HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-12-054 - Otto Street Surface Reconstruction - Funding AllocREPORT TO:Committee of the Whole
DATE OF MEETING:
June 25, 2012
SUBMITTED BY: Steve Allen, Manager, Engineering Design & Approvals,
519-741-2584
PREPARED BY:
Sharon Daniel, Project Manager. 519-741-3400 x 3030
WARD(S) INVOLVED:
10
DATE OF REPORT:
June 20, 2012
REPORT NO.: INS 12-054
SUBJECT: Otto Street Surface Reconstruction – Funding Allocation
RECOMMENDATION:
That additional funding be allocated to the Otto Street surface reconstruction project from
the following sources:
Downtown Improvements$30,720.00
Urban Design Improvements$50,000.00
Civic Centre Parking Garage$30,124.00
Transportation Services $37,511.00
Annual Road Resurfacing Program$5,800.00
Storm Water Utility$59,735.00
Centre in the Square$11,232.50
BACKGROUND:
As part of the City of Kitchener’s ongoing efforts to improve the transportation network within the
downtown area and upgrade infrastructure which has reached the end of its useful life, the City is
extending Otto Street by incorporating and realigning the existing Otto Street right-of-way and the
current laneway to Queen Street. The intent is to open a complete public roadway between
Frederick Street and Queen Street North in order to improve connectivity. Expansion to the
Kitchener Public Library and Centre in the Square will result in more vehicle trips to the area and a
need to improve traffic flow. The new road connection must balance the demands of vehicular traffic
with an effort to make the area more walkable and safe for pedestrians. Extending Otto Street will
enable the proper control and maintanence of Otto Street and ensure safer and smoother flow of
traffic. To facilitate this need, the City completed a Schedule B Class Environmental Assessment in
order to ensure public participation. The EA report and recommendations was accepted by the
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Community & Infrastructure Services Committee on November 28, 2011 and ratified by Council on
December 5, 2011. The EA was filed with the Ministry of the Environment on February 13, 2012.
Infrastructure upgrades, including complete surface restoration to current City standards, have been
considered as part of the study. The surface reconstruction will include realignment of the road and
associated storm sewer, relocation of sanitary sewers, installation of new curb and gutter,
replacement of the asphalt roadway, streetscaping features, improved streetlighting, and the
installation of new sidewalk and connections to neighbouring points of interest (new garage, Centre
in the Square, The Kitchener Public library).
REPORT:
The Engineering budget for the surface reconstruction of Otto Street was established in the Fall of
2011. During the subsequent EA and detailed design, additional stakeholder requirements were
identified, leading to an expansion of overall project scope. A significant impact was the need to
realign the road as identified during the EA. In addition to cost related to the realignment, additional
elements (funded by other departments) were identified, adding to the overall project scope. An
explanation of each particular item and proposed funding is listed below.
Project Scope Increases and General Cost Increases (please refer to Table 1):
Increased scope - additional optional streescaping elements – Item A and B
Otto Street is the primary entrance to Centre in the Square, the region's premiere performance
venue. It is also the central roadway through the Civic District. As identified in the Downtown
Kitchener Action Plan, the City will be developing a master plan for the potential redevelopment of
City-owned lands/parking lots along Otto Street as a future mixed use urban neighbourhood
focused around the arts. As such, it is critical that Otto Street offer an enhanced pedestrian
experience. As a result, and at the request of Economic Development and Planning, additional
optional streetscaping elements were added during the design stage of the project. Both
departments contributed funds from existing budgets for the requested enhancements to the
project’s streescaping elements. These enhancements will potentially take the form of decorative
seat walls at the limits of the project (Frederick street and Queen street). These items are included
in the tender to receive competitive pricing, however the decision to implement them will be made
shortly after construction begins. The cost for this work was not included in the original engineering
budget. The quantity of seat walls was reduced during tendering to adhere to the contributing
sections’ budgets.
Adjacent parking lot adjustments and improvements – Item C and D
To facilitate the alignment approved through the EA, adjacent parking lot 19 (surface parking for the
Civic Centre Parking Garage), parking lot 14 (at the corner of Frederick street and Otto Street) and
the Canada Revenue Agency will be impacted and require moderate reconfigurations. While some
of this work is a direct result of the road project, additional paving and reconfiguration is being
completed at the same time. Transportation planning is providing funding for these improvements.
Centre in the square requests – Item F
During discussions with Centre in the Square which fronts onto Otto street, a request was made to
the City to relocate a sanitary manhole that was deemed to be in conflict with future expansion
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opportunities for this facility. The City has agreed to split the cost of this relocation and share half
the cost.
Higher than anticipated costs in general for the Otto street tender have required an analysis of other
funding options (please refer to Table 1)
Storm Utility contribution (Item G) –
The engineering funding for Otto Street and any other surface reconstruction does not typically
have funding contributions from the storm utility as minor adjustments to the storm network as a
result of alignment and profile changes are considered incidental to the work. In the case of Otto
Street, due to the realignment, the extent of storm work is significant enough to justify the use of
storm utility funding. The storm relocations were anticipated when the original budget was
established but the full amount was not accounted for in the construction budget.
Transportation Planning contribution (Item D) –
The adjustment or reconfiguration of roadway lighting, as with storm network adjustments, is
typically incidental to the road works. In the case of Otto Street, due to the extension of street and
opening it as a public right of way, new lighting is required along the full length of the street. The
existing lighting is adequate for the existing purpose of the road but not for the proposed extension
reconfiguration due to safety reasons. Therefore a contribution from existing Transportation
Planning budgets is being proposed to fund the streetlighting.
Roads Program Contribution (Item E)
The majority of Engineering’s original funding for the Otto Street project is derived from the Road
Resurfacing Program. In order to address the projected deficit in the Otto Street project, additional
funding from the Roads Program is being proposed. A surplus is projected in the Road Resurfacing
Program due to surpluses projected in one other surface reconstruction project completed in 2011
(Woolwich Street) as well as a small surplus in the annual paving program.
Table 1:
Item Amount Reason
A Transfer from Downtown $30,720.00 Inclusion of seat walls
Improvements (streetscaping feature)
B Transfer from Urban Design $50,000.00 Inclusion of seat walls
Improvements (streetscaping feature)
C Transfer from Civic Centre Parking $30,124.00 Inclusion of surface parking to the
GarageCivic Center Parking garage
D Transfer from various $37,511.00 Streetlighting and resurfacing of
Transportation services accounts parking lot at the corner of
Frederick Street and Otto Street
E Transfer from Annual roads program$5,800.00 Address remaining shortfall in
funding
F Centre in the square (to be invoiced $11,232.50 50% cost of the relocation of the
directly)sanitary sewer on the road
G Storm Water Utility $59,735.00 Cost for the relocation and for new
storm sewer on the road
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FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
See “Report” section
CONCLUSION:
N/A
ACKNOWLEDGED BY:
Cynthia Fletcher, Interim Deputy CAO
Infrastructure Services Department
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