Community and Infrastructure Services Committee

REPORT TO: DATE OF MEETING: November 7, 2016 Community and Infrastructure Services Committee SUBMITTED BY: Cynthia Fletcher, Interim Executive Director INS 519-741- PREPARED BY: WARD(S) INVOLVED: 2600 ext. 4424 Denise McGoldrick, Director of Operations Environmental Services, 519-741-2600 ext. 4657 All Wards DATE OF REPORT: September 20, 2016 REPORT NO.: SUBJECT: INS-16-087 Winter Sidewalk Maintenance RECOMMENDATION: 1. That the existing sidewalk snow clearing practices are maintained and improvement opportunities continue to be explored and implemented where feasible. 2. That staff continue to review and evaluate impacts of any proposed changed to O. Reg. 239/02 (Minimum Maintenance Standards) and report back to Council at a future date. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Currently the City of Kitchener provides winter maintenance of sidewalks in front of City owned property as well as sidewalks located at the rear of private properties (backlotted properties). The majority of municipalities in Ontario have similar sidewalk snow clearing practices as the City of Kitchener. Staff have evaluated the impact of city-wide sidewalk snow clearing practices and reviewed the maintenance practices for other municipalities. Staff recommends that existing winter sidewalk maintenance practices remain for the following reasons; Changes to the minimum maintenance standards (O. Reg. 239/02) are being considered by the Province of Ontario and may require changes to existing maintenance practices. As such, staff recommends that the existing practices are maintained until changes are made to the regulation and impacts are evaluated by staff. *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. 12-1

The City of Kitchener receives approximately 100 complaints per season that are logged by the Corporate Contact Centre related to city-maintained sidewalks. A review of the types of complaints identifies the opportunity to evaluate specific strategies to reduce the volume of complaints. The full impact of ION construction and snow loading requires evaluation this season. The City is currently conducting a pilot on year-round maintenance of trails and pathways around schools which, depending on the outcome of the pilot, may create pressure on the sidewalk winter maintenance resources. BACKGROUND: Through the 2015 budget process, Council approved a motion directing staff to examine sidewalk snow clearing operations as follows: 1. Conduct a review of the City s sidewalk snow clearing policies and engage in community consultation to determine if any changes are required; and further, 2. Circulate the previous report completed on sidewalk snow clearing to Council and report back on the practices of other large municipalities including the impact of implementing a similar level of service in 2016 or beyond. The City of Kitchener s Sidewalk Snow Clearing By-Law was reviewed in late 2015 and Council approved a number of enforcement improvements related to response times, chronic problem areas, 24 hour wait period, bare pavement requirement and public awareness (CSD-15-089). Enforcement noted there was a significant improvement in the length of time it took to respond to and clear sidewalks that were not in compliance, which resulted in a decreased number of calls from frustrated residents. Enforcement was also able to take a proactive approach to chronic problem areas which no longer required residents to call in repeatedly for the same address. The purpose of this report is to inform Council of the practices of other municipalities and the impact of implementing an expanded city-wide winter sidewalk maintenance program. The previous reports on sidewalk snow clearing (INS-11-055, CSD-08-002, CSD-07-087) were circulated to Council on October 26, 2015. Summary of Existing Sidewalk Snow Clearing Practices Currently the City of Kitchener, through the Operations - Environmental Services Division, maintains sidewalks throughout the winter fronting all City owned properties and back-lotted properties. In addition, sidewalks in the downtown areas are maintained by the City and funded through special by-law taxation to downtown properties. The average annual revenue received through the downtown winter sidewalk maintenance is $95,000. 12-2

