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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-11-074 - Proposed Square 2 Square Initiative1 I~~r;H~iv~R Staff Re ort p Camm unity Services Departm ent ~rw.k~~~~~r~erca REPORT T0: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: May 30, 2011 SUBMITTED BY: Keith Baulk, Director of Enterprise, 2393 PREPARED BY: Jeff Young, Manager of Special Events, 2388 WARD(S) INVOLVED: Ward 10 DATE OF REPORT: May 20, 2011 REPORT NO.: CSD-11-074 SUBJECT: PROPOSED SQUARE 2 SQUARE INITIATIVE RECOMMENDATION: That the plan for Square 2 Square (Car Free Sundays) as outlined in CSD-11-074 be approved; and, That funding for the first event on June 19t" 2011 be approved at a cost of $11,562.50 (City of Kitchener portion); and, That the program be funded as an over-expenditure from the tax-stabilization reserve account; and, That prior to approving additional Square 2 Square dates, an evaluation be conducted by staff following the June 19t" event with findings to be summarized in a report to Council on June 27t"; and further, That it be acknowledged this is a Joint Service project with the City of Waterloo. BACKGROUND: At the April 18, 2010 Council meeting, staff were directed to work with the City of Waterloo and the Region of Waterloo to develop a proposal for an "open streets initiative" to encourage walking and biking on some Sunday(s) in 2011. The proposed route was to be along King Street between Kitchener Civic Square and Waterloo Square. This plan has been referred to as the Square 2 Square initiative (S2S). Staff were given a deadline of May 30, 2011 to prepare a report for the Community and Infrastructure Services Committee meeting on the feasibility of the proposed initiative. The report was to identify issues and outline solutions to close King Street to cars between Kitchener Civic Square and Waterloo Town Square. In addition staff were asked to develop a budget and consider programming options. The City of Waterloo adopted a similar motion on March 21, 2011, directing their staff to undertake a review of the proposal. 17-1 1 Staff Report I~`r~.x~,ivER CommunityServicesDepartment www.kitchenerta REPORT: A project team was formed consisting of volunteers from the community, councillors and staff from the City of Kitchener, City of Waterloo and the Region of Waterloo (including officials from Waterloo Regional Police Services and Emergency Management Services). The project team met on five occasions to discuss the issues, develop solutions and create an implementation plan for the Square 2 Square initiative. In addition a number of internal City of Kitchener staff meetings have been held over the past several weeks in the preparation of the report. Staff from both cities have also drawn from their experience in closing King Street for parades and other events throughout the year to develop the plans for Square 2 Square. Noted below is an outline of the actions that have been undertaken to develop and implement the initiative: • The program has been proposed for the following four dates -June 19, July 17, August 14, and September 18 from 11am to 3 pm. • Staff has recommended that the June 19t" event serve as a pilot project for the program with July, August and September dates being implemented only after an evaluation is undertaken following the first event and approval is received from council at their June 27t" meeting. • The evaluation will be undertaken to determine the success of the event utilizing metrics such as attendance numbers, results of participant surveys, cost, operational effectiveness, etc. • The cost for the additional 3 dates (if approved) is budgeted at $34,687.50 ($11,562.50 per event). • For all four proposed dates King Street will be closed to traffic from Civic Square to Victoria Street, open to three lanes of traffic from Victoria Street to Union Street and closed to traffic from Union Street to Waterloo Square. • Detailed traffic control plans have been developed for the entire route to ensure the safety of motorists and participants. • Traffic control plans have been developed in conjunction with the Region of Waterloo, Regional Police Services, Waterloo Fire, Kitchener Fire, Waterloo Region Emergency Medical Services, Grand River Hospital and Grand River Transit (GRT). • Alternate routes have been identified to detour traffic from King Street and access to residences and businesses on each street intersecting with King Street is accessible from streets other than King Street. • Business and residential properties fronting King Street have alternate access or acceptable arrangements - door to door communication will occur with each property to communicate plans for the program. • Vehicular access to Grand River Hospital will be maintained by providing one east bound lane and two west bound lanes on King Street from Victoria to Union -this also serves any business operations that are open during the event on this portion of King Street. 