RECORD OF MEETING This Record of Meeting is considered to be - - PDF document

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RECORD OF MEETING

Date:

September 24, 2014

File:

20135694.000.800

Time:

1:30pm

Page:

1 of 4

Project:

Downtown St. Catharines Streetscaping Design Guidelines

Subject:

Presentation to Mayor's Advisory Committee on Accessibility

Client:

City of St. Catharines

Location:

• St. Catharines City Hall Committee Room #1

Present:

City of St. Catharines Samantha Downing, P.Eng. (SD) Christine Adams, P.Eng (CA) MACOA Diane Foster (DF) Ian Crawford (IC) Steve Kurtic-Lentinello (SKL) Julie Morris (JM) Mary Jane Waszynski (MJW) Bob Asham (BA) David Reed (DR) Shelley Stewart (SS) Associated Engineering Ltd. Rick Hein, P.Eng. (RH) Rick Gabel, P.Eng. (RG) Lindsay Mooradian (LM)

Distribution:

Those Present This Record of Meeting is considered to be complete and correct. Please advise the writer within one week of any errors or omissions, otherwise this Record of Meeting will be considered to be an accurate record of the discussions

Action By: Discussion:

1 INTRODUCTION a) SD introduced the project and RH to the MACOA. 2 PURPOSE OF PRESENTATION a) RH outlined the purpose of the presentation: to present the Downtown St. Catharines Streetscaping Design Guideline study to the MACOA and for the MACOA to provide feedback on the draft report.

Record of Meeting

Subject: Presentation to Mayor's Advisory Committee on Accessibility September 24, 2014

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Action By: Discussion:

3 MACOA CONCERNS 1) The MACOA voiced the following concerns regarding the Downtown St. Catharines Streetscaping Guidelines: i) Consistency

• The MACOA would like the streetscaping to be consistent throughout the

downtown core, which includes:

• Pedestrian width to be consistent
• Final streetscape plan should clearly note width and application

details.

• Pedestrian path of travel to be straight (not zig-zag around various items,

such as street furniture, refuse containers, street lighting, and trees).

• Pedestrian path of travel surface should be as consistent as possible for

people who use a mobility device (avoid bump, bump, bump).

• Expansion joints in concrete are necessary but care should be given

to making them as seamless as possible.

• Patterned concrete or interlocking block should never be used as it

is noisy, jarring and leaves a legacy of heaved and uneven blocks (example: current downtown).

• Curb ramps at intersection should not be steep (example: if the road

is low and sidewalk is high, the grade differencial cannot be made within a few inches. Grade should be gradually lowered before it meets the curb ramp). Refer to City specs 110-1243, 110-1244, 110- 1244A, and FADS 4.1.10.

• Curb ramps should be tactile (example: City specs on cast iron

plates)

• Ideally intersections should incorporate Urban Braille (example: City
• f Hamilton and Port Colborne, photo submitted by J.Morris,

MACOA)

• Sidewalk cafes or patios should not impinge on a straight, wide, and

accessible path of travel.

• ii) Winter Considerations
• MACOA questioned who would be taking care of winter maintenance.
• CA stated that the internal committee would still be in charge of winter

maintenance. iii) Parking and Bicycle Lanes

• MACOA expressed concerns over motorists parking in cycling lanes.

iv) Sidewalk

• MACOA expressed concerns over the sidewalk joints as they provide a

Record of Meeting

Subject: Presentation to Mayor's Advisory Committee on Accessibility September 24, 2014

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Action By: Discussion:

bumpy and uncomfortable ride for those using mobility device.

• MACOA stated that the colour sidewalk on Welland Avenue is less bumpy

for pedestrians using wheelchairs and should be considered throughout the downtown core.

• MACOA stated that wider sidewalks allow for better accessibility.

v) Sandwich Boards

• MACOA stated that sandwich boards create obstructions on sidewalks and

should be discouraged. vi) Sidewalk Cafes

• MACOA stated that sidewalk cafes without gates are more accessible.
• MACOA stated that if the sidewalk café is fenced, then the gate needs to
• pen in towards the café to prevent path obstruction.
• Sidewalk cafes should not infringe on the traveled path.

vii) Raised Curbs

• The new raised parking on Queen Street in Niagara Falls makes street

parking more accessible to those in wheelchairs moving from the passenger seat to the wheelchair. These should be considered for downtown St. Catharines. viii) Accessible Store and Restaurant Entrances

• Many people have difficulties getting up the steps leading to many of the

shops in the downtown core.

• Major consideration should be given to opportunities and solutions to create

accessible entrances into businesses that currently have a step but are part

• f the downtown streetscape scope
• Steps into business should be alleviated at all opportunities (example: 1,

20, and 30 St. Paul Street)

• Precessed entrances should become barrier-free at all opportunities

(where private property is involved, the business/owner should receive recognition (TBA MACOA) for their support in becoming barrier-free (example: 36, 55, 81, 84, 101, and 261 St. Paul Street)

• Patio type entrances should be renovated for an accessible

connection between the sidewalk and the entrance (e.g. 241 St. Paul Street and 11 Geneva Street at St. Paul Street) ix) Braille

• City of Hamilton has installed braille markings at each of the intersections

showing the street names and has inlayed braille in the concrete of main buildings throughout their downtown core.

• Those with vision impairments have difficulty finding doors to main buildings.

Having braille throughout the downtown core would make it more accessible to those with vision impairments.

Record of Meeting

Subject: Presentation to Mayor's Advisory Committee on Accessibility September 24, 2014

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Action By: Discussion:

b) MACOA stated the two compromises they would like to see are: (1) consistency, and (2) wider sidewalks. 4 NEXT STEPS a) SD to send MACOA the questionnaire to fill out. b) MACOA to fill out questionnaire and send back to SD.