HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-15-044 - Snow Disposal Site Selection Report Staff Reporrt
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REPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: September 21, 2015
SUBMITTED BY: Greg Hummel, Interim Director of Operations
PREPARED BY: Dan Locke, Manager of Sewers, Traffic and Operational
Support, 519-741-2600, ext. 4517
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All Wards
DATE OF REPORT: September 9, 2015
REPORT NO.: INS-15-044
SUBJECT: Snow Disposal Site Selection Report
RECOMMENDATION:
That funding of $1,900,000 be allocated from the Development Charge Recovery
reserve fund through the 2016 budget process to provide for the design and
implementation of a Snow Disposal Site at 1585 Battler Road.
BACKGROUND:
Snow Removal
Municipalities must move/remove any encroaching snow before lane widths fall below
the prescribed standard road widths for all their roadways. This is mandated by the
provincially legislated minimum maintenance standards (Reg. 239/02; Section 4 — Snow
Accumulation).
Under Section 4 of these standards, the following is the minimum standard that forces
the City of Kitchener to load snow-
(i) to provide a minimum lane width of the lesser of three metres for each lane or the
actual lane width, or
(ii) on a Class 4 or Class 5 highway with two lanes, to provide a total width of at least
five metres. O. Reg. 46/13, s. 4.
The City of Kitchener ensures adherence to these minimum maintenance standards for
its own roads as well as all Regional roads within its boundaries through the Regional
Maintenance contract.
There are a number of existing conditions that requires that snow be hauled to a
disposal site. See illustration 1 below which geographically shows the first five condition
areas.
***This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
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ILLUSTRATION 1I - SNOW L ICS II G AREAS
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The sixth condition area can exist anywhere in the city but is more prevalent at corners
that have additional turning lanes that impact the adjacent boulevard storage area.
Conditions/ Locations Requiring Snow Loading
1. The Downtown core where there is very little storage for snow and the
presence of snow is not conducive to a vision of vibrancy and accessibility.
2. Narrow residential streets with very little snow storage area.
3. Curb faced sidewalk streets that become restricted due to typical snow
accumulations and may limit emergency vehicle access or may restrict sidewalk
widths.
4. Subdivision properties that have inadequate boulevard storage space to
handle snow accumulated from roadways, driveways, and sidewalks. Most new
subdivisions fall into this category.
5. Key arterial roads (especially 4-lane roads) that have inadequate boulevard
space to store the snow plowed/shoveled from roadways, driveways, and
sidewalk.
6. Street corners and intersections where snow accumulations result in
restricted traffic sightlines.
The need for an appropriate and adequate Snow Storage Disposal Facility (SSDF) is
clearly made by provincial legislation that imposes Minimum Maintenance Standards
(MMS), which limits the amount of snow that is allowed to remain on or beside a
municipality's roadways and intersections. Should the amount of snow exceed the
minimum standard, it is expected that the municipality remove that snow. Failure to do
so has certain risks that must be understood so that an informed decision is made. The
risks associated are increased safety hazards to vehicles/operators, pedestrians due to
sight line restrictions, potential challenges for first responders to access narrowed
streets during emergencies and a heightened risk of litigation against the Municipality.
Over the past four years, Kitchener has seen an increase in winter snow fall
accumulations. This increase forces the City to haul more snow to make roads safe and
accessible. The winter of 2014 dumped enough snow, that over 15,000 tandem dump
truck loads (200,000 cubic meters) were piled at the rental property at 75 Ardelt Place,
Graber Place Hydro lands, and was melted at Bramm Street.
Current and Past Snow Disposal Sites
Snow disposal sites are an integral part of winter maintenance. Although not specifically
mentioned within the Ontario Minimum Maintenance Standards, snow removal from
streets, corners and boulevards is a necessary activity to address the minimum
maintenance standards.
Prior to the last 10 years, the City of Kitchener's snow disposal site was located on
Hanson Avenue until these lands were converted into the Activa Sportsplex now on
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Lennox Lewis Boulevard. Since that time the City has been challenged to find a
permanent solution to the disposal of snow from its roadways. The Hanson lands were
large enough to serve the community's snow disposal needs.
Snow disposal sites have been relocated over the years as valuable site locations have
been changed to meet the needs of the community. Two examples include the Hanson
Avenue site for an arena location and Homer Watson Boulevard for the creation of
Meinzinger Park soccer fields. Some of these locations met the needs for other
amenities or the environmental impact from salt or sediment warranted a change of
location.
Staff has explored a SSDF partnership with the Region of Waterloo. Unfortunately due
to hauling distances and land procurement financial constraints these options were not
deemed viable. Staff has also delved into the world of snow melting equipment.
Although snow melting has served its purpose for the City, as it has given the City some
added capacity through the winters, it has been found to be a time consuming process
that is very costly and certainly with rising fuel costs likely to continue to be a very costly
option for the large volumes that will be seen in the long term. The City has however
been able to minimize travel distance for hauling snow where the noise created by the
melting process diesel engine does not adversely impact the neighbourhood. Snow
melting helps when Kitchener experiences large volumes of snow, but hauling to a snow
disposal site and allowing natural melting to occur would be the more cost efficient
option.
Although the City was able to negotiate a lease extension on the 1.2 acres used as a 24
hour snow dump site on the 75 Ardelt Place property to July 31, 2016, the current
owners have given notice that this land will not be available past that date. This will
affect Operation's ability to remove snow during the overnight hours which is when the
downtown areas and arterial road snow removal activities are performed. The snow
loading activities are performed during night time hours to minimize the vehicular and
pedestrian conflicts and to maximize operational efficiencies, while maintaining
community and worker safety. Note that this property is only able to handle the snow
accumulations of a very light winter and is simply is not large enough on its own to
handle even an average winter's snow accumulations.
REPORT:
A snow disposal site is an immediate need for the City of Kitchener.
The following sites are currently used for snow disposal:
1. 75 Ardelt Place (pending loss of the 1.2 acres lands effective July 31, 2016)
(regardless, it's too small to meet our entire needs at present)
2. Hydro lands on Graber Place (restricted to daytime use only)
3. Snow melting at Bramm St Yard (upper yard 0.7 acres) (to be redeveloped by
Economic Development, as soon as possible)
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Note that the currently used Graber lands would be available on a contingency basis to
ensure that the City has a large enough foot print to handle snow accumulations in an
extremely heavy winter season. Graber Place would be utilized as a last resort and
restricted to daytime use only and its use would have no financial impact. The lands
would also continue to be used as a snow dump by Kitchener Wilmot Hydro.
Given the current snow disposal locations are rapidly becoming unavailable, i.e., loss of
leased land at Ardelt, redevelopment of Bramm Street melting location and reduced
time at Graber, it leaves the City vulnerable to not being able to meet the MMS as early
as the 2016-2017 winter season. This is a real concern as delaying the implementation
of a Snow Disposal Facility that meets the community's needs leaves the Corporation at
risk to claims should the streets fail to be maintained to the MMS.
Although an Environmental Assessment (Schedule "B" or "C") process is not required
for this project, a similar scrutiny of review was followed for the site selection evaluation
process.
Site Selection Options
Currently, the following options/sites are being investigated-
1. Do nothing
2. 131 Goodrich Drive, KOF
3. 1585 Battler Road Yard
4. Strasburg Road
5. 59 Graber Place
6. 400 East Avenue, The Aud.
Please see the attached MTE report on SSDF which also refers to all sites that have
been investigated or considered. The following is a summary of the Appendix B -
Evaluation Matrix.
Evaluation Criteria Summary Chart
OPTION OPTION OPTION OPTION
EVALUATION 1 2 OPTION 3 OPTION 4 5 6
CRITERIA Do Goodrich Battler Strasburg Graber Kitchener
Nothin Drive Road Road Place AUK
NATURAL ENVIROhaIf4AeNT
Scorax e 4 15 16 14.5 175 22
25 M
Rank 6th 4th 3rd 5th 2nd 1 st
SOCIAL i CULTURAL
Score O.5 20 17 13 4 7S
20 Max
Rank 5th 1 st 2nd 3rd 5th 4th
ECCVN''YMIC I FINANCIAL
Score S 9 is 10.5 1.5 5
15 Max
Rank 6th 3rd 1 st 2nd 4th 5th
LEGAL,(JURISGIICTICNAL
Score 2 9 8 6 3 8
1 O Max
Rank 6th 1 st 2nd 3rd 5th 4th
TECHNICAL
Score 8 15 20 20.5 15.5 9.5
(25 Max)
Rank 5th 3rd 2nd 1 st 4th 5th
OVERALL
SCORE 19.5 68 76 64.5 41.5 52
(95 MAX)
RANK 5th 2nd 1 st 3rd 5th 4th
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The Summary Chart ranks the Battler Road site as having the best overall fit for a snow
storage disposal site. Therefore based on the MTE investigative report staff are
recommending that the land on 1585 Battler Road be redeveloped into a permanent
location for an environmentally responsible engineered Snow Storage Disposal Facility.
For detailed information regarding the site selection criteria please see Appendix B -
Evaluation Matrix in the attached MTE technical report.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
An Engineered Environmentally responsible SSDF site meets several of the key points
with the City's Strategic Plan. Firstly, it meets the intent of the environment priority by
incorporating a snow disposal strategy that is mindful of environmental sensitivities that
are real concerns within Kitchener's ecological system. Second and thirdly it supports
the intent of the Neighbourhoods and Transportation priorities; by removing the snow
accumulations a safer, more accessible neighbourhood is able to exist promoting a
community of wellbeing while allowing ease of navigation by vehicles and pedestrians.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
SSDF Preliminary Cost Estimate for Preferred Site Battler Road
Table 1 below is an excerpt from the MTE report that provides details on the physical
elements and a corresponding high level cost estimate for the development of a SSDF
in the City of Kitchener. The information provided in Table 2 is based on a review of
Best Management Practices (BMP) documents and meetings with local and provincial
agency representatives.
Note, the items listed in this table are considered essential and would be required
regardless of the location. A price range has been provided to account for site
uncertainties such as proximity to, and access to existing infrastructure (i.e. outlets,
services, etc.) and access roads. The range is of $2.4 to $3.1 million which is consistent
with other municipalities that have development and constructed engineered SSDFs.
TABLE 1: SNOW STORAGE DISPOSAL FACILITY COST ESTIMATE
Item Description Cost Estimate
No. I Low I High
1 Melt Pad Area (25,000 m2 or 240,000 m3 snow storage at 10 m max
height)
1.1 Asphalt surface $900,000
1.2 Impermeable liner $500,000
Total Melt Pad Area $1,400,000
2 Meltwater Collection System and Treatment (Treatment Train
Approach)
2.1 Oil Grit Separator $100,000
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2.2 Storm/Sanitary Diversion Chamber $90,000 $110,000
2.3 SWM Facility (Hybrid Wet Pond/Wetland Facility) $190,000 $350,000
2.4 Storm/Sanitary Piping (300mm to 450mm $10,000 $50,000
diameter)
2.5 Structures (i.e. catchbasins, manholes) $10,000 $50,000
Total Meltwater Collection and Treatment System $400,000 $660,000
3 Monitoring
3.1 Groundwater Monitoring Wells $30,000 $40,000
3.2 Surface Water Sampling $10,000 $20,000
Total Monitoring $40,000 $60,000
4 Miscellaneous
4.1 Site Preparation $50,000 $90,000
4.2 Dewatering $0 $50,000
4.3 Fencing and Landscape $20,000 $60,000
4.4 Noise Abatement $0 $50,000
4.5 Supply hydro and provide lighting $20,000 $50,000
4.6 Permits & Approvals (City, MOECC, Region, $30,000 $70,000
G RCA)
Total Miscellaneous $120,000 $370,000
Sub-Total SSDF Construction and Approvals $1,960,000 $2,490,000
Contingency (10%) $196,000 $249,000
Total SSDF Construction and Approvals $2,156,000 $2,739,000
Engineering and Studies (15%) $292,500 $367,500
Total SSDF Site Development Costs $2,448,500 $3,106,500
Table 2 below is an excerpt from the MTE report outlining the detailed cost estimates for
the preferred site of 1585 Battler Road. These estimated costs are the costs associated
with a SSDF sufficiently sized to meet the City's needs specific to this location. The
costs of converting this site to a snow dump are less than a new site due to the
synergies of already having a storm water pond sufficient to handle the additional
loading. Note that the City of Kitchener already owns this land so no additional purchase
cost would be incurred.
TABLE 2: PREFERRED SITE PRELIMINARY COST ESTIMATE
Ite
M
No. Description Total
1.0 Site Preparation And Removals $ 70,000
2.0 Access Road $ 140,000
3.0 Storm Sewers / OGS / Inlet Structures $ 112,000
Sanitary Sewers & Storm/Sanitary Diversion
4.0 Chamber $ 91,000
5.0 Melt Pad Area (asphalt surface and liner) $ 1,140,000
6.0 Noise Abatement, Fencing, Berms and Landscaping $ 132,000
7.0 1 Lighting $ 50,000
SUBTOTAL CONSTURCTION $ 1,735,000
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10% Contingency $ 173,500
TOTAL CONSTRUCTION $ 1,908,500
12% Engineering and Studies $ 208,000
Environmental Monitoring $ 60,000
Permits and Approvals $ 40,000
TOTAL ENGINEERING, MONITORING, APPROVALS $ 308,000
TOTAL PROPOSED BUDGET $ 2,216,500
The development costs to construct a SSDF, regardless of site specific details is
estimated to range from approximately $2,400,000 to $3,100,000. The corresponding
engineering and study costs are estimated to be approximately 15% of the construction
costs ranging from approximately $290,000 to $370,000.
The preliminary cost estimate for the preferred Option 1585 Battler Road is estimated to
be approximately $2,220,000, which includes $1,908,500 for construction and $308,000
for engineering, monitoring, permits and approvals.
While the estimated project cost is just over $2.2M, the recommended budget allocation
being directed to the 2016 budget process is $1.9M from the Development Charge (DC)
Recovery reserve fund. This requested amount accounts for an existing capital balance
of just under$400,000 (bringing the total budget of the project to approximately $2.3M).
The DC Recovery reserve fund was created as part of the 2014 Development Charges
Study and Bylaw and allocated for the first time as part of the 2015 budget. Funds had
been allocated for a Snow Dump Facility during the presentation of the capital budget,
but were removed pending further information about the need for a Snow Dump and its
possible locations. The amount of$1.9M being directed to the 2016 budget process are
consistent with the amount initially identified for a Snow Dump facility as part of the
2015 budget.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM — CONSULT — COLLABORATE — ENTRUST
Once a final site has been selected, staff and the Design Consultant will work with the
community, Mayor and Ward Councillor(s) to ensure that the local residents have a
chance to be informed of the intent of the proposed design plan. They will be given the
opportunity to provide feedback and staff will take their concerns into account during the
SSDF planning process in an effort to help create a cohesive existence between the
SSDF and the surrounding neighbourhood. The community engagement piece will likely
be achieved through public meetings.
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CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, a permanent SSDF is required to meet the community's needs of today
as well as the future needs of the next 15 to 20 years. A permanent SSDF will assist the
Operations Division in providing a critical service to the community, one that will help
provide a safer winter experience for residents and visitors to the community. The site
at 1585 Battler Road is the best site for a permanent solution and should be
redeveloped into an environmentally responsible engineered snow dump.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Dev Tyagi, Deputy CAO, Infrastructure Services Department
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