Traffic calming policy approved without speed cushions

Thank you. Thank you.

Okay, everyone, I'd like to call the meeting to order if any of my colleagues are online. If they could put their cameras on for us, that would be awesome. Thank you very much. Right off the top here, we are looking, I'm sorry, I should do it right. It is Tuesday, April 21st, 2026. It's 530. This is our City Council meeting, so thank you for joining. And right off the top, we are looking to move into a closed session of Council. And it is only one item. and the title as described on the open agenda is April 2026 public appointments for the Elliott Community Board of Trustees. This is as per section 239 2b of the Municipal Act regarding personal matters about identifiable individual including municipal or local board employees.

Before I call the vote on that is there any disclosure of pecuniary interest any general nature from any members of council on that item before we consider to move into closed hearing and seeing none so with that would someone be willing to move into closed richardson and clausen will do that before i call the vote i did get regrets from councillor alt for the entire meeting today as well okay uh so with that i'll call the vote is anybody against moving into closed session on that one item nobody that's unanimous so we will do that now and we will see everybody out back in public session soon

Thank you. Thank you.

and we are here for our city council meeting it is six o'clock so we're going to get started and before i do that though i'll just do the quick summary for our in-camera meeting that we had we went in earlier just about a half an hour ago for an in-camera meeting it was disclosed on the open session agenda with the title of april 2026 public appointments to the elliott community board of trustees. That was the only item that we went in camera for to discuss and council did come to a decision in that uh regards. That's why we are now bringing it out in the public to actually vote on it here transparently. So I'm going to turn it over to Councillor Hauser who is willing to move and I know Councillor Gawler is willing to second and with that if you could read that out for us Councillor Hauser. Thank you through the Mayor um April 2026 public appointees for the Elliott community board of trustees uh kimberly wilson to be appointed to the elliott community board of trustees for three-year term ending april 2029 or such time as a successor is appointed and two that justine garner and naim mere be reappointed to the elliott community board of

trustees for a three-year term ending april 2029 or until such time as a successor is appointed great thank you is there anything further on this item hearing none because it's been moved and seconded i'll call the vote okay is anyone against these appointments hearing and seeing nobody that's unanimous in support so thank you very much everybody so that wraps up our our summary of the closed session so with that we're going to now go right into our open session and And right off the top, if you can, please stand if you are able, as we recognize our national anthem.

Thank you. Thank you. Thanks, everyone. We'll just take a moment for silent reflection before we continue.

Great. Thank you. And now our territorial acknowledgement. So as we gather, let us take time to reflect on our privilege to live and work here in Guelph, a city that's built over rich Indigenous histories. And as guests here, we should reflect upon the responsibility to care for this land and the people who live here today and the generations to come. If our actions today can move us towards reconciliation, we should take pause and make those decisions with intention and gratitude. This place we call Guelph has served as traditional lands and a place of refuge for many peoples over time, but more specifically, the Anahuana Rock and the Haudenosaunee. When this land is held as the treaty lands and territory with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Guelph lies directly adjacent to the Haldeman track and is part of a long-established traditional hunting grounds for the Six Nations of the Grand River. Many First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people who have come from across Turtle Island call Guelph home today. thank you with that is there any disclosure of pecuniary interest any general nature thereof for any items on the agenda for us tonight okay i don't hear or see anybody so i'll consider that matter closed uh to the clerks and to the public counselor alt has sent in his official regard

regrets for the rest of the meeting okay so right off the top i have the privilege of doing a recognition, just one, and we get to do it for one of our own. One of our own. And it's important to give each other some high fives when some good stuff happens with one of us. And tonight we give a real big high five to Councillor Hauser. So, Councillor Hauser has completed the Osgoode Certificate in Municipal Law and Governance. Not bad, jumping right in, like not even a year ago, right? And jumping right in. So I'd really like to take a moment to recognize her on completing the Osgood Certificate, as I mentioned, in Municipal Law and Governance. This is a well-respected program that offers a deep practical look at the legal and governance frameworks that guide municipal councils and local government decision-making. The program draws on leading experts in the field and is designed specifically for those working in municipal roles. Councillor Hauser's completion of this certificate reflects a strong commitment to the continuous learning and to serving the community with a well-informed and thoughtful approach.

On behalf of Council, congratulations to Councillor Hauser on this significant professional achievement. High five. Well done. Did you bring your certificate? It doesn't matter. oh it doesn't matter the whole backdrop for guelph is gone where did that go i was about to say we need to go over okay one day we'll we'll do the official picture like we do it for our staff okay so congratulations that's really well done um okay we're jumping into the into the agenda now and right off the top there's confirmation for the minutes minutes held on March 10th and 31st, 2026. And the open committee of the whole meeting held on March 4th, 2026. And the minutes of the open business license appeals committee meeting held on March 24th, 2026. And for those to be confirmed as recorded and without being read. Would anybody be willing to move that for me? Richardson and Karan. Thank you. Is there any changes, any questions on those minutes? Anybody? No? Okay, I'm going to call the vote then. Is anyone against those minutes?

Okay, I don't hear or see anybody, so that is a unanimous vote. And we'll move on to our consent agenda. You know how this works. I will yell out the titles and then let me know if we need to pull anything. The Delegated Authority Bylaw for the amendment for update to the Bring Your Own Events. the 2025 water services annual report the summary report and the water efficiency strategy progress report and the proposal for the amendments to the taxi tariff does anybody want any of those pulled nope okay councillor quran i think you're willing to move consent hauser you good for seconding okay anything further nope i'll call the vote is anyone against the consent agenda okay that's nobody so that's unanimous thank you very much we are into the items for discussion and the first one is going to be the traffic calming policy update please remember there was a memo that was attached as a further information for everybody including the public it was available on the agenda we have two delegations but before that

We have Dean Martin, Vice Chair of Accessibility Advisory Committee, who would like to make some introductory remarks. And then we have two delegations, as I mentioned. So Dean, I will turn the microphone over to you with any remarks you want to give Council before we continue. Thank you. Good evening, Guelph City Council. I am Dean Martin, representing the Guelph Accessibility Advisory Committee as the Vice Chair. Working with the City and staff, we have come up with three motions in regards to the traffic calming policy, which I will refer to as TCP. The first motion that we had come up with is that the ACC receives the presentation from the TCP update, which we did, and that the ACC endorsed the following recommendations to the TCP as proposed by the engineering and transportation services. The first recommendation is TCP will incorporate the most effective traffic calming measures

for reducing vehicle speeds, which may include the use and recommended spacing of raised crossings and speed cushions. The TCP will be evidence-informed and data-driven by prioritizing the proactive installation of traffic calming measures in the community safety zones. Third recommendation, TCP will prioritize addressing the streets with the highest risk of collision-related injuries over the first-come, first-served approach. The fourth recommendation of the first motion is the TCP will add new traffic calming measures to align with the City's complete street design guidelines, the latest traffic calming approaches and incorporate measures which encourage active transportation.

The second motion that we put forward is that the ACC provide the following comments as it relates to recommendations to the TCP for staff consideration. TCP will consider greater focus on horizontal measures such as road narrowing. Vertical measures such as cushions should not be the default solution for traffic calming in the TCP. TCP will consider the... Sorry, new glasses. We will consider pedestrian measures such as tactile walking indicators and contrasting lines and follow Canadian National Institute for the Blind guidelines. Also that the TCP emphasized winter maintenance of pedestrian measures.

And that the TCP allows for measures that clarify cyclist, pedestrian, and driver prioritization. And the final motion that we put forward is that the ACC recommend that staff request returning to the ACC as part of the TCP review in 2026. I will answer your questions that you may have to the best of my abilities. If I do not have an answer, I will take note and bring it back to the ACC. Sorry, AAC. All right. Thank you very much, Dean. At this time, is there any follow-up question, or are we able to move on to our delegations? Councillor Busatil has a question. Yes, thank you very much, through the Mayor, Mr. Martin. Just a question about the motions. Were they sent to us in advance, what you just presented? They were at the last meeting, so I am not 100% sure if they were sent to you or not.