17-2 1 Staff Report I~`r~.x~,ivER CommunityServicesDepartment www.kitchenerta • GRT will maintain their existing service with some alteration to routes. • All signalized intersections will be fully operational. Major intersections staffed by Waterloo Regional Police include King/Union, King/Victoria and King/VUater. • Guides will be positioned at the non major signalized intersections to remind participants they are required to obey traffic signals and the Highway Traffic Act at all times. Guides will be stationed on the sidewalk. • Cross streets with stops signs will be closed with barricades, allowing free movement of the participants along King Street between signalized intersections; advance signage on side streets will be provided so vehicles have an alternate route from streets other than King Street. Guides will also be positioned at these intersections. • Proposed programming in Kitchener will be focused from Civic Square to Victoria Street. Waterloo is still determining their approach to programming for the initiative. • Road inspections will be provided prior to each event. • A promotional plan for Square 2 Square is in development and could include media releases, signage, website, posters, social media and paid advertising to ensure the public is aware of the planned activities to maximize attendance. Staff have also identified there are some issues in executing Square 2 Square as follows: • For June 19 staff will have a limited amount of time to develop organized activities. However these activities are expected to increase for future dates of the initiative if approved. • There is a short time period to recruit and train volunteers -June 19 has been identified as the most immediate concern. • Police have identified a potential shortage of resources for the June 19 event (Father's Day) and a large Waterloo event -the 10K Classic Race -that is already scheduled. • All vendors participating in events within the City of Kitchener need to be treated fairly and equitability including their requirements for licensing: o Existing retail and restaurant operations will be encouraged to take advantage of the space in front of their establishments without the need for further regulation. If the operations of these businesses extend past the frontage of their business, enforcement will be implemented as required. o Vendors selling food will be required to provide all necessary documentation from the Regional Health Unit. o Contact information for vendors not selling food related products will need to be provided in the event of consumer inquiry post the event. • Approval is required for a Special Event Permit by both the City of Kitchener and Region of Waterloo (originating from the City of Waterloo) as per Region of Waterloo Special Events By-Law 05-076. 17-3 1 I~~r;H~iv~R Staff Re ort p Camm unity Services Departm ent ~rw.k~~~~~r~erca • On July 17 and August 14 there are large festivals (Ribfest and Kidspark) planned in Kitchener which will present challenges but staff feel can be overcome. Staff will work with each event to enhance the overall experience of both festivals and S2S. Police resources are also required for both events. • In reference to the attached Waterloo report regarding construction on Park Street between Union and Allen, it is indicated this work is not expected to be completed until June 30 (weather permitting). This will create alterations to Waterloo's plan at a cost to the City of Kitchener by changing and installing additional detour signage to Waterloo's road closure (this cost is included in the budget). ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: This initiative touches on various components of community priorities, including Quality of Life, Dynamic Downtown and Environment. By creating acar-free day between Waterloo Uptown and Kitchener Downtown, it will achieve these 3 community priorities for the event dates. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The estimated cost for the City of Kitchener's portion of the Square 2 Square initiative is $46,250 in 2011. There is no funding provided in the approved 2011 budget for this initiative, so this would result in a negative variance. Staff has recommended approving the first date (June 19t") event at a cost of $11,562.50 with approval of funding for the additional dates taking place following the evaluation of the June 19th event. A budget over expenditure would contribute to a deficit at year-end which would be funded out of the tax stabilization reserve fund. While there is sufficient room within the reserve fund in 2011 to accommodate this over expenditure, the reserve fund is projected to be depleted in 2012 based on the current level of annual transfer from the reserve fund to the operating budget. Proposed Budget for City of Kitchener (4 dates -June 19, July 17, August 14, September 18) Expense COK Costs Programming $ 10,000.00 StaffinglVolunteer Recognition $ 3,450.00 Traffic $ 24,000.00 Communications/Marketing $ 4,000.00 Police Services (3 in Kitchener) $ 4,800.00 Total $ 46,250.00 Cost Per Event $ 11,562.50 17-4 1 Staff Report I~`r~.x~,ivER CommunityServicesDepartment www.kitchenerta COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: In developing this report staff have met with members of the public and have held several internal meetings to discuss the planned initiative and to gather feedback. The community will continue to be involved in driving the success of the initiative moving forward. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Mike Selling, Acting Deputy CAO, Community Services Department 17-5 DATE: TITLE: C.A.O. __ _ May 11, 2011 THE CITYOF -= r ~~ e a REPORT: PWS2011-035 square2square -Car-Free Sundays WARD: PREPARED BY: Uptown Ward 7 Philip Hewitson FILE: DEPARTMENT: PWS Transportation ATTACHMENTS: CLEARANCE: Appendix `A' -square2square Outline COUNCIL: May 16, 2011 RECOMMENDATIONS: That the Council of the City of Waterloo approve report PWS2011-035 and: 1. Approve a pilot project in 2011 for four Car-Free Sundays at an estimated cost of $25,480 (City of Waterloo portion), which will close a portion of King Street to vehicles from Uptown Waterloo to Union Street, to be funded from Council's Budget Contingency Reserve; 2. Acknowledge this is a Joint Services project with the City of Kitchener, who will be considering a similar report on May 30, 2001, to close portions of King Street from Union Street to Downtown Kitchener; 3. Acknowledge that the City of Waterloo portion of the pilot project will still proceed in the event that Kitchener City Council does not approve the pilot project. EXECUTI VE SUMMARY: The Councils of the City of Waterloo and the City of Kitchener directed their respective staff to determine the feasibility of closing King Street or portions thereof from Uptown Waterloo to Downtown Kitchener and report back. The report attached as Appendix `A' outlines the findings of staff, the opportunities and challenges, the work remaining and the estimated costs. Staff are recommending moving forward with the pilot project of creating an `open streets' concept where portions of King Street will be closed to traffic and open to pedestrians, cyclists and other non-motorized forms of transportation for four Sundays in 2011: June 19, July 17, Aug 14 and Sep 18. APPROVALS General Manager Date Director Date Other Date Chief Financial Officer Date 17-6 PWS2011-035 square2square -Car-Free Sundays Page 2 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The estimated cost of the City of Waterloo portion of the square2square 2011 Pilot Project is $25,480 to be funded from Council's Budget Contingency Reserve (CBCR). The current amount in the CBCR is $151,000. After the funds for the pilot project are approved, the balance in the CBCR will be $125,520. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS: LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN: Links to Strategic Plan key areas include: 1. Our Living Environment- Focus on Transportation of all forms. 2. Healthy and Safe Community -Create an inclusive community; Enhance community safety neighbourhood engagement strategies; Promote recreation and culture opportunities for all. 3. Economic Vitality - Supporting a vibrant Uptown core; Implementing a tourist strategy. 4. Commitment to Excellence - Focus on effective community engagement. 5. Partnerships and Collaboration -Leverage community assets; Working collaboratively with other municipalities Submitted by: Signature Name: Philip Hewitson Position: Director, Transportation 17-7 Appendix `A' -Report PWS2011-035 square2square Pilot Project (Car-Free Sundays) Page 3 Introduction Car Free Sundays are programs where the streets are opened to people and closed to cars. People traffic replaces car traffic, and the streets become "paved parks" where people of all ages, abilities, and social, economic, or ethnic background can come out and improve their mental, physical, and emotional health. The streets become places that allow people to walk, bike, dance, skate, and do just about any physical activity in public spaces that are always there but are normally reserved solely for the use of automobiles. An added benefit of Car Free Sundays is that they allow people to discover how easy and convenient it is to reach places by walking and cycling when safe facilities