There is a total of 1,200 km of sidewalk city-wide and the City is responsible for maintaining approximately 193 km. The winter maintenance of sidewalk is organized through 13 routes and the maintenance standard is that sidewalks are plowed within 24 hours after cessation of snow. In an average winter the City uses approximately 390 tonnes of salt to deice sidewalks. The current annual expenditure for sidewalk winter maintenance is $894,619 per year (average 2010-2015). All other sidewalks are maintained throughout the winter by property owners as set out in the City of Kitchener s current bylaw Chapter 687 (Snow and Ice). Chapter 687 requires property owners to clear sidewalk abutting their property to bare surface within 24 hours after cessation of snow and is consistent with the City s maintenance standards. In 2015, a number of enforcement changes were made resulting in improvements to response time and chronic problem areas. Recognizing the difficulty of sidewalk clearing for residents with health or mobility issues, the City is promoting an awareness campaign that encourages people to be good neighbours by clearing snow for those who may need assistance. The Snow Angels program has been implemented successfully in many municipalities and is aligned with the Neighbourhood Strategy vision of helping neighbours connect and work together to do great things in their neighbourhood. Discussion with the Mayor s Advisory Committee on Kitchener Seniors (MACKS) and Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) identified support for expanding the Snow Angels program. Complaints The City tracks complaints associated with winter sidewalk maintenance through the Corporate Contact Centre. The average number of service requests for city maintained sidewalks generated based on 2014 and 2015 data is 88 per season and is comparable to the call volume for other City services (e.g. leaf pickup and turf maintenance). This is approximately 0.5 calls per km of sidewalk maintained by the City of Kitchener. Complaints are primarily regarding the impact of road plowing on snow depth on curbfaced sidewalk, unplowed/slippery sidewalks and windrows left from road plowing activities. Based on review of the types of citizen complaints, changes were made to address concerns regarding curb-faced sidewalks and the amount of snow caused by road plowing activities. When a complaint is received, a supervisor will assess the amount of snow and when warranted the City will clear the sidewalk snow. There may be further opportunities for improvement to address problematic areas through changes to the existing practice. Potential strategies will need to be evaluated to determine budget and service level implications and where feasible will be implemented as continuous improvement efforts. Complaints are also tracked for by-law related concerns for winter sidewalk maintenance. As noted in the background, Council approved a number of enforcement 12-3

changes in 2015 that resulted in an improvement in response time and a decrease in overall complaints. The improvements include: A decrease in the number of complaints from the 2014/2015 winter season which had 2759 complaints and the 2015/2016 winter season which had 902 complaints. An increase in the number of sidewalks that were cleared through by-law intervention from 60 in 2014/2015 to 68 in 2015/2016. A decrease in the average number of days for sidewalks to be cleared through by-law intervention from 20 days in 2014/2015 to 1 day in 2015/2016. It should be noted that the winter of 2014/2015 was extremely cold and resulted in ice build-up on sidewalks whereas the winter of 2015/2016 was unseasonably mild which likely influenced the number of complaints received. Data will continue to be gathered on these metrics. Analysis of City-Wide Sidewalk Snow Clearing An analysis of the potential impact of increasing the winter maintenance service level to provide city-wide sidewalk snow clearing was conducted and evaluated with the current practice. Estimated financial impacts have been evaluated based on an extrapolation of sidewalk length and potential routing. It is estimated that an additional 27 routes, bringing the total number of routes maintained to 40, would be required to provide winter maintenance for all sidewalks city-wide. It is estimated that an additional 783 tonnes of salt would be required for the City to maintain all sidewalks. The ongoing annual operating expenditure (labour, equipment, materials) is estimated at $3,644,619. This represents an additional annual operating expenditure of $2,750,000 and a tax rate increase of 2.5% or an increase of $26.29 to the average household (assessed at $280,000). In addition, year 1 of implementation would require an initial capital expenditure of $4,050,000 for the provision of snow clearing equipment. This would likely result in a number of deferred capital projects to accommodate the capital investment within the existing capital forecast. In addition to evaluating financial impact of city-wide snow clearing, the potential for increased complaints was also evaluated. Other municipalities we contacted who offer this level of service averaged 0.94 calls per km of sidewalk annually with the majority of complaints being for unplowed/slippery sidewalks or for sod/property damage. This represents an increase in call volume of an additional approximately 1000 complaints. A summary comparison of existing practice compared to city-wide winter sidewalk maintenance is provided in Table 2. 12-4

