TO: Vancouver City Council

FROM: General Manager of Engineering Services

SUBJECT: Local Improvements by Initiative - February 12, 2003

RECOMMENDATION

COUNCIL POLICY

Policies governing the Local Improvement process are set out in the Vancouver Charter and Local Improvements Procedure by-law.

PURPOSE

A Court of Revision is scheduled for February 12, 2003, at 7:30 p.m. to review a number of petition and initiative projects. The report for petition projects will be advanced to Council separately at a later date to allow as much time as possible for residents to circulate their petitions. The purpose of this report is to begin the formal Local Improvement process by advancing the initiative projects to the Court of Revision and reporting on the financial arrangements for the projects. Approval of this report does not commit Council to undertake the projects.

First Step

As required by the Local Improvement Procedure By-law, projects for the following categories and detailed on the attached schedule (Appendix I), are advanced to Council by Initiative for review at a Court of Revision, which will be held at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, February 12, 2003.

Court #611

I. Pavement and Curbs, Higher Zoned
II. Pavement and Curbs, Local Residential
III. Lane Pavement, Higher Zoned
IV. Lane Pavement, Residential Zoned
V. Speed Humps
VI. Pedestrian Collector Sidewalks

Bikeways

Council has established transportation priorities of walking, cycling and transit use. City Bikeways are routes enhanced for cycling. They join important city-wide destinations and create a network that covers the entire City. In recognition of the city-wide benefit enjoyed by Street improvements along a City Bikeway, it is appropriate to provide a 25% reduction in local improvement charges as is done for school pedestrian routes and arterial streets.

Financial Implications

Local Improvements:

Local Improvements are estimated at $3.48 million. This City's share is $2.64 million funded as follows:
- $1.02 million for the City's share of projects is available from existing Engineering Department Basic Capital Accounts as itemized in Appendix II
- $1.62 million is subject to the approval of the 2003 Streets Basic Capital Budget

Second Step

The Director of Finance reports as follows:

In accordance with the Local Improvements Procedure By-law, I am submitting the attached City Engineer's report. The estimated cost of these projects is $3,482,811. The property owners' share of the projects is $839,380. The City's share is $2,643,431. I have to report that the necessary financial arrangements can be made to carry out this work subject to approval of the 2003 Streets Basic Capital Budget.

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           Appendix I

COURT OF REVISION - FEBRUARY 12, 2003

INITIATIVE PROJECTS - SCHEDULE #611

I. PAVEMENT & CURBS, HIGHER ZONED STREETS

The following higher-zoned streets that are being initiated have strip pavements that are in poor condition. These streets are often difficult to improve by the petition process due to absentee owners. These streets therefore deteriorate, resulting in complaints and maintenance concerns. Furthermore, some of these streets have other reasons in addition to poor pavement condition. The projects have also been ballotted and brought forward because of the positive response.

1. School Avenue from Joyce Street to Tyne Street

This project is being initiated to address a safety issue along the narrow street allowance of School Ave. Due to the proximity of School Ave. to Kingsway, vehicles are either using School Ave. as an access route to business or services along Kingsway or as a shortcut to bypass traffic congestion on Kingsway. In any case, pedestrians, especially school age children of Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School are exposed daily to the possibility of accidents between pedestrians and vehicles. Engineering Services have implemented steps to convert School Ave. from a two way street to a one way street in the westerly direction. Parking restrictions will also be imposed on the north side. In this way pedestrians will be visible to drivers and a clear pedestrian corridor would exist on the north side of the street.

2. 13th Avenue from Sophia Street to Prince Edward Street

This project is being initiated because of the poor street condition. Its improvement would also be an enhancement to the Wellness Walkway System which promotes walking along a series of safe pedestrian corridors in the neighbourhood benefitting not only area residence but patients from Mt. St. Joseph Hospital as well

II. PAVEMENT & CURBS, LOCAL RESIDENTIAL

The following residential street improvement projects are being initiated due to the poor condition of the temporary pavement. Some of these streets are flankage streets and are often difficult to improve by the petition process. Furthermore, most of the projects have been ballotted and brought forward because of the positive support received.

II. PAVEMENT & CURBS, LOCAL RESIDENTIAL (cont'd)

3. Collingwood Street from 39th Avenue to 41st Avenue

4. Inverness Street from 51st Avenue to 53rd Ave
This is being initiated to provide improved streets as a means to encourage cycling along the Inverness Street Bicycle Corridor. The adjacent residential owners are also provided with a 25% reduction in local improvement charges as an incentive to support the proposed improvement. The street width will also be 1.0 meter wider than the standard residential width of 8.5 m to accommodate bicycle usage.

5. Inverness Street from 64th Avenue to S.E. Marine Drive
This is being initiated to provide improved streets as a means to encourage cycling along the Inverness Street Bicycle Corridor. The adjacent residential owners are also provided with a 25% reduction in local improvement charges as an incentive to support the proposed improvement.

6. Kamloops Street from 1st Avenue to 4th Avenue

7. Kaslo Street from 24th Avenue to 25th Avenue

8. Mayfair Avenue from Dunbar Street to Blenheim Street

This street is unusual because the properties on the south side are double fronting lots and properties on the north side are standard lots with a back lane. The double fronting lots are lots where the front and back of the lot are adjacent to a street. These lots have their garages and parking areas adjacent to Mayfair Street and they use and treat the street as if it were a lane. Although there is support for street improvement work from owners on the north side there is a reluctance of support from some of the owners on the south side.

