Team Canada Winter Maintenance Practices in Southern Ontario APWA International Congress & Exposition Toronto, Ontario Tuesday, August 19, 2014 Introductions Dominic Guthrie, Senior Coordinator, Emergency & Winter Operations City of Toronto Paul Johnson, Operations Manager County of Wellington Warren Nicholishen Supervisor, Roads & Traffic Operations Where we are 1
Presentation Overview Program Highlights - City of Toronto - Pedestrian Focussed Services - County of Wellington - - Snow Storage Facility Toronto Facts 4th largest City in North America; Mexico City, New York, Los Angeles 2.6 million pop within city limits 5.6 million pop in greater Toronto area > 50% of residents from outside Canada Toronto Winter Facts 5600 (3500 miles) center line km of road 8000 km (5000 miles) of sidewalk 262,000 driveway windrows opened 4x/yr Approx 13cm (52 ) snow/yr $85M Budget for winter operations 2
Winter Equipment Overview Logistics is our single biggest challenge 570 Road Plows 322 Sidewalk Plows 200 Salt Trucks 1500 Staff 131,000 tons salt/yr $7.5M salt budget It s Not Just for Cars Anymore! Customer base is changing need to re-focus our efforts on what is happening within the entire road allowance not just on the roadway Pedestrians must be treated with equal consideration as cars, and a minimum accessible pathway must be provided for them as it is for vehicles on the road Sidewalk Snow Clearing Map 3
Sidewalk Clearing Transportation Services clears snow from sidewalks in most areas of the City, but only where a mechanical snow plough is able to physically clear snow (inner area local streets excluded). Approx 6,000km (3,750m) Sidewalk plowing activities are activated when snow accumulations on the sidewalk have reached 8 cm and the snow has stopped, or when icy conditions dictate (5 cm in January-February). Sidewalk Clearing Operations Typically, it takes up to 24-48 hours to clear all sidewalks. Often plows will clear sidewalks on the first day and return to apply a sand/salt mix on the second day (or thereafter, if icy). The actual commencement of sidewalk plowing operations may be delayed until the completion of roadway plowing operations. Service Considerations No monolithic sidewalk in combination with onstreet parking Street must be greater than 8m(26ft) in (width to allow for on-street snow storage) Sidewalk must be greater than 1.5m(5ft) in width No obstructions such as utility poles, planters, retaining walls immediately adjacent to or within the sidewalk that would create significant potential for damage or an operating safety concern for the equipment operator or the public 4
Level of Service Table (2015-2022) Changes for 2015 2022: High volume pedestrian roads 2cm level of service By-Law Enforcement City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 719, Snow & Ice Removal Responsibility of every owner or occupant to clear sidewalk abutting the property within 12 hrs after any snowfall wherever the City does not do so mechanically Prohibits the clearing of snow from private property and depositing onto the public roadway, sidewalk, or lane City has the authority to clear the sidewalks and to add the resulting costs of the work to the tax bill Steps and Pinch Points Hand crews are used to clear steps and priority locations Areas that are too narrow for a sidewalk machine to get through; pedestrian bridges over rail lines, walkways, street furniture obstructions, etc. 5
Multi-Use Trails Off road trails and paths are used by walkers, joggers, & cyclists during the winter months A complete plan needs to consider this infrastructure Bus Stop Clearing Bus/transit pads need to be cleared as part of the plowing operation. Bus stop clearing generally begins following the final round of roadway plowing. Needs to be coordinated with plowing Crosswalks can also opened with this equipment Catchbasins Seniors Snow Clearing Where it is not possible to deliver a mechanical service a manual service may be provided residents of single or two-family dwelling 65 years of age and/or physically challenged application form and/or annual renewal required Locations will grow in numbers after each snow event 6
Challenges Encroachment by-law prohibits adjacent property owners from installing fences, hedges, retaining walls, etc. close to the sidewalk. Many encroachments have been in place for so long that it is impossible to have owners remove them If damaged by sidewalk ploughs, we will reinstate the structure, but in accordance with the by-law Encroachments City of Toronto Pedestrian Services Thank you 7
Winter Maintenance in Wellington County Paul Johnson C.E.T., C.S.T. Operations Manager, County of Wellington Where is Wellington County? Ontario You are here Wellington County 1,000 sq km 8
