Accessibility Advisory Group Minutes
Tuesday, 31st May 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Wellington City Council, 101 Wakefield St
Committee Room 1 

Chairperson: 
Lee Rutene

Members:
Tim Pate, Julia Aguilar, Lee Rutene, Tristram Ingham, 
Christine Richardson, Alan Royal, Christine O’Sullivan,
Michael Bealing 

Councillors: 
Cr Lee, Cr Sparrow

ELT member: 
Jeremy Baker

Staff: 
James Mather, Nigel Taptiklis, Anna-Marie Miller

5.32pm: Welcome from the Chair & Apologies 
Lee opened the meeting with a prayer and welcomed AAG members and staff

5:35pm: Confirmation of Minutes
Tristram moved that the previous meetings are true and accurate, with Lee seconding the motion. 

5:40pm: Advisory Group Updates & Jeremy’s Introduction
Jeremy introduced himself to AAG, advising that both he and fellow ELT member David Chick are strongly committed to accessibility.  
Part of this process is an ELT backing of the advisory groups, with strong engagement and support from identified council staff where appropriate. 

5:45pm: Accessible Wellington Map
Anna-Marie to advise on the reprint & answer AAG queries
Anna-Marie advised the group on the operational scope of the map review.
Orientation of the map was discussed with the orientation of the map being clarified. 
Anna-Marie spoke to the existing noted issues with the map.
-	Lift representation has been identified as an issue. Some lifts on the Lambton quay to Terrace route are in non-accessible lifts. Degrees of accessibly are being considered.
-	It was suggested that everything be 4121 compliant or not be on the map. 
-	Wheelchair ramps vary in degrees of steepness, this isn’t shown currently
-	Anna-Marie is proposing an ‘accessible route’ that would be able to be navigated clearly. 
-	The currently identified scenic route was checked for accessible compatibility 
-	AAG suggested that Alexia Pickering be contacted as a reference on the usability of routes
-	AAG also suggested that routes be audited by a wider process than individual accounts of compatibility
-	It was clarified that the map base data is a GIS layer; however it was not clarified if planners could currently access it. 
-	Audits have been done of existing street issues; however they are not incorporated into a centralised council system. 
-	Jeremy advised that accessibility needs to be BAU in city design.
-	The public/private division is being somewhat eroded and this presents an opportunity to highlight mobility parking and other accessible facilities to the public. 
-	The existing map is constrained by the size of the paper the map is placed on. An electronic map would move away from that size constraint, however there is no current guarantee to establish an electronic map. There are talks to get one underway however. 
-	Cr Lee highlighted that there is current tagging software being trialled in wellington that would allow some incorporation into an electronic map. These could potentially be pre-programmed to navigate to an accessible toilet. More tags would result in a more ‘fine-grained’ navigation system. 
-	On the back of the map it was noted that Menumania does not currently provide good information on the accessibility of various eateries and cafes. Anywhere that has been reviewed by ‘be accessible’ would be a good place to start. 
-	It was noted that the Wellington Railway Station isn’t named on the back of the map. 
-	The orientation of the map was clarified on the basis it was justified on a previous consultation. 
-	Julia noted that the RTF version that Alan provided was perfectly accessible 
-	Creative services to be queried regarding the accessibility of council documents that are produced
-	It was noted that accessible documents need to be further ingrained in council culture 
-	Audits have been done of existing street issues; however they are not incorporated into a centralised council system. Synchronisation of this data should play a key component in the action plan.

6:00pm: Accessibility Action Plan & Loomio
Introduction of scoping concept and AAG’s collaborative role with council
Target operating model for the council was discussed  
AAG noted that a narrative has been lacking along with internal alignment of data and objectives to bring about an accessible capital, WCC will work to integrate these two aspects 
AAG noted that their role may extend beyond their current Terms of Reference, financial compensation to be considered. This is on the basis that lived experience is considered expertise. 
Nigel to attend next AAG meeting to further advance the plan
James to distribute scoping paper

6:40pm: Wayfinding Signage Accessibility Engagement 
Minutes of this meeting were distributed to AAG 23/06/2016
AAG noted the importance of having an expert within council to advise in these matters, rather than a liaison officer. 

6:50pm: Community Engagement with People with Disabilities
Discussion on the Ministry of Health’s guide
Suggestion for WCC to incorporate into its consultation procedures 
It was previously discussed that a mini-version of this had been developed by AAG
It’s proposed that this document be used as a basis for council to work from.
AAG are happy to have the document incorporated within council processes. 
It is noted that the accessibility community is somewhat strained when it comes to consultation, and a collaborative and partnership based approach. 
AAG advised that it is advisable that the minimum font size used is 12, and that Verdana font be used. Georgia is not an accessible font. 
AAG recommends that the above document be adopted within council to the widest possible extent – with or without modification as appropriate. HTML document (community engagement is preferred)

7:20pm: Councillors Update 
Councillor David Lee to provide AAG with relevant updates
Consultation on the annual plan has just finished, which also included a variety of other proposals and plans. 
Deliberation to take place over the next few days
Cr Lee noted that the water laterals affect everyone, yet only attracted 80 submissions. 
Sing for MS took place last week, which was well attended and the organisers included Christine & Christine!

7.07pm Mobility Parking 
Tristram noted he would rather be involved in the wider issues, setting a template to deal with the accessible parking issues. 
Design guideline to be improved  
Lack of strategic forecasting within council, current mobility parking is reactive rather than proactive
AAG would like an increase in the sophistication of data available to them, in line with the Environmental Reference Group.
CCS to engage with council and AAG to provide data on the mobility space
Cr Lee highlighted that he would like to see some collaboration between roading and the accessibility space 
There is potential for interaction with roading to become an exemplar that accessibility be explicit rather than implicit. 
Meeting adjourned at 7.10pm 

Actions 

-	Anna-Marie to advise if planners can access the accessibly GIS later. 
James to follow up with David Chick (actioned 23/6/2016)
-	James to distribute scoping paper for AWAP plan (actioned 23/6/2016)