considered

1:05:22FADM 2015 for our 360 degree turning radius and we have considered for gender neutral washrooms

1:05:37along with a barrier free washroom. We have also considered that our, in case we are very

1:05:46early in discussion, that provide one security officer table over here so that we can have a

1:05:53visibility on the operation of this building, how public is accessing the building and

1:06:05the washrooms. We have tried to provide one entrance or exit at this side of McDonnell

1:06:15Street because there are two busways over here. It will make it easier to access. We have provided

1:06:22a third exit towards the Cardin Street and we are going to plan for a crossing near this one.

1:06:31This will make sure that we don't have a random crossing of passengers through the terminal. It

1:06:38will avoid any delays or accident chances and basically improve the operations at that facility.

1:06:48Mainly, I have covered everything that we have planned for. If you guys have any

1:06:56comments, maybe you can share so that we can improve on our design.

1:07:03Thank you so much, Amir. Do we have any questions or comments

1:07:07before we get into looking for a motion? Go ahead, Chris.

1:07:16Not really a question. More of an inquiry. Maybe you can help me with this or not, but I understand

1:07:24that people will use a shelter like this for warmth in wintertime and sometimes there are

1:07:32problems accessing washroom facilities because they are locked or an individual has to go get a key.

1:07:38Especially in the area where it is, this might be a heightened issue. I am just trying to think

1:07:48through about access to those washrooms when people require them versus being overpoliced.

1:07:54This is not necessarily a question you might be able to answer, but it is something that is in

1:07:58the back of my mind in terms of actual authentic access to washroom facilities while waiting for

1:08:04transport. I do not know how you are going to park that, but either way, you can just say

1:08:09that is fine. Leave it at that. It is something that is going on in the back of my mind here.

1:08:16We have discussed a couple of questions on this one, but we have not yet gone into detail

1:08:25design. We are still at the very initial stage. I have engaged with Leanne in the past.

1:08:31So far, this design that we are sharing over here is giving us more of where we feel that

1:08:40the staff that will be sitting over there will have a clear site of how these washrooms are being

1:08:50accessed. We are still going to have discussions with our consultant that how we want to operate,

1:08:59do we want to lock them, have an XTE, or we feel that it is fine to proceed. Leave it open. We will

1:09:09have more discussion on this, but we will definitely be looking forward for any recommendation.

1:09:15Great. So that satisfies my answer. I have my question or my comment there, just as long as

1:09:20you are cognizant of the fact. So that is enough for me. Thank you. Thank you.

1:09:28Awesome. Jen, I see your hand, but my comment is on the same thing that Chris said, so I am

1:09:32just going to quickly jump in. My thoughts are similar, although I have been involved in a lot

1:09:38of conversations around other public bathrooms and Guelph around accessibility, where often

1:09:43what ends up happening is that the disabled community is kind of put on one side and the

1:09:50unhoused community or other equity seeking groups are put on another side. But usually it ends up

1:09:58being unhoused individuals that are, it is like we don't want unhoused people using the bathrooms

1:10:03for warmth because disabled people need the bathrooms for accessibility. And I really want

1:10:08to stress to the city that there are a lot of people in the unhoused community that are also

1:10:13disabled. So if it turns into a situation where we are policing who can access the bathrooms and

1:10:18you have to ask for a key and maybe we are denying access to people that we think don't,

1:10:22like having a key at all means that someone at some level is going to be deciding who gets

1:10:29to use those washrooms. And I don't know whether it is appropriate for anyone to look at another

1:10:33individual and say yes, you deserve access to an accessible washroom. A lot of disabilities are

1:10:39invisible. So I would think it would make a lot more sense to have some kind of signage up asking

1:10:44people to make sure that they are leaving bathrooms available for those who need them.

1:10:49Maybe some signage up with phone numbers where people can call if someone has been in there for

1:10:53an hour and a half. You can maybe call a number and have staff come check and make sure that individual

1:10:57is okay. But giving someone the right to hold onto a key to bathrooms isn't great in my opinion,

1:11:04especially considering that a lot of disabilities make it more difficult for people to approach

1:11:08one another and ask for a key. So that is just my thought. The other comment I had is about

1:11:13something else. So I will move to Jen first. Go ahead, Jen.