I'm guessing since you're asking that question that they were not. So just to confirm, just because we had a little conversation there, we believe that they are in the last attachment for you. Okay. Yep. And is staff kind of nodding their head in agreement? Yes, staff are nodding their head in agreement. Okay. Okay. See nothing further. Thanks, Dean. Have a great night. Okay. We have two other delegations and one will be in person and one will be by video and in person no stranger to here is morgan dandy so come on up morgan

and again morgan knows this but i just have to say it out loud no more than five minutes and you'll hear the chime at the four minute 30 second mark uh just to give a little bit of a heads up warning that the uh 30 seconds is coming up soon before the microphone is turned off at that mark Okay, so over to you, Morgan, whenever you're ready. Good evening, Mayor, Councilors, staff, and fellow Guelphites. My name is Morgan Dandy. I'm an older adult with a dynamic disability, a disability that has fundamentally changed how I move around the city. In 2020, I chose to divest myself of a personal car ownership and return to using public transit as my main form of transportation. As this disability has progressed, it became necessary for me to begin using the Guelph Mobility Transit System. Now that I've been using the mobility service for over a year, my perspective on the potential harms caused by speed cushions has been expanded.

Riding on mobility transit has allowed me to meet people who have many different types of disability. When it comes to speed cushions, those of us with disabilities that cause spontaneous subluxations and dislocations are most susceptible to harm and injury. I know that the accessibility advisory committee had voted against speed cushions in the past and I was happy to hear that staff had provided this iteration of the AAC with outcomes of studies performed to the transportation guidelines. Unfortunately that happiness was quickly overshadowed by concern when Councillor Caton informed everyone that accessibility standards Canada. The organization with the mandate to one, develop accessibility standards, two, advance accessibility research, and three, share information related to accessibility

was formed after the transportation guidelines were developed. This means those guidelines used by staff to provide data to the AAC were not reviewed and approved by actual accessibility standards. But did the AAC know this? And if they were unaware the method used to provide the data upon which they based their decision was unvetted by the federal body with the mandate to do so, with that awareness would the vote remain the same I was very glad to just hear that the AAC does not want cushions to be the default council as a mobility service writer I have seen the discomfort and pain some users experience with just a pothole. As a community member, I have spoken with people concerned about their personal safety having to navigate speed cushions. As a pedestrian, I know traffic calming is needed

if we are ever to reach our Vision Zero goals. If Vision Zero goals are to be met, they should be met without causing unintentional harms. Since the transportation guidelines have not been vetted by Accessibility Standards Canada, and we have at least some anecdotal evidence that those guidelines are inadequate when providing data about speed cushions, I ask you, Council, to err on the side of caution and to provide the greatest protection for those members of our community with disabilities that are harmed by the current design of speed cushions by removing speed cushions as an option for traffic calming until such time as adequately vetted guidelines have been established to ensure we are not causing unintentional harms through our infrastructure. Thank you. Thank you, Morgan. Is there any follow-up question at this time for Morgan? there is not thank you very much appreciate it and then again now joining us by video we're

going to have lorelei root hello i'm having some trouble with my video but can you hear me yes we can hear you perfectly so no problem we'll uh we'll start uh your timing as soon as you start okay go right ahead thanks so much good evening mayor and council my name is laurel i root and i'm here today to speak against the implementation of speed cushions as a traffic calming measure and to urge the city to prioritize alternatives that do not cause harm to disabled residents like myself i want to start by reminding everyone that disabled people are not a monolith so there may be some disabled people who are fine with speed cushions but that doesn't mean they're safe or accessible for all disabled people it just means that they're not harmful to those individuals. I'm one of the people that they are harmful to. Going over speed cushions, or as many of us know them, speed bumps, causes me real physical pain and can aggravate my injuries or even permanently worsen my level of disability. Many others with disabilities experience the same thing. There's also a financial impact to disabled individuals trying to navigate a city that uses

a lot of speed cushions that often gets overlooked in this conversation. Many disabled people like myself are no longer able to drive and avoiding speed cushions isn't simple for people like me uber drivers for example are encouraged by uber to follow the gps routes that they're given and can refuse alternate direction directions and in my experience they usually do refuse alternate directions that means that i'm forced to choose between going over a speed cushion that will hurt my body or canceling the uber ride at my own expense getting out and ordering a new uber at my own expense and hoping that when they show up they're willing to take me an alternate way or the cost continues to increase until i get matched with the driver willing to take me an alternate route cab drivers can also refuse alternate routes and they often do when they're busy but even when they don't rerouting increases distance which then increases cost disabled people are required to pay more and spend more time in order to avoid infrastructure that hurts us And in all of these scenarios, we are required to know where every single speed cushion in the city is in order to instruct drivers on how to avoid them, which is also not realistic or fair.

This is what inaccessible design looks like in practice. It creates barriers and then it shifts the burden onto disabled people to adapt and create systems to work around these designs that weren't built with us in mind. So before implementing speed cushions this time, I'm asking you to please pause and consider some of the many other traffic calming measures that don't cause harm. I want to share an anecdote with you from my time on the Accessibility Advisory Committee. At my very first meeting, I witnessed an impassioned discussion about speed cushions and the ways that they harm disabled people. It was then explained to me that even before I joined the AAC, the city had already made a commitment to only implement speed cushions when they're absolutely necessary after first trying other traffic calming measures because they recognized the harm that speed cushions do to disabled individuals and yet over the nearly decade that i served on the aac speed cushions were regularly brought up to us as the first traffic calming solution and there was not a single time that they were not met with strong opposition from aac members we never once voted yes to speed cushions they were still implemented every single time we we were asked about them, but we always said, please don't do it. This includes the time that

we were asked to try out the newly designed speed cushions on Starwood, which the city claimed would not harm us. And yet those speed cushions did still cause harm to every member who tried them, and we still did voice opposition to them. That repeated bringing forward of speed cushions, even after the committee had been told they'd be minimized or avoided, is part of a larger pattern of systemic barriers that I've seen with the City of Guelph. Last year, when the entire AAC resigned in protest of this, as well as many other examples of accessibility concerns being raised, acknowledged, and then not meaningfully acted on, I had really hoped that that would be a turning point for the city on the way they engage with accessibility needs. But this discussion feels like an extension of the same long-standing pattern. And when looking at this pattern, I can't help but feel that the current system creates only the illusion of meaningful engagement and that's really unfortunate continuing to implement speed cushions despite knowing they harm some of us is a choice that disproportionately impacts some of the most vulnerable people in this city and it's also quite frankly a decision that opens the city up to massive risk because knowingly implementing infrastructure that causes harm after being clearly told for over a decade about that harm

more than meets the requirements for a complaint through the ontario human rights commission I know that for a fact because I've inquired directly about specifically this issue. It likely also serves as grounds for further legal action as well. So in closing, I'm not saying traffic calming isn't needed. I'm just asking you to examine which methods we choose to prioritize and who those choices impact. I'm happy to provide a list of alternate methods that when I was on the AAC we pushed for, but I know the city's already aware of them. and in the interest of time i'll just end here with a reminder that if a safety measure makes the city more dangerous to some of us especially when there are other options available it really can't be considered a safety measure at all thank you okay thank you very much your delegation and is there any follow-up for lorelei there is not so oh there is one sorry stay with me counselor billings has a question thank you through you your worship i just wanted to ask you like For example, I have chronic pain and I don't find that speed tables are nearly as painful. So I was just wondering if speed tables were more acceptable for you.