Table 2: Comparison of Existing Practice to City-Wide Sidewalk Maintenance City Wide Sidewalk Status Quo Maintenance Length of Sidewalk 193 km 1200 km Maintained # of Routes 13 40 Salt Used (Tonnes) 390 1173 Annual Maintenance Expenditure $894,620 $3,633,790 Capital Expenditure $0 $4,050,000 Cost per Household* $8.59 $34.87 ($26.29 increase) 1 Complaints Received 2 88 Estimated 3 at approximately 1150 1. Cost per household based on assessed value of $280,000. 2. Status quo complaints based on average complaints logged by Corporate Contact Center in 2014 and 2015. 3. Based on feedback from other municipalities providing this level of service. Review of Other Municipalities The majority of municipalities in Ontario have similar sidewalk snow clearing practices as the City of Kitchener, including the City of Cambridge and City of Waterloo. A review of municipal winter sidewalk maintenance service levels was conducted for comparator municipalities that provide city-wide sidewalk snow clearing. The review identified that service levels were inconsistent amongst municipalities and all municipalities maintained sidewalks to snow packed conditions. In addition, snow clearing was only initiated with a specific snow depth trigger ranging from 2.5 to 8 cm and target response time ranged from 12 to 72 hours. City of London City-wide sidewalks with the exception of the downtown (responsibility of merchants). Surface maintained to snow packed. Response triggers at 8 cm with a desired response time of 24 hours City of Burlington City-wide sidewalks. Surface maintained to a snow packed condition however will attempt to achieve bare pavement through de-icing when resources permit. 12-5

Response triggers at 5 cm with a desired response time of 24-36 hours City of Kingston City-wide sidewalks. Surface maintained to a snow packed condition however will attempt to achieve bare pavement through de-icing when resources permit. Response triggers at 2.5 to 5 cm with a desired response time of 24-72 hours City of Ottawa City-wide sidewalks. Surface maintained to a snow packed condition however the downtown, large employment centers and special tourism areas are maintained to bare concrete. Response triggers at 5 cm outside of these specialized areas with a desired response time of 12-16 hours City of Guelph City-wide sidewalks. Surface maintained to a snow packed condition however the downtown and high priority areas are maintained to bare concrete. Response triggers at 8 cm outside of these specialized areas with a desired response time of 20 hours Municipal Act 2001, Ontario Regulation 239/02 - Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways (commonly known as MMS ) Current MMS are silent on winter sidewalk maintenance; however staff are aware that draft revisions of the MMS are taking place at the provincial level. The draft amendments for the MMS include standards for winter sidewalk maintenance and are anticipated to identify snow accumulation depths, response timelines, and monitoring requirements for sidewalks. Regulations can be amended quite quickly and new winter requirements could be in place for the upcoming winter season or for the 2017/18 winter season. In the event there are new MMS, there will more than likely be new winter sidewalk maintenance standards and a further review of the City s winter sidewalk maintenance level of service will be necessary. CONCLUSIONS: The winter sidewalk maintenance review evaluated the impact of city wide sidewalk snow clearing practices and reviewed the maintenance practices for other municipalities. The following highlights the outcome of the review: The City of Kitchener has made positive changes to both by-law and maintenance practices and will continue to evaluate opportunities to do so. Complaint volume is consistent with other program areas and by-law complaints have decreased since the enforcement changes were made in 2015. 12-6

The majority of municipalities in Ontario have similar sidewalk snow clearing practices as the City of Kitchener. The review of municipalities that have implemented city-wide sidewalk snow clearing identified that service levels were inconsistent amongst municipalities and all municipalities maintained sidewalks to snow packed conditions. Further resident complaints increased following the implementation of city-wide programs. There are a number of uncertainties related to winter maintenance including changes to the minimum maintenance standards and the impact of the ION which requires evaluation. In addition, the City is currently conducting a pilot on year-round maintenance of trails that may change service levels regarding trail winter maintenance. Staff are recommending that the existing sidewalk snow clearing practices be maintained and continuous improvement opportunities continue to be explored and implemented where feasible. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: The recommendation of this report supports the achievement of the city s strategic vision through the delivery of core service. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: At this time there are no financial implications. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: INFORM This report has been posted to the City s website with the agenda in advance of the council / committee meeting. A copy of this report has been provided to all members of the Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) and the Mayor s Advisory Committee for Kitchener Seniors (MACKS). CONSULT Staff consulted with MACKS and GRAAC to obtain feedback on continuous improvement opportunities. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Cynthia Fletcher, Executive Director, Infrastructure Services 12-7