Report to/Rapport au :
Transportation Committee /
Comité des transports
January 6, 2005 / le 6 janvier 2005
Submitted by/Soumis par :
R.T. Leclair, Deputy City Manager / Directrice
municipale adjointe
Public Works and Services / Services et
Travaux publics
Contact Person/Personne
ressource : Dale Philpotts, Director/Directeur
Surface Operations/Opérations de surface
(613) 580-2424 x 25543, dale.philpotts@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
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OBJET : |
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the
Transportation Committee receive this report outlining the operational results
of the application of the new Winter Maintenance Standards.
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité des transport prenne connaissance du
rapport soulignant les résultats opérationnels de la mise en place des
nouvelles normes d’entretien d’hiver.
BACKGROUND
The municipal amalgamation process brought together 12 municipal authorities providing similar maintenance services defined and delivered to varying levels across the former jurisdictions. At that time, the Public Works and Services Department (formerly Transportation, Utilities and Public Works) developed a comprehensive strategy to establish harmonized service standards that could be applied in a consistent manner across the new city. This strategy and development process involved extensive community and stakeholder consultations, review of existing service standards and peer comparisons in the development and recommendation of proposed service level standards to deliver consistent, dependable, and affordable services. On June 11, 2003 Council approved the new Maintenance Quality Standards for Roads and Sidewalk/Pathways (ACS2003-TUP-SOP-0004), establishing new service levels, including City-wide winter maintenance service levels.
The Maintenance Quality Standards define the desirable level of winter maintenance and the executed outcome of each winter service by defining the timing and extent of each winter maintenance activity in the context of achieving the overall objective of safe and passable roads and sidewalks by reducing hazards caused by snow and ice accumulation.
As part of the implementation strategy for the new standards, the Department was directed by the Transportation Committee to monitor the results over the 2003/2004 winter period and report back to Committee on any operational and community concerns. This report provides an overview of progress to date and discusses areas of concern identified with respect to residential roadway and sidewalk standards and outlines some alternatives should Council wish to consider changes to the current standards.
The Maintenance Quality Standards were developed to provide a consistent and appropriate level of service for all maintenance activities. Crafted based on an extensive community consultation process, review of former municipal standards and comparable external municipalities, the approved Maintenance Quality Standards meet or exceed the Ontario Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways (Regulation 239/02).
In order to establish an appropriate priority for consistent delivery of the service standards, associated maintenance classifications were also developed categorizing roads and sidewalk/pathways of similar characteristics and function into similar classes used to prioritize the delivery of the maintenance activities. Based on a hierarchy directly linked to order of importance and use within the transportation network as a whole, maintenance services are delivered sequentially, in descending order, starting with the Class 1 High Priority Roads (e.g. Hwy 174, Transitway) and Class 2 Arterials, (e.g. Woodroffe Avenue) then moving on to Class 3 Major Collectors (e.g. Meadowlands Drive) followed by Class 4 Minor Collectors, (e.g. McLaren Street) and then moving on to Class 5 Residential Roads (e.g. John Street).
Table 103.01.01 provides an overview of the approved standards and classes for Snow and Ice Control on Roads while Table 103.02.01 provides an overview of the approved standards and classes for Snow and Ice Control on Sidewalks/Pathways.
Attached for further information, Annex A provides an overview of the Winter Maintenance Quality Standards compared to the former Municipalities.
