|
4. PROCEEDING WITH THE USE OF PROVINCIAL FUNDS FOR
IMPROVEMENTS TO OTTAWA ROAD 174 UTILISATION
DES FONDS PROVINCIAUX EN VUE DEs AMÉLIORATIONs à LA ROUTE 174 D’oTTAWA |
Committee recommendation as amended
That Council approve that that the City proceed with the necessary
work to improve Ottawa Road (OR) 174 on the basis of the staff report
(ACS2007-CCS-TRC-0018).
Que le Conseil municipal approuve que la Ville entame les travaux nécessaires pour améliorer
l’autoroute 174 en se fondant sur le rapport du personnel
(ACS2007-CCS-TRC-0018).
Documentation
1.
Councillor Rainer Bloess’ report dated 20 September 2007 (ACS2007-CCS-TRC-0018)
2.
Extract of the Draft Minutes 12, Transportation Committee, 3 October
Report to / Rapport au:
Transportation Committee / Comité des transports
and Council/et au Conseil
20 September 2007 / le 20 septembre 2007
Submitted by / Soumis par: Councillor / Conseiller Rainer Bloess
Contact/Personne-ressource: Councillor / Conseiller Rainer Bloess
|
City Wide / À l'échelle
de la Ville |
Ref. N°: ACS2007-CCS-TRC-0018 |
SUBJECT: PROCEEDING
WITH THE USE OF PROVINCIAL FUNDS FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO OTTAWA ROAD 174
OBJET: UTILISATION DES FONDS
PROVINCIAUX EN VUE DEs AMÉLIORATIONs à LA ROUTE 174 D’oTTAWA
That the
Transportation Committee recommend that Council approve the following:
Whereas the
City of Ottawa is sitting on over $3 million of provincial funds assigned to
improvements for Ottawa Road (OR) 174.
And whereas the
full extent of the City’s improvements cannot be undertaken due to provincial
environmental assessment rules.
Therefore be it
resolved that the City ignore the provincial rules and proceed with the
necessary work.
.
Que le
Comité des transports recommande au Conseil d’approuver ce qui suit :
Attendu
que la Ville d’Ottawa dispose de plus de trois millions de dollars provenant de
fonds provinciaux destinés aux améliorations de la route 174 d’Ottawa;
Attendu
que tous les travaux d’amélioration de la Ville ne peuvent pas être entrepris
en raison des règles relatives aux évaluations environnementales de la
province;
Par
conséquent, il est résolu que la Ville ignorera les règles provinciales et
entamera les travaux nécessaires.
At the Transportation Committee meeting held on September 19, 2007, Councillor Bloess brought forward the following Notice of Motion, for consideration at the next meeting.
Whereas
the City of Ottawa is sitting on over $3 million of provincial funds assigned
to improvements for OR 174.
And
whereas the full extent of the City’s improvements cannot be undertaken due to
provincial environmental assessment rules.
Therefore
be it resolved that the City ignore the provincial rules and proceed with the
necessary work.
The Councillor previously raised
this issue as an Inquiry at the Joint Transportation and Transit Committee
meeting on August 15, 2007 with the following submission to the Deputy City
Manager, Public Works and Services (reference: Inquiry No. TRC-20-07):
“What
is the obstacle to spending the balance of funds available for Road 174? And what directions are required for staff
to undertake the work with the available funding?”
At that time, a response to the Inquiry has not been received. However, subsequent to the meeting, a response, which are the comments from the Public Works & Services Department were provided on 24 September 2007.
CONSULTATION
This item will be advertised in the local dailies as part of the Public Meeting Advertisement on Friday preceding the Transit Committee Meeting.
Comments from
the Public Works & Services Department
In response to the inquiry presented at the Joint
Transportation Committee and Transit Committee of 15 August 2007, staff’s
future actions as described below are believed to fall within the intent of
Council direction provided in July 2006.
As such, no obstacles to spending the remaining Ottawa Road 174 (OR
174) funding
are anticipated, and no further direction by Committee is deemed necessary for
the completion of the associated works.
Thus, the recommendation herein is not required to continue progressing
with this project.
At
Council’s 11 July 2006 meeting, a total allocation of $5 million was made
available for OR 174, and staff were directed to proceed with improvements for
the design and construction of the OR 174/Highway 417 split.
