HomeMy WebLinkAboutOPD-002-15 Clarington
Operations Department
Report
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Report To: General Purpose and Administration Committee
Date of Meeting: March 9, 2015
Report Number: OPD-002-15 Resolution: P 1
File Number: N/A By-law Number:
Report Subject: Sidewalk Snow Removal and Clearing
Recommendations:
1. That Report OPD-002-15 be received; and
2. That all interested parties listed in Report OPD-002-15 and any delegations be advised of
Council's decision.
Municipality of Clarington
Report OPD-002-15 Page 2
Report Overview
The purpose of this report is to provide Council with the necessary information on the
implications of implementing a new winter control service level to clear all municipal sidewalks
within Clarington.
1 . Background
1.1.At their regular meeting held on February 2, 2015, Council approved General
Purpose and Administration Committee resolution #GPA-056-15, requesting that
staff investigate and prepare a report on the cost to clear all municipal sidewalks in
Clarington.
1.2. In accordance with Clarington By-law #93-144, winter sidewalk maintenance is
currently the responsibility of every owner and/or occupant of property to clear away
and remove any snow, slush or ice, from the sidewalks in front of, alongside, or at
the rear of said property within 24 hours after a fall of snow, rain or hail. Similarly,
the Municipality of Clarington maintains responsibility for winter maintenance on
sidewalks that front onto parks, open space, hard surface walking paths,
neighbourhood walkways and sections of sidewalk that provide direct access to
schools. The municipality also offers a seniors snow removal program that provides
service to residents in a household that are 65 years of age and over or individuals
that have a medically certified condition that prohibits their ability to clear the
windrow left on their driveway from the snowplough and the sidewalk fronting their
home.
1.3.The sidewalk snow clearing and senior snow removal programs provided by the
municipality are accommodated by the use of two (2) contractors. Each contractor
is individually dispatched, as necessary, by call-out process when municipal staff
are involved with a typical response to a winter event by sanding/salting and/or
ploughing roadways.
2. Analysis
2.1. It is estimated that there are approximately 275 linear kilometers of sidewalk in
Clarington which is present in both the urban areas and the outlying rural villages
and hamlets. Of this total, approximately 52 kilometers is currently cleared by
contractors fronting municipal properties while an additional 9 kilometers is
maintained under the senior's snow removal program. The remaining 214
kilometers of sidewalk is located within the residential and business improvement
areas and is currently required to be maintained by the owners and/or occupants of
property subject to the conditions of Clarington By-law #93-144.
Municipality of Clarington
Report OPD-002-15 Page 3
2.2.Clarington's snow clearing contractor currently uses four (4) pieces of equipment to
fulfil contract obligations to maintain 52 kilometers of sidewalk while the senior's
snow removal contractor utilizes two (2) pieces of equipment to manage 9
kilometers.
2.3.The efficiencies that can be calculated for each piece of equipment can be
considered quite low due to the fact that the sidewalks are located in various parts
of Clarington including Courtice, Bowmanville, Newcastle, Hampton, Enniskillen,
Newtonville and Orono. In many cases, the geographical size of Clarington and the
distance between sites requires that the equipment be loaded up and transported
by float.
2.4.A review of the sidewalk snow clearing policies currently in place at the other
municipalities within Durham Region confirms that each jurisdiction has a by-law
that requires owners or occupiers of property to clear the adjacent sidewalks.
Similar to Clarington, the maintenance focus provided by the other municipal
programs is to only clear sidewalks located on main roads, on bridges, fronting
parks or open space and on designated school routes.
2.5.An investigation of the sidewalk snow clearing practices from the Greater Toronto
Area confirms that no consistent approach exists for this type or level of winter
control service. Municipalities including the Town of Cobourg, Town of Whitchurch-
Stouffville, City of Mississauga, Town of Milton, City of Brampton and the Town of
Newmarket do not provide area-wide sidewalk snow clearing service. Other
municipalities, however, that include the City of Markham, Town of Richmond Hill,
City of Vaughan, Town of Aurora, Town of Oakville, City of Burlington, City of
Toronto (excluding downtown), City of London and the City of Kawartha Lakes all
provide full sidewalk snow clearing programs.
2.6.The City of London's snow clearing program is provided on a total of 1,460
kilometers of sidewalk. Service is completed using a total of 33 sidewalk tractors (9
city owned and 24 contracted) that are dispatched from 4 depot locations located
throughout the City. The relatively compact size and urban density that exists within
London allows for greater efficiencies and average sidewalk plough routes of 44
kilometers. Service levels that have been established for sidewalks provide for a
snowpack condition and are based on 8 centimeters of snow accumulation and an
expected maintenance.timeline of 24-hours following the end of a snowfall.