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Table 103.01.01 – Snow and Ice Control on Roads |
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Road
Maintenance Class |
Road Type |
Minimum Depth of Snow Accumulation for Deployment of Resources (Depth as per MMSMH) |
Time to Clear Snow Accumulation From the
End of Snow Accumulation or Time to Treat Icy Conditions (Time as per MMSMH) |
Treatment Standard |
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Bare Pavement |
Centre Bare |
Snow Packed |
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1 |
A |
High Priority Roads |
As accumulation begins (2.5-8 cm depending on class) |
2 h (3-4
h) |
Ö |
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B |
Ö |
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2 |
A |
Most Arterials |
3 h (3-6
h) |
Ö |
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B |
Ö |
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3 |
A |
Most Major Collectors |
4 h (8-12
h) |
Ö |
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B |
Ö |
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4 |
A |
Most Minor Collectors |
5 cm (8
cm) |
6 h (12-16
h) |
Ö |
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B |
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Ö |
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C |
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Ö |
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5 |
A, C |
Residential Roads
and Lanes |
7 cm (10
cm) |
10 h (16-24
h) |
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Ö |
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B |
10 cm (not defined) |
16 h (not
defined) |
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Ö |
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- MMSMH refers to Ontario Regulation 239/02, Minimum
Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highway
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Table 103.02.01 – Snow and Ice Control on Sidewalks and Pathways |
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Sidewalk/ Pathway Maintenance Classification |
Minimum Depth of Snow Accumulation for Deployment of Resources |
Time to Clear Snow Accumulation From the End of Snow Accumulation or Time to Treat Icy Conditions |
Treatment Standard |
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Bare Surface |
Snow Packed |
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1 |
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Downtown business district ·
Byward Market ·
large employment centres ·
special tourism areas |
2.5 cm |
4 h |
Ö |
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2 |
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downtown/urban residential neighbourhoods where sidewalks are only
safe place to walk ·
sidewalks in Villages ·
pathways that serve as main community links or to access transit
services ·
sidewalks along roads with transit service, emergency facilities,
public facilities or retail/commercial frontages ·
pathways designated as part of City cycling routes |
5 cm |
12 h |
Sidewalks directly adjacent to arterial roads |
All other locations |
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3 |
·
sidewalks along rural and suburban collector and residential roads ·
paved pathways in rural and suburban neighbourhoods (pathways that
are winter maintained) |
5 cm |
16 h |
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Ö |
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4 |
·
unpaved pathways and trails ·
paved pathways that are not winter maintained |
Not winter maintained |
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DISCUSSION
While the harmonization of service standards and classifications is the primary component of an integrated approach to define and achieve desired services, resource allocation and distribution of staff, optimization of winter snow and ice control routes, and rationalization of maintenance equipment and deployment centres all play an integral role in how effectively services are delivered. Given their inherent interdependencies, these elements in conjunction with the classification and standards must be viewed collectively when considering winter service delivery.
Maintaining roads and sidewalks to the approved Maintenance Quality Standards is challenging in Ottawa’s diverse winter weather patterns. Situated between two distinct climatic zones, Ottawa receives an annual average snow accumulation of 235 centimetres combined with a myriad of weather patterns associated with fluctuating temperature extremes that create freeze/thaw cycles, freezing rain and rain all of which result in a myriad of road and sidewalk conditions and associated fluctuating winter road surface temperatures (extreme ranges between +5şC and –28şC).
Each weather event requires a discrete tactical response uniquely combining equipment, labour and material resources in appropriate combinations and focused on the appropriate activity, at the appropriate time, in order to achieve the desired results. Substantial diligence is applied constantly to permit immediate and continuous adjustments to the tactics employed throughout each weather event. Other factors such as traffic conditions, time of day, temperatures, forecasted weather, time of year also influence the type of response required for specific events.
Roadway standards are achieved by a combination of snow clearing, snow removal and salt/grit applications. Within the overall context of the tactical approach to combat winter weather, the use of salt in winter maintenance of City streets is fundamental to the City’s snow and ice control program.
Public consultation (specific to development of the Maintenance Quality Standards and the recent EKOS Citizen Satisfaction Survey) has confirmed that residents place a high degree of importance on snow and ice control for City roads but have also expressed a desire to see reductions in the application of road salt. As well, in response to growing concerns of the potential detrimental affects of road salts on the environment, Environment Canada initiated a best practices review of road salt storage and usage resulting in a Code of Practice for the Environmental Management of Road Salts whereby municipalities are requested to voluntarily establish a Road Salt Management Plan. (The City of Ottawa Plan is currently under development and will be completed and brought forward to Committee in the spring).