The
predominant concern of City staff when this funding was made available was
eastbound OR 174 congestion immediately east of the Highway 417/OR 174
split. Staff’s initial focus in
responding to Council’s direction was to assess and address congestion issues
in this direction in a timely manner.
With there being no commitment in the current Transportation Master Plan
to add capacity along OR 174 crossing the Greens Creek Screenline, mitigation
measures focused on operational capacity improvements, although corridor
through-put capacity was also reviewed.
Our transportation study concluded that current eastbound delays were
not only a result of infrastructure deficiencies prior to the Blair Road
interchange but also due to infrastructure deficiencies prior to and including
the Montreal Road interchange. The following
roadway modifications were recommended and adopted:
Construction of these works is currently underway with
completion expected by mid Fall of this year.
The anticipated total cost of these works including engineering and
project management tasks is $1.5 million.
In turn, approximately $3.5 million of the previously-approved funding
has not yet been associated with specific works.
Having completed our operational review in the
eastbound direction, staff are now moving forward on an assessment of the
westbound direction. Of note, westbound
traffic is heavily influenced by downstream conditions along Ontario Ministry
of Transportation’s (MTO) Highway 417.
MTO staff are in the final stages of an Environmental Assessment Study,
and are recommending measures intended to reduce this congestion. In the interim, City staff are studying
westbound operational opportunities for OR 174 that will provide better
mobility despite current downstream conditions, as well as set the stage to
fully utilize the MTO Highway 417 modifications once they are complete.
In addition to congestion related modifications, staff
will also be considering issues associated with traffic safety and noise.
Corridor works identified by the study that is
currently underway by City staff will be reviewed with the east end Councilors
(Wards 1, 2, 11 and 19) prior to proceeding with detail design and construction
under delegated authority.
It is anticipated that the construction of these
additional works will occur over the 2008-2009 time frame.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Council approved funding of $5.0 million in capital account 904070 (Highway 417/174 Split). This included $3.0 million sourced from provincial revenue and $2.0 million from development charges.
Staff have identified
approximately $1.5 million will be required for the eastbound OR 174
works. The remaining $3.5 million will
be available for works identified for the westbound lanes, which is currently
under review.
Public Works and Services Staff to take appropriate action as directed by the Council.
PROCEEDING WITH THE USE OF PROVINCIAL FUNDS FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO OTTAWA ROAD 174
UTILISATION
DES FONDS PROVINCIAUX EN VUE DEs AMÉLIORATIONs à LA ROUTE 174 D’oTTAWA
ACS2007-CCS-TRC-0018 City Wide / À l'échelle de la Ville
Councillor Bloess noted he was satisfied with the staff response and was prepared to approve the report recommendation without discussion if other Members were in agreement.
Councillor Legendre thought the report could simply be received and therefore no action would happen.
On a point of order, Councillor Wilkinson explained that if Committee were to carry the report, it would equate to approving the recommendation contained therein, and she was opposed to approving a motion that would see Council ignore provincial rules.
When asked by Councillor Legendre, Ernest McArthur, Legal Counsel, City Manager’s Office explained there would be implications with simply receiving the report when the motion is to ignore provincial rules. He added that he had read the report and it was his understanding that as far as staff were concerned, they will proceed as outlined in their comments provided on the report, meaning they would not be ignoring provincial rules. The report recommendation, however, is contrary to that.
Councillor Cullen then proposed a replacement motion to the report recommendation that he thought would be acceptable to Members and allow staff to proceed with the necessary work without ignoring provincial rules.
Moved by Councillor A. Cullen:
Replace
“Therefore be it resolved that the City ignore the provincial rules and proceed
with the necessary work” with “Therefore be it resolved that the City proceed
with the necessary work to improve Ottawa Road 174 on the basis of the staff
report (ACS2007-CCS-TRC-0018)”.
CARRIED
The Committee then approved the report recommendation as amended.
That the
Transportation Committee recommend that Council approve the following:
Whereas the
City of Ottawa is sitting on over $3 million of provincial funds assigned to
improvements for Ottawa Road (OR) 174.
And whereas the
full extent of the City’s improvements cannot be undertaken due to provincial
environmental assessment rules.
Therefore be
it resolved that the City proceed with the necessary work to improve Ottawa
Road 174 on the basis of the staff report (ACS2007-CCS-TRC-0018)”.
CARRIED, as amended.