TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

 

 

 

 

 

TO:

Mayor and Members of Council

 

 

 

 

FROM:

Jim Baird, Commissioner Development Services

Alan Brown, Director of Engineering

 

 

 

 

PREPARED BY:

Arup Mukherjee, Manager of Transportation

Domenic Smarrelli, Supervisor, Traffic Operations

 

 

 

 

DATE OF MEETING:

2004-Feb-23

 

 

 

 

SUBJECT:

Neighbourhood Transportation Committee 2004 Projects - Budget and Resource Impact.

 

 

 

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

That the NTC 2004 programme be deferred pending the outcome of the Safe Streets Task Force. 

 

PURPOSE:

This report outlines the budget and resource impacts of the Safe Street Task Force (SSTF) on the 2004 Neighbourhood Transportation Committee (NTC) traffic calming projects.

 

BACKGROUND:

On January 26, 2004, staff presented the overview of the Safe Streets Task Force (SSTF) to Transportation Committee.  In the presentation, it was noted that there are insufficient resources to proceed with both the SSTF and the NTC 2004 projects. Consequently, staff recommended the deferral of the NTC 2004 projects. In response, Council requested staff to report back on the budget and staffing requirements of the NTC 2004 projects.

 

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:

Speeding on local roads and resultant safety for residents has been a concern for several years in Markham.  In 2000, Markham responded to these concerns by initiating the Neighbourhood Transportation Committee programme to implement traffic calming.  While this programme has been implemented over the last three years, it is recognized that the implementation of physical devices alone may not be sufficient to affect driver behaviour.  In response to this issue, the SSTF was initiated by Council in 2004 to examine additional approaches to tackling the concerns related to speeding and community safety.

 

Given that the 2003 NTC programme was deferred due to the high tender price, there are now 3  primary initiatives that staff are being asked to undertake in 2004 related to speeding and safety:

 

·        The SSTF

·        NTC 2002/3

·        NTC 2004

 

A discussion of each of these initiatives, the key tasks and staff commitments are discussed in the following sections.

 

As background to the staff resource discussions, a copy of the organizational chart and business plan summary for the Transportation Division of the Engineering Department is included in  attachment A.  Reporting to the Manager of Transportation, the Traffic Operations group consists of one Supervisor and four Technicians

 

1. Safe Streets Task Force (SSTF)

The SSTF has been identified as a multi-faceted approach to affect driver behaviour and improve community safety.  The key components of the SSTF include Education, Enforcement and Engineering. It is expected that by undertaking projects and activities in each of these three areas, that the Town will begin to address the the key areas affecting road safety.   Key tasks identified for this project in 2004 include:

 

·        Prepare presentation material for all task force meetings.

  • Facilitate public consultation.
  • Coordinate resident membership and agency partnership.
  • Collection and analysis of street data.
  • Research and investigate various safety programmes in other municipalities
  • Prepare monthly task force process updates to Transportation Committee.
  • Analyze effectiveness of various programme initiatives.
  • Organize and plan the Fall Kick-off event

 

Changing driver behaviour is not an easy task and significant effort will be required for this task force to be successful in delivering the message and launching a public awareness event in the Fall.  Given the public outreach and the effort required in developing a successful programme, it is expected that approximately 1.25 FTE of supervisory/senior staff time will be required to assist the task force for the 6-8 months required to undertake this initiative.

 

2. Neighbourhood Transportation Committee (NTC) 2002 / 2003 Staff Commitments

In 2003, staff completed the full EA studies for 9 projects identified for the 2003 NTC programme.  Eight of these projects were from 2003 and one project (Willowbrook Road) was carried over from 2002 as a result of the need for additional public consultation.  Furthermore, two projects required additional review and design.  The Main Street Unionville project required staff to re-consider speed humps due to the concerns expressed by residents about the impact to the heritage area.  On Elson Road, where TTC service operates,  staff needed to consider alternatives to speed humps to ensure compliance with TTC policy and residents wishes to maintain this service. 

 

As a result of these issues, the 2002/3 tender was one of the largest and detailed traffic calming programmes tendered by staff.  Unfortunately, the Town received only one bid, and given the higher than expected price, Transportation Committee recommended that the projects be re-tendered for Spring, 2004 construction.  At the time of this report, the new tender had been released.  Staff will update Transportation Committee on the tender as results become available.  Subject to a favourable bid, staff will manage the contract this year and key tasks include:

 

·        Ensure safe construction conditions for pedestrians and motorists.