The approved standard for snow and ice control on High Priority Roads,
Arterial and Collector Roads is a bare pavement condition, which is achieved
through snow clearing, application of road salt and snow removal. This is consistent with the standards
practiced by former municipalities on these roads largely because most were
serviced by the former R.M.O.C. or were the highest priority roads within the
former municipalities’ road network.
Accordingly, there has been very little, if any, change in the level of
winter service on these higher priority roads as they are treated with salt in
an environmentally responsible manner, and continue to be maintained to a bare
surface condition.
The most significant change in service levels has been on the local
residential roadways. The approved standard for residential roads is a snow
packed condition as the use of salt has been eliminated with the exception of
spot application of salt/grit on residential stops, hills and curves. This standard was first implemented for the
winter season of 2003-2004 and as part of the 2003 budget process, Council
approved a $400,000 reduction in salt usage primarily on suburban residential
streets. The new standard effectively
increased the overall inventory of snow packed roads, which is consistent with
the community’s and Environment Canada’s desire to see reduction in the amount
of road salts being applied.
As the Department moves forward in the evolution of the implementation
of the snow packed standard on residential streets, residential streets where
previously bare or center-bare standards had been applied are now maintained to
a snow packed standard. Residents in
the former jurisdictions, of Cumberland, Gloucester, Nepean, Goulbourn, and
Vanier, where residential streets were formerly bare, or center-bare are now
experiencing the snow packed standard.
There has been no change for residents in former Osgoode, Rideau,
Kanata, Ottawa, Rockcliffe and West Carleton where roads were previously
maintained to a snow packed condition.
In these former municipalities, the application of a grit/salt or salt
mixture to achieve center- bare conditions on residential streets provided
municipal operations with a better ability to respond to events that did not
meet snow accumulation levels required to activate full plowing operations and
the ability to respond to freeze/thaw conditions or major temperature
fluctuations. This practice also
resulted in road conditions favourable to pedestrians where sidewalks do not
exist.
The trigger for deploying resources to plow
residential roads is seven centimetres, slightly modified from the five centimetre trigger formerly employed in Cumberland,
Kanata, Nepean, Goulbourn, Vanier and Rockcliffe and improved from the eight
centimetre trigger formerly employed in Gloucester, Osgoode, Rideau and West
Carleton. The approved standard on
residential roads however, does maintain the objective of achieving cleanup of
significant snow accumulations and the current seven centimetre accumulation trigger to commence plowing
operations and the 10 hour duration to clear following accumulation exceeds the
Ontario Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal
Highways.
The provincial standard suggests that plows need not be deployed until a ten centimetre accumulation and
provides for 16 to 24 hours to clear.
With the implementation of the new winter maintenance standards in 2003, there has been at times strong reaction to the condition of the local residential roads following some storm events.
In December 2003 and again in December 2004, Ottawa received severe weather cycles of freezing rain/rain/flash freeze which resulted in very rough and rutted icy conditions developing on the local residential roadway system. As we have experienced, the new standard of “snow-pack” does not bode well under the aforementioned extreme weather conditions. One of the advantages of the practice in some of the former municipalities, of maintaining a center-bare standard on residential roads was the ability to withstand such extreme weather cycles and maintain acceptable conditions on these roadways in lieu of the ice build-up, response to thawing conditions, roadway flooding conditions and the ability to remove snow/ice buildup which is currently being experienced.
Sidewalk Winter Maintenance Service Standards
The approved standard for snow and ice control on Sidewalk/Pathways on
Class 1 sidewalk/pathways (downtown business district, Byward Market,
employment and tourism areas), and Class 2 Sidewalks/pathways adjacent to
arterial roads is a bare pavement condition.
The approved standard for the remaining Class 2 (non-arterial) and Class
3 Sidewalks (residential and rural) is a snow packed treatment standard. This is consistent with the standards
practiced by former municipalities largely because the majority of the sidewalk
inventory is situated within the former City of Ottawa boundary, so effectively
there has been very little, if any, change in the level of winter sidewalk
service in this area and the remaining relatively low inventory of sidewalk
outside the central City core continues to be maintained consistent with
previous levels of service.
