SECOND MEETING OF THE

MARKHAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ACCESSIBILITY IN 2008

ONTARIO ROOM

FEBRUARY 20, 2008 – 3:30 P.M.

AGENDA

1. MINUTES OF THE MARKHAM ACCESSIBILITY COMMITTEE
MEETING HELD ON JANUARY 16, 2008

(Page 2)

RECOMMENDATION:

That the minutes of the Town of Markham Accessibility Committee meeting held on January 16, 2008 be adopted.

CARRIED

2. GARAGE WIDTHS IN NEW HOMES

Discussion of this matter was deferred to the next meeting.

3. PARKING ENFORCEMENT

Mr. E. Chu, By-law Enforcement Officer, gave a detailed presentation on parking enforcement overall and disabled parking enforcement in particular. Committee as provided with an overview of the complaints process, the different types of disabled parking permits, the relevant enforcement legislation, the First Attendance process and the daily activities of Parking Enforcement Officers.

Committee was advised that, unless a valid no parking sign is present at a disabled parking spot, there can be no enforcement of violations, even if the wheelchair symbol is painted on the ground. Committee noted that there are a number of locations where such signs are missing and that there seems to be no process for remedying this. It was noted that often the commercial owner may be overseas and difficult to contact. Staff agreed to check commercial plazas on Highway 7 to see how prevalent is the problem. Staff also agreed to provide statistics for 2007 on the number of disable parking violation tickets issued and a breakdown of the percentage settled at First Attendance, paid in full or settled in court

There was considerable discussion surrounding a number of issues and Committee made a variety of suggestions. These included ensuring that warnings are flagged so that subsequent offences result in the issuance of a ticket, that the Town might employ a sliding scale of fines that increases for multiple offences, and the possibility of augmenting enforcement by using citizens. Committee was notified that in Arizona, there is an organization that provides assistance to the police and it was agreed to discuss this latter suggestion in more detail at the next meeting.

There was brief discussion concerning the difficulty in enforcing the misuse of valid permits by third parties. Staff noted that unless the operator of the vehicle is present and identification can be checked, it is presumed the permit is being used correctly.

4. ISSUES AT TIM HORTON’S (WILLOWDALE)

Discussion of this matter was deferred to the next meeting.

5. PROCEDURAL RULES

There was brief discussion concerning the process for electing a Chair and Vice-Chair. The Committee suggested it might be appropriate to have Co-Chairs. It was agreed to resolve this issue at the next meeting.

It was noted that there needs to be discussion surrounding the mandate and expectations of the Committee. It is felt that certain matters are not followed through and that there needs to be a refresher of the Committee’s priorities.

6. UPDATE ON COMMITTEE COORDINATOR POSITION

There was brief discussion concerning this matter. Committee as advised that representatives from Human Resources are working on it.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m.