The Accessibility Advisory Committee is back on its regular schedule in June with a well-rounded selection of topics. Committee will follow up on some work they began this time last year, and then they will follow-up on some action items from a few months ago (hope you like some discussion about bus chimes). Also, more feedback will be sought about some of the upcoming ways of getting around town.
NOTE #1: This meeting will take place in Meeting Room A at City Hall, but you can also watch it on video via Microsoft Teams. (Find the link on the meeting agenda.)
NOTE #2: Accessibility-related accommodations available upon timely request to Sarah Boghossian 519-822-1260 extension 3536; TTY 519-826-9771 email: accessibility [at] guelph.ca.
NOTE #3: The meeting begins at 3 pm and is expected to wrap up around 5 pm.
TaxiSCRIP Program Update – Last June, the AAC approved measure to allow those registered to buy up to three TaxiSCRIP booklets per month, which provides discounted coupons for Red Top Taxi accessible vehicle service provided within city limits of Guelph. Since initiating the changes in September, nearly 600 booklets have been sold.
Site Plan Internal Review Report – One of the jobs of the AAC Is to take part in the site plan internal review process. These are bi-weekly meetings to review sit plans property development with the exception of demolition and single-family housing development, and five members of the AAC are needed to participate. The report lists all the meeting days and times for the next few months.
Addition of an intersectionality approach in the Multi Year Accessibility Plan – When the AAC approved the Multi-Year Accessibility Plan last June, it was with an additional recommendation to use intersectionality to examine the guiding principles of this plan. New wording has been added highlighting the need to take into account race, gender, age, and socioeconomic status while doing outreach on accessibility matters and the need to surpass basic AODA standards.
Guelph Transit: Follow-up Regarding Introduction of Chime Sound on Conventional Buses – A few months ago, the AAC offered commentary about a new special announcement chime for Guelph Transit buses. The committee sent transit staff away with some notes for improvement, and now staff have two options; one is four tone sounds with a range of tones, and the other is five tone sounds with a range of tones. The new tones were not available in the online agenda.
New Guelph Junction Railway (GJR) Multi-Use Trail: Woolwich Street to Woodlawn Road – The City of Guelph is planning a new multiuse trail that will run along the Guelph Junction Railway corridor from Woodlawn to Woolwich behind Woodlawn Memorial Park, which is considered essential for connectivity between the Trans Canada Trail and the Guelph to Goderich Rail Trail. The trail design will include rest stations and accessible benches, as well as detectable warning plates and wayfinding signs. Construction is expected to begin in 2025 pending budget approval, but at this meeting, the AAC will offer some initial feedback.
Emma Street to Earl Street Active Transportation Bridge – The AAC shared some initial thoughts about this project last fall, and in the last eight months or so more feedback has been gathered from the community as detailed design work has continued. That process is now 60 per cent complete, so staff are returning to this committee for more feedback.
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