Notwithstanding this consistent service level, recent extreme weather events have evoked a strong reaction to the condition of some sidewalks due to the ice build-up that has recently been experienced. Similar concerns with respect to winter sidewalk conditions have been expressed, solutions considered and field trials undertaken by the former municipalities to determine what actions, if any, would best remedy the ongoing problems.
During winter season 1994/95 and again winter season 1995/96, the former City of Ottawa undertook an extensive Winter Walking Demonstration Project providing higher levels of winter maintenance within a demonstration area to compare the effectiveness of increased service levels against the condition of sidewalks in a control area that received the standard level of service, comparable to the current approved Sidewalk/Pathway service standards. Although the demonstration project provided valuable insight into the costs and effectiveness of measures to improve winter sidewalk conditions, the study concluded that increased plowing and salt/grit application without additional snowbank removal only resulted in minor improvements to walking conditions. In addition, the study concluded that snowbank removal was the more cost effective approach for improving conditions. Snow situated between the curb edge and sidewalk impedes drainage and increases the formation and retention of ice, particularly during freeze/thaw cycles typically experienced in Ottawa. Removal of snowbanks greatly improved drainage, not just from the sidewalk itself, but also from the adjacent properties to the rear of the sidewalk which could now drain to the gutter unimpeded rather than contributing to the unsatisfactory sidewalk conditions. The former City of Ottawa did not implement this recommended standard due to fiscal restraints.
Prior to 2003, the removal of snow was undertaken 3-5 times per year to meet the minimum cleared road widths on residential and collector roadways. During the 2003 budget process Council further adjusted winter maintenance standards by approving a $1.1 million reduction to snow removal services on residential and collector roadways thus eliminating one complete snow removal operation (on average) per season. This has further compounded the ability to counteract extreme winter conditions.
Routing is necessary to group streets of like classification and geographic proximity into a beat unit where by the service level standards can be achieved practically through assignment of resources to the beat. The total inventory of streets is apportioned into beats, logically grouped to ensure delivery of the service within the allotted timeframe stipulated by the Maintenance Quality Standards.
It is not possible to consider beat routing in isolation without considering staff and equipment allocation, and deployment centres as these are the cornerstones of service delivery. With a new organizational design and redistribution of work units, the Surface Operations Branch is now able to overcome the false constraints imposed by former municipal boundaries to design beats that logically follow urban development patterns and topography, i.e. the logical grouping of streets based on plan of subdivision or geographic characteristic rather than municipal boundary.
This has permitted redesign of service beats to facilitate effective service delivery in a highly consistent manner, crossing former “artificial” municipal boundaries and permitting highly effective use of resources. From a resident’s perspective, these routing changes could very well mean that their street is now grouped differently from other streets that were previously serviced together and/or is listed in a different order than previously experienced. While this does influence the delivery of the service, it does not affect the service level standard.
Ultimately, service provision comprises a specifically skilled staff resource, linked to a specific equipment resource, further linked to a specific beat route, particular to the service being delivered. Amalgamation provided an opportunity to optimize resources through the elimination of municipal boundaries, redeployment of resources and equipment, use of deployment centres throughout the City and the introduction of new technology. This has contributed to the $11.1M amalgamation savings in the Surface Operations Branch. Surface Operations Branch staff resources allocated to winter maintenance are now structured into Core/Urban Road Operations and Rural/Suburban Road Operations establishing an organizational structure mirrored to the City’s natural geographical and urban design boundaries inside and outside the greenbelt. This realignment of resources positively influences delivery of the service and the Department is able to achieve the approved standards during average winter weather events. However, during a limited number of extreme weather events experienced each winter, the resource capacity is exceeded and standards are not achieved.
Conclusion
The Council approved Maintenance Quality Standards were intended to provide consistent, dependable, and affordable levels of winter service to all citizens of Ottawa by defining the desirable level of service and providing the outcome of each service (timing and extent of each winter maintenance activity) required to achieve safe and passable roads and sidewalks clear of the hazards caused by snow and ice accumulation.
