plaque acknowledging the contribution by the Windsor Accessibility Advisory Committee and City Council BE ERECTED. In 2019 the 23 new automatic door openers were installed by the project lead.
The Committee discussed their desire to acknowledge long term commitment to the committee and they agreed to the purchase of a Commemorative Bench and a Commemorative Tree to honour two deceased members who had a long term commitment and devoted great deal of time and energy to the Windsor Accessibility Advisory Committee. (Sandra Friesen, former member of WAAC and Wayne Menneguzzi, former chair and member of WAAC). Administration is working with the Senior Manager of Parks and the Senior Manager of Forestry to have both installed/planted in the coming year.
Craig Robertson, Supervisor of Licensing provided an update to the Committee regarding accessible taxis. In overview
- o Prior to 2007, there were 224 taxicab plates and 5 wheelchair accessible plates.
- o Another 5 additional accessible plates were released in 2007 and 5 more in 2008.
- o In 2017, with the onset of Uber drivers, the Taxicab By-law was reviewed and it was noted there were only 6 wheelchair accessible taxicabs operating in the City.
- o An additional 15 wheelchair accessible plates were released.
- o At this time, there are 16 licensed wheelchair accessible taxicab plates, with 5 plates still available.
- o Cost to obtain a plate from the city is $400.
The Committee approved the creation of a Transportation Subcommittee to review accessible public trasportation, including taxis, and report back to the Committee with input and suggestions for improvement. The subcommittee researched issues surrounding accessible taxis in the city and reported back to the Committee with next steps and some initial recommendations.
Update: In 2018, $5,000 (from the Capital Fund – Accessibility) was approved for the purchase of devices to enhance accessibility and begin the creation of an accessible hub in our library system. In 2019 the funding was used to purchase a variety of accessibility devices to help work towards the goal of an accessible hub.