ANNONCES
At the outset, Chair Ircha informed
the Committee that due to conflicting pressures and personal scheduling issues,
members P. Harrison, D. Kampen and I. Marucelj had noted their regrets in
deciding to resign from the Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee.
ITEMS OF
BUSINESS
POINTS À L’ORDRE DU JOUR
1. Cycling - Funding allocation
cyclisme - allocation des fonds
Vice-Chair
Ménard explained that this would be PTAC’s last meeting before the Transit, and
Transportation Committees were to entertain public delegations on the 2010 City
of Ottawa Draft Operating and Capital Estimates (Budget) on 06 and 09 Nov. 09,
respectively. He emphasized the importance of ensuring that Council be reminded
of its commitments to funding both the Ottawa Pedestrian Plan and Ottawa
Cycling Plan. Following brief
discussions pertaining to the upcoming budget process, PTAC considered the
following two motions requesting that the Transportation Committee recommend
Council include funding in the 2010 City of Ottawa budget (in the amounts
specified below) for both Plans.
Moved by
L. McCarney
That the Pedestrian and Transit Advisory
Committee recommend that the Transportation Committee recommend Council fund
the Ottawa Pedestrian Plan at $3.5 million for the 2010 budget.
CARRIED
Moved by S. Ménard
That Pedestrian and Transit Advisory
Committee recommend that the Transportation Committee recommend Council fund
the Ottawa Cycling Plan at $5.2 million for the 2010 Budget.
CARRIED
Action: Coordinator
to prepare memo forwarding above motions to Transportation Committee prior to
its consideration of 2010 Draft Operating and Capital Estimates on 09 November
2009.
2. POST-SECONDARY STUDENTS AND U-PASS
étudiants de
niveau postsecondaire et le « U-Pass »
Vice Chair
Ménard introduced Messrs. Ted Horton and Jonathan Rousseau of the Student
Federation of the University of Ottawa, who spoke to ask for PTAC’s support in
asking the Transit Committee to recommend Council include a U-Pass pilot
project in its 2010 Budget. Mr. Horton outlined the history of the U-Pass pilot
project, which had encountered difficulties on the part of the student bodies
involved, which viewed earlier proposals as too expensive and had not ratified
its implementation; and City Council, which despite having earlier supported
the project in principle, had faced financial constraints during a difficult
budget year, and which had served to shelve the project for 2009.
Discussions
ensued, with Mr. Pat Curran, Program Manager, Product Management, Transit Marketing
and Customer Services Branch, Transit Services, Infrastructure Services and
Community Sustainability (ISCS) explaining that City Council had tasked staff
to review this project on a revenue-neutral basis. The key determining factor will be to arrive at a price
acceptable for the student bodies of both Universities, and Council. Discussions will continue, but in the
interim, it was requested that PTAC indicate its support, at least in
principle. Following discussions, PTAC
considered the following motion:
Moved by
S. Ménard
That the Pedestrian and Transit
Advisory Committee recommend that Transit Committee recommend Council approve
that a U-Pass Pilot Project be included in the 2010 budget.
CARRIED with R. Eade dissenting.
Action: Coordinator
to prepare memo forwarding above motions to Transit Committee prior to its
consideration of 2010 Draft Operating and Capital Estimates on 06 November
2009.
3. joint
advisory committees’ budget submission
soumission conjoint des
comités consultatifs
sur le budget
Speaking to the overall City of
Ottawa Budget process for 2010, the Chair and Vice Chair outlined the
procedures for the current budget cycle.
Standing Committees of Council will receive the Capital and Operating Estimates
for departments within their purview a week in advance of meetings where they
will be asked to review same. The
Transit, and Transportation Committees will receive their documentation on 23
and 28 Oct. 09, respectively, for consideration at their meetings of 06 and 09
Nov. 09, respectively, at which the public can attend to make submissions. Following this, the various Standing
Committee recommendations will be considered by the Audit, Budget and Finance
Committee at its meeting(s) of 17 (and 20 and 27, if necessary) Nov. 09. Subsequent to this, the draft Budget will be
tabled at Council’s meeting of 09 Dec. 09.
Deliberations will occur during the week of 25-29 Jan. 2010 by Council,
sitting as Committee of the Whole, at which time public delegations will again
be able to comment on the budget prior to its adoption.
Chair Ircha said he believed it
would be prudent for the Pedestrian Sub-committee to meet with staff to
determine which issues should be addressed.
Member McCarney informed that she would be leaving PTAC, as her
membership would soon end, and that she had not recently convened any meetings
of the Sub-committee, but suggested other members could meet with staff to
discuss the pertinent issues. Mr.
Steven Boyle, Senior Project Manager, Transportation Planning Branch, Planning
and Growth Management (PGM), Infrastructure and Community Sustainability
(ISCS), said he would work with members to help identify key areas for
consideration.
