Staff presented the outstanding items from the 2020 Directors Presentations:
Capital Budget Item No. 20014 - McKay Accessibility Consultant
Staff removed this item from the 2020 Capital Budget requests, and the project is not moving forward.
Wismer Community Park
A sign has been installed on the site identifying that the construction of Wismer Community Park will start in 2020. Staff are developing a standardized set of buildings for future parks.
A Committee Member noted that the building should be of the same standard as the building built at the Berczy Community Park.
Wismer Hammersley Park
A meeting with the developers is scheduled to be held in mid-November to finalize outstanding issues. The park is anticipated to go to tender in March 2020, and to be completed in late 2021.
Berczy Community Park
The cost for design and construction of the Berczy Community park was $10.78M.
Capital Budget Item No. 20026 – Cornell Parkette
Staff recommended that the Capital Budget request for the Cornell Parkette design and construction be reduced from $553.8K to $375K (plus contingency funds) to be consistent with the budget spent on parkettes in Berczy and Wismer.
Capital Budget Item No. 20032 – Active Transportation Program
Staff provided a breakdown of the active transportation program. Some of the items the Cycling and Pedestrian Advisory Committee spent funds on in 2019 included: 1) the Markham Cycling Day Event; and 2) the Active Kids to School project; and 3) Members attending the Vision Zero Seminar.
Committee requested the following:
- A breakdown of how the Cycling & Pedestrian Advisory Committee Budget was spent in 2018, and 2019.
- A budget for a city wide wayfinding strategy/study for its trail system;
- The budget for other City of Markham citizen Advisory Boards and Committees.
Capital Budget Item No. 20040 - New Traffic Signals –Kirkham/New Delhi (D&C)
Committee agreed that the traffic signals are not required in this location at this time and to remove the project.
Capital Budget Items- No. 20043 - Update on Markville Secondary Plan, and No. 20052 Transportation Study Markville Mall
Staff will discuss with York Region the McCowan Environmental Assessment and the access issue at Foody Mart.
Funding options are still being explored for this project, but it is anticipated that the funds will be co-funded by the developers. Funding options for the planning component of the project have been secured.
Capital Budget Item No. 20045 - Sidewalk Program Design
Staff removed Hazelton Avenue, Windridge Drive, and added Elgin Street to the sidewalk program. The project budget has been revised to $466.5K.
Committee requested that the new Capital Budget form for this item be circulated to the Mayor and Members of Council.
Capital Budget Item No. 20046 - Smart Commute Markham-Richmond Hill
A representative from Smart Commute was in attendance to provide a presentation on the services they provide.
The following responses to Committee inquiries on the Smart Commute program were provided:
Smart Commute is now delivering some of its services internally that it once outsourced, and it is only providing its core services to manage funding cuts. Companies requesting more customized services now have to pay an additional fee. Smart Commute is currently serving about 60 organizations in Markham and Richmond Hill. The Board of Trade recommends Smart Commute to new businesses in Markham and Richmond Hill. Smart Commute focuses on the final destination of the commuter versus where they are coming from. Education is a key part of getting people to commute smarter.
Committee suggested that locations where residents can meet to carpool to work be promoted, and that the City encourage more of these types of locations.
The Mayor thanked Metrolinx for its cooperation and assistance with the City’s whistling cessation project.
Capital Budget Item No. 20050 - Traffic Asset Replacement
Staff advised that three speed boards per Ward is sufficient at this time. Speed boards from different Wards can be moved around to areas where there are speeding issues. It was recommended that this strategy be tried out for one year prior to purchasing additional speed boards.
Committee asked staff to investigate if the speed boards could be modified to include photo radar prior to purchasing additional boards.
Staff advised they are working with York Region on implementing a photo radar program and that the speed limit displayed on the speed board may not be accurate enough for legal purposes.
Mount Joy Visioning Project
Staff confirmed that funds have been put aside for a transportation analysis, as part of the Markham Road Corridor Secondary Plan.
Capital Budget Item No. 20155 - Recreation Autonomous Floor Scrubbers
Staff will pilot one new autonomous floor scrubber at the Pan Am Centre in 2020. The other two scrubbers that were requested will be extended for one more year. The project request was reduced from $186.9K to $62.3K.