are provided. Ciclovia is the Spanish word for "bike path" and is now used worldwide to describe a temporary closing of a street (or streets) to automobiles and open them to people. It is estimated that since 2008, over 800 cities have held Ciclovias at least once per year and as often as sixty times per year. Bogota, Columbia is credited with the original Ciclovia that began in the 1970's and has evolved to include over 120km of car-free streets with over 2,000,000 participants every Sunday and holiday. Background On March 21, 2011, City of Waterloo Committee of the Whole passed the following motions, which were approved by Council on April 18: 1. That under the auspices of the Joint Services Committee, Council direct staff to work towards an `open streets initiative' with their Kitchener and Regional counterparts and report back to Council on the feasibility by May 16, 2011; and 2. that the staff report identify options for a viable way to open King Street to pedestrians, cyclists and businesses on Sundays commencing this summer. The City of Kitchener Council adopted similar motions at their meeting of April 18, 2011. A Project Team of volunteers, councillors and staff from the City of Waterloo, the City of Kitchener and the Region of Waterloo (including officials from Waterloo Region Police Services and Emergency Management Services) have met to discuss, develop and implement a pilot project for a Ciclovia Kitchener-Waterloo in 2011. This project has been named "square2square" to identify the proposed route on King Street from the public square in Uptown Waterloo to the public square in front of City Hall in Downtown Kitchener, a distance of 2.7km. The Waterloo Uptown Uaterloo BIA has requested that the route be extended north to King and Central Streets in Waterloo to include all their members, and the Downtown Kitchener BIA has requested that consideration be given to extending the proposed route to the Kitchener Market at King and Cedar Streets. The portion from Willis Way to Central Street in Waterloo will add about 0.7km, and the portion from Kitchener City Hall to the Kitchener Market will add about 1.1 km for a total length of 4.5km. Challenges The Project Team has considered many of the challenges in developing this program and have developed a plan outline to address these challenges. Some of the Challenges have been addressed and others continue to be identified and most will be addressed either prior to the initial sgaure2square. Some will be unforeseen, and to reduce the risk associated with the foreseen and the unforeseen, there 17-8 Appendix `A' -Report PWS2011-035 square2square Pilot Project (Car-Free Sundays) Page 4 will be trained staff and volunteers in each block of the route to act as guides and to call in assistance if required . The four Sundays for the square2square pilot project in 2011: June 19 July 17 Aug 14 Sep 18 Staff from the two cities have drawn from their experience in closing King Street for parades and other events in developing the plans for square2square. The following is an outline of the challenges and solutions with respect to the proposed route: • Develop detailed traffic control plans for the entire route, ensuring safety for motorists as well as the participants of square2square; • Undertake consultation and review the traffic control plans with Waterloo Region Police Services, Waterloo Fire, Kitchener Fire, Waterloo Region Emergency Medical Services, Grand River Hospital; • Ensure that adequate alternate routes are available to detour traffic from King Street, and that access to each street intersecting with King Street is accessible from streets other than King; • Ensure business and residential properties fronting on King Street have alternate access or acceptable arrangements (door to door canvassing of each property will occur; • Provide vehicular access to Grand River Hospital by maintaining a minimum of a travel lanes in each direction at all times on King Street from Union Street to Victoria Street; this also serves any business operations that are open during the event on this portion of King Street; • All signalized intersections south of Victoria Street and north of Union Street will be closed to vehicles on King Street but open to through traffic on the cross streets, creating less disruption than a parade and requiring police presence only at major intersections. Vehicles on the cross streets will be controlled by the traffic signals and pedestrians and vehicles on King Street will also be controlled the traffic signals as well. Guides will be stationed at these intersections to remind particpants they are required to obey the traffic signals as well; • Cross streets with stop signs will be closed with barricades, allowing free movement of the participants along King Street between signalized intersections; advance signage on the side streets will be provided so vehicles have alternate entry and exit from streets other than King Street; • square2square will be well publicized by media releases, signage, websites, social media, posters and paid advertising to ensure the public is notified and to generate maximum participation; • For all four dates, King Street will be open to a minimum of two lanes of traffic from Union Street to Victoria Street; • On June 19, King Street will be closed to vehicles in Waterloo from Erb Street to Union Street, and in Kitchener from Victoria to City Hall; • For the other three dates, the full closure of King Street will be extended from Erb to Central Street in Waterloo and from City Hall to Cedar Street in Kitchener. • Signalized cross streets in Waterloo: Central Street Bridgeport Road Erb Street William Street Allen Street 17-9 Appendix `A' -Report PWS2011-035 square2square Pilot Project (Car-Free Sundays) Page 5 Union Street • Although Willis Way is signalized, it will be closed at the entrance to the Parkade just west of Regina Street, and at Caroline Street (with local access only to the parking lot entrance just west of King St.) • Stop controlled cross streets in Waterloo: Spring Street Young Street Princess Street Dupont Street George Street John Street • On June 19, there are two other events that present additional challenges but staff feel can be overcome with advance signage on King Street at Weber and at Columbia, detouring through traffic to Weber Street: - Park Street may still be under construction and closed from Allen Street to John Street; - and the 10K Classic Race which requires the following road closures from lam to noon: Seagram Drive, Lester from University to Seagram, Westmount from University to Columbia limited to one lane in each direction; and University will be closed from Phillip to Westmount from gam to noon For June 19, staff will have limited opportunity to develop organized cultural and recreational activities, but expect to facilitate these opportunities for future dates in the pilot project; However, the spontaneity and innovation of the community will be encouraged and fostered and allowed to take part within the public spaces created by the road closures; • New Vendor permits will not be encouraged nor required for this pilot project; we would encourage existing retail and restaurant operations to expand onto the space on the sidewalk in front of their establishments without any need for additional regulation; if these operations extend past the frontage of their establishments, and enforcement will be implemented as required. Estimated Costs Table 1 lists the estimated costs for all four dates of the Pilot Project in 2011, broken down by category For the City of Waterloo (June 19, July 17, Aug 14, Sep 18): Table 1 -Draft Budget for square2square Pilot Project Based on 4 dates in 2011: June, July, August and September Expense Category City of Waterloo Costs Total Programming expenses $8,600 Total City Traffic Costs $10,000 CommunicationslMarketing $4,000 Policing - 3 Officers in Waterloo, 3 in Kitchener $2,880 GRAND TOTALS $25,480 17 - 10 Appendix `A' -Report PWS2011-035 square2square Pilot Project (Car-Free Sundays) Page 6 City of Kitchener costs per kilometre are similar to those of the City of Waterloo. Human Resources The success of this pilot project is dependent upon many committed volunteers in addition to the several key stakeholders that have participated in developing the plan. Here is an outline of the organization: Co-Directors -Councillors Durrell and Dan Glenn-Graham Assistant Director & Chief of Operations -Phil Hewitson Operations Co-ordination -John McBride, Phil Hewitson Community Volunteer Recruitment -Mary Thorpe Events Staff Co-ordination and Training -Jim Bowman, Jeff Young Some details are still in process such as: • Recruit Task Leaders • Detailed Task Lists and Volunteer Assignments Several people have played a key role to birth this pilot project and develop it thus far. The key stakeholders and drivers for the square2square pilot project are: • Melissa Durrell, Waterloo Councillor, Ward 7 • Dan Glenn-Graham, Kitchener Councillor, Downtown Ward • Jeff Young, Manager of Special Events, City of Kitchener • Jim Bowman, Director of Culture and Community Services, City of Waterloo • Mary Thorpe, Manager of Volunteer Services • John McBride, Director of Traffic and Parking, City of Kitchener • Stephanie Brasseur, Traffic Project Co-ordinator, City of Kitchener • Sgt. Scott Diefenbaker, Waterloo Region Police Services This report was prepared by the undersigned in consultation with and co-operation of the above. Philip Hewitson Director, Transportation 17 - 11