·        Provide approvals of construction layouts and materials.

·        Oversee construction inspection.

·        Coordination of contractor with Town activities and other agencies.

·        Liaison for resident concerns.

·        Control construction costs.

·        Uphold construction schedule.

·        Record and provide payment certificates.

 

This being the largest set of traffic calming projects to date, coupled with the complexity of the proposed traffic calming devices including raised intersections and chicanes, will require close supervision of the contractor and construction of the devices. The use of new decorative materials for all traffic calming devices will also require close supervision. As a result, it is expected that this contract will require approximately 0.2 to 0.4 FTE of supervisory/senior  staff time to ensure quality and the timely completion of the contract and respond to public issues as they arise.

 

3. Neighbourhood Transportation Committee (NTC) 2004 Projects

The NTC 2004 project budget has been reduced as a result of the higher costs associated with the two projects in the 2003 programme (Elson Road and Main Street Unionville).  In June, 2003, Council approved the additional costs of the 2003 programme ($170,000) from general rate stabilization fund as an advance against the 2004 budget (see Attachment B).  It was specifically noted that due to the higher costs, the projects in Ward 3 and 7 were to be considered as both 2003 and 2004 projects.   As a result the overall budget for NTC 2004 has been reduced from the $300,000 level in recent years to $130,000 in the draft 2004 Capital Budget.  While the 2004 capital allocation has been reduced, there would still be 6 projects to be undertaken, each subject to the requirements of the Class EA process.  As a result full public meetings and detailed presentations would still be required.  Key steps noted with a typical NTC project are as follows:

 

  • Collection and organization of traffic data for all candidate locations
  • Organizing prioritization meetings
  • Report to Council to endorse projects for 2004
  • Preparation of preliminary designs for each project
  • Public meetings for each NTC area to allow community and approval agencies to review preliminary designs and comment
  • Revisions to preliminary designs to incorporate comments from the community and approval agencies
  • Public voting
  • Report to Council on voting results for final approval
  • Advertisement of Notice of Completion of Municipal Class Environmental Assessment and review period for appeals
  • Resolution of appeals requests (if any)
  • Tender preparation and evaluation
  • Construction

 

While there is a marginal reduction in staff time due to the need for 6 projects versus 8, it is still expected that about 0.5 to 0.75 FTE of supervisory/senior staff time would still be required to manage and approve the full EA requirements of the projects.

 

Options to proceed with NTC 2004 Programme

As noted above, the three initiatives of the SSTF, NTC 2002/3 and NTC 2004 would significantly exceed available staff resources.  There are insufficient staff resources to undertake all 3 initiatives in 2004.  Council has already directed staff to proceed with both the NTC 2002/3 and the SSTF projects in 2004.  The following options are available for the NTC 2004:

 

Option 1 – Staff undertake additional project

As noted earlier, the SSTF and NTC 2002/3 will more than take up the entire supervisory/senior staff allocation for traffic calming projects.  It should be noted that if the 2004 NTC projects are to be implemented in the Fall, the NTC process would need to start immediately.   The management of traffic calming projects requires staff at a supervisory/senior level given the amount of public consultation, analysis required for EA studies, report writing, liaison with Ministry staff and design review and modification.  The Traffic Operations group has one Supervisor and four Technicians.  Given the supervisory staffing needs for the SSTF and the NTC 2002/3 projects, there are no other supervisory/senior staff available to manage the EA studies for the NTC 2004.   Technicians are not qualified to take on the management of EA studies and furthermore, they are required to respond to the daily safety and operational needs.  Requests for stop signs, crossing guards, signals and school traffic safety must be investigated in a timely manner to ensure  safe operations on our roadways.  It is the role of Technicians to undertake all fieldwork, data collection and analysis to respond to these requests.

 

In addition, staff are expected to proceed with the Anti-whistling project as a priority in 2004.  This project will require substantial liaison and coordination with CN Rail, the public and other agencies to coordinate approval and implementation.  

 

Therefore, there are insufficient staff resources to undertake the NTC 2004 programme in addition to the SSTF and NTC 2002/3 project and other traffic operational projects.