While these service levels may be defined and delivered to slightly varying levels than previously experienced in some areas, with the exception of Class 5 Residentials for the most part services are very similar to the majority of maintenance services delivered by the former municipalities. Created based on an extensive community consultation process and consideration for the former municipal standards, the Maintenance Quality Standards are comparable to external municipalities and meet or exceed the Ontario Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways.
In implementing the Maintenance Quality Standards, the Public Works and Services Department has taken a progressive, integrated approach toward achieving a level of consistency across the City and maximizing efficient and cost effective winter service delivery. The approved Maintenance Quality Standards establish appropriate service levels and the Department is appropriately resourced to respond to typical weather events.
Based on the Department’s experience over the last few winter seasons, current and historical weather patterns, and Ottawa’s location between two discreet climatic zones, it is highly probable that Ottawa will continue to experience occasional extreme weather events as well as frequent freeze/thaw cycles. On these limited occasions road and sidewalk conditions will deteriorate on residential streets. Depending on the frequency, and the extent of these extreme conditions supplementary winter control services are necessary to maintain acceptable conditions.
Alternatives For Residential Maintenance Standards
One alternative would be to modify the existing approved Class 5 Residential Road treatment standard from a snow packed condition to a centre-bare condition. This would be achieved through the reintroduction of salt in those former municipal jurisdictions where salt was previously applied on residential roads, and a new introduction of salt on those residential roads that have never previously received salt application. The overall impact of this modification, estimated to cost in the order of $3.4 million, would be a considerable increase in the overall quantity of salt applied in Ottawa, as the entire inventory of streets would receive salt application. This conservative estimate does not take into consideration the lack of adequate storage capacity to house such increased salt quantities, nor does it consider impacts to present labour and equipment resources currently operating at full capacity. Further this response is likely excessive, given the frequency of the extreme weather conditions and may not be required on a regular basis.
Taking into consideration the fiscal and operational realities, and the environmental concerns the Department would not recommend a complete change in the Class 5 maintenance standard. Rather, the Department would suggest that a more appropriate approach would be to direct the Department to exercise discretion to supplement the current maintenance standards for residential roads on those limited occasions when corrective measures are warranted to restore adequate roadway conditions when extreme weather patterns result in highly unacceptable roadway conditions (as recently experienced). This flexibility could be established with minimal impact to the existing snow packed standard and would result in supplementary plowing and salting operations on residential roads, only when deemed tactically necessary by the Director of Surface Operations. Additional supplementary services could add $1.5 to $2.5 million annually to the cost of winter operations.
Based on the Winter Walking Demonstration study findings that snow removal, or lack thereof, adversely impacts sidewalk conditions, an increase in the frequency of snow removal on residential and collector roads could be considered. From a tactical perspective, increasing snow removal frequency by two (on average) additional snow removal operations on Residential and Collector Roadways, annually should achieve the desired improvements to sidewalk conditions more cost-effectively than increased sidewalk plowing or gritting/salting operations. The increased frequency of snow removal could add $1 to $2 million annually to the cost of winter operations.
CONSULTATION
No consultation was undertaken directly in conjunction with this report; however, extensive direct public consultation and consultation with appropriate advisory committees was undertaken during development of the approved Maintenance Quality Standards and during the Winter Walking Demonstration Pilot, both of which are significant sources for this report.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The Department of Public Works and Services Draft 2005 Operating Budget provides $52.5 million gross expenditures for the Winter Maintenance Program, and conservatively forecast 2004 actual expenditures of $50.5 million. Based on actual Winter experience in December, the published forecast is considered low, however final expenditures for 2004 are not yet finalized.
2003 final expenditures were $52.0 million. At year-end 2003, a contribution of $6.8 million was made from the Winter Maintenance Reserve to offset an operating deficit. That reserve currently has no balance.
Implementing all the modifications to the proposed standards noted in this report could increase annual costs by an additional estimate of up to $4.5 million.
Should Council direct changes to the Winter Maintenance Standards, the Department can continue to operate within the Draft 2005 Operating Budget, and will monitor the increased costs and report back to City Council through quarterly status reports. Alternatively, Committee could refer 2005 increase to City Council for budget deliberation in February.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION