ACAT Meeting - April 28, 2022

Meeting Date:

Thursday, April 28, 2022 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Location:

Virtual meeting via WebEx

Present:

Jonathan Marriott, ACAT Chair
Anita Dressler, ACAT Co-Vice Chair
Debbie Gillespie, ACAT Co-Vice Chair
Angela Marley, CS Chair
Craig Nicol, DRS Chair Lauri Sue Robertson, WTOS Chair Gwyneth Dalzell Sean Hollingsworth Wangari Muriuki Bobbi Moore Janice Shachter Erica Tanny Howard Wax

Pool Member:

Lorraine le Camp

Regrets:

Carmen Galvan, SPS Chair
Robert Hampson, Pool Member

TTC Representatives:

Fortunato Monaco, Chief of Infrastructure and Engineering, 
Richard Wong, Chief of Vehicles
Dwayne Geddes, Head of Wheel-Trans, Wheel-Trans
John Boucher, Manager of Bus Maintenance, Wheel-Trans
Heather Brown, Director, Customer Experience, Marketing and Customer Experience 
Natalie Francis, Manager of Planning and Policy, Wheel-Trans
Matt Hagg, Manager of Customer Experience and Fare Policy (Acting), Strategy & Foresight
David Lo Presti, Manager of Contracted Taxi Services, Wheel-Trans
Dean Milton, Manager of Strategic Initiatives, Wheel-Trans
Cameron Penman, Divisional Manager of Customer Service, Wheel-Trans
Mohammed Shaikh, Divisional Manager of Operations, Wheel-Trans
Lodon Hassan, Assistant Manager of Customer Service, Wheel-Trans
Tahlee Afzal, Human Rights Consultant, Human Rights and Investigation
Victoria Kolakowski, Travel Specialist, Travel Training Program, Wheel-Trans
Brittany Manu, Anti-Racism Policy Consultant, Diversity
Paolo Nicolas, Administrative Assistant, Wheel-Trans
Stephan Boston, Chief Instructor, Operations Training Centre

Items discussed

1. Call to Order / Attendance
2. Land Acknowledgement
3. Declaration of Conflict of Interest
4. Approval of Agenda
5. Review and Approval of March 31, 2022 Minutes
6. Memorial Resolution – John Rae
7. Remarks from ACAT Chair
8. Remarks from TTC Executive
9. Outstanding Items – ACAT Honoraria, Identification for ACAT members without a transit pass
10. Deputation 
11. Motion from DRS Subcommittee – Davisville Platform Width
12. Review of Correspondence
13. Wheel-Trans Transformation & COVID-19 update
14. Subcommittee Reports, Highlights and Updates
    • Communications
    • Design Review
    • Service Planning
    • Wheel-Trans Operations
15. New Business
    • ACAT General & Subcommittee meeting times - Gwyneth Dalzell
16. Next Meeting – May 26, 2022
17. Adjournment

1. Call to Order / Attendance

Jonathan Marriott, ACAT Chair, called the meeting to order at 1:05 p.m. and attendance was taken.

2. Land Acknowledgement

The land acknowledgement was read by the ACAT Chair.

3. Declaration of Conflict of Interest

No conflicts of interest were declared.

4. Approval of Agenda

On a motion by Craig Nicol and seconded by Bobbi Moore, the agenda was approved with no amendments. 

5. Review and Approval of March 31, 2022 Minutes

Anita Dressler moved to approve the March 31, 2022 minutes. This approval was seconded by Craig Nicol. All members were in favour.

6. Memorial Resolution – John Rae

The Chair announced the passing of John Rae who was an ACAT Pool member in 2021. John Rae held various offices and served on many boards at the local, provincial and national levels. John has provided meaningful feedback, insight and commentary to improve services for people with vision impairment. The ACAT Chair read the following resolution:

Be it resolved that the Advisory Committee on Accessible Transit (ACAT) deeply regret the passing of John Rae, (ACAT Pool member, 2021) who died on April 8, 2022.

ACAT expresses our deep condolences to John Rae’s family and friends. John Rae’s contributions to accessible transit at the TTC are appreciated.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be inscribed in the minutes of ACAT and sent to the family and friends of John Rae.

7. Remarks from ACAT Chair

Jonathan Marriott, ACAT Chair, opened with thanks to the members for their continued efforts. The ACAT Chair’s report is available via a YouTube link on the TTC website. The Board meeting was livestreamed then edited for clarity and placed on the website. He reported the names of the 2022 subcommittee Chairs and provided an overview of some of the committee’s activities including key action items and key items from each of the subcommittees. 

He informed Board members that ACAT is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and plans are in progress for this celebration. 

8. Remarks from TTC Executive

Fort Monaco, Chief of Infrastructure and Engineering gave a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the accessibility-related activities underway by Infrastructure and Engineering. 
These included: Elevating devices (Elevators and Escalators) availability and overhauls, Stair repair and refinishing, PRESTO fare line floor repairs, Facility rehabilitation (2022 targeted items) and Platform edge tile and Gap remediation project (2022 targeted stations). 

Questions and Comments from the Committee

Craig Nicol, DRS Chair was happy to hear about the TTC addressing the gap issue at Davisville especially. Craig suggested that the team should consider the motion that would be presented later in this meeting regarding the widening of the platform. Fort mentioned that since the platform is nearly 70 years old, the team is anxious to address the gap within this year, but they were open to discussing this item further.

One member thought that when elevators are out of service, they are shut down for 60 days, and wondered if this could be confirmed or denied. Fort said that elevator outages of up to two months was common during major overhaul projects, depending on the elevator itself.

Another member asked about harmonizing station rehabilitation and accessibility. Fort stated that the TTC tries to amalgamate both work, however schedules do not always align. Another member asked if the layouts for the tactile wayfinding on the platform had begun yet, to which Fort said they would ask the chief architect and report back. 

The Chair thanked Fort for presenting and offered ACAT’s support if anything needed to be reviewed.

9. Outstanding Items 

• Recommendation for Honourarium - no update.
• Identification for ACAT members without a transit pass - no update.

10. Deputation 

Nil

11. Motion from DRS Subcommittee – Davisville Platform Width

Craig Nicol, DRS Chair, presented a motion to the committee regarding improving safety and accessibility on the subway platform at Davisville Station. Issues have been encountered on the platform where people who use mobility devices have found themselves restricted or stuck on the narrow section of the platform. As part of ongoing efforts to increase capacity and improve the accessibility of transit services, the TTC is upgrading subway stations. Any design feature that may compromise safety and accessibility will affect the attractiveness of TTC travel for customers using mobility devices (i.e., wheelchairs, scooters, and walkers). 

ACAT raised concern that the restricted widths of Davisville subway platforms constitute a safety and accessibility barrier. Today the Ontario Building Code (OBC) requirement for minimum unobstructed platform width is 2.5 meters, the northbound Davisville platform is largely restricted to a width of 1.59 meters with space similarly restricted on the southbound platform. The narrowness of the circulation path makes two-way traffic along the platform edge a hazardous undertaking for many customers particularly those using a mobility device.
Background:

Continuing residential condominium development in the area around Yonge and Davisville with buildings already occupied and several more in construction and others in early development indicate that there will be increasing ridership at the Davisville station. Davisville ridership trends already show a gradual increase in the years between 2014 and 2019. Increased passenger traffic at the Davisville station will only exacerbate safety and accessibility issues on the existing narrow (sub code) platforms of the station.

ACAT, through the Design Review Subcommittee (DRS), has been involved with the Gap remediation project and is aware of structural repairs required at the Davisville Station platform. It is critical to accessibility that the greatest number of riders can consistently, safely and independently use the system. 

The TTC, as part of its mission to provide barrier-free, accessible service that is efficient, reliable and in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), is currently transforming the way customers use accessible transit services via the Wheel-Trans 10-Year Strategy. A key component of this strategy is promoting the “Family of Services” concept to customers, meaning those who are able to use conventional transit modes do so, ensuring the availability of Wheel-Trans service for those who need it.

This means that an increasing number of customers with disabilities will be asked to use the mass transit system for all or part of their journey. As more pressure on the conventional system to accommodate customers with varying needs increases, it will be even more important that those who use mobility devices can expect to use in-station facilities efficiently and safely, especially when these stations are marked “accessible”.

Motion

In the interest of capacity increase and ensuring the train platforms of Davisville Station safely accommodate all customers including persons with accessibility needs, ACAT recommends the following to the TTC Board regarding the issue of station platform improvement:

1. The TTC as an interim measure; mitigate restricted platform width by 
   a. Immediately removing wind screens on the northbound platform which prevent circulation behind the columns.
   b. Immediately implementing a communication and signage plan to encourage customers not to stand or wait along the narrow portions of both Davisville platforms, similar to the plan that is currently in place during ECLRT construction at Eglinton Station.
2. That the TTC undertake a study to consider bringing both the northbound and southbound minimum unobstructed platform widths into compliance with the OBC. 
3. After completion of studies, TTC consider funding a capital project to bring both Davisville northbound and southbound platform minimum unobstructed widths into compliance with the OBC.

Vote on the Motion

The above motion was moved by Angela Marley and seconded by Anita Dressler and it was passed with unanimous vote.

12. Review of Correspondence: 

Nil 

13. Wheel-Trans Transformation & COVID-19 update

Dwayne Geddes stated the mask mandate on the TTC is still in place. Once there is a decision to lift it, the committee will be informed. 

Wheel-Trans Transformation

Work on the Wheel-Trans transformation continues. TTC staff is working with the IBI Group to identify future needs.

14. Subcommittee Reports, Highlights and Updates

Communications Subcommittee – Angela Marley, CS Chair

The Communication Subcommittee met on April 7, 2022 on Microsoft Teams.

A presentation on the Line 1 Station Capacity Project was given by Yassir Ali, Senior Project Engineer, TTC and Parth Suthaharan, Project Manager, TTC. 
The team presented an overview of the tactics being used for signage and messaging designed to help relieve congestion at St George, Dundas, and St Andrew stations. 
Emily Blum, Communications Advisor, presented the 2022 TTC Doors Open Communications Plan. Doors Open is an annual event where the TTC and other Toronto sites allow entry to see parts of the system that are not normally open to the public. The event will take place on Saturday May 28 and will feature the hidden part of Bay Subway Station, Bay Lower. Two subway trains will be parked in the station, each highlighting a different decade in TTC history. 

The subcommittee asked if there could be a video of the Bay Lower exhibit since it is only accessible by stairs. Staff will be looking into putting together a video to be posted on the TTC website. Event activities at the Concourse Level will be accessible via elevator. This will include a pop-up TTC Shop, a TTC photo gallery, and fun facts about the TTC. Activities in Bay Lower will be accessible only by staircase

Heather Brown, Director Customer Experience, provided an update on the Wi-Fi on bus Proof-of-Concept. Two new routes will be added to this project in the spring of 2022. The purpose is to test the different ways of offering Wi-Fi to customers using these routes as a Proof-of-Concept to help inform a Request for Proposal for using Wi-Fi throughout the bus system. 

ACAT 30th Anniversary - Heather presented a list of accessibility milestone suggestions that subcommittee members had for ACAT’s 30th anniversary. The anniversary is on May 19, which is also World Accessibility Day, Rick Leary, Chief Executive Officer, TTC will mention ACAT’s 30th anniversary during his opening remarks at the TTC Board meeting on May 18. The Customer Communications team is working on the anniversary communication plan using social media channels to promote the concept that accessibility benefits everyone. Advertisements will be profiling examples of items that were first introduced as accessibility features but are now used by everyone, such as the Designated Waiting Areas (DWAs), tactile subway platform edge indicators, ramps on vehicles, automatic sliding doors, wide fare gates, blue priority seating and wayfinding tiles. 

Highlights

ACAT’s 30th anniversary, the Line 1 Station Capacity project, and the 2022 Doors Open communication plan. 

Questions and Comments from the Committee

Regarding the Doors Open event, a member mentioned that Bay Station does not have a TTC elevator that reaches the street level. It was suggested that the team working on this should consider a component to help customers use the accessible route by navigating adjacent properties so that they can reach the Bay Station Concourse Level. The member also suggested that on-site staff be dispersed in strategic places where they may assist customers trying to navigate those properties. Heather thanked the member and said she would include it in the planning list for the day. Angela also suggested that there be signage to help customers, which Heather also noted.

Design Review Subcommittee – Craig Nicol, DRS Chair

The Design Review Subcommittee met on April 6, 2022 via WebEx.

Easier Access Program Phase III update - All stations will be accessible by 2025. The Easier Access program schedule to review the status of these stations is on ttc.ca.

Eglinton Crosstown Outstanding Items list - October 9, 2022 is the tentative planning date for the start of service, but this is still unconfirmed. There are still issues with supplying information for station descriptions and audio messaging on pedestrian signals.

