ACAT Meeting - December 17, 2009

Agenda is not available for this meeting.
Please check the meeting minutes for meeting details.

Agenda is not available for this meeting.
Please check the meeting minutes for meeting details.

Agenda is not available for this meeting.
Please check the meeting minutes for meeting details.

Agenda is not available for this meeting.
Please check the meeting minutes for meeting details.

Susan Davidson, Chair, called the meeting to order at approximately 1:00 p.m. Roll call was taken.

Nil.

On motion of Howard Wax, ACAT approved the agenda.

On motion of Sam Savona, ACAT did not approve the November minutes. They were deferred to the January, 2010 meeting.

TTC Chair Adam Giambrone greeted the members, thanked them for their commitment to the Committee, and discussed the challenges and progress of the past year in review and for the future. He encouraged the members to keep pushing for accessible transit.

Angela Marley suggested that ACAT be featured on the program “On the Rocket”. Adam thanked Angela for her excellent suggestion and that if the logistics could be worked out, ACAT could be featured on the January 2010 show.

Deferred to January 2010.

Nil.

Angela Marley reported that, at the two meetings in December, the Wheel-Trans Operations Subcommittee discussed the Rights and Responsibilities of customers. The report will be presented at the general ACAT meeting upon completion.

The Subcommittee is also working on a report on cell phone use by Wheel-Trans and contracted taxi drivers in response to a request from David LoPresti, Contract Administrator for the Wheel-Trans taxi contracts. It was agreed that ACAT would support Wheel-Trans regulations and contracts that control the use of cell phones including hands free devices.

Angela Marley requested that TTC Staff investigate alternate locations for ACAT Subcommittee meetings to ensure that meetings are not cancelled due to a lack of meeting space. Howard Wax reminded the members that many venues do not have fire evacuation plans for people with disabilities.

Bill Frost told the members that accessibility is not necessarily the concern. Meeting space is at a premium at the TTC and, if staff are given sufficient notice, every attempt will be made to accommodate the meeting including asking TTC staff to relocate to free up a meeting room.

Garnett Martin reported that the Design Review Subcommittee is currently updating the Outstanding Item lists to ensure the 2010 Subcommittees have an accurate account of the history and issues.

He also reminded members that time commitment for the Design Review Subcommittee would be huge, due to the number of new subway and LRT lines to be implemented in the future. 

He informed the members that Craig Nicol brought to the Subcommittee’s attention a concern with noise levels in the centre platform subway stations causing increased difficulty for blind and sight-impaired customers.

Subcommittee members attended a meeting earlier that day at Bloor/Yonge and Union Station to demonstrate layover, boarding, and exiting times at subway stations. The TTC had asked for ACAT’s input to determine an effective process.

Bill Frost assured the members that, although the schedule for implementation of new service has been expedited, the process will still be adhered to and all ACAT recommendations will be considered and in place before we get to the design/build stage.

Heather Green requested on behalf of the Communications Subcommittee that material to be reviewed be distributed prior to the meeting to ensure ample time for review. The 2010 calendar and the Holiday Newsletter were reviewed and comments submitted at the meeting. Carla Basso will address signage issues and Michelle Jones will address internet trip planning at the next meeting in the new year. It was also suggested that an article about ACAT be submitted to community and institution newsletters to communicate its purpose in the community.

Heather also delivered a report from the Service Planning Subcommittee outlining its purpose and goals to provide assessable transit to the City of Toronto.

Sam Savona brought to the attention of members the concern that people with limited dexterity or people who are blind are unable to complete crosswords. A recommendation was made by ACAT that the newsletter be available in different formats to ensure access to everyone.

Craig Nicol informed the members that the Metrolinx Accessibility Advisory Committee met on December 11, 2009 and that the majority of issues discussed were GO Transit. Craig asked that the committee review individual areas for accessibility and that the committee is just beginning the process.

Howard Wax informed the members that the TTC and Wheel-Trans budgets were approved at the Commission meeting.  Bill Frost said that the budgets were still to be passed by the City but that he does not foresee any concerns.

Marian McDonell requested that material for the ACAT meeting be submitted in hard copy earlier to accommodate review prior to the meeting.  Evelyn Gartner will investigate.

Angela Marley asked that a report on the June Service Planning meeting be available to members. Evelyn Gartner has requested 20 report books for the members and Heather Green will present the findings at the next meeting.

Sam Savona thanked the ACAT Executive for their excellent work in 2009.

Craig Nicol asked that members be assigned to the various subcommittees as soon as possible in the new year due to the heavy workload that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. He suggests that the new members attend all early subcommittee meetings to acquaint themselves with the issues.

The next meeting of ACAT will be held on Thursday, January 28, 2010, in the 7th Floor Boardroom, 1900 Yonge Street.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 3:00 p.m.

Janet O’Sullivan
For Secretary