Through you, Mary Guthrie, to Councillor Billings. Was it Councillor Billings? I'm sorry, I missed who asked. Yes. Through you, Mary Guthrie, to Councillor Billings. uh yes i find i personally find speed tables um more uh like less less uh painful for my disability but i'm not sure what other folks think that was one of the beautiful things about the aac is that there are so many people with so many different lived experiences that we were able to kind of collaborate and try to cover the needs of the uh the most marginalized amongst us so i'm not 100 sure if they are for everyone and i'm also not 100 sure that when you're saying speed tables we're thinking about the same things because there's so much different language that the city uses a lot of what the city calls cushions we we refer to as speed bumps and then we were told that there was a speed table on starwood but if that's what a speed table is what's on starwood then no that is still very painful for me personally okay so through your worship just to be clear the speed tables are are raised and they have a flat top section so that the wheel base of the vehicle is entirely on the flat surface and then comes down

so is that right thinking no um i do know that any vertical measures are usually not preferred by disabled individuals. So we much prefer to see other tried and true kind of measures that don't physically harm people like road narrowing or curb extensions or chicaning or raised intersections or a lot of signage or allowing street parking on both or alternating sides of the street. But any vertical measures do have the potential to cause pain. And especially if you aren't the person driving like a lot of people think well i'll just slow down and be really gentle when i go over a speed table for example and that won't hurt me as much but but we often aren't the people driving our own cars sometimes it's an uber driver who's in a hurry you know okay thank you thanks okay and i see nothing further so thank you very much for joining us thank you okay and we do have correspondence as well that was submitted um so with that i think it'd be best to at least have the recommendation tabled and then after that i'm aware of a couple of of um

kind of motions in regards to this and i will be going to councillor uh katon first and then to you councillor galler as well but um can i have someone at least put the thing down to approve okay galler and uh and clausen will move and second uh which is the recommendation that flowed from the committee of the traffic calming policy 2026 update included as attachment one to the report titled traffic calming policy update from april 7 2026 be approved so with that let me turn it over to Councillor Caton please. Thank you. Can you put the motion back up so I can read it please? The original one just from committee or yours? Don't mind please. Okay that's okay we just needed to know which one it was so the one that she provided

okay go ahead counselor Kayton thank you bear with me with my multiple part processor so this is my my first motion that the use of speed cushions be removed from the traffic calming policy included as attachment one to report 2026-129. And Councillor Billings will second that. And just so everyone knows, this will be treated as an amendment. Okay. And I've conferred with the clerks there. So the reason being is because, you know, depending on maybe what is amended a little bit here may determine what someone might vote for on the final approval. Right. So I think it's only fair to treat these as amendments to what's on the floor. So go ahead, Councillor Caten, do you want to speak to it just before I call the vote on that one? Yes, please. Human rights for a lot of groups within Canada have not existed for a very long time. In the context of disability, human rights plans are supposed to be updated to reflect our understanding of the barriers and potential harm caused by them. I've watched the province ignore two reviews of the AODA that called for emissions to be added, and we're in the infancy of

implementing the Accessible Canada Act due to be completed in 2040. I appreciate the work of the current AAC and their review of this document. And there are more types of disabilities than there are seats on that committee. And each AAC is a snapshot of a percentage of the disability community. It's impossible for any iteration of the AAC to capture all of the issues that the disability community can face. We're fortunate in that we have a decade of different AACs who've discuss speed bumps, humps, and cushions to lean on, and members of council who are also affected by them, to consider when we make this decision. Thanks to staff for adding the information with the historical views on this topic that show most iterations of the AAC have been firmly against, and thanks to our vice chair of the current AAC for confirming they consider it a last resort option. Speed cushions on the roads and in bike lanes are a barrier for access for some people in our community. They cause injuries. This motion does not say to not implement traffic calming measures. It says to pick something else from the toolbox that staff have provided because we recognize that speed cushions harm some people and our goal of preventing harm

cannot be met with a tool that hurts disabled people. Thank you. Great. Thank you very much. So just a few questions now. I saw some hands go up to our staff. And remember, everyone, just kind of stick to what the amendment that's on the floor, okay? So I'll start with Koran, and then I saw Downer as well, and then I saw a couple over here. I'll start moving around, okay? So we'll go Koran and then Downer, okay? Great. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And it's a question, I guess, to the mover and to our staff. We've heard different definitions of speed cushions, speed tables, speed humps, speed bumps. I want to make sure that speed cushions is something that we all fully understand the definition of. So if maybe the mover could start and then I could ask our traffic staff. So the name for them, I think, is just morphed over time. And from my understanding, the speed tables are a separate issue. And that's kind of more like a raised crosswalk, kind of a broader situation. And I think that's what they're referring to there. and so it's hard to say without an image in front of you but anything that is like the the smaller um and the stuff that's on starwood those are all considered the speed cushions

but the speed tables are not is that correct okay thanks i believe so is that our staff understanding as well sorry you want to jump in just just turn your mic on and just jump in Okay, jump up, jump up and get down. Here we go. So I appreciate the nomenclature around this is a bit wild. So the speed cushion, Councilor Caton is quite right. It's a relatively newer device. They're the ones that kind of have the gap to minimize the impact to emergency services. So they do not go across the whole width of the pavement. If you think back to our older traffic calming like 2005, 2006, like Arthur, King, Queen, Exhibition, Kathleen Division, that's a speed hump and that goes all the way across the entire width of the road. so it impacts emergency services more than a speed cushion. The speed table, as we alluded to, is the same thing you raise up,

but essentially the whole wheelbase of the vehicle can be flat before it descends. So it's a much longer device, so you don't have that abrupt jarring, but you still obviously wouldn't want to drive over that at a really high rate of speed. I hope that kind of clears up a few of the terminologies. It does that's really helpful because I don't want to take all the tools out of your toolbox but I also recognize that that we don't want to do harm to any particular group for accessibility reasons. So my follow-up question to that is visual, I don't know how to pretend speed bumps, so a sign that says speed bump coming and a visual image of a speed bump can also have a significant effect of traffic calming without the actual vertical measure being installed and I'm just wondering if that is is that a tool in your toolbox or is that something that's we've removed the temporary speed bumps but left signage there and I've seen people slow down in anticipation of a speed bump that's not there and I just wondered

if that's in the toolbox um through the merit of councilor kron i it's it's not in the toolbox the the we talked last time about the concept of sort of that visual art the fish and that that would be considered maybe a supplemental measure but um at this point we wouldn't plan for that to be our first go-to i just want to clarify one thing from before we we no longer recommend the use of speed humps we only recommend sort of speed cushions of that type of device just to clarify that now downer please thank you to you mr mayor so you would still be doing the speed tables or the raised um crosswalks and those things and if with this motion pass uh through the mayor to Councillor Downer and I'm pretty sure Councillor Cain will confirm this. Yes, those longer sort of where it's not so abrupt, I believe Councillor Cain was fine to leave those in. I think this is specific for speed cushions. Okay, the second question is, so given the input we've had

from Council, how do you think taking this out will impact the traffic calming policy? Through the Mayor to Councillor Downer, staff don't support the motion to remove speed cushions from the traffic calming policy as doing so would significantly reduce our ability to meet road safety and Vision Zero goals of preventing serious injuries and deaths among all road users, pedestrian cyclists and motorists alike. The province has removed our most effective speed management tool which was automated speed enforcement and that consistently demonstrated 20% reduction in driver speeds. The data shows that speed cushions are the next most effective measure available, delivering average speed reductions of 15%. Eliminating this tool would result in higher operating speeds, directly increasing the likelihood and severity of a collision, and the risk of fatal outcome. Staff have engaged transparently with the AAC, providing all previous correspondence and concerns related to vertical measures. We've also consulted the Transportation Advisory Committee and received unanimous support from Civic Circle participants to utilize the most effective traffic calming measures for reducing

vehicle speeds including speed cushions. For these reasons, staff recommend retaining speed cushions as one of the 22 tools in the traffic calming policy to ensure the continued use of evidence-based data-driven interventions that slow drivers down and restore safety to our streets. So a follow-up. So then what do we say to the people with disabilities that are telling us that this is causing them pain? To make this, I understand. Yeah, so I just, I understand it. It's something we want to use, right? So staff want us to recommend to use, but how do we balance that? I mean just so you through the merit of Councillor Downey you used what I think is the key word of the night balance so again it's it's one of 22 tools and we we've heard the AC and at no point here if we said it's going to be our first go-to it's an important tool for us to have so we rec we recognize that there

certain streets and certain road designs that it's it's very difficult to sort of narrow the road if you I don't know if you're familiar with take Alice Street for instance we get a lot of concerns about Alice Street it's six meters wide there's a huge long section there where there's no intersections so there's really no other tool that's really physically available to narrow the road it's already as narrow as it can be so again at no point here is a vertical measure a first and only resort it's just there are certain roads and certain conditions where it is the most effective tool to try to slow drivers down so you wouldn't be using it as the default one as the current acc has recommended that is correct it's one of 22 tools Okay, thanks. Thank you. I got Gawler, then Klausen, then Gibson. Are comments okay, Your Worship? Yeah, comments is fine. Just so we can get to the vote because I know there's others. So I would like to try to get to the – I mean, this is kind of an in or out vote.