1:11:18Thanks so much. I agree with the content. The question is already happening. And thanks so

1:11:24much, Amir, for coming for discussion. Love the idea of chatting with us early in the stage and

1:11:30welcome to conversation with us. Thank you. And forgive me. My son was asking a question during

1:11:39your presentation. So I may have missed it, but I'm going on the assumption that all of the features

1:11:46where you're looking at the amenities, so like the color contrast between the wall and the floor

1:11:51will be enough. There'll be handrails where needed. I do wonder with the central station,

1:11:57the accessibility of getting into the building of the same structure, probably historical,

1:12:03so that it's easy for somebody who uses their own manual wheelchair to be able to get in or

1:12:08with canes or the snow clearing. All of those factors are being taken into consideration.

1:12:15And I'm just going to park that and just say I hope that those are being considered. And please

1:12:22come back if you're looking for more. And of course, we've got our dedicated subgroup that

1:12:29looks at all those pieces. My other question is you were talking about having someone on site.

1:12:35And it seems like it is a perpetual topic within the city for security and things like that.

1:12:45Tagging on to what Laurel I was just saying, whomever is trained for the security aspect or

1:12:52the whatever the fancy word you want to call it to have the oversight and be a person to make

1:12:57sure things are running smoothly. It's great to have a skill set on perhaps the security,

1:13:05de-escalation if it's required or things like that would also be great if that person also had

1:13:11person or team has skill set in the accessibility piece. I'm not saying to be able to transfer

1:13:17someone in a washroom stall, not at all, but just to have awareness of some of

1:13:25how to create a great experience so our community members who have disabilities

1:13:30can feel welcome to understood and not othered when they're going into the station.

1:13:42I don't see any other hands. So I'll bring up my other point, which was just about adult

1:13:46changing stations. I don't know if those are being considered for the washrooms, but there's a

1:13:50really big lack in our community of changing stations that hold adult weight for anyone who

1:13:56has a caregiver who might need to help them with different types of feeding or changing situations.

1:14:02If you have a teenage child who might need help with that kind of thing. So adult changing tables

1:14:06are great and I'd love to see more of them and especially at such a central location. I think

1:14:10it'd be helpful. I'm making the notes here. Yeah, thank you. Does anyone else have any

1:14:27feedback? We can kind of try to incorporate all of this into, it looks like the recommend in motion

1:14:32is that the AAC recommend the design of the new central station include and then we can add some

1:14:37things. So things that I've heard are high contrast, accessible handrails, things like that.

1:14:45The things that Jen, oh, I think Leanne probably was taking notes and probably has this. Go ahead, Leanne.

1:14:51Okay, so color contrast, all that stuff is talked about in the FADM. So it will meet all those things.

1:14:58Glass will have the demarcations on them, all that stuff. As far as and grab bars, all that

1:15:05type of stuff looked after and coming from the FADM, I'll be built to that. I also wanted to

1:15:11note and I'm not sure if this was mentioned in Jen's talk there that this is not the historic

1:15:18building. This is a brand new building in an area where there is no building structure right now

1:15:24at all. So I just wanted to make sure that was clear. That's all. I'm so happy to be taught.

1:15:29Oh, no. No, no, I love it. I love it because it wasn't making sense to me as the layouts

1:15:37when I was trying to overlay this with the train station via aspect. So this is, it's great. So

1:15:46it'll have the gradient for people to be able to get into and out of them too, I would assume.

1:15:52Yeah, it's all flat there. Awesome. Okay, thank you. Love it.

1:15:56Mike, I see your hand. Yes, I had a question. In regards to toilets in here, I don't know if this

1:16:05was covered in the presentation. I just took a super quick look over it. Are they going to be

1:16:11the ones that are attached to the floor or the ones that are attached to the wall?

