Vancouver City Council

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: January 7^th, 2003
Author/Local: J. Dingwall/6680

RTS NO. 03137

CC File No. 1602/5762/5808

Council: February 11, 2003

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

General Manager of Engineering Services

SUBJECT:

2003 Street and Sidewalk Rehabilitation Program

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT Council approve funding of $1,800,000 in advance of the 2003 Streets Basic Capital Budget (category A-1a1) to permit commencement of the 2003 Arterial Street Rehabilitation Program. Funding is provided from 2003-2005 borrowing authority approved by plebiscite.

B. THAT Council approve funding of $400,000 in advance of the 2003 Streets Basic Capital Budget (categories A-1b, A-2b, and A-2c) to improve poor condition streets and sidewalks adjacent to repairs required due to underground utility construction. Funding is provided from 2003-2005 borrowing authority approved by plebiscite.

COUNCIL POLICY

Funding for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of streets and sidewalks is approved by Council as part of the annual Streets Basic Capital Budget.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to obtain Council approval for funding in advance of the 2003 Streets Basic Capital Budget to facilitate the rehabilitation of arterial roadways, residential streets and sidewalks.

DISCUSSION

A. Rehabilitation of Arterial Streets

Several arterial streets such as Nanaimo Street, Fraser Street, Joyce Street and Main Street are in need of rehabilitation. When improving these streets, medians are often added or reconstructed. Landscape is added to reduce impermeable surface and increase green space.
The new landscaped medians on arterial streets require regular horticultural maintenance to keepthe plants healthy and the medians clean. Staff are currently completing an inventory of medians and will be requesting adjustments to the Operating Budget for horticultural maintenance during the 2004 Streets Basic Operating Budget process.

Due to the significant amount of work required just to maintain Vancouver's arterial street network in its existing condition, it is necessary to schedule work early in the year, as soon as weather permits. Scheduling rehabilitation work early in the year is only possible if funding is approved in advance of the Streets Basic Capital Budget, which is usually approved in late spring.

B. Reconstruction of Residential Streets and Sidewalks

City crews routinely repair sections of streets and sidewalks which are damaged as part of underground utility construction work. Occasionally, it makes sense to repair adjacent sections of poor condition street and/or sidewalk at the same time. The following are two examples where it would be practical to expand the scope of our repair work:

Repairing damaged curb
When replacing a curb, we reconstruct it to a safe, standard height. If the old curb was lower than the new one, the new curb will obviously be higher than the existing sidewalk. In this situation, it is necessary to reconstruct the sidewalk to match the new curb elevation.
Repairing extensively damaged roadways
If utility construction damage is extensive, and the roadway condition is poor, it makes sense to reconstruct the entire roadway and/or sidewalk instead of leaving pockets of deteriorated street and/or sidewalk.

If approved, funding will be used to repair residential streets such as 14^th Avenue between Granville Street and Birch Street, 5^th Avenue between MacDonald and Trafalgar, and 11^th Avenue between Maple and Cypress.

SUSTAINABILITY IMPLICATIONS

Financial

Funding and approval for the rehabilitation of arterial roadways, residential streets and sidewalks is usually given by Council when approving the Streets Basic Capital Budget. Funding is provided from 2003-2005 borrowing authority approved by plebiscite.

A. Rehabilitation of Arterial Streets

$1.8 million of the $3.5 million available in category A-1a1 is requested in advance of the 2003 Streets Basic Capital Budget.

B. Rehabilitation of Residential Streets and Sidewalks

$400,000 is requested from the budget categories listed in Table One, in advance of the Streets Basic Capital Budget, for the rehabilitation of residential streets and sidewalks,.

Project Description

Budget Category

Advance Funding Requested

Total Funding Recommended for Budget Category in 2003

Residential Street Reconstruction

A-1b

$250,000

$300,000

Local Improvement Sidewalk Reconstruction

A-2b

$100,000

$270,000

Sidewalk Reconstruction -Partial Blocks

A-2c

$50,000

$870,000

Table One: Requested Funding for Residential Street and Sidewalk Reconstruction

Social

By maintaining our streets, medians and sidewalks in a reasonable condition, plus adding landscape where appropriate, we can preserve the beauty of our City while demonstrating to visitors and residents that Vancouver is a well cared for and prosperous municipality.

If we obtain funding in advance of the Streets Capital Budget, we can commence work on commercial roadways such as Fraser Street in the spring. This benefits the local economy, because traffic disruptions, loss of parking and noise associated with our work will take place in the spring instead of the summer, when many businesses make most of their profit.

Environmental

Carrying out preventative maintenance on the surface layer of arterial roadways allows us to reconstruct streets less frequently, thus reducing our demand on raw materials. As part of our preventative maintenance work, we remove the surface layer of asphalt from a roadway. This ground asphalt can then be recycled as new asphalt (up to 15%) or re-utilized as fill for road base and utility trenches. The smooth street which results from our rehabilitation work reduces vehicle damage inflicted by potholes and rough roadways.

Adding landscape to arterial streets benefits the environment by improving air and water quality.

CONCLUSION

Funding of $1,800,000 is requested in advance of the Streets Basic Capital Budget for the rehabilitation of arterial roadways. If funding is approved at this time, City crews have ample opportunities to carry out rehabilitation work planned for 2003.

Advanced funding of $400,000 is requested to rehabilitate poor condition residential streets and sidewalks adjacent underground utility construction.

* * * * *


TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT:	2003 Street and Sidewalk Rehabilitation Program

Project Description	Budget Category	Advance Funding Requested	Total Funding Recommended for Budget Category in 2003
Residential Street Reconstruction	A-1b	$250,000	$300,000
Local Improvement Sidewalk Reconstruction	A-2b	$100,000	$270,000
Sidewalk Reconstruction -Partial Blocks	A-2c	$50,000	$870,000