That the following actions be taken with
respect to the 7th Report of the Accessibility Advisory Committee (ACCAC),
from its meeting on July 28, 2016:
a) the
following actions be taken with respect to the Built Environment and
Facilities Sub-Committee report, from its meeting held on July 11, 2016:
i) the
following actions be taken with respect to the document providing a review of
intersections relating to the prioritization of audible pedestrian signals
appended to the July 11, 2016 Report of the Built Environment and Facilities
Sub-Committee:
A) the
above-noted document BE FORWARDED to the Division Manager, Roadway Lighting
and Traffic Control for information; and,
B) the
Division Manager, Roadway Lighting and Traffic Control BE REQUESTED to report
back to the ACCAC advising whether or not the intersections noted in the
above-noted document are being reprioritized and the rationale for the
decisions;
ii) the
Civic Administration BE REQUESTED to review the following concerns with
respect to any proposed changes that are being considered to the Facilities
Accessibility Design Standards (FADS) as they relate to its scope and the
inclusion or the separation of outdoor space requirements:
A) as
the FADS definition of “Facility” includes “buildings, structures, site
improvement, complexes, equipment, roads, walks, passageways, parks, parking
lots or other real or personal property located on a site”, the FADS must
adequately address all spaces noting that outdoor spaces should not be
removed or left to stand alone as a separate document and further noting that
the 2007 version of FADS (Clause 4.5.2) “Outdoor Recreational Facilities”
includes this in the general design performance statements. Further noting
that these outdoor spaces were included within that document based on the
rationale that opportunities for recreation, leisure, and sport activities
should be available to all members of the community;
B) as
the FADS is used as a comprehensive resource tool for many municipality’s
beyond our City and that it is, by design, a user-friendly single-source
compilation of several accessibility reference documents (Re: O Reg 191/11, O
Reg 413/12, CSA-Z614 Annex H, and O.B.C.), it is imperative that it remains
as a singular focused document for accessibility throughout all aspects of
our City, whether indoors or outdoors space;
C) with
regards to outdoor spaces in particular, many design-requirement aspects of
the existing FADS could be enhanced or improved-upon with an updated
document; in particular, the ACCAC has gone to great lengths since the 2007
version, to address design concerns with parking, sidewalks, community
gardens, playgrounds, and recreational trails and pathways, as these matters
had not yet been considered in detail within the 2007 version of FADS; and,
D) the expected timeline for
completion of a new FADS document in early 2017 is of concern as the
timelines restricts the ability to adequately address the complexity of
design requirements for outdoor spaces within that timeframe. Noting that it
is recommended that the scope of the revised document is to be expanded upon
to be more inclusive of outdoor spaces and recognizing that the task of
including the many details for outdoor spaces may be considerable and given
the timeline may not be achievable. ACCAC is concerned that in an effort to
achieve the suggested timeline, important design requirements of outdoor
spaces may remain simply as-is with “general recommendations” only, which may
then not be addressed again for many years. It is recommended that if
outdoor spaces are to be included in the FADS, with focus and detail, the
expected timeline for completion may need to be extended “as long as
necessary” for staff to provide an effective document for ACCAC to review.
(as per ACCAC’s 2016 Work Plan); and,
iii)
the Municipal Council BE REQUESTED to review the timeline expectation
for the completion of the review and proposed revisions to the FADS;
b) the
following actions be taken with respect to the report of the Policy
Sub-Committee from its meeting held on July 4, 2016:
i)
the Civic Administration BE REQUESTED to undertake the following
actions with respect to the Accessibility
for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)
requirements for websites to be accessible:
A)
investigate
options to provide captioning on all pre-recorded video content on the City
of London website; it being noted that once the “live” video is archived it
is no longer considered “live” and, as of January 1, 2014, it is required to
be captioned as per the AODA;
B) investigate options to provide
captioning to all televised Municipal Council sessions, in accordance with
Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)
regulations for broadcast captioning effective Sept 1, 2012;
C) investigate options to provide
captioning at a standard higher than that available through current automated
software for live web broadcasts or streaming; it being noted that other
communities across Southern Ontario are implementing or enhancing existing
captioning options; it being further noted that at least one community in
Ontario has been subject to a lawsuit over failure to provide captioning on
televised council broadcasts; and,
D) report back to the ACCAC on
options available and intended courses of action relating to the above-noted
recommendations;
ii)
the
Civic Administration BE REQUESTED to attend a future meeting of the
Accessibility Advisory Committee to outline how the Civic Administration and
the London Police Services works together with respect to addressing high
risk traffic areas to allow the ACCAC to better understand existing practices
and data and how that information may be used to help prevent accidents,
injuries and acquired disabilities within the City of London; and,
iii)
Minister
T. MacCharles, Minister of Accessibility, BE REQUESTED to attend a future
meeting of the ACCAC to provide an update to the ACCAC on the Province’s
vision for Accessibility and how London can best align its new practices with
Provincial initiatives;
c)
the
City Clerk BE REQUESTED to undertake recruitment efforts for the
Accessibility Advisory Committee (ACCAC) Resource Member vacancies as
follows:
·
Employment
Sector;
·
Health
Practitioner;
·
Mental
Health Sector;
·
Housing
Sector; and,
·
London
District Catholic School Board;
it being noted that working with the Civic
Administration to fill Non-Voting Resource Member positions is identified in
the 2016 Accessibility Advisory Committee Work Plan; it being further noted
that the ACCAC received a communication dated July 14, 2016, from M.
Dawthorne, with respect to this matter;
d) clauses
10 to 13 BE REFERRED to the Civic Administration for review; and
e) clauses
1, 3, 5 to 9, and 14 BE RECEIVED.
it being noted that the Community and
Protective Services Committee received a verbal delegation from M. Dawthorne,
J. Sanders and M. Cairns, ACCAC, with respect to this matter.
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