Vice-Chair
Ménard then provided members with an agenda for, and spoke to the particulars
of, a meeting held immediately before this day’s meeting of PTAC (agenda held on file with the City Clerk's
office pursuant to the City of Ottawa Records Retention and Disposition
By-law). He explained that the purpose of the meeting, attended by
other Advisory Committee Chairs and/or Vice-Chairs, had been to discuss matters
of mutual concern. The goal is to be
able to speak as a unified Advisory voice to City Council so that despite
making individual submissions, the presentations will be linked with uniting
themes pertaining to the social, cultural, environmental and financial aspects
of the City’s Budget. Details are to be
worked out amongst participants for a unified approach to City Council for its
2010 Budget process, akin to that used to address Council prior to its
consideration of its new Governance model, adopted earlier this year.
RECEIVED
4. committee / subcommittee UPDATES
MISES À JOUR du comité / des sous-comités
No updates
were provided for either the Pedestrian, or Transit Operations
Sub-committees. Members suggested that
with the completion of the Ottawa Pedestrian Plan, the Pedestrian
Sub-committee’s work was now complete, but others suggested there was still a
role to play. Mr. Steven Boyle,
Senior Project Manager, Transportation Planning Branch, PGM, ISCS, offered to
assist in identifying areas where the Sub-committee could offer assistance.
RECEIVED
5. Staff Updates
MISES À JOUR DU PERSONNEL
Mr. Steven
Boyle, Senior Project Manager, Transportation Planning Branch, PGM, ISCS,
provided updates touching upon the following:
Ø
The Transit Committee will meet on Wed., 21 Oct. 09 to
consider a report entitled Multi-Use Pathway Connection - Coventry Road to
Train Station: Environmental Assessment
Study, following which, if approved, a public working group will be formed,
for which PTAC will be invited to participate;
Ø
The Ottawa Pedestrian Plan is currently
undergoing budget review; PTAC’s motion indicating its support for a $3.5
million commitment may add value to this request;
Ø
Two pedestrian cycling / pedestrian connectors are
being studied for the Ottawa Cycling Plan; Fifth Avenue / Clegg Street
and Sandy Hill / Overbrook.
Mr. Pat
Curran, Program Manager, Product Management, Transit Marketing and Customer
Services Branch, Transit Services, ISCS, added the following:
Ø
PTAC is invited to review OC Transpo’s Marketing Plan,
which seeks to review matters pertaining to cash fares, the use of passes and
tickets, and a fare increase to achieve the Council-mandated move toward 50/50
cost sharing between taxpayers and transit users;
Ø
OC Transpo’s customer-driven SmartCard fare system has
been budgeted for in the amount of $22 million, $7M of which will be covered by
the Province.
RECEIVED
OTHER BUSINESS
AUTRES QUESTIONS
Members also briefly touched upon
matters related to:
Ø PTAC Recruitment (slated for
completion by the end of November 2009);
Ø Transportation Management System
10-year Vision (to encourage Transit usage and to increase modal split);
Ø Student Sub-committee of PTAC (Vice-Chair
to organize and recruit members, bearing in mind that 1/3 of such membership
must include active PTAC members);
Ø The need for PTAC to develop a
Strategic Planning Process (to help feed into new annual workplanning and
governance structure);
Ø
Liaisons
with other AC’s* (for Transit and other matters of overlap and information
sharing)
* NB: Following the
adjournment of this meeting, the following information was provided to
Ms. Catherine Gardner, a member of the Accessibility Advisory Committee in reference to questions related to AC liaisons - such
individuals are allowed to speak and participate at Advisory Committees
for which they are not members, albeit in a non-voting capacity.
Ø Downtown Ottawa Transit Tunnel
(DOTT) - funding and cost issues (Open Houses to be held 21 Oct. 09, Keefer
Room, and 26 Oct. 09, Jean Pigott Place, Ottawa City Hall)
Ø
“Smart Bus” Technology - Member Eade spoke of
attending a product demonstration at City Hall of a Smart Bus Technology Bus
Health Monitoring System, capable of continually monitoring different
engine and bus parameters to build a repair database, which can be uploaded to
the main OC Transpo computer while the bus is stored overnight. Noting Council had deferred approval
of Transit Committee Report 31, Item 1, Advancing Smart Bus Features at
its meeting of 14 Oct. 09 for a period of two weeks to allow for the receipt of
new information pertaining to the tendering process (and emphasizing the value
of preventive maintenance), Member Eade moved the following for consideration
by PTAC (and subsequently by Council at its meeting of Wed., 28 Oct. 09):
Moved by
R. Eade
That PTAC recommend that Council endorse the
concept of comprehensive Smart Bus technology be added to the OC Transpo fleet
of buses, including bus health monitoring.
CARRIED
Action: Coordinator
to prepare memo forwarding above motion to City Council prior to its
reconsideration of Transit Committee Report 31, Item 1, Advancing
Smart Bus Features, at its meeting of 28 October 2009.
ADJOURNMENT
LEVÉE DE LA SÉANCE
The meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m.
Original
signed by Original
signed by
C.
Zwierzchowski M.
Ircha
A/Committee Coordinator Chair