Note that the owners on the south side of the street have an improved street fronting their property and were only assessed for one half of their frontage instead of the full width. The remaining half of their frontage will be assessed if the back of their property is improved. In this way the owners on the southside are not penalized by having to pay for street improvement on both sides of their property.

9. Prince Edward Street from 54th Avenue to 55th Avenue

10. Vanness Avenue North from Aberdeen Street to Boundary Road

11. Vanness Avenue from Chatham Street to Rupert Street
This project is being initiated because poor condition and reduce the potential for flooding of an adjacent property.

II. PAVEMENT & CURBS, LOCAL RESIDENTIAL (cont'd)

12. 20th Avenue from St. George Street to Carolina Street

13. 67th Avenue from French Street to Selkirk Street

III. LANE PAVEMENT, HIGHER ZONED LANES

Higher-Zoned lane paving addresses Council's stated priority on infrastructure renewal. These lanes tend not to be improved by petition because of absentee ownership, yet they carry much more traffic than residential lanes, and the lane surface deteriorate as a result. This causes high maintenance cost and a significant number of complaints from commercial and/or apartment tenants.

14. L/S of Broadway - S/S - from Woodland Drive to L/W of Commercial Drive

IV. LANE PAVEMENT, LOCAL RESIDENTIAL

The following lanes were initiated at the request for assistance by an adjacent owner because of the difficulty in circulating a petition due to absentee owners. This initiative is for paving the lane with a center strip only except in front of garages or driveway where connections are required.

15. L/S of 11th Avenue from Balaclava Street to Carnarvon Street

16. L/S of 36th Avenue from MacKenzie Street to 30ft. west of MacDonald Street

V. SPEED HUMPS

The following speed hump projects are being initiated as a result of complaints about safety due to speeding vehicles using the lanes as an alternate route in order to avoid signalized intersections or as a short cut to their destinations. Circulating a petition on some of the projects would be difficult because of the number of strata owners involved of which some are absentee owners.

17. L/S of Broadway from Prince Edward Street to Guelph Street

18. L/W of Crown Street from 14th Avenue to 15th Avenue

V. SPEED HUMPS (cont'd)

19. L/W of Crown Street from 15th Avenue to 16th Avenue

20. L/W of Granville Street from 61st Avenue to 62nd Avenue

21. L/W of Granville Street from 62nd Avenue to 63rd Avenue

22. L/S of Haro Street from Chilco Street to Gilford Street

23. L/N of Kingsway from Slocan Street to Duchess Street

24. L/S of Triumph Street from Semlin Drive to Lakewood Drive

25. L/E of Vine Street from L/S of 37th Avenue to 39th Avenue

VI. PEDESTRIAN COLLECTOR SIDEWALKS

On February 9, 1982, Council reaffirmed its policy objectives of providing sidewalks:
- on both sides of arterial streets;
- on both sides (as needed) of pedestrian collector routes;
- on both sides of higher-zoned streets; and
- on local residential streets, where property owners petitioned for them.

The construction of new pedestrian collector sidewalks responds to Council's top two priorities for transportation improvements; pedestrians and transit. The two projects listed involve assessable properties. Non assessable sidewalk projects have not been listed but are scheduled for construction. Both assessable sidewalk projects provide access to transit but only School Ave. provides access to Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School.

26. School Avenue N/S Harold Street to Tyne Street

27. Vanness Avenue North N/S Aberdeen Street to Hoy Street

APPENDIX II

CITY OF VANCOUVER - LOCAL IMPROVEMENTS DETAILED SECOND STEP REPORT

Summary of Estimated Costs and Certificates to the Attached Local Improvement Estimates
Advanced on the Initiative Principle for a Court of Revision February 12, 2003

Court #611

CATEGORY

ITEM NUMBER

TYPE OF PROJECT

P.O.
SHARE

CITY'S
SHARE

TOTAL
COST

EXISTING FUNDS

SUBJECT TO APPROVAL OF THE 2003 CAPITAL BUDGET

I

37257

Pavement & Curbs, Higher Zoned

$ 266,898

$ 334,089

$ 600,987

$ 334,089 SCA5B-UNAP

  

II

37327

Pavement & Curbs, Local Residential

$ 391,454

$2,165,607

$ 2,557,061

$ 665,607 SCA5C-UNAP

$1,500,000

III

14

Lane Pavement, Higher Zoned

$ 81,298

$ 60,750

$ 142,048

$ 20,750 SCA5D-UNAP

$ 40,000

IV

15-16

Lane Pavement, Local Residential

$ 56,480

$ 59,634

$ 116,114

  

$ 59,634

V

17-25

Speed Humps

$ 16,065

0

$ 16,065

    

VI

26-27

Pedestrian Collector Sidewalks

$ 27,185

$ 23,351

$ 50,536

  

$ 23,351

   

TOTAL

$ 839,380

$2,643,431

$3,482,811

$1,020,446

$1,622,985

The estimated costs provide for necessary incidental work. The cost of the property owner's share of the above noted projects, and interest, is repayable over 15 years.

Certified correct as to measurements.

___________________ ____________________ ________________________
Collector of Taxes Director of Finance City Engineer

Certified adopted by the City Council on ______________________ ______________________ City Clerk

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ag021210.htm

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