 

Option 2 – Retain Consultant

This option would require a consultant to manage the process, in its entirety, which includes all activities shown in “NTC 2004 Projects”. Staff would provide direction and information to the consultant as required.

 

The late start of this program this year would delay the activities required to fully complete the EA process.   In addition, further delay will occur due to the execution of the consultant quotation period and their availability to undertake the program.  It is expected that as a result of these delays, the construction will need to be undertaken in Spring, 2005.

 

Consultant’s fees for previous traffic calming projects of one street ranged from  $15,000 to $35,000. Considering the NTC 2004 projects will include 6 streets, consultant’s fees is estimated to be in the range of $60,00 to $85,000. Currently the only budget identified for traffic calming is $130,000 for the 2004 programme.  If the consultant fees are taken from this budget it will leave approximately $45,000 to $70,000 for capital construction of the 6 projects (excluding Wards 3 and 7).  These remaining funds are not sufficient to implement an effective traffic calming programme. 

 

Should Council select this option, funding for the consultant would be required in addition to the currently allocated funding for traffic calming.  Furthermore, the consultant fees are only estimates by staff at this time.  In accordance with purchasing policy, staff would need to undertake bids to secure an exact price.

 

Option 3 – Defer 2004 NTC Programme pending SSTF

The SSTF has been initiated by Council to consider additional measures to address speeding.  While some of these possible measures such as photo radar, red light cameras and special constables may take some time, there are other measures such as dedicated police enforcement and community programmes that can be implemented this year.  It is recommended that the $130,000 currently allocated in the 2004 Capital Budget for NTC 2004 be retained at this time.  This would be prudent until we know the final contract price for the large set of 2003 NTC projects, and also as a possible additional source of funding for SSTF  priority projects  that may emerge involving alternative measures of traffic calming other than speed humps.

 

In September, 2003 YRT outlined a draft policy recommending that speed humps not be considered as a traffic calming option on YRT routes.  YRT has established a task force to consult with municipalities and agencies to finalize their draft policy on traffic calming.  A number of issues such as damage to low floor buses and passenger safety and comfort are being considered by the YRT traffic calming task force, and will also be addressed through Markham’s Safe Streets Task Force.  It is recommended that the Town defer the NTC 2004 programme to allow that Task Forces to consider alternative traffic calming measures. 

 

 

Developer related projects:

The developers in South Cornell have allocated funding to undertake traffic calming along Delmark Boulevard to the west across 9th Line.  In addition, the developers in Armadale have also stated that they are prepared to consider speed humps on Highglen Avenue west of Markham Road. The implementation of traffic calming requires EA approvals.   Given the number of traffic calming initiatives and other traffic operational projects already outlined as a priority by Council, there are insufficient staff resources to manage developer-funded EA studies  in 2004.   The funds allocated for these projects by the developer are insufficient to retain a consultant and implement the capital works.  As development is still in the early stages in South Cornell, it is felt that initiation of  the Delmark traffic calming EA process could carry over to 2005.  However, should Council wish to retain a consultant to proceed with the NTC 2004, and include traffic calming on Delmark Blvd. and Highglen Ave,  these projects could be included as part of the EA studies involving outside consultant support.  The applicable consulting costs would need to include these developer funded projects.  Funding for the capital portion would be provided by the developers for their respective projects.

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Funding in the amount of $130,000 has been identified in the Engineering Department 2004 Capital Budget for the NTC 2004 traffic calming programme.    It is recommended that this funding remain in the Capital Budget for possible use for SSTF priority projects or other unanticipated traffic calming funding needs in 2004, but that the comprehensive NTC 2004 programme with resident input not proceed in 2004.   Alternatively, should Council direct staff to proceed with the option of retaining a consultant to undertake the NTC 2004 programme, additional funding will be required in the Capital Budget, subject to detailed proposals from consultants.

 

ATTACHMENTS:

 

Attachment A – Transportation Section Organizational Chart and Business Plan

Attachment B –  June, 2003 extract regarding funding of 2003 NTC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alan Brown, C.E.T.

Director of Engineering

 

Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.

Commissioner of Development Services

 

 

 

 

P:\Development\Engineering\REPORTS\2004\Feb\TC NTC 2004 BUDGETARY AND RESOURCE IMPACTS 3.doc