2.7.The program provided by the City of Kawartha Lakes includes 170 kilometers of
sidewalk within the municipality. The sidewalks within this very large municipality
include the larger urban centres of Lindsay, Fenelon Falls and Bobcageon but also
the rural settlements of Coboconk, Kirkfield, Kinmount and Norland. Service is
provided within the urban centres with city staff and 5 pieces of equipment while the
rural areas are managed by local contractors. Efficiency rates for equipment within
the urban areas are estimated at approximately 20 kilometers per machine. Service
levels are based on 10 centimeters of snow accumulation and a 24-hour timeline
after the end of a snowfall.
Municipality of Clarington
Report OPD-002-15 Page 4
2.8.The other municipalities that provide full sidewalk snow clearing service typically
respond to each winter event, regardless of the depth of snow, by sanding/salting
and, as necessary, ploughing sidewalk sections to ensure that they are safe and
passable. Full sidewalk ploughing operations generally commence when snow
accumulations reach between 5 to 8 centimeters with service timelines that vary
between 12 to 72 hours after the end of a snowfall. The provision of sidewalk
clearing can be further delayed beyond the normal service times when snowfall
accumulations are heavier.
2.9. In general, the majority of the municipalities that provide full sidewalk snow clearing
service have programs that have been in place for more than 10 years.
2.10.Consistently reported by all of the municipalities that provide full sidewalk snow
clearing services are the following operational challenges:
• sidewalks of non-standard width (less than 1.5 meters) will be difficult to service
with mechanical sidewalk clearing equipment;
• geographical distances between sidewalk locations greatly impact clearing
efficiencies by requiring travel time or equipment to be floated around;
• some residents will consider the service inadequate if snow accumulation
continues after service has been provided or if service is not completed soon
after the end of a snowfall;
• damage to sodded boulevard areas will become a major issue that will require
considerable staff time each spring season to repair;
• landscape features or retaining walls that are illegally located on boulevards may
result in claims, equipment damage or injuries to sidewalk plough operators. By-
law enforcement will need to assist with the removal of these obstructions which
may cause some opposition from residents;
• complaints will be generated regarding windrows that have been left by the
sidewalk plough after residents have cleared their driveways;
• the scope of an area-wide program may limit the interest and also the ability of
many contractors to provide the required number of pieces of equipment and the
manpower necessary to meet expected levels of service for each call-out;
2.11.The operational challenges reported by the municipalities are also expected to be
experienced in the municipality of Clarington if a program were to be introduced.
2.12.From a strictly operational perspective the only benefit that can be associated with
the implementation of a municipal wide sidewalk snow clearing program is the
added defence for joint and several liability. Although the sidewalk clearing
program may not decrease the number of actual claims received by a municipality
Municipality of Clarington
Report OPD-002-15 Page 5
the provision of a program that meets a reasonable standard of care may change
the legal burden of proving enforcement of the conditions that are contained within
the regulating by-law.
3. Options
3.1. By-law Enforcement
The by-law enforcement option follows a status-quo scenario by continuing to require
every owner and/or occupant of adjacent property to be responsible for sidewalk
clearing.
Recent amendments to Clarington's snow clearing By-law#93-144 have increased
removal times for residents to reasonable limits of 24-hours following the end of a
snowfall while internal policies for by-law enforcement procedures have also changed to
ensure sidewalks are properly maintained and that risk is better managed by the
municipality.
3.2.Snow Clearing of all sidewalks by Operations Department
In order to provide winter control service on the estimated 275 kilometers of sidewalk
and to remain in compliance with the conditions of Clarington's Snow and Ice Removal
By-law, the Operations Department would be required to hire additional staff and
purchase significant quantities of new equipment. Based on the experience from
various other municipalities and Clarington's existing contractors, it is estimated that at
least 16 sidewalk clearing machines would be required, trucks and trailers, sand/salt
supply units and a compliment of staff to manage the program that would effectively
follow road ploughing operations 7 days a week at all hours of the day.
Given that the additional staff would only be required through the winter control months
from December to April it is possible that temporary employees could be utilized for this
work.
3.3.Snow Clearing of all sidewalks by Contractors
Contractors are currently responsible for clearing a total of approximately 61 kilometers
of sidewalk within the municipality of Clarington. The addition of 214 kilometers of
sidewalk represents a very significant change to the scope of the existing contracts.
Given that an estimated additional 10 pieces of equipment and staff would be required
to provide this contracted service it can be expected that a competitive bid process
would be necessary to secure services for a longer term.
Clarington's existing contracts for sidewalk snow removal and senior's snow removal
expires on October 31, 2015. Although provisions exist in the current agreements that
allow for two additional, one-year extensions, significant changes to the scope of work
as outlined in this report would allow for the existing agreements to be terminated and
new contracts re-tendered.