1400 lane kilometers (870 lane miles) 8 Works Garages Newest Works Garage (2 years old) 29,000 square feet In floor heating 10 ton overhead crane Rainwater harvesting (water used for flushing toilets, truck wash) 2 truck wash bay (all steel components galvanized) 2 septic systems (one for grey/black water, one for truck wash) 335 hp generator 2,200 gallon gas/diesel above ground tanks with card lock 7,000 gallon liquid storage tank for winter operations fully contained 9
The County of Wellington is one of the most progressive Counties in Canada Using liquids since mid 70 s Computerized controls since 1990 Developed 3 in 1 unit Anti icing since the mid 90 s All plows have one way plus wing Infrared thermometers on all trucks Half have under body All have GPS/AVL Plows replaced every 7 years How we use liquids: 1. Pre mix sand and salt 2. Pre wet sand and salt 3. Direct application to the road prior to snow accumulation (anti icing) 4. Direct application during and after snow /ice accumulation (de icing) Pre-mixing Sand 10
Pre-mixing Salt 2002 Pre-mixing Salt 2002 On Demand Pre-mixed Salt 11
On Demand Pre mixed Salt? Basic rock salt, encapsulated with a high performance liquid A deicer with increased performance and environmental friendliness Liquid containment We have 300,000 ltrs storage capacity Our 3 in 1 Units 12
3 in 1 Unit Equipment This becomes this (2 of them) 26 of these Computerized Controls All trucks computerized since 1994 13
Thank You! Any Questions? Paul Johnson, Operations Manager, County of Wellington paulj@wellington.ca 1 800 663 0750 ext 2230 An Innovative Snow Storage Facility An Internal Partnership: Engineering, Public Works Design, Construction & Water Resources Presented By; Warren Nicholishen CRS CIG Supervisor Roads and Traffic Operations, On. 14
Population 188,000 Lane Kilometers of Road 1,100 L/Km (770 L/m) Winter Events approximately 60 Use of 23 Combination Plow / Spreaders 21 Sidewalk Trackless / Tractor units, 63 Km (41 miles) Average Salt use of 23,000 tonnes Snow Storage Area Sediment Bay & Pond 2007 2008 Snowfall 200+cm (80 inches) 1,220 tandem loads 17,000 tonnes of road salt / sand applied The preferred site had it s operational advantages, but still had a major obstacle to overcome. The Oak Ridges Moraine, an ecologically and environmentally significant topographical feature. The Moraine provides critical storage of high quality drinking water and is a source of headwater streams across the Greater Toronto area 15
Built in 2003, the facility required design features to address multiple challenges treating and managing snow disposal through a three part passive storm water management techniques. As snow melt is similar to low intensity long duration rainfall events, the same principles made it possible to treat in a similar process. Concept Three Passive SWM Practices Snow Storage Inlet Curb Oil Grit Separator Sediment fore bay Pond Outlet Oil and Grit separator, maintenance 16
1. Impervious Asphalt Deck, covering an area of 4.2 acres with a concrete curb to aid in the containment and direction of flow. Two catch basin inlets receive the snow melt. In 2008 the site held 18,300 cubic meters of snow By reducing the melt water flow velocity, the majority of solids and chloride residue deposits on the deck. Two conditions were implemented to ensure slow water movement: Snow pile is packed high to encourage slower melt. The deck is sloped at a grade of 2% or less, directed towards the inlet CB s In 2008 two tonnes of residual debris were removed and disposed of and Diverted from the watershed 2. Oil Grit Separator, the collected flow is directed to an oil-grit separator (OGS). The melt water is diverted into a treatment chamber. At this stage, petroleum products and finer sediments are captured. Given the slow velocity of the water passing, the Total Suspended Solid (TSS) load, captured is in the 95% range. 17
3. Constructed Wetland, the oil-grit separator then discharges the treated water into a constructed wetland. It is in this stage where fine grained sediments accumulate on the bottom of the pond. 3. Cont. The exiting water now leaves through a sub-surface pipe, downstream into the watershed. The returning water now has the ability to normalize in temperature, comparable to the native environment. 18
Sampling consisted of: Water Quality Testing; Discharge Events from the inlet & outlets into pond Sediment Testing; Via Wet Pond, Oil-Grit Separator & Asphalt Deck Thank you Presented By; Warren Nicholishen CRS CIG For: APWA 2014 Congress Supervisor Roads and Traffic Operations Community Services, Works, On. 19
QUESTIONS 20