Passenger Assistance Intercoms (PIAs) - The subcommittee is waiting for confirmation on the locations of these intercoms before general description statements can be made similar to those of the Designated Waiting Areas.

Highlights 

Easier Access Phase III update, the Davisville platform motion, and the Eglinton Crosstown outstanding items list.

Service Planning 

Matt Hagg, Acting Manager of Customer Experience and Fare Policy, gave the Service Planning Subcommittee report in the absence of Carmen Galvan, SPS Chair.

The Service Planning Subcommittee met on April 6, 2022 via WebEx.

Stephanie Simard Craig, Senior Planner, gave a presentation on the RapidTO bus and streetcar priority to show the plan to the subcommittee and asked for feedback on corridors.

Bus and streetcar routes make up the bulk of trips made on pubic transit in Toronto and traffic affects these greatly. During Phase 1, the team asked the subcommittee what their priorities were for improving bus and streetcar service. Currently, this is in phase 2 wherein the top roadways will be analyzed. The next phase will include studying solutions for each of these roadways. 

From online surveys that lasted over eight weeks, the City and the TTC received input on what criteria they should prioritize in this project. 17 of the 20 roadways passed through equity-deserving neighbourhoods. 

Revenue Protection and Special Constable Service Culture Change Program - Matt introduced the discussion as a chance to review the answers that were given to the questions posed by ACAT members. It was also an opportunity for TTC staff to share a presentation on their upcoming Culture Change Program. 

Guillaume “Will” Giguere, Head of Revenue Protection (Acting), TTC introduced the Culture Change Program to the subcommittee.

For over a year, the Revenue Protection and Special Constables have sought input from its stakeholders and the public on TTC policies and a new culture change framework. This is to ensure that these are customer-focused and founded in respect and dignity. 

Highlights

RapidTO Streetcar and Bus priority and Culture Change Program for Revenue Protection and Special Constable Services. 

Wheel-Trans Operations - Lauri-Sue Robertson, WTOS Chair

The Wheel-Trans Operations Subcommittee met on April 20, 2022 via WebEx.

The report from this meeting was deferred to the next general meeting in May.

Questions and Comments from the Committee

One member asked whether ridesharing would only take place on Wheel-Trans buses. Dwayne confirmed that Wheel-Trans had been offering shared rides on its buses since March 20, 2022 and until further notice, solo rides continue on contracted services, i.e., Accessible van and Sedan Taxis. 

Another member mentioned that there has been an update on the Wheel-Trans mobile app, but lacking form space to enter pick-up/drop-off instructions as there is on the desktop website. Ross Visconti, Assistant Division Manager, Wheel-Trans is managing the work on the mobile app and will be presenting to the committee to address this issue. 

15. New Business

Gwyneth Dalzell – ACAT General & Subcommittee meeting times

Gwyneth Dalzell led an open discussion with the committee on the possibility of changing meeting times. Some have found it difficult to attend ACAT general and subcommittee meetings during regular business hours. Gwyneth noted a possible misconception that people with disabilities are available in the daytime due to the stereotype that they do not work. Gwyneth’s priority was to attract a larger, diverse membership to the ACAT committee.

Discussion with the Committee

A member said that other factors do affect ACAT’s ability to do what it does as well: staff resources, staff availability for presentations, among other things. She emphasized that staff should be consulted before any changes are made. 

A member wanted to hear suggestions from staff on how they and the committee could make this work. 

Another member agreed that holding meetings at the end of the workday would be a good compromise. She mentioned that not everyone works 9 a.m.-5 p.m. therefore this idea may be more accessible for people.

A member asked the committee to consider the fact that some members in the past and present have scheduled attendant care services times that cannot be missed. The member also suggested based on prior experience that moving meeting times would not necessarily improve attendance.

In respect to diversity, a member wanted to add that this committee also represents seniors with its own set of considerations. She agreed there needed to be a full review and discussion of this item.
Dwayne believed a change like this has never been done in ACAT and with multiple variants to consider, this will require major discussion. This suggestion can be sent to staff and they can see how they are able to accommodate.

Lodon Hassan thanked everyone for the dialogue about this issue and these responses will be taken to discuss solutions further by staff and ACAT Executive.

16. Next Meeting – May 26, 2022

17. Adjournment

The motion to adjourn was moved by Debbie Gillespie and the meeting was adjourned at 3:23 p.m. 

Gabriella Providence
Recording Secretary