Municipality of Clarington
Report OPD-002-15 Page 6
3.4.Snow Clearing of all sidewalks by Operations Department and Contractors
Given the general reluctance of contractors to assume agreements of this size and
nature, municipal wide service requirements could be split between a combination of in-
house and contracted forces. Based on the complications that are associated with the
large geographical area of Clarington ploughing routes for the sidewalks could be
developed such that they maximize efficiencies for both service providers.
Similar to option 2, whereby all sidewalks would be cleared by the Operations
Department, a significant investment in equipment and manpower would still be required
by the municipality to provide this service.
4. Financial Implications
4.1. By-law Enforcement
No additional costs to the municipality are expected with the current status-quo option,
however, funding requirements shall be expected to naturally increase with population
growth, development and the construction of new sidewalk. Snow clearing complaints
on sidewalks are typically assigned a higher priority level over other calls and require
By-law officers to attend each location on two separate occasions. The first visit to
inspect and, if necessary, to issue a notice to clear and a second follow-up visit to
confirm compliance or to initiate contracted snow clearing services.
4.2.Snow Clearinq of all sidewalks by Operations Department
A significant investment in staffing and equipment resources will be necessary in order
to provide the sidewalk snow clearing service in-house. It is estimated that at least
sixteen (16) snow clearing units, eight (8) truck and trailer float combinations, four (4)
sand/salt material filler trucks and at least 24 temporary staff will be required. Based on
the equipment needs that are anticipated a capital expenditure of approximately
$2,000,000, plus HST, will be necessary for the initial start-up. Human resources will
also be required consisting of 24 temporary staff to operate the equipment for 40 hours
a week over a sixteen (16) week period each winter season at a cost of approximately
$300,000. The total estimated cost for the first year of operations would be $2,300,000,
however, after the initial financial outlay the annual costs in the future would be
relatively consistent representing expenditures for mainly labour.
It should be noted that in addition to the initial set-up expenditures, further costs will also
be incurred related to fuel, sand/salt materials, repairs, and routine maintenance for
each piece of equipment. Longer-term replacement of the vehicles that would have an
approximate lifecycle of 10 years has also not been factored into this option.
4.3.Snow Clearinq of all sidewalks by Contractors
The cost to provide contracted sidewalk snow removal service for the municipality can
be estimated using the current 2014/2015 vendor rates. Based on a total length of
municipal sidewalk of 275,000 meters and existing service rates for clearing and
Municipality of Clarington
Report OPD-002-15 Page 7
sanding, the total cost would be approximately $24,750 for each winter event. On
average, the municipality will request that the contractors respond to about 43 events
each season. The total estimated annual expenditure would therefore be close to
$1,100,000, plus HST.
Historical expenditures for contracted sidewalk snow clearing services for the 61
kilometers of sidewalk have averaged approximately $150,000 each year, however, a
high was experienced in 2014 with an actual cost of$238,587.25.
4.4. Snow Clearing of all sidewalks by Operations Department and Contractors
Following the model that has been used by the City of Kawartha Lakes and a number of
other municipalities, sidewalk maintenance requirements could be split between the
Operations Department and one or more private contractors. The division of the
maintenance areas would be dependent on the extent of the capital and operating
budgets that would be assigned for the purchase of new equipment and the hiring of
temporary staff for the municipality. It can be expected, that the total cost for this type of
hybrid service for the first year of operations would fall somewhere between the
estimated costs outlined in options 2 and 3 above.
This option would also allow flexibility for the municipality to reduce its future reliance on
contracted services as additional pieces of equipment and staff could be phased-in over
a number of years.
5. Concurrence
This report has been reviewed by Anne Greentree, Municipal Clerk, and Nancy Taylor,
Director of Finance who concur with the information provided.
6. Conclusion
After review and analysis of the available options, it is clear that there will be a number
of significant challenges involved with providing winter maintenance service on all
sidewalks within Clarington. Although the implementation of a new winter maintenance
program would likely be a service welcomed by many residents, others may consider
the program very expensive and the use of tax dollars unnecessary. It should be noted
that all dollar values are estimates only and may be subject to potential large variations
depending on the option and the response in the marketplace.
It is therefore respectfully recommended that Council receive for information the various
sidewalk snow removal options as outlined in this report.
Municipality of Clarington
Report OPD-002-15 Page 8
7. Strategic Plan Application
Not Applicable.
� J
C__�
Submitted by .A_ M__ Reviewed by
Fred'q ick J. Horvath, Franklin Wu,
B.A., R.D.M.R., R.R.F.A. Chief Administrative Officer
Director of Operations
Staff Contact: Stephen Brake, Manager of Operations, 905-263-2291 ext. 541 or
SBrake@clarington.net
The following is a list of the interested parties to be notified of Council's decision:
Peggy Brain
FH/sb