HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 18, 2024
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Minutes/Meeting Summary
Accessibility Advisory Committee
September 18, 2024
Hybrid Electronic Meeting
Main Committee Room
7:00 pm
Attendees: S. Azhar
D. Currie
B. Ferguson
C. Rudberg-Chin
M. Shackleton
S. Snyders
K. Sullivan
M. Wilson
T. Higgins, Accessibility Coordinator
I. Janton, Senior Planner – Site Planning
J. Currie, Legislative Coordinator
Absent: Councillor M. Brenner
Councillor M. Nagy
A. Khan
A. Topple, Ajax-Pickering Board of Trade
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deadline as
appropriate)
1. Review and Approval of Agenda
Moved by C. Rudberg-Chin
Seconded by M. Shackleton
That the Agenda for the September 18, 2024, Meeting of The
Accessibility Advisory Committee Meeting be approved.
Carried
2. Disclosure of Interest
No disclosures of interest were noted.
3. Approval of Minutes
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Moved by M. Wilson
Seconded by D. Currie
That the Minutes of the June 19, 2024, meeting of the
Accessibility Advisory Committee be approved.
Carried
T. Higgins to
provide update
on additional
accessible
parking
standards.
4. Presentations/Delegations
4.1 Glenn Brown, Pickering Resident – The Pickering Official
Plan and Normalizing Disability Provisions
Glen Brown, a Pickering Resident, appeared before the
Committee to speak to the normalization of disability provisions in
the City of Pickering in relation to the Pickering Official Plan. G.
Brown raised concerns regarding accessibility and suggested the
City should contribute to the safety and abilities of all, and could
consider implementing an automated navigation system through
AI or GPS, to help guide impaired individuals. G. Brown noted
that most street signs in Pickering are small and often hidden by
trees, creating visibility barriers and concluded that accessibility
should be provided in architecture and city design as a normal
matter, not to be provided as exceptions.
A brief discussion ensued between Committee Members
regarding support of G. Browns suggestions and noted that the
sub-committee’s work on the Accessibility Symposium was in
alignment with providing accessibility as a normal matter.
5. New Business
5.1 Site Plans Review
A 08/22, SP-2022-03 & CP-2022-04
I Janton provided an overview of the site plans for 2660 Brock
Road, 2670 Brock Road, and 2680 Brock Road.
A brief discussion ensued between Committee members and
Staff regarding:
• clarification of what stacked town homes were;
• whether ground level units were being built as accessible
units;
• whether the outdoor playground design would be inclusive,
and that Pickering engineering staff could be a good resource;
• whether units could be built to accommodate the retrofit of
accessibility features in the future;
• clarification whether all units were stacked townhomes;
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• investigating previous developments to ensure best practices
were being brought forward and previous errors were
avoided;
• asking the developers how many units they had considered
designating as accessible;
• whether any units were designated as rental units; and,
• inviting the developers to have an open discussion at a future
Accessibility Advisory Committee Meeting.
5.2 Sub-Committee Update
K. Sullivan provided a brief summary of the meetings held by the
Accessibility Advisory Sub-committee over the summer months
including a meeting with City of Pickering City Development staff.
K. Sullivan noted the opportunity to join the Accelerating
Accessibility Coalition (the “Coalition”), and that further discussion
would occur, including the possibility of inviting representatives
from Vaughan as well as the Coalition to gather a full picture of
what joining may entail.
Discussion between Committee Members ensued regarding
presenting the Accessibility Symposium to developers and that
collaboration with the developers would be a key aspect of
providing effective accessibility education.
T. Higgins and B. Ferguson provided a brief summary of their
meeting with C. Whitaker, Manager, Sustainability & Strategic
Environmental Initiatives, to discuss sharing of information on
how the City engaged the building community in the creation of
the Integrated Sustainability Design Standards (ISDS) and the
Sustainability Series Workshop.
I. Janton noted that planning staff had compiled accessibility
checklists from other municipalities to refer to and compare with a
draft Pickering checklist and were compiling a consolidated list
that could serve Pickering moving forward.
5.3 Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) Member
Training
T. Higgins and M. Shackleton provided a brief summary of
AccessForward, a provincial Accessibility training platform.
Discussion ensued between Committee Members regarding who
was required to do Accessibility Training and if it included Council
Members.
T. Higgins and
I. Janton to
coordinate an
invitation to the
Developers to
attend a future
AAC meeting.
T. Higgins to
reach out to
contacts at the
Coalition, the
City of
Vaughan and
Daniels
Corporation to
coordinate
further
discussions.
T. Higgins to
provide
information
pertaining to
Accessibility
training
provided to
Council.
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T. Higgins noted that Accessibility related policies are available
on the Accessible Pickering Website that speak to the
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) including:
• Accessibility Policy [ADM 090]
• Accessibility Standards for Customer Service [ADM 090 001]
• Hiring Policy [HUR 040]
T. Higgins noted that Committee Members’ completion of the
Accessibility Training would be included in the AAC Annual
Report to Council.
5.4 Electronic Monitoring Systems to Manage Accessible
Parking
K. Sullivan highlighted three items pertaining to Electronic
Monitoring Systems to Manage Accessible Parking including
Rapid Deployment Cameras, Sensors Connected to Cloud
Databases, and Digital Applications. K. Sullivan noted cost as the
primary impediment of implementation. It was concluded that next
steps would include providing the collected information to Rob
MacKay, Supervisor, Parking Enforcement and inviting R.
MacKay to discuss this topic at a future AAC meeting.
Discussion ensued between Committee Members regarding
linking to provincial databases of registered licence plates and
implementing a registration system similar to the Waterfront
Parking program.
AAC Members
to complete
AccessForward
training
modules.
T. Higgins to
provide
Standard
Operating
Procedures to
Committee
Members.
T. Higgins to
provide R.
MacKay with
Electronic
Monitoring
Systems
information.
6. Correspondence
There were no items of correspondence.
7. Other Business
T. Higgins informed the Committee that the LEAD summary
report was complete and that follow-up actions would be carried
forward to the 2026-2030 Accessibility Five Year Plan as
appropriate.
T. Higgins to
send the LEAD
summary
report to
Committee
Members.
8. AAC Member Roundtable Updates
T. Higgins surveyed the members for updates and Committee
Members shared experiences and initiatives pertaining to
Accessibility.
9. Next Meeting – October 16, 2024
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deadline as
appropriate)
10. Adjournment
Moved by C. Rudberg-Chin
Seconded by D. Currie
That the meeting be adjourned.
Carried
Meeting Adjourned: 9:16 pm