HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-13-087 - Curb Faced Sidewalk Snow Loading Analysis
REPORT TO:
Community & Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING:
September 30, 2013
SUBMITTED BY:
Jim Witmer
Director of Operations (519-741-2600, ext. 4657)
PREPARED BY:
Scott Berry
Manager of Maintenance (519-741-2600, ext. 4526)
WARD(S) INVOLVED:
All
DATE OF REPORT:
September 24, 2013
REPORT NO.:
INS-13-087
SUBJECT: CURB FACED SIDEWALK SNOW LOADING ANALYSIS
RECOMMENDATION:
For Information Only
BACKGROUND:
In a meeting held April 23, 2013 with Councillor Glenn-Graham as well as By-Law and
Operations management, the current challenges around sidewalk winter maintenance
particularly in areas with curb faced sidewalk was discussed.
It was agreed a staff report would be brought forward discussing possible options and
associated costs in relation to increasing the priority for snow loading road sections where curb
faced sidewalk is present.
Ontario Regulation 239/02 Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways (MMS)
state that the minimum standard on class 1, 2 or 3 roads is to provide a minimum lane width of
the lesser of three metres for each lane or the actual lane width.
During typical winter road plowing activities it is common for snow accumulation to be
windrowed by the plow at the curb. Over subsequent smaller snow accumulations or a single
significant snow accumulation this windrow will be stored on the boulevard behind the curb as
the plow operator attempts to keep the roadway passible in terms of required width. Where a
significant boulevard width is present, (i.e. greater than 1 metre) there is substantial storage
space for snow to be placed from the roadway or the sidewalk. However where this boulevard
space is not significant (i.e. less than 1 metre) or as in the case with curb faced sidewalk where
storage space is non-existent, the ability for the Operations Division to keep the road width
adequately cleared is severely hampered without filling in the adjacent sidewalk. The same
holds true for property owners attempting to clear sidewalks when no storage space exists on
the boulevard and in many cases the snow is pushed back onto the road. This scenario is
repeated until such time as snow in this area can be loaded onto trucks and removed.
The current level of service and related priority for snow loading road sections is generally as
follows:
1) the downtown core
IF 1 - 1
2) regional roads and city arterial roads where lane widths are reduced due to required
snow storage
3) collectors and local streets where lane widths are reduced due to required snow storage
Snow loading commences as soon possible either to reactively remove snow as snow storage
runs out and lane widths decrease or wherever possible to proactively remove snow to ensure
snow storage is available prior to the next snow accumulation.
Loading snow is a very expensive activity regardless of the option to melt or place at a snow
dump because of the significant pieces of equipment involved and potentially long haul
distances depending where in the city we are working. Moving through all the locations that
need to be snow loaded throughout the city is a very time consuming process.
From 2008 to 2012 the Operations Division spent an average of $510,000 per year loading and
melting snow including snow dump activities. Snow loading crews get through the city an
average of twice per winter.
While associated costs are obviously a major factor in providing this service, another significant
issue is the ability of the city to free up resources to provide the service in the first place. The
staff and equipment required for loading snow is the same staff and equipment in most cases as
is required to maintain the roadways through plowing and salting activities. Should these
priorities conflict significant substantial external contracted resources are required to deliver
both activities.
REPORT:
For the purpose of identifying road sections that could potentially receive a higher level of
service the following criteria was used:
1) curb faced sidewalk is present or boulevard width was less than 1 metre
2) minimum number of lanes of the roadway being plowed to a single curb is 2
Based on the criteria above staff has identified approximately 40 km of potentially prioritized
areas for snow loading on Regional Roads and an additional 68 km on city roadways.
The option explored within this report would be to reprioritize road sections snow loaded such
that any road sections meeting the above criteria would have snow loading commenced within 1
week of a Snow Event with the expectation that these areas would be completed within
approximately 5 weeks with 1 crew or approximately 2.5 weeks with 2 crews.
Either of these scenarios may require substantial external contractor resources hired to
complete this work in addition to city resources.
Knowing we have an average of 5 snow events per winter, and currently on average we load
the city twice per winter, the proposed increased level of service would see the identified
locations snow loaded on average an additional 3 times per year by city forces or contractor
equipment and staff if required at an estimated additional cost of $250,000 to $300,000 per time
or $750,000 to $900,000 per year. The range in estimate is based on the potential need to use
substantial external contracted resources.
IF 1 - 2
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
By offering a higher level of service related to snow loading adjacent to curb faced sidewalk this
initiative has the potential to contribute to quality of life by increasing accessibility to our
residents.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
This increased level of service would have associated costs of approximately $750,000 to
$900,000.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
Council may consider engaging the public on this initiative as part of the 2014 budget process.
CONCLUSION:
While it is desirable to deliver the highest levels of services to residents of the City of Kitchener,
associated costs need to be considered along with the ability of the corporation to fund the
services being delivered.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY:
Pauline Houston, Deputy CAO, Infrastructure Services
IF 1 - 3
IF 1 - 4