1:16:23We're not there in the design yet. Okay. Yeah. We probably look to advice from the FADM and

1:16:32Leanne as well and selecting those at that time. Yeah, the only reason I was just thinking about

1:16:40that when kind of Lorelei was talking about weight limits for adult change tables, toilets

1:16:47have to be like, I'm a guy who's on the heavier side of things and if a toilet is attached to a

1:16:52wall, that's a recipe for disaster. Plus, it's a little harder to transfer to from a wheelchair in

1:16:59my experience. So just something to note for kind of later on, I'm sure we'll come back to this in

1:17:04a couple of months anyway. So, but just wanted to make that kind of point anyway. I think it's a

1:17:12good point. I met a note here. Awesome. Thank you so much. We've got Chris. Go ahead, Chris. Sorry

1:17:26about that. I was sending some notes to Leanne of a potential fill in the gaps for that motion.

1:17:32But go ahead, Chris. Not a problem. Well, I just want to say that if they're following the FADM,

1:17:37which is a document that follows a human rights perspective as well as it describes the application

1:17:44and the treatments of all these sorts of elements that are going to be input into there, if it's

1:17:48following that line, I'm confident that we can follow the motion with the other add-ins that

1:17:56have been discussed today. So at any point, I'm going to put that motion forward. The motion that

1:18:03I just sent to Leanne, I don't know if you got it, Leanne. Sorry, there's no context. I just copied

1:18:07and pasted it. The motion that I sent to Leanne says, the AAC recommend that the design of the

1:18:13new central station include adult changing stations and that access to the washroom center dignity

1:18:19and equity for all individuals and look forward to the design meeting the FADM. I don't know

1:18:24whether that part about dignity and equity encapsulates what we were saying about not barring

1:18:28access to anyone, but I gave it my best shot. I don't think I left anything out that isn't

1:18:34covered under the FADM, but let me know. Go ahead, Chris. No, I think that the mention of dignity

1:18:40and equity is definitely something that would be sort of welcomed within this. That means

1:18:47often left out of discussions around access for people with disabilities, so to include those

1:18:52elements is definitely well regarded. So I'd be willing to accept that to make a motion

1:18:59with that adjusted motion that you just described. Would anyone like to second that?

1:19:09Before we go to that and my apologies, I have caught up now. I've got the right map in my head

1:19:15as to where this will be. So would somebody be able to still, when they're going in here,

1:19:23would you have to go inside, Amir, if you wanted to say purchase a bus pass or can you still do

1:19:29some of those things outside of the building? Transit, yeah. Transit, they have, I think,

1:19:40they don't necessarily ask passengers to come to the ticket counter and get a ticket. They have,

1:19:50I think, this is going to be developed over the period of time, but they have currently also people

1:20:00to pay.

1:20:00pre-purchase their tickets and they would have to go to the station for their tickets.

1:20:05Okay. I'm just trying to think of.

1:20:09I mean, once they have the facility,

1:20:12they might come up with opportunities,

1:20:15but this is not forcing people to come all the way to this building and then purchase tickets.

1:20:22Yeah. Okay. It was just that there is an opportunity.

1:20:25I'm trying to think of somebody who's perhaps sensitive to sounds or

1:20:29noise or being near to near many other people.

1:20:34If you're only option,

1:20:36depending on what you might be purchasing was only inside the building that could be a stressor.

1:20:40I know if say for the GO train,

1:20:42you can reload your card and everything outside.

1:20:45I was just thinking of that now because we would have community members who could be triggered by

1:20:51loud noises and that's simply chatter and people.

1:20:56The same way some folks can be triggered by air hand dryers in washrooms.

1:21:04I was just, forgive me.

1:21:07I was adding one more thing before we went to motion,

1:21:09but I was just wondering if that was an alternative option,

1:21:13say if the building was locked closed and available or if somebody needed

1:21:19to access a ticket, a bus pass or whatever it might be outside.

1:21:24Okay. Thank you.

1:21:25Awesome. It sounds like that's a feedback that will happen more in the future and it's not so much about the building project.

1:21:35Chris has moved that motion.

1:21:37Would anyone like to second it? Ted, perfect.

1:21:44Thank you so much. Is anyone opposed to that motion?

1:21:46I don't see or hear any. Awesome.

1:21:52Thank you so much, Amir, for coming to present with us today and we look forward to talking with you more.

1:21:58Thank you.

1:22:00Thanks. I need a second to get my screen reader back in the right spot.

1:22:06I'm sorry. I was trying to send emails while I was trying to send that motion off.

1:22:10You've got a few minutes time in wise.

1:22:14We're doing really well, Lorela.

1:22:15Way ahead of time. I noticed that.

1:22:17Tons of time. This never happens.

1:22:19I feel so good right now.

1:22:21It's easy to breathe.

1:22:23It's because it's the holidays.

1:22:25Yeah. People are in the chill zone.

1:22:28All right. I think the last item actually is this next.

1:22:32Well, no, that's not true.

1:22:33We have staff announcements in site plan review.

1:22:36Okay. This is the last staff presentation, I think, except Leanne is staff.

1:22:39Okay. We have the Silver Creek Park Washroom renovations and picnic shelter discussion.

1:22:45We have Jean here today, I think.

1:22:49Yeah, Jean. Awesome. Hi.

1:22:51Hi. Go ahead.

1:22:52Okay. Leanne, you're able to bring up my presentation.

1:22:56Thanks. So I'll get started.

1:22:58My name is Jean Starchuck.

1:22:59I'm a project manager in the facilities and energy and management department at the city of Guelph.

1:23:04And today I'm just going to be talking a bit about some upgrades that I'm going to be doing in an area of Silver Creek Park Washroom,

1:23:12mainly the area where the area is existing public washrooms and then the parking area and surrounding areas.

1:23:21Here we go.

1:23:32So in the report, I included a Google image of kind of the existing park.

1:23:37And right now, nothing really is FADM compliant.

1:23:41Nothing is really accessible.

1:23:42There is a small trail that goes from the existing parking lot to the washrooms, but that's about it.

1:23:49And it doesn't connect to the existing pavilion.

1:23:52It doesn't connect to the existing trail along the back by the river.

1:23:56So really with my project and just as an aside, this is land that's owned by the GRCA, Grand River Conservation Authority.

1:24:04So I'm still working through the approval process with them,

1:24:06but I don't anticipate much to change based on what you're seeing here, based on my discussions with them.

1:24:12So the upcoming scope of work includes FADM compliant renovations to the existing washrooms,

1:24:17which I've included a floor plan here on my slide.

1:24:20And the washrooms in this case, we're actually hoping that these will be open all year round and will be heated.

1:24:27So this is kind of a new thing for Guelph.

1:24:29We don't typically offer heated washrooms throughout the year.

1:24:32So this is an area of the city where parks really thought that they would benefit from such work being done.

1:24:39And then also, in addition to the washrooms being upgraded, we're going to add an accessible parking spot.

1:24:47We're going to improve trail and connections between the pavilion and the existing trail along the river.

1:24:53And out of scope items is anything kind of outside of this area.

1:24:56I won't be addressing during this upgrade.

1:25:00So yeah, in the site plan image to the left, you can see the one new accessible parking spot,

1:25:06a three meter wide asphalt trail that will connect that parking spot to the washrooms,

1:25:10the pavilion and the existing riverside trail.

1:25:13The new trails are all going to be designed to be durable so parks can drive their trucks on them if needed,

1:25:18ensure proper water drainage and only have slopes.

1:25:20I think it's two to three percent was the maximum.

1:25:25And then when it comes to the washrooms themselves, we will have one fully universal washroom,

1:25:31one washroom that we're calling barrier free.

1:25:33And then there are six individual washrooms, everything gender neutral.

1:25:40And around the building, we actually will have a three meter wide concrete apron.

1:25:45Again, this is to help with snow removal in the winter if needed.

1:25:50And then under the new shade pavilion, which is to the left of the washrooms,

1:25:56we're going to be putting some new accessible seating under that pavilion.

1:26:01And I included an image of that picnic table style there.

1:26:06And then to the north of the pavilion uncovered, just more so someone can be in the sun if they want.

1:26:12We're proposing this kind of little squared type accessible seating here.

1:26:18One thing I have been working with Leanne on and my architect is when it comes to the picnic table style,

1:26:24we're looking at whether we can do modifications to a table so that someone is always just

1:26:29at the end of the table per this design. Maybe there's options for them to be mid span and be able

1:26:33to lift up a portion of the seating that they could have other options as to where they could

1:26:38actually sit. In the report, I included some images around kind of in their difficult to see.

1:26:47It's really hard to describe where like the picnic tables will be under the covered pavilion.

1:26:52But just yeah, working through FADM on all kind of clearances as far as movement around within that

1:26:58pavilion. And that really just brings me back to the reason I'm here is just kind of to look to

1:27:05and you could go to the second slide Leanne if you want. Just looking to the AAC to support the

1:27:12direct to support kind of the design as we're going forward. The pavilion trail design, fixed

1:27:19seating, accessible parking spot overall design. We're looking to tender this in 2024 and then

1:27:26hopefully move forward with construction as quickly as possible as the existing washrooms

1:27:30are in very poor condition. That's that's the end of my speech. Thank you so much. I'm so excited

1:27:39for this one. I love this space and I'm excited to see it get better. Does anyone have any Chris?

1:27:46Go ahead. Thank you much for that. I just want to clarify those are all single use spots that

1:27:51will be gender neutral. Is that correct? Yes, that's typically that's the way we're going with all

1:27:55our public washrooms as we're renovating them going forward. That's great news. Thank you so

1:28:00much for that. I was also wondering I was looking at this stuff just now. Is there any

1:28:08maybe you can walk us through this or maybe it hasn't been designed yet but the

1:28:11the you know if someone falls off the commode or if someone has problems in there would there be

1:28:17any sort of alarm system or being that like they would notify people outside? Yes, yes for sure.

1:28:24Okay, great. Yeah, so typically I work with Leanne on kind of the exact system we want but yeah

1:28:30there'll definitely be some sort of we're tending to go towards the pull string to activate an

1:28:36alarm and then at this site we're actually going to be installing a security system. So through that

1:28:42I imagine someone would be notified offsite as well as there to being some notification on site

1:28:47that someone is in distress in one of the washrooms. Great, that's fantastic. That's all I want to know.

1:28:52Thank you very much. Awesome, thank you so much. I had a couple of thoughts. I use this space a lot

1:29:02right now as it stands and for me even though it doesn't meet the AFA-DM and there are a lot of

1:29:06things wrong with the bathrooms for me the outdoor pavilion space is actually one of the most accessible

1:29:11spaces in Guelph for a few of my needs that I can't get met anywhere else. One of those is the

1:29:16fact that I have a really compromised immune system so even pre-pandemic I had to wear a mask a lot

1:29:21of places I couldn't really gather in big groups and especially during cold and flu season I'm not

1:29:27gathering with people very much unless we're outdoors and have a lot of space and this is

1:29:31currently the only place in Guelph that I can sit at the same table as my friends outdoors and still

1:29:37sit six feet away from them. Everywhere else I have to sit at one picnic table and they'll sit at

1:29:41another picnic table and that can be very othering so I love right now that there's just like long

1:29:46picnic tables and I also love that my wheelchair can pull up to the end of a picnic table so that

1:29:52I can be as far as possible from people so if you do consider middle seating which I think is also a

1:29:57really good idea and this is only coming from my lived experience and like other people their needs

1:30:03might conflict with this so keep that in mind too but I think that having options of different places

1:30:09to sit will be helpful for people but I'm really hoping to see a lot of seating that is like long

1:30:14what's there right now because it's the only place I know of except right outside the bathrooms at

1:30:19Riverside Park but I can't get to those because there's no path so yeah that's a point that I had

1:30:26and then also just the adult changing tables again I'd love to see more of those in Guelph and if

1:30:31we could see some of those here that'd be great there's a lot of families that use that soccer

1:30:35field and stuff there and there's like a barbecue and stuff so thanks. I will for sure go and check

1:30:43out the existing tables that are under the pavilion I don't think I've paid much attention to them so

1:30:47I definitely want to go and see how long they are compared to what we are suggesting here

1:30:51and as far as the adult change table typically what happens is I take that back to parks and work

1:30:56with Leanne and kind of work through if that makes sense at this site but we do always make sure that

1:31:01like the structure is able to withstand that electrical system connection all that stuff

1:31:06yeah for sure. Thank you. Does anyone else oh Elizabeth go ahead sorry I didn't see your hand

1:31:16yeah no it just went up so that's okay um so I have a question it's not necessarily related to

1:31:21accessibility more about hygiene um I sometimes when you go to festivals you see that there's like a

1:31:27big hand washing station that you can access and I'm wondering now at the parks for kids

1:31:35I know that you can wash your hands in the actual bathroom but it means I have to wait for the bathroom

1:31:39and you're if you don't need to actually go to the bathroom it means you're taking that time away

1:31:43from someone who may um are there any hand washing stations that exist in the parks are we thinking

1:31:50about maybe putting putting them in if there isn't? I can maybe take that back to parks and discuss that

1:31:59further I'm not aware of of systems like that that we currently have but definitely makes sense if

1:32:04someone just wants to wash their hands and doesn't want to actually go into a stall. And it's also

1:32:08really important for germ control and hygiene and you know especially in the face of COVID that's

1:32:13what we're being told right wash your hands wash your hands and you know I think sometimes if a

1:32:20kid has to run all the way to the bathroom to wash their hands after getting dirty in the

1:32:24in sand or whatever it might make more sense to have hand washing stations than to make them go

1:32:29into the actual bathroom. I can definitely take that back for consideration with the design team.

1:32:42Thanks very much um does anyone else have any questions or comments before we try to craft a

1:32:48motion? I don't see any. Can we get the recommended motion up on the screen Leanne and see if there's

1:32:55anything we want to add to it or Dylan? I don't know who's in charge of that. Thanks. Thanks Dylan.

1:33:12So just for clarity, that's the staff recommendation and then there was another

1:33:15recommendation sort of designed for the committee to be able to add in extra recommendations if there

1:33:20are additional components you want to see. So if there are those pieces then I can uh I can add

1:33:26those into a slightly different version of this of this motion as needed.

1:33:31Can we see the slide that had all three kind of on it? It had the staff motion and then it also had

1:33:37or we don't have anything to say about this or we do and we would like to add these. Yeah that's

1:33:42perfect because this will help us I think craft one a little better. Does anyone want to take a

1:33:47crack at crafting something or adding to this or do we like it how it is? There were a couple things

1:33:53mentioned but I think staff has received those so I don't know if we need to change anything.

1:34:04We could maybe use the staff recommendation and add with the addition of the modifications

1:34:12mentioned at the AAC meeting because we didn't mention a few things that it sounds like staff

1:34:17are already going to go back and look at but it might make sense to add that into the motion as well.

1:34:23Excuse me can I take this one down so Dylan can put up the other one? Yeah yeah that's great thanks

1:34:52so I've just added I think what you're looking for at the end of that motion chair

1:34:57referencing modifications mentioned at the December 19th AAC meeting.

1:35:03And these meetings are recorded and publicly available for like years to come still right

1:35:08so they can look back and see. That's correct there'll be posted forever effectively. Okay thanks.

1:35:16Would anyone like to move this recommendation? I will. Awesome was that Mike? Yep. Awesome thanks

1:35:29Mike. Oh we have Sue's hand up. Sue is that a seconder? Are you seconding? Yes. Awesome is

1:35:37anyone opposed to that recommendation and does anyone need it read out? I couldn't read it out

1:35:41loud with my screen reader because it's on it's not compatible with screen reader to

1:35:47but if anyone would like it read out please speak up and we can do that.

