Report : PW-11-002

Public Works
Telephone (905) 468-3278
Facsimile (905) 468-1722

3 Lorraine Strret
P.O. Box 100
Virgil, Ontario
L0S 1T0

		Submitted on:	January 03, 2011
Report:	PW-11-002

Report To:	Public Works Advisory Committee
Subject:	Sidewalk Snow Clearing – Queen Street and Picton Street

1. RECOMMENDATION

It is respectfully recommended:

1.1 That Council support the current policy PW-RDS-016a respecting Removal of Snow from Sidewalks.

2. PURPOSE / PROPOSAL

The purpose of this report is to provide the background to the issue of sidewalk snow clearing on Queen Street and Picton Street in the Heritage Business District.

3. BACKGROUND

Currently, the Town provides sidewalk snow clearing of all municipal sidewalks in the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake with the exception of the business section of Queen Street and Picton Street, between Gate Street and Wellington Street. Within this zone, Public Works staff only clear the snow windrows created by road clearing activity where the sidewalks meet the curb. At its December meeting, Council approved a recommendation of the Public Works Advisory Committee that the Director of Public Works research the possibility of snow removal from sidewalks on Queen Street and report back to Committee.

4. DISCUSSION / ANALYSIS

Prior to 2001, it was the responsibility of the abutting property owner to remove snow and ice from municipal sidewalks in front of their lands. In 2001, Council amended its sidewalk snow clearing policy and directed that the Town assume responsibility for sidewalk snow clearing to include all municipal sidewalks, save and except Queen Street/Picton Street from Gate Street to Wellington Street. By-law 115-71 was amended to reflect this change in policy. Reports PW-01-006 (see also Council Amendment) and PW-01-067 provide the rationale for making the change. Copies of these reports are appended. Council subsequently approved the purchase of a trackless unit with V-plow attachment.

In 2006, Council added winter maintenance of the Town's multi-purpose trails on Glendale Ave. and Niagara Stone Road as part of the sidewalk snow clearing effort (see Report PW-06-073).

A further report on sidewalk snow clearing was submitted in June of 2007 (Report PW-07-043) which addressed both the issue of excluding the business section of Queen/Picton Streets and ice control. A Committee of the Whole amendment was passed that saw the removal of the word "ice" from the policy. Policy PW-RDS-016 "Removal of Snow from Sidewalks" is also appended to this report.

The sidewalk inventory had climbed from 36.8 km. of sidewalk in 2001 to 55.6 km. today. It is noted that the sidewalks are spatially separated in five urban areas of the community. The deadheading between areas creates an additional burden. Consequently, staff have experienced difficulty meeting the time requirement of 12 hours for completing removal of snow following an accumulation of 75 mm. or greater per the policy.

In short, there is an issue with extending existing routes to include sections of sidewalk that require far more attention and possibly switching from a v-plow to a one way plow blade. There is also a concern that the level of service desired for the business district cannot be adequately met using this type of equipment as the plows would tend to fill in the doorways or pathways leading to building entrances, many of which are at property line.

In November of 2007, direction was given to Senior Management Team to obtain quotations from private contractors to provide this unique service requirement. Advertisements were placed in the local newspapers and contact was made by the then Road Supervisor to several known contractors. Unfortunately, there was no interest shown by anyone following this process. One comment made by a contractor contacted was that the price to do this work would be close to that which the Town now spends on the rest of the sidewalk system (which at the time was $18,000).

A subsequent report was submitted in March of 2008 (PW-08-015) to award the purchase of a trackless unit with plouw and mower attachments to augment the existing unit. In spite of this additional equipment, staff foresee some difficulty in keeping up during heavy snowfalls as the sidewalk inventory in new subdivisions keeps growing.

5. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The current cost for sidewalk snow clearing is estimated at $40,600 for average conditions. This represents about 0.55% of the tax levy. Staff would not be able to achieve the level of service that owners and tenants on Queen Street and Picton Street (about 1.2km. of sidewalk) are accustomed to receiving at the same unit cost as for the rest of the sidewalk system (approximately $750/km.).

Recognizing that there was no interest from private contractors, possibly due to the volume of work, staff have guesstimated the cost of doing this in-house. In addition to using existing equipment (trackless with one-way plow, crew cab and trailer), at least two snowblowers and shovels would be required to carry out handwork following a pass using the trackless unit. The capital cost would amount to about $5,000. The plow would need to be changed to a one-way plow (time-consuming) as normally, a v-plow attachment is utilized. The unit could probably run as efficiently as on other routes for an estimated cost of $900 per season. Seasonal employees would need to be hired and some assurance provided that they are available when needed. The extra cost for a minimum of 4 seasonal employees based on current rates and assumed standby is in the neighbourhood of $18,100 (legislated benefits included). Despite the estimated $19,000 operating cost and one time capital cost of $5,000, it is anticipate that it would take at least 5 hours to complete the area - a far cry from what would satisfy the storeowners. It is reminded that the trigger would be 75 mm of snow accumulation and there is also no provision for ice control, both as per the present policy.

6. COMMUNICATIONS

Attached is a copy of the correspondence that was sent In June of 2007 from the Town Clerk to the Chamber of Commerce requesting that store owners be canvassed in respect of snow clearing. To date there has been no official response to that request. However, a copy of this report will be provided to the Chamber of Commerce for its information.

7. CONCLUSION

Practically, these items could be considered for inclusion in the draft 2011 Operating and Capital Budgets should Council wish to further pursue this option for the next winter season. Based on the above information, staff is not advocating any change in policy at the present time.

Respectfully submitted,

E.J. Kuczera, M.Sc. P.Eng. Mike Galloway
Director of Public Works Chief Administrative Officer

ATTACHMENTS