So let's get to comments if you want and we call the vote. My questions were asked and thank you for staff for presenting that information. I think hearing that speed cushions and speed tables are the most effective tool, I would not want to take that away from the toolbox because I am concerned that we would have a higher risk for loss of life if we were to take that tool away. So I will be voting against this motion. Thank you. Okay, thank you. And Klausen please and then to Gibson and then Kayton. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. My questions were also answered. Okay, thank you. I'll go to actually I'll go to Gibson and then Chu and then to Caton so that we can end with you, Councillor Caton, since you're the one that moved the motion, okay? So go ahead, Gibson, and then Chu. Thank you. Through you, Mr. Mayor, to staff. The subtle but important design change that's been made to speed bumps, formerly speed bumps, now speed cushions, is, like you said, the emergency services sort of wheel well lane. I call it the wheel well area. Is it by design that the emergency services can straddle the speed cushion because they have a water-based car,

and therefore eliminating the need to go over it? Can I just hear that from staff? Because it's kind of feeding into my rationale here. Through the Mayor to Councillor Gibson. That is the case. they are designed that the wheel well would support those larger emergency vehicles. That does not mean that they wouldn't necessarily slow down as they approach them. Each driver is different. Each call is different. And I think that's important just to note that. Yeah, that's fine. So I understand the concern and I've heard the concern around speed bumps that like it's inevitable that you must go over that bump as you're traveling down the road. But with the new, I mean, I've been on Starwood many times, the new design, whether the driver or the passenger wants to avoid the impact of the speed cushion, the design of them does allow you to navigate and only pass over one half of the car, right? So one half of the car will go over the cushion. The other two wheels, be it the passenger or the driver, doesn't need to take the

force of that speed cushion so i'm obliged to agree with staff that this is outside of the automated speed cameras is the most effective tool we have they do work we've seen them work on starwood despite some some opposition to them they do work on starwood and it's become a much safer street and there's a lot of families in that area that do appreciate the the speed controls that's taken place so i like the design of the speed humps i think it allows the driver or passenger to avoid the need to go over the impact. And so I'll be voting against this motion. Okay, thank you and Chu, and then I'll end with the mover. Thank you. Through you, Mr. Mayor. So I'm just trying to look at an application in my own ward and the applications that were on Downey, will they be different if they're, for the future installments of the speech cushions in future applications compared to what we currently see? Through the merit of Councillor Chu, not substantially. Again, Downey is probably one of the wider roads we would ever traffic home. So the standards have a set width for the cushion

and then the spacing can vary slightly depending on the overall width of the road. but fundamentally the device, that's the shape and size of the device that should we install in future, it will look similar to that. Okay, no, I appreciate that. I've seen some improvements over the last couple of years with the installment of the PXO, so I appreciate some of the work that's been done on Downy. I just need to know, do you see a future application of like the speed, what do you call it, the speed tables, replacing those speed cushions, and like a downy, for example, down the road. Through the merit of Councillor Chu, potentially speed tables require a lot more infrastructure. It impacts drainage more, certainly on roads where you have driveways. If we bring the level of the road up now, you might not have drainage towards the road. So that's just a small nutshell of some of the many factors that go in on why we determine which device is appropriate.

A speed table would be more applicable where you have a longer stretch without driveways. That would be a huge impact. Okay, is there a process for you guys to evaluate the effectiveness and efficacy of the existing installations of traffic calming measures? And like, I'm not trying to pigeonhole you guys into looking at Downey, for example, but I just need to know, like, with some of the existing speed cushions that are out there, if there is a process in which you guys do have internally to evaluate the effectiveness of them. Through the Mayor to Councillor Chu. So we do before and after analyses on all of our traffic calming measures. We've been able to implement a number of different tools. So not just vertical deflection like speed cushions. We've also looked at center island medians, curb extensions and flex posts. I have some of that data here. So as I mentioned, we see the most effective reduction in speed with speed cushions at 15% reduction in operating speed. where we have centre island medians that's about an 11% reduction and then curb extension so these are all horizontal deflections that you would

drive around instead of drive over that has a reduction of about 8% in speeds comparatively. Okay and I guess just my comments I don't want to limit you guys and your tools because you guys are the experts and you guys do have I trust you in your discernment process for how you apply these future installments and and we've had a pretty good back and forth as well so i appreciate that candor from you guys i think my two cents is like it's everything is context dependent and context sensitive and i do think we need to really hear what the community members are saying in terms of speed cushions because they are a very coercive tool in my opinion from a user experience standpoint and especially if you're living on downey road where it's a lived experience every day you have to go down that it's not the most pleasant of experiences. So I think the public needs to hear this feedback and perhaps we can continue the conversation down the road. So that's just my two cents, but I appreciate the conversation. Okay, thank you. And just before I go to you, Councillor Caton as the mover, Councillor Downer just had one follow up question first, okay?

Yeah, so I hope this is a little out of order this question, but we're talking about, you know traffic calming today and it's it's clear that we've we've missed something in the design of our our roads over the last I don't know hundred years and as we're moving forward are are we really like seriously taking traffic calming into effect in to designing new roads in in new areas as we as we grow the city out and I'm not sure if it's a question for you or for mr. Gaiman but through the mayor to you councillor downer uh yes most definitely uh traffic calming on all of our reconstructions are considered uh our traffic calming team works with our our capital uh project managers and reviews that street and how we can uh implement things differently um you know i'll take uh example of um edinburgh college and the cycling intersection and and working through that and how that functions and makes it more safe for people. So it's definitely something that we continue to work through.

We also have our complete streets guideline that developments and our own work looks at as we consider traffic calming on upcoming projects. Okay, Councillor Caton, would you like to wrap it up for us as the mover? Thanks. I also have questions for staff. So, of course, yeah, go ahead. So through you to staff. So it's my understanding that stop signs are new in terms of our traffic calming tools, because I've asked in the past and we had said that traffic like stop signs are not considered traffic calming tool. So they're new as of this policy, right? um through the meritor counselor katin they're not one of the 22 tools recommended we rely on following the provincial warrants when and if and always stop is warranted oh sorry just one sec counselor katin they're listed as a supplemental measure my apologies Thank you. So we don't have any data of how effective they are versus speed cushions, correct?

Through the Merida Council campaign, we don't have Guelph specific data on the effectiveness of all-way stops on speed of vehicles. Okay, thank you. And has staff had a chance, because I heard from a delegate that there was, she had said that she talked to a lawyer and that there could be a human rights complaint from what she had heard. Has staff talked to legal about risk? Yeah, so I'm just going to jump in there, and I don't have it in front of me. I'm only going by memory but I believe our procedural bylaw does mention being careful about this type of a conversation in the open session if you feel like you would like to ask any legal advice happy to accommodate that if it's the will of council to move into closed but I just want us to be careful in regards to where this is going and of course you all know me well enough I'm not trying to stifle conversation in any way but I also want to make sure that in protection of our role as

councillors to the corporation any type of information from a legal perspective should be done in camera. Can I ask? Sorry Councillor Caton my apologies I paused enough there I think you probably thought I was done and that's my fault. I'm going to turn it back to you is what I was going to say if you want to just re-evaluate your question or consider moving on to another one whatever you wish but I'll leave it to you it's putting the floor back to you. Can I ask to go into close then to get that information?

Yeah I'm just going to go to our Deputy CAO Stephen O'Brien to respond to a potential legal question in closed. Okay just one second. Through you to Council thank you Mayor Guthrie. we currently don't have uh legal counsel available on this specific file uh or to be able to provide advice on the specific matter what i will say is i heard my colleagues in infrastructure development and environment mentioned that they did have some discussions with legal if those weren't of a privileged or confidential nature they may be permitted to share some of the generalities of that but at this moment it's difficult for council to move into a closed session you would have to move into close under section 239 that's related to solicitor client privilege the only person that can provide you legal advice under that provision is is a legal professional and so i would i would only cautionly uh council in in that moment uh right now as it relates to that i mean counselor hauser got a certificate in municipal law so i don't know just thought i'd break the ice there a little bit um yeah how about you uh counselor caton i think it would probably be wise uh for for us we can't

really move into close then for that legal we can't right so based on our lawyer not being available for that is there any other questions that you that you had i mean by the way before you do say that i would just say that the issue that you've raised and i'm only speaking for myself but the issue that you've raised can obviously be your own personal determination as a councillor as a mayor to determine if you're weighing that as an issue as a potential a potential issue in regards to how you vote for this right so don't don't feel like you need to put it aside completely i think it's something that each individual one of us here can say you know what regardless of what information i may or might not hear in camera the issue is something that I still adhere to and I'm going to use that as part of the filter before I vote so it's not to dismiss it outright okay over to you Councillor Cain thank you um so I'll just I'll just bring it home then um I I think that this is not an equity based decision I think that we are

are trading potential harm for known harm when there are other options to us to use that aren't speed cushions. And I appreciate that they'll be used in the last case scenario, but it seems like there are a lot of last case scenarios along Starwood and various other areas. And I personally am harmed over them. If any of you have ever had your hip dislocate, your leg falls pretty much off your body. It is not pleasant. And that's what's happening to me when I go over these speed bumps. So that combined with feedback from various past iterations of the AAC, our delegates, and the unknown risk to the city given that context i i strongly urge you to um vote for my motion to remove that from the traffic calming policy

okay thank you very much um and just i need to always make sure i clear the air but when i kind of jump in as the chair about if i especially if i reference the procedural bylaw i just need to make sure that everyone knows like it was legit so i've had the clerks send it to me because i was only going by memory it's section 4.1 1.5 no delegation shall be made to council or the committee on any matters relating to any litigation or potential litigation including any matters which are currently before or under the jurisdiction of any court or administrative tribunals unless such a matter is referred by council to be said the administrative tribunal or court. Okay, so I just want to make sure that you knew that I had the clerk send that to me. Okay, so with okay Councillor Boussatil and then I'd like to call the vote everybody. So this is it. Councillor Boussatil. I've been listening to the exchanges and I'm wondering if it's possible to make an amendment to Councillor Caton's motion and I would like to suggest instead of that speed

cushions be removed that they be lose use as a last resort in the 22 22 tools that are there I I hear the delegations I hear the emotion and the hurt and so I would just like to offer that and again at the staffs well so i'm just going to cut you off there because i would need a seconder for that it looks like quran is willing to second that so now you can opine on on on your vote yeah i think i think that's fine okay so we have an amendment to the amendment now that is on the floor which is uh to recognize um uh you know what i have a feeling your amendment to the amendment is contrary or may not work for the wording because her amendment is to remove and then yours is to use as a last resort you can't have a remove and use as a last resort in the same sentence so i think if you don't mind yeah i think i'm on the right track here i think it'd be better to allow councillor caton's motion to fail and then you could table the new motion as

you've described it you can't have it the way it's worded right now are you with me okay i have to go through this rigmarole counselor busatil you okay to withdraw yes counselor kron you're okay to withdraw your second thank you is any member of council against the withdrawal of that amendment nobody clerks you're good follow the bouncing ball good um so we're back to the main motion as tabled by Councillor Caton. So I'll just say my comments. I actually agree with where Councillor Caton's going on this one. We'll see how the vote lands on this and Councillor Billings as well. And I really want to respect that. I fully appreciate that staff would always use their professionalism to determine what is or what is not required and it wouldn't be a first choice. I get that. It wouldn't be a first choice on every street. But I think the way I view it is when I hear it's one out of 22 measures that can be chosen, I think the same could be said by saying now you have 21 choices.

So, and I really don't mind what Councillor Caton said about stop sign. So maybe it is 22 if you add a stop sign. So I would say that the way I view it is there's 21 options at least at a minimum on the table for or on the road, no pun intended, to be chosen. Okay. I have not been in favor of as many of those speed cushions as they have been rolled out across the city and for accessibility reasons and other reasons too combined. So I will be supporting Councillor Caton and Billings' motion, but we'll see how it goes. Okay, so I'll call the vote on that right now. So is there anyone that is against the motion to remove the cushions at this time? Okay, so that's Richardson and Guller and Gibson. Okay, so that actually passes. okay so of the of the of the suite of menus that the menu that is had by by staff they would be

able to still choose all the other ones except for uh for that one okay councillor caton now did you still have the floor did you want to uh table anything else or are you good i i have a i have a few other related go for it if clerks could please oh okay we'll get them up on the screen sorry help an adhd counselor out uh thank you i appreciate you um so my my other motions are that staff be directed to remove existing speed cushions from bike lanes subject to uh sixty thousand dollars being added for this purpose through the 2027 budget confirmation process to allow this work to be completed without impacting other planned traffic calming work as outlined in the traffic calming policy and that city council respectfully requests the mayor add sixty thousand dollars to the 2027 capital budget funded by the tax levy to remove speed cushions from bike lanes and that staff be directed to review alternative methods of protecting against

driver behavior in areas where speed cushions and bike lanes coexist through 2026 and provide a report back to council in advance of the 2027 budget confirmation process with options and estimated costs for consideration so um i'm asking for just uh i'm just gonna ask if there's a seconder i see a hand counselor galler is willing to second so go ahead you can give us your spiel now thank you um so the the speed cushions that currently exist there is a number of them where they extend over the bike lanes. And I know that staff have put this in because it is recommended within the transportation manual that they abide by and that they're trying to basically account for driver behavior. But I think that other vertical measures or other methods would be more appropriate because similar to the speed cushions, There are a number of cyclists who use accessible bicycles, and we just can't pass. We can't use those bike lanes anymore because of those bumps. There are potential risks for small children who are not very good at balance trying to use the bike lanes.

And even seasoned cyclists, when they're going quickly, if they don't necessarily see them, then they're basically getting launched into space. So I think that we need to address that issue while in the remaining areas where speech cushions currently exist. Thank you. Questions and or comments on this other than the clerk? Yes. Through you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. I just want to clarify if the intention is that these are to be considered as amendments to the traffic calming policy. We still have the traffic calming policy itself as amended on the floor. I would view these as not an amendment. You are correct. Is there anybody that has amendments to the actual policy? You do, Councillor Gibson? No? Okay, then just wait a second. Okay, why is your hand up, Councillor Gibson? Did you want to jump in? I just don't want to jump ahead if you have something to say. Questions. Questions on the amendment? On any of the amendments. All right. Yep, no problem. Just one second. Councilor Keller, where are you going? Go ahead.

Your first question, Your Worship, my motion. I was hoping to make it as an amendment to the traffic coming policy. Councillor Caten, if you don't mind, I'm going to go to Councillor Gawler's amendment to the policy so we can wrap up the whole policy discussion and then I'm going to come back to this one okay okay okay are you good with removing then are you good with that happy to remove for now i think i saw galler you seconded right so you're good anybody on council want to challenge that everyone okay okay good so it's officially off the table councillor galler you have uh an amendment what i'm calling an amendment to the policy because it will determine how you vote on the entire thing and then once you're done we'll go back to we'll we'll actually call the vote on the policy. And then after that's done, we'll go back to Councillor Catons and then we'll wrap it up. Okay. So over to you, if we can have the amendment on the screen for Councillor Gawler, please.

Thank you, Your Worship. The traffic coming policy takes the list of streets that have been considered for traffic coming and narrows it down to 25. So this motion directs staff to maintain an active internal tracking registry of the approximately 200 streets that were previously scheduled for review under traffic coming, but did not qualify as the 25 prioritized locations under the 2026 traffic coming policy and that staff be directed to formally review these registered streets for alternate vision zero safety measures and report back to council annually via public facing communication detailing which alternative measures have been deployed to address speeding and volume concerns really what let me see if there's a seconder first. Claussen. Go ahead, Gawar. Thank you, Your Worship. And what this really adds to the traffic policy, which previously had said those 200 streets are out of scope because they did not meet the threshold in the new policy. This just ensures that they continue to be tracked internally by staff and that we have an annual reporting back to the community in public communications so that we can say

on a year-to-year basis these are the things that the city's doing to move forward the vision zero strategies so it just formalizes that at least once a year there's going to be communication to the community that updates everyone on how we are doing with implementing those other policies that fall outside the traffic coming policy to make sure that there is that reporting back to the community okay any questions on this i have one question on it but oh awesome i get to go first and last um so my question to the maybe the mover into staff feel free to jump in if you want to is could you just put the motion back up for me one more time i just wondered like do you need resources or funding for the 25? No, not for the 25. Where is it? Here.

Yeah, and that staff be directed to formally review these registered streets, 200 of them. So what does that mean for you? I guess I'm just trying to figure out what you need to do that. Through the mayor to the mayor. So it would all be sort of budget depending. We have about, I want to say off the top of my head, about $68,000 a year to conduct traffic studies in our operating budget. So once that money is used up, that's used up. And we've been telling people for years, like, you know, our budget's used up for this year, we'll collect data next year. So we would just sort of follow that process as requests come in. we would try to fulfill as many as we can within the budget we have and anything over and above that goes on our list for future years okay so i'm just trying to understand the scenario like logistically how this would play out so you have this 200 backlog and are you going to be reviewing based on councillor galler's motion the most the furthest one away that came in eight years ago

or are you starting in the middle or are you starting at the end the most recent request like are you going to go back to the first one and try to you're trying to catch up to the present i kind of would hope so but yes okay that makes me feel better and it makes me understand the motion a little bit better too um and and so how how do you how do you propose that we and the public would be informed on that annual basis it says it in the motion near the end but how is it an information report or is it through an actual report that comes to council every year how are you going to front face this to to the community and to council so through the mayor traditionally once a year we do sort of a road safety update and it talks about here's where warranted always stops are here's where warranted traffic signals pedestrian crossovers we also include that here's the streets were traffic calming this year so we we have been doing that work I'm happy to share previous versions of that work to refresh councils memory of what that looks like but it's work we we sort of already do and in speaking with the councillor it just sort of ensures

that work continues on a on a go-forward basis okay I feel like more clarity has helped me a little bit so thank you can i call the vote on on this one folks counselor chew and then we'll call the vote okay i apologize through you mr mayor pal i apologize if this is very obvious so you're going to do the 25 as per the policy and then if you have surplus capacity you do what's on the 200 is that correct through the mayor to councillor chu again we've got a couple buckets here so the formal traffic homing work we're committing to these 25 the these other requests would be reviewed and if there are other measures we can do that aren't sort of the formal because like traffic homing typically is the most resource and financially intensive so if we can find another quick solution that will help mitigate speeds on that street. We'll implement it. We won't lose track of them when we get done these 25. Then maybe we can go in and do something more. So I hope that clarifies that for you. Thank you.

Ann Bousatel. Thank you. I kind of have a related question to this because in the University of Guelph, the Guelph lab study, it says that the most marginalized areas of Guelph have had fewer traffic studies so if that's the input data in identifying the you know 25 and the 200 what happens to this queue kind of you know the marginalized areas have had fewer traffic studies so fewer opportunity to have traffic calming where do they fit in this queue is at the 25 then the 20 200 and then maybe get around to the priority neighborhoods Through the Mayor to Councillor Busatil. So the 25 prioritized streets, some of them will have fallen into equity deserving communities. We provided that information through the Council memo. The remainder that wouldn't have been proactively asking for data would likely be captured through that Road Safety Initiatives Fund. So they would be still traffic calmed, but just through a different funding source.

Last question. I'm sorry that I am calling the vote, everybody. um let's say you're going through the backlog of the 200 and you get to a review where it's not warranted there's nothing warranted at all would that still be at least listed in the annual report as well we went to this street we looked nothing warranted move on will that at least be identified uh through the mayor like historically we haven't sort of done that publicly we usually respond back to the resident copy the councillors yeah you know you asked us for this we studied it it's not warranted um if the desire is to formalize that on a list we can track it and we can report it the same as we sort of did in attachment one i think like it's not that much more work i would i would say that would be an interesting touch point for council to be aware of i don't think you have to put in every single street or something like that but even if it was just like we went to the backlog of 200, we did 20, 11 did not meet warrant, and then the nine are identified. Something like that I think would be interesting.

A data point because there is a lot of, we all know this, there's a lot of people that complain on these issues where there is nothing warranted. And so it would be interesting to see sort of the stat out of the 200 at some point to show where, you know, how much of this is actually just warranted or not. I think it would be an interesting point to have on the report. So, okay. I'm going to call the vote for Councillor Gallagher's motion. Is anybody against? Okay. So that's nobody. So thank you. That was the amendment to the policy. So now I am going to call the vote on the main motion as amended. Okay. Is there anybody else? Councillor Gibson, go ahead. Yeah, questions. Just clarity, just because I want to understand the full ramifications of our decisions tonight to staff. Speed pumps, or they will no longer be used in traffic calming measures anywhere in the city. I understand that. What becomes of the streets that have the traffic calming measures in place now? Will you be actively removing the speed humps from Downey, from Starwood, from everywhere they are in the city?

Because it's not a tool that we're permitting you to use anymore as part of traffic calming. Through the Mayor to Councillor Gibson, no. At this point, we will not be actively removing speed cushions that are on our city streets. Okay. My next question, when I get the phone call this summer from the neighborhood dad or the neighborhood mom saying, Dan, they're bypassing the construction on York Road or they're bypassing construction on the street and cars are coming down here 80 kilometers an hour. And they say, we need speed cushions. My response to them is that's no longer an option to slow cars down through your neighborhood. Is that correct? through the mayor to counselor gibson um it's a bit nuanced here so that's handled outside of our traffic calming policy we sort of do that to try to mitigate construction however based on the vote from council and the direction from council tonight i believe staff would be working under the assumption that those temporary rubberized speed cushions are not to be used as a temporary

measure to deter construction detour traffic unless we hear different from council tonight i think they're out so this is a very important piece for me we're not just talking about the 25 streets that you've identified for traffic calming or as a tool going forward we're actually talking about in all applications is staff's determination or interpretation. And this is important because, you know, it's the most important, it's shown to be the most effective tool we have. And we have construction season and we do get calls all the time to slow vehicles around college, York, Grange, Starwood. We have a lot of diverting that we do that we use this tool to slow people down. And these are usually through residential neighborhoods.

