That the following actions be taken with
respect to the Built Environment and Facilities Sub-Committee from its
meeting held on July 11, 2016:
a)
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
i)
the above-noted document BE FORWARDED to the Division Manager, Roadway
Lighting and Traffic Control for information; and,
ii) the
Division Manager, Roadway Lighting and Traffic Control BE REQUESTED to report
back to the Accessibility Advisory Committee (ACCAC) advising whether or not
the intersections noted in the above-noted document are being reprioritized
and the rationale for the decisions;
b)
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:
i)
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;
ii)
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;
iii) 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,
iv)
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 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,
c) the
Municipal Council BE REQUESTED to review the timeline expectation for the
completion of the review and proposed revisions to the FADS.
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