Report to/Rapport au :
Comité des transports
22 June 2006 / le 22 juin 2006
Submitted by/Soumis par : R.G. Hewitt,
Acting Deputy City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint par intérim,
Public Works and Services/Services et Travaux publics
Contact
Person/Personne ressource : John Manconi, Director/Directeur
(613) 580-2424 x 21110, John.Manconi@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
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OBJET : |
REPORT
RECOMMENDATIONS
1.
That
the Transportation Committee receive this information report.
2.
That
this information report be forwarded to the Federation of Canadian
Municipalities, the Ontario Good Roads Association and the Association of
Municipalities for their information.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU
RAPPORT
1.
Que
le Comité des transports reçoive le présent rapport d’information.
2. Que le Comité des transports charge le personnel de transmettre le présent rapport d’information à la Fédération canadienne des municipalités, à l’Ontario Good Roads Association et à l’Association des municipalités aux fins d’information.
BACKGROUND
In Spring 2005, Transportation Committee
directed staff of the Surface Operations Branch to continue monitoring Climate
Change and to build adaptation capacity into its Winter Maintenance Program to
better respond to changing climate patterns.
Based on information received from Environment Canada and its own
experience, the Branch has begun to build its Adaptation Plan.
As part of the Climate Change Adaptation
Strategy, the Branch took the initiative of hosting a symposium on Winter
Maintenance in a Changing Climate. The
initiative, the first of its kind, was held on February 8 and 9, 2006. Winter maintenance professionals and
delegates from seventeen cities, three counties from across Ontario and
representatives from the Ministry of Transportation, were brought together to
identify strategies to deal with climate change.
The Symposium provided the opportunity for
delegates from municipal, provincial and federal governments and
representatives from the private sectors in the same or aligned disciplines, to
begin to work more closely together to determine how best to use science and
new technologies to adapt our operations in a way that is relevant to the
changing world and climate the we live in, and most importantly, to the
communities that we serve.
The Symposium’s agenda included a
presentation by the Director of the Adaptation and Impacts Research Group from
Environment Canada, who outlined the importance of the need to adapt to reduce
adaptation deficit, and strengthen human health and safety by improving our
prediction, prevention, design and operational capacities. The road maintenance challenges defined by
Environment Canada are applicable to many parts of Ontario and they include:
Ø Rapid changes in precipitation, such as snow, freezing rain, rain,
flash freeze;
Ø More freezing rain, rain on snow, followed by rapid freezing, which results in more ice;
Ø Flooding and drainage issues in winter;
Ø Snow storms will continue (heavy and dense snow);
Ø Impacts to roadway, which includes potholes, premature, wear of road surfaces, etc.;
Ø The increased need to develop new maintenance technologies, equipment, practices, operations, scheduling and training.
As part of this symposium, a Danish delegation provided an overview of their winter operations using leading edge technology, such as anti-icing, pre-wetting, Global Positioning System (GPS), etc. The agenda also included plenary sessions where the delegates defined the following six key emerging issues related to climate change and municipal winter operations.
1.
Educating
the general public of the challenges of winter road maintenance in a changing
climate.
2.
Soliciting
political support for winter roads maintenance in a changing climate at the
municipal, provincial and federal level.
3.
Training
operational staff on the issues and technology associated with climate change.
4.
Modifying
service standards and response time based on complex weather conditions.
5.
Addressing
the challenges of severe rain fall during winter months (freezing rain, rain on
snow, etc.).
6.
Training
Road Maintenance Managers and Supervisors on changing climate issues and
improving skills sets required in overseeing staff during complex weather
events.
NEXT STEPS:
Canadian municipalities need to be in the forefront of adopting new initiatives and testing emerging technologies not only for the purposes of environmental responsibility, or to address budget constraints, but also to limit the vulnerability, risks and impacts to our communities. Also needed is the consideration of the policies that guide our provision of services and inter-related topics such as changing demographics, public transit, Para-Transpo services for the elderly and for persons with disabilities and increasing demands on alternate transportation modes.
The momentum on dealing with climate change has
started. As a case in point, in the
March 2006 issue of the municipal magazine – Municipal World, the
heading reads: “Climate Change Crisis – Our Climate is Changing; Our
Infrastructure is Suffering”. Three
articles within the periodical are directly related to municipal governments
dealing with climate change: Climate Change: The Challenge to Canadian
Municipalities and the InfraGuide, Getting Started on Adaptation to
Climate, and Climate Change and the Montreal Action Plan. These articles continue to reinforce the
need for Canadian Cities to build Adaptation Capacity for Climate Change.
The delegates requested that the City of Ottawa take the lead in forwarding this report to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Ontario Good Roads Association and the Association of Municipalities for information and consideration of including Winter Maintenance Climate Change Adaptation into their operational planning. The delegates also continue to encourage municipal, provincial and federal governments to continue working closely together in creating opportunities for sharing ideas, experience and knowledge on climate change adaptation and winter maintenance operations.
The delegates at the symposium unanimously agreed to meeting again in 2007. The Ontario Road Salt Management Group has offered to host the 2007 Winter Maintenance Symposium.
CONSULTATION
Public consultation is not required.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no financial implications to this report.