1:35:54I don't see anyone opposed. All right sounds like that passes thank you so much everyone.

1:36:00Great thank you. Thanks Gene have a good day thanks. All right I gotta get back on the right

1:36:07screen again. So now we have chair and staff announcements the site plan review.

1:36:16Is that you Leanne or is that me? If you like I can do it. Yeah that should be you I feel like

1:36:28it just feels like a you thing today because I didn't know I was doing that thank you. No worries

1:36:34no worries. So we have had very few applications coming in and so we had current site plan submissions

1:36:44were either final and they were wrapped up and what we had asked for was included and so it was done

1:36:53or there were some that were pre-submission so they weren't even the very first submission yet

1:37:00and so and same within January too we have another one coming or one coming in right now

1:37:07that's pre-submission in January and that's it from what I understand at this time. So with that

1:37:15in mind once we start getting the regular submissions in then we will call you know put a put a notice

1:37:25out to the AAC and you know members that have been trained can join those meetings and then if

1:37:33members are interested but have not been trained to send me an email or send an email to accessibilityacouf.ca

1:37:40and we can set up a training date for you as well. Any questions on that at all? Just we just haven't

1:37:51had the submissions that we thought that the more homes faster was going to produce right now it seemed

1:38:00to have slowed things down a little bit but I imagine that it will speed things up at some point

1:38:06something will change. All right thank you so much Leigh Ann I don't see any questions

1:38:13so if anyone has any you can email accessibilityacouf.ca right? Awesome I think the last thing is just a

1:38:20happy holiday season to all so yeah we're looking forward to 2024 it's been a really good year working

1:38:26with everyone we've had some really great discussions with the city and I really appreciate I've

1:38:35noticed a really big shift in people wanting to be engaged and talk about things and I think

1:38:41that's really great and also people trying to be really efficient and make sure that we're

1:38:45reviewing as much as we can in advance and that we're staying on topic with the agenda and that

1:38:51we are emailing Leigh Ann with things that aren't on the agenda and it makes my life so much easier

1:38:57to chair a meeting when I know that people have gone ahead and contacted Leigh Ann if they have any

1:39:02things that they know are going to come up of course discussion at the meetings is great too

1:39:06but I've just really appreciated that it's been really great the way the committee's kind of

1:39:10pulled together and gotten so much done and yeah so happy, happy holiday I know a lot of people are

1:39:17celebrating holidays right now a lot of people also aren't celebrating holidays right now and

1:39:21either way I hope everyone has a great rest of the year and we'll see you in 2024. Leigh Ann did

1:39:26you have anything? Just thanking everybody very much for their contribution to improve accessibility

1:39:33throughout the city it's amazing the work that this committee has done this past year really

1:39:38looking forward to 2024 as well I think there's going to be some incredible stuff happening in

1:39:422024 that's maybe some new stuff for the committee we shall see. Okay thank you all very much.

1:39:50Also a big thank you to Dylan and the other clerks and the staff who've been really extra

1:39:55supporting making sure that we get things accessible with these meetings there was a

1:40:00time period there where things were difficult with screen readers and we ironed that out I just

1:40:04staff has really done a lot of extra for us this year too and I appreciate that so thank you Dylan

1:40:08and the rest of the clerks and supporting me and the vice chair as well thanks. And thank you

1:40:15Lorelai and Mike for your leadership and the staff for all their supporting work it really

1:40:21has made our work as a committee really straightforward and easy so thank you. Happy holidays everyone.

1:40:29Thanks before before everybody leaves we do have to I think because we're adjourning early we have

1:40:34to actually move to adjourn so would anyone like to make a motion okay Mike is motioning to adjourn

1:40:39would anyone like to second that? I will. Awesome thanks Ted is anyone opposed to I don't think you

1:40:46can be opposed to adjourning we talk about this every time yeah we can't okay perfect thank you

1:40:51so much everyone have a good have a good rest of the year. Bye.