I guess my question is, can staff confirm that they will not be using these anymore in order to slow people down? Through the Mayor to Councillor Gibson. I think what you saw tonight was a policy-based decision that staff brought forward with their best professional advice, balanced on things like civic circles, community engagement, and a number of different interests. We acknowledge it's a challenge. The number one goal here was to keep the community roads as safe as possible through our Vision Zero work. That's what staff brought forward with the decision that Council made. I think it's very clear that you've asked us not to put those types of measures down, and so I don't think we would be doing that on a go-forward with respect to construction, temporary, or any other circumstance on a go-forward. Okay, so my comments are I have grave concerns. I have grave concerns that we've removed the best ability for our staff to protect neighborhood streets, specifically children-centric neighborhood streets, especially when we are

diverting traffic around active construction sites, to not have the primary mitigation tool in place to slow people down. This is one of the biggest phone calls I received during construction season is we need speed bumps. We need speed bumps. People are racing down our street. Someone's going to get hurt. Someone's going to get killed. And to say that we are no longer utilizing that tool as a public safety measure um i i have grave concerns and quite frankly counselor gibson may i just interrupt to see if i can maybe help you uh um and by the way you're not in the room here so i just i'm trying to capture some of the flavor of the of what's happening in the room here that you can't see so or experience so um would you consider um a motion that would allow for these as a temporary basis, like construction, detour, going through these side streets, just as you described. So it would be a differential between permanent versus temporary, which would give some direction to staff where, if necessary, in the situations as you've described

them, where there's these cut-throughs that are happening on these residential side streets due due to construction and such, that staff would have the ability, directed by Council, to use as temporary? As a way to salvage, I think, the credibility of this decision for Council, I would ask staff, help me with that. Because I haven't thought of it because I didn't foresee this motion passing. It's okay. This is a domino that's fallen immediately, and I'm trying to resolve. Yeah, I know that you are. That's okay. I know that you are because I can see that what you're expressing is your opinion based on whether or not you actually want to support the entire policy as amended. I won't be supporting the entire policy if we don't resolve something. Okay, and so I'm just trying to make sure that we move along procedurally here. If you want to try to resolve it, then you need to look at maybe making a motion that would give direction to staff to help with the ability to implement temporary speed cushions where necessary. I think staff would be the best to help formulate that language.

And staff are actually going to do that. And so as we allow staff to help with that wording, can I just look at staff? you're helping with that yes okay they're actually already actively working on on that motion for you so we are going to take a three minute break we're going to take a three minute break and and and uh and we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna take a three minute break okay we'll be right back

Thank you. Thank you.

Okay, how are we doing, staff? Maybe I'll ask my colleagues to put their cameras back on. I saw your hand for sure. Okay, I saw a flurry of hands start to go up and maybe even some commentary. I want us to be focused here, please. I'm getting a little frustrated. So Councillor Gibson has the floor. working on a motion which is about to go on the screen we need to deal with one thing at a time methodically okay so please let's follow this through let's get to the end whatever the end is but it starts right now with councillor gibson and a motion that's about to go on the screen

if there's a councillor that is in favor of what councillor gibson may agree with here then i need a seconder before we continue any further on the discussion on the item and or questions in regards to it okay so staff do we have that available to put up yet through you through you mr mayor i think staff are still working on a motion um just for a little bit of clarity what we're trying to work out is how to draft an amending motion that is not contrary to the direction to remove all speed cushions um that that can be done and perhaps my my colleagues and engineering and transportation services can help me out because construction sites are not specifically noted in the traffic calming policy. So we're endorsing the current practice of using those vertical measures in construction sites and we just need a little bit of time to make sure we get that wording in a way that isn't contrary. Okay. Hold on. Can I just jump in first and then I'll go right to you, do you mind? Thank you. If we are- okay, let's just settle this right now, I think, with this question.

Do staff need direction outside of the traffic calming policy in regards to anything to do with construction measures at all? Because if you say no, then we don't need to do a motion. To the mayor, I think we do need that direction. Currently, as the motions sit, it's saying speed cushions are not a tool. We recognize that as it relates to traffic calming policy but we take that pretty hard as saying is it would also not be a tool as it relates to construction projects. We are asking for clarification. Okay. Or direction. That's fine then. At least that's cleared up. I had a point of order from Councillor Downer. Go ahead. Well that was kind of it because these are temporary traffic like well just not to have traffic avoid those streets really so they're they're temporary they're not the same as traffic calming policy which we're going to be permanent so I do see it as different but I do see that staff need the direction from council to

create that clarity going forward you know particularly going into a new term and stuff like that so but I actually see it as a separate motion outside of the traffic calming policy and that we could pass the policy and then still do a separate motion stating this. This is sort of what because it's not part of the traffic calming policy and that's sort of what I feel we should do is to continue to keep it separate and and just say and that staff continue to act as another motion separate motion and that staff continue to use speed cushions as far as in regards to construction. Through the Mayor to Councillor Downer. Temporary speed. I use the word temporary speed, Christian. Through the Mayor to Councillor Downer, yes. We're happy with that. Yeah, I would agree and as the Chair I'm going to make a ruling here that this is exactly where my thought process is. It's outside of what we're voting on right now but related. and so it i think we need to still discuss and debate maybe that motion that councillor gibson is doing but it's separate from the policy that we're talking about right now so um so what i'm

going to do is i'm going to now make the decision to move forward with we have the main motion as amended okay so is there any commentary or questions related to the main motion as amended before I call that vote. And as soon as that vote is done, I will go to Councillor Gibson on the other issue that we were just talking about. Only Gawler. Okay, go ahead. Thank you, Your Worship to staff. Appreciating that traffic cushions have been room for the tool is one of the other tools available, traffic tables. And specifically, you mentioned that, for example, Alice Street, the only real tool to slow people down were the traffic cushions. failing that are traffic tables an option on those narrower streets? Through the mayor to Councilor Gow, every site is specific. It would be premature for me to answer that right now. I don't know. We have to go in and do that analysis. So specifically for that street, you'll have to, but in general, will we see traffic tables as one of the tools that is implemented for those 25 streets?

Through the merit of Councillor Gower, they're one of the 21 tools remaining in the toolbox. Okay. Thank you. Okay. I'm going to call the vote on the main motion as amended. Oh, sorry. Right before I do Councillor Gibson, and then I really need to call the vote on this, but you go ahead. It's fine. Thank you. I actually thought I had the floor about 10 minutes ago, but that's okay i'll continue with my commentary um i have i i remain concerned that we're removing this tool i think that i've heard from staff that they are going to leave the existing traffic calming structures that are in place on the streets that are are already treated so i think that that's positive moving forward it won't be a tool in our traffic calming measures but i'm hopeful that um the remaining tools that are at your disposal will continue to benefit the community so i just want my my comments on the record that i i don't i i don't agree with removing those things but the traffic calling policy in itself is a good piece of work from staff and so i'll be supporting it and i'm hopeful that the motion i introduce next will be supported as well great thank you counselor gibson i'm going to call the vote then on the main motion as amended is

Is anyone against? Nobody. So that's unanimous. Now I'm going to go to what I believe is the potential motion that will be coming up on the screen if seconded for Councillor Gibson. Now I have it in my inbox. It just came in. Did clerks get it as well? Through you, Mr. Mayor, we did. It has been rewritten slightly. Okay. Let Councillor Gibson read it and then see if there is a seconder for that. All right. Thank you. The use of temporary speed cushions when used related to construction detour mitigation be permitted. Is there a seconder for that motion? Yes. Gibson. I'm sorry, not Gibson. Galler. Okay. We'll second that for you. Thank you. Did you want to just apply on that before I call the vote? Thank you. I would love to expand. over the last 10 years, the York Road corridor here on Florence Avenue, every side street that you can think of throughout that corridor has been used like a checkerboard with these speed cushions to ultimately just save lives. There's so many streets and neighborhoods that have been used as bypasses to that construction that we've permanently, like we've intentionally

diverted people through neighborhoods, that these cushions were a primary tool to slow people down. Likewise, College Avenue right through the university neighborhoods. We have diverted so many times traffic around that College Avenue construction. And this is the primary tool that's being used. And quite frankly, I think the neighborhoods and the neighbors in those streets like them. I think they appreciate them when we put them in. And I think it's the first thing they ask for when they start seeing that diverted construction traffic. So I do appreciate staff working on the fly. I hope that it's a tool that we can keep in our toolbox because I do think it saves lives. I think it's a huge part of construction mitigation that, quite frankly, the community as a whole supports. Okay, thank you. Is there anything further on this? Okay, I'm just going to say, okay, Councillor Billings and then Kayden, and then I'll wrap it up. So through your worship to staff, it's been a while since I've gone over the temporary speed humps. So am I correct that they're not quite as jarring as the permanent ones with the pavement?

