Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee
The full agenda, as filed
All 8 items in the clerk’s order. Each carries the city’s own words: the staff recommendation, what the body decided, and its status. Nothing below is written by us.
DI9.1received
Councillor Jamaal Myers, Chair, Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee will give an update to the Committee on recent initiatives and updates.
The Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee received the item for information.
DI9.2amended
Accessibility Protection Zones Around Construction Projects
Please see below the letter that I am submitting to Toronto Accessibility Access Committee on behalf of Corina McCoy: "My name is Corina McCoy and I have a newly acquired disability and have quickly become aware that construction projects limit my access to the city as well as creating unsafe situations for me as I move throughout it. In trying to figure out what to do to change this situation I came across the Toronto Accessibility Access Committee (TAAC). Therefore, I am writing to you to ask that you request City Staff to create an Accessibility Access Protection Zone Policy. Some further details are below. I have had the chance to watch recordings of some of your meetings and see that TAAC has had several presentations about accessibility in construction zones from City Staffers, however I have noticed the following. 1. There are great Ideas for improved access, but implementation is based on "culture change" and "education of stakeholders". In other words, hope is a strategy that there will be improvements. 2. There are no timeframes, goals, or metrics, KPIs, OKRs or stated desired outcomes. 3. There are no paths to change, processes, guidelines, or implementation plans. And one checklist tool. 4. The change for disability access in Construction Projects is tied to bike access and able bodied pedestrians access. What they have not applied is the notion that "clearing a path for special needs clears the path for everyone ." 5. There is nothing for non-City projects that are Commercial or Residential in nature. Additionally, not seeing much substance in the way of policy and becoming frustrated as I wheeled through an obstructed sidewalk on a much-publicised City of Toronto project I looked to my right and saw some trees in a Tree Protection Zone which is a well known City of Toronto construction related policy that has guidelines, a reporting and investigation method and a penalty if broken. It also applies to government commercial and residential construction projects. That's when it hit me, we should have Accessibility Access Protection Zones in Construction Sites as well. Similar to the trees an Accessibility Access Protection Zone Policy would be real policy with reporting procedures, investigation processes and fines for bad actors. As next steps I contacted the Chair of this Committee's Office and have been communicating with the Director of Policy and Planning and he gave me some good news on June 3rd. The Councillor and/or his team has started to investigate the solution I have proposed to create a new policy for Accessibility Protection Zone. - This will require work from City Council; the process will need to start with an exploratory request. I have asked the Director of Policy if I can be part of the solution and he suggested sending him some notes, but I thought it might be good to also speak with TAAC to see if there's interest in: 1. Putting the request forward to explore creating an Accessibility Access Protection Zone Policy. 2. Providing suggestions on what should be included in the policy. Some of the areas I was thinking of include: - Policy areas: A. unplanned blockages on pathways/sidewalks/road crossings B. planned blockages for sidewalks/pathways/road crossings, sidewalk access for size/terrain, road closures etc…. - Project Timings to be considered; short term (less than 7 days), medium term ( more than 8 days and less than 3 months) and long term (more than 3 months) construction projects. - Types of projects to be considered encompassing residential, commercial and government builds with the same principles but different magnitudes and specifics to each. - Recommendations and regulations for proper implementations, for example proper temporary ramps versus self made ramps by wood or asphalt, or signage in different media to allow for visual and audio directions. (This is where some of the existing city work can be applied.) - Penalties and fines for non-compliance with different variables for residential versus commercial or government. - Reporting mechanisms for when an issue is encountered. There has been some work on this from the presentations I reviewed but not enough or the same as there is for the trees and that ties back into penalties and fines or suspension from contracts the way trees are protected."
The Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee recommends that the Infrastructure and Environment Committee: 1. Request the Traffic Management and Policy staff in Transportation Services to present to the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee at its December 11, 2024 meeting, on a plan to make construction sites accessible for people with disabilities.
DI9.3received
Kathleen Harquail, Manager, Business Transformation and Change Management, and Sara Greenwood, Manager, Digital Accessibility, will give a presentation on Parks, Forestry and Recreation Registration and Booking Transformation Project. This presentation includes a background on the Registration and Booking Transformation project and outlines the plan for accessibility testing.
The Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee received the item for information.
