Tag: Accessibility

GUELPH POLITICAST #461 – Dispatches From a Quixotic Legislative Quest (feat. Mike Morrice)

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When we talk about the affordability crisis, you sometimes hear the term “legislated poverty”, meaning the state of social assistance rates like Ontario Works and ODSP that assure people can never get ahead because the amounts paid never cover all the real costs of daily life. That’s why Mike Morrice decided to act when he was elected to the House of Commons in 2021, but like all great quests, it hasn’t ended up the way he envisioned. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #461 – Dispatches From a Quixotic Legislative Quest (feat. Mike Morrice)” →

RECAP: Accessibility Committee Wants Changes to Mobility and Taxi Programs

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In a remarkable turn of events, the Accessibility Advisory Committee finished work early in their first meeting of 2025! They still got a lot of work done though. They were consulted about heritage downtown and they had some comments about on-street accessible parking during the patio season, but the meat of the meeting was in the way the City of Guelph currently asks people with disabilities to apply for needed mobility services. Let’s recap! Continue reading “RECAP: Accessibility Committee Wants Changes to Mobility and Taxi Programs” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Accessibility Advisory Committee for February 18, 2025

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For the firs time in 2025, the Accessibility Advisory Committee will gather and discuss the goal of creating a barrier-free Guelph with another busy agenda. This month, the AAC will be focusing much of their attention downtown with a look at matters of history and matters of access when the summer comes around. So let’s dig into what’s coming up in the always interesting world of accessibility with this month’s AAC agenda! Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Accessibility Advisory Committee for February 18, 2025” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Accessibility Advisory Committee for December 17, 2024

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The last meeting of the year goes to the Accessibility Advisory Committee. For this one you should expect a lot of wrap up for the work of 2024 and some teeing up for the work of 2025, but the main point of interest might be seeing what happens in this first meeting after a fairly fractious October meeting where members of the AAC laid down the law, and their concerns, about their own autonomy. So let’s check out what’s on the agenda… Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Accessibility Advisory Committee for December 17, 2024” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #441 – The AAC Spills the Tea (feat. Lorelei Root)

Published on by Adam A. Donaldson1 Comment

Watching the Accessibility Advisory Committee meetings over the last several months there’s a particular undercurrent that some members of the committee feel like they’re not being listened to, and that there was a disconnect between their expectations and what City of Guelph staff wanted them to do. And then came the Public Space Use Bylaw and the waters got even choppier. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #441 – The AAC Spills the Tea (feat. Lorelei Root)” →

RECAP: Transit Committee Stays the Course as Job Action Looms

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It was a relatively brief meeting of the Transit Advisory Committee this month, and that’s in-spite of the rather long shadow being cast by the potential for job action in the next few weeks. There was also some rather sad news about one member of the committee but otherwise it seemed like business as usual as Transit, like every other city department, heads into budget season. To get those and other details, check out the recap below…

Continue reading “RECAP: Transit Committee Stays the Course as Job Action Looms” →

RECAP: The AAC Tells Staff – Respectfully – That They’re the Captain Now!

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This month’s Accessibility Advisory Committee was delayed by two days, and if you think that wasn’t a topic of conversation, you are wrong! Still stinging from the lack of engagement before the passage of the Public Space Use Bylaw almost two months ago, the AAC had some notes about their relationship with staff, and they also had notes about the bylaw. For that, and all the rest of the agenda, check out the recap below… Continue reading “RECAP: The AAC Tells Staff – Respectfully – That They’re the Captain Now!” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Accessibility Advisory Committee for October 15, 2024

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Don’t worry, the October Accessibility Advisory Committee has not been cancelled, it’s just been moved to another day of the week. This special Thursday meeting of the AAC will cover a lot of items under the housing file, from the Public Space Use Bylaw to housing affordability strategies. In other news, the committee will look at transit and then try to agree on a definition for a very important word. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Accessibility Advisory Committee for October 15, 2024” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Transit Advisory Committee Meeting for October 17, 2024

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This month’s Transit Advisory Committee Meeting will be on the light side, but there might be some interesting developments that might come up in the realm of member feedback or general transit updates. In terms of the one new item, there’s a matter of accessibility and integrating that into the current transit fare system. Mostly though, if you’re just a fan of transit news, this is your monthly appointment. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Transit Advisory Committee Meeting for October 17, 2024” →

RECAP: The AAC Chooses a Chime and Finds Common Ground on Intersectionality

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The Accessibility Advisory Committee spent a great deal of their June meeting talking about what they mean when it comes to intersectionality, and how best City of Guelph staff can monitor that. Tough questions, and they sort of got an answer before proceeding to a decision about that new Transit chime, and then looking at a new trail in the north end, and a pedestrian bridge just a little down the road from there. Here’s the recap…. Continue reading “RECAP: The AAC Chooses a Chime and Finds Common Ground on Intersectionality” →