Through the Mayor to Council billing, I think most people would interpret those temporary rubber whereas cushions is far more aggressive than the permanent asphalt speed cushions. You're saying the temporary ones are worse? Yes. Okay. Okay, thanks. Well, wait a minute. One more then for you. We own these? We lease these? These temporary ones? and and regardless do they have do we have temporary ones that are more like a speed table instead of the hump through the merited council billings not at this time i'm not even sure if those are available i had to have to look into that okay okay thanks thanks at katon please Thank you. Through you to staff, will there be alternate routes that don't have them or will all detours have these temporary speed cushions? Is there going to be an alternate path for folks who have pain issues with them?

Through the Mayor to Councillor Caton, we always strive to ensure there's at least one route to every resident where you do not have to go over a vertical measure. There may be some aspects of the road network where that is not possible, but that historically has been our goal. Thank you. So, as long as there's going to be at least one accessible path throughout, then I'm fine with this motion and I will support. Thank you. Thank you. So what I was about to say there before I called the vote was I'm actually extremely glad that Councillor Gibson caught this. Extremely glad. I would never have thought of this. Yes, it's kind of separate and outside the policy, we understand, but I also understand the conflicting nature of where our staff are sitting. They're like, well, then do we or don't we? So they need this motion 100%. But Councillor Gibson is bang on in regards to what happens when we have those construction areas,

especially on main arterial roads, and it completely pushes everyone into those residential areas. So thank you. I just want to publicly say thank you, Councillor Gibson. Well, I can only speak for me, but if I had found out that this could have been an option tomorrow, I would have been like, oh, no. so um i'm really glad it was caught right now definitely supporting this okay so i'll call the vote is anyone against the temporary use for for our staff okay that's also unanimous i think that brings us to the end of this one i believe so yes did councillor katon have additional ones oh yeah about the removal on the bike lanes that's right sorry councillor katon yeah okay Okay, round two, go for it. Thank you. If clerks could just bring it back. I don't. Does anyone need me to reread these or? No. Okay, good. And Councillor Gawler is just so excited to second everything tonight. I'll just put you down Councillor Gawler to second everything. I hear you. Okay, so Councillor Gawler is going to second it for you Councillor Cain.

Thank you. So as staff mentioned, the removal wouldn't be immediate. It would just be like over time as a policy. But the bike lanes that are currently impacted in the couple of locations that we have, them are currently a barrier for those who are cycling and especially those who are accessible cyclists. So I think that we should make sure that we remove that. And free the path on Starwood so that all cyclists can now use those lanes and not have to break the law and go on the sidewalk and all of the other detours that people are doing currently. Okay. Does anyone have any questions on those three at all? Councilor Guller. Thank you, through your worship to staff. The word of the motion reads, questions but if there is a speed bump over a bike lane would that also be removed through the matter to Councillor Gauley yes if it is a speed bump within that bike lane we would remove it as well thank you thank you your worship

Yes, we're good. Okay, so it's clear. Gibson? Thank you. Do you mind just putting the motions back up? I have a question about excluding vehicles from, I know why the speed cushions are putting the bike runs to begin with, it's not the vehicles from sort of going around the cushion. So what are the tools that staff will be using to minimize the ability for cars to go around the speed cushions and just use the bike lane? I know that there's a specific reference there. What are the alternative methods that staff would be using? Are these, like, are they separated bike lanes by concrete block? Like, what are the tools that staff would be using? Through the mayor to Councillor Gibson, at the moment, that's a good question. I think each site needs to be considered what that alternative could be, which is why you see in motion three that we would have to go away and look at a design for each one of those locations.

In some cases, maybe a separated, you know, the temporary Jersey Bears or a poor curb or something like that may work, but that's also something we need to discuss with our operations team, our emergency services, other departments throughout the city as to what we would implement on breast practice there. okay thank you i i think i think my votes can be very similar to the first one i'd like to see this policy moving forward not going back and redoing i think so i'll be voting against these okay thank you with that i'll call the vote okay is anyone against these motions okay just gibson so that passes as well okay okay i think we're good for real this time all right all right perfect thank you to staff as well in the community that spoke out on this issue

we appreciate it and we're moving right along we have the complaint under section 32a is that four? I think it is of the business license bylaw we have one delegation Allison Thornton come on forward Allison and Allison Thornton is legal counsel for the city of Guelph and not to be all formal with you too much Allison but you have five minutes You'll hear a chime at 4 minute 30 second mark. Thank you very much Mayor Guthrie and I don't intend to make any formal submissions. We're in a kind of an unusual situation on this item. You have a business licensing appeal committee that has made a recommendation to Council. There was a full hearing with witnesses and a recommendation was made. I am appearing only for the limited purpose of entertaining any questions on the separate

letter that was submitted by the applicant appellant, so that if you have any questions about how that arises, someone can speak to it. Because it's not an ordinary item, normally you can ask questions of staff. I'm your staff if you have those questions. If you have no questions, I am very happy to return to my seat back in the gallery. Okay. I'm going to see if there's questions. There is not. Enjoy your seat. And with that, Councillor Busatil and Downer have indicated—oh, sorry, Billings, I know that you just put your hand up there. I just saw, so thank you. I know that we have three people at least that are willing to move in second. But Busatil and Downer, I did say that. So capture that for me. And with that, as moving in seconding the recommendation, which is that the private parking agent license application 25308946, as submitted by the applicant Pramila Nepali, be refused. May I call the vote?

Yes. Okay. all those against and that's nobody so that's unanimous in support thank you and we have the final one here which i'm going to head back to councillor uh caton as described on the agenda it is support for the canadian chinese heritage month and i'll turn the microphone over to councillor caton please uh and if i could just ask up front maybe it might be a easier uh was there a seconder for uh this one that you had lined up counselor katon or what can i look around the room is there anyone in the room that would like to second this one hauser hauser will second it so i'll just turn it right on over to you katon and you can read and describe what you have in front of us thank you if staff could thank you very much um i'm moving that that Guelph City Council supports United Against Hate Canada and the Guelph Chinese Canadian Cultural Group in their call to the federal government to champion a motion to create and recognize an annual Canadian Chinese Heritage Month, and that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Right Honourable Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, the Honourable Mark Miller,

Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, Dominique O'Rourke, MP for Guelph, and Michael Chong, MP for Wellington, Helton Hills. So I just want to acknowledge that the City of Guelph is a very diverse municipality, and I'm so proud of the work we've done on inclusion and equity in this term. We follow the federal schedule of heritage days and months, and while there is a federally recognized Asian Heritage Month, that designation covers an entire continental area with many cultures and countries. Chinese Canadians have a robust history of unique efforts in the creation of the railroad, communities, and businesses, as well as racially specific injustices from our government. Canada would not be what we are today without the contributions of the Chinese Canadians, and I am happy to support the work of United Against Hate Canada and the Guelph Chinese Canadian Cultural Group on the creation of a federal Chinese Heritage Month. As the province of Ontario made this change in 2024, it seems reasonable that the federal government should do the same so that the Chinese Canadians across the country get specific recognition for their past and continued efforts. I hope my colleagues will support my motion

and let Chinese Canadians and Guelph know that we celebrate them and support this request. Thank you. Thank you very much. Is there any questions to the mover? There is not. Is it okay if I call the vote on this one, everybody? looks like it so i'll call the vote then is anyone against this support motion nobody so that's unanimous as well thank you councillor katan and councillor karan has the luck of doing our bylaws for us tonight my favorite part of the night um moved by myself uh seconded by a councillor hauser that bylaws 2026 222115 2026 21234 2026 21236 2026 21238 and 2026 21239 be approved subject to section 284.114 of the municipal act thank you very much and is there anything on those bylaws anybody seeing and hearing none i will call the vote on the bylaws then is there anyone against

and that's nobody so that's unanimous as well i have no mayor's announcements which is again lucky for everybody and since council richardson was the only one that laughed on my joke you get to move adjournment thank you billings is going to second adjournment and i'm going to call the vote is anyone against a german nobody that's unanimous that means we're going home and then i'll make a driving joke drive safe okay and drive slow thank you very much

Thank you.