DI9.4amended
Wheel-Trans Service Model Update - Accessibility Feedback
Dean Milton, Manager, Strategic Initiatives, Wheel-Trans will make a presentation on Wheel-Trans Service Model Update - Accessibility Feedback. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is reporting back its findings to the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee on the results of consultations with the TTC's Advisory Committee on Accessible Transit, community organizations serving people with disabilities, and Wheel-Trans customers. These findings pertain to previous motions tabled by TAAC to: - Improve awareness and education around Wheel-Trans registration and identifying supports and assistance to riders for whom English is a second language. - Inform of potential changes to the design and implementation of The Family of Services program to address concerns around safety, equity, service disruptions and crowding on the TTC.
The Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee: 1. Forwarded the communication (October 15, 2024) from Jennifer Conroy, and the communication (October 17, 2024) from Shelagh Pizey-Allen to the Toronto Transit Commission Board for consideration at its next meeting.
DI9.5received
John Innes Community Recreation Centre - Toronto Accessibility Advisory Community Review
Dennis To, Project Manager, Capital Projects Design and Delivery, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, and Krista Clark, Project Architect, Senior Associate, MJMA will present the accessibility features of the new John Innes Community Recreation Centre at Moss Park at the corner of Shuter and Sherbourne Street. MJMA the architect of the project will be guiding through the designs in the building and how the Toronto Accessibility Design Guidelines are being implemented to the project.
The Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee received the item for information.
DI9.6amended
A recent CBC news story ( https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-beach-accessibility-1.7206872 ) brought much needed awareness about the lack of beach access throughout most of Toronto's public beaches. For those using mobility aids, parents with strollers, and anyone else who finds sandy terrain challenging to navigate, options are slim to none for enjoying a beach experience in Toronto. While many provincial parks and municipalities are making beach access a priority, beach access in Toronto is clearly not being considered.
The Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee recommends that the Executive Committee: 1. Request the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation to present an update to the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee at its December 11, 2024 meeting, on their plans to ensure Toronto's beaches are accessible for those with disabilities, including those who use mobility aids. 2. Request the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation to include the answers to the questions in the communication (October 16, 2024) from Jane Anderson, in the presentation. 3. Invite "Friends of Hanlon" to present to the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee at its December 11, 2024 meeting, on their work-to-date to help ensure Hanlans Point is accessible for those with disabilities, including those who use mobility aids.
Staff recommendation as filed
That the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee recommend the Executive Committee to: 1. Request the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation to present an update to the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee at its December 11, 2024 meeting, on their plans to ensure Toronto's beaches are accessible for those with disabilities, including those who use mobility aids. 2. Invite "Friends of Hanlon" to present to the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee at its December 11, 2024 meeting, on their work-to-date to help ensure Hanlans Point is accessible for those with disabilities, including those who use mobility aids.
DI9.7amended
Toronto's private water taxi services are not accessible for those using mobility aids. Limited to using the City's crowded ferry service, people using mobility aids often find it challenging to get to Toronto Island and back in a manner that meets their needs for comfort, choice, and spontaneity. For a city with the largest disability population in Canada, consisting of residents, visitors and tourists, this is not an acceptable standard.
The Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee recommends the Executive Committee to: 1. Request the Waterfront Secretariat, in consultation with the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, to present an update to the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee at its December 11, 2024 meeting, on what they plan to do about inaccessible services offered by water taxi service companies such as; TikiTaxi, Toronto Harbour Water Taxi, and Pirate Taxi Toronto. 2. Request the Waterfront Secretariat to include an update on how they are making the Toronto islands more accessible overall in the presentation.
Staff recommendation as filed
That the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee recommend the Executive Committee to: 1. Request the Waterfront Secretariat, in consultation with the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, to present an update to the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee at its December 11, 2024 meeting, on what they plan to do about inaccessible services offered by water taxi service companies such as; TikiTaxi, Toronto Harbour Water Taxi, and Pirate Taxi Toronto.
DI9.8received
Appointments to Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee
At its meeting on October 9 and 10, 2024, City Council considered Item CA18.1 - Appointment of Public Members to the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee and appointed the following members to the committee for a term of office starting on October 11, 2024 and ending on November 14, 2026 and until successors are appointed. - Hannah Clarke-Andrews - Alex Mihailidis These vacancies are due to the resignations of Sarah Murray effective July 19, 2023 and Ramsha Naveed effective July 8, 2024.
Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee received the item for information.