REQUEST FOR DIRECTION
DATE: June 12, 2019 Report No. EPW-19-019
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Jeff Miller, Director of Engineering and Public Works
SUBJECT:
Title
Potential Corridor Cross-Sections for Lyall Street
End
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
Which Option for Works along Lyall Street should be implemented?
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That the COTW receive Staff Report EPW-19-019 for information, provide any additional direction to staff as the COTW considers advisable, and direct staff to prepare a report for Council’s consideration.
Body
BACKGROUND:
On January 21, 2019, Staff Report No. EPW-19-003 (Granicus File ID# 19-036) was presented at the Regular Council meeting. The purpose of the Report was to present four possible options that could be implemented for the Lyall Street corridor. These options were:
• Option 1 - Mill and overlay of the road surface
• Option 2 - Renewal of the existing infrastructure
• Option 3 - Renewal of the existing infrastructure and infrastructure modification
• Option 4 - Renewal of the existing infrastructure, infrastructure modification and additional infrastructure
Based on the scope of work, an order of magnitude cost estimate was attached to each option. These cost estimates were:
• Option 1 - $1,560,000
• Option 2 - $4,700,000
• Option 3 - $5,600,000
• Option 4 - $8,090,000
Through the Host Community Agreement, funding of $950,000 is available for these proposed works that will enhance the Corridor’s surface infrastructure for multi-modal
transportation and speed control. Funding will be held by the CRD until detailed design and construction have been completed.
ISSUES:
Lyall Street is a corridor that is poised to experience a number of changes. These changes include:
• Completion of Esquimalt Town Square (ETS)
• Upgrades to the Recreation Centre/Archie Browning Sports Centre through McLoughlin Amenity Funds (MAF)
• Changes in demographics
• Changes in how people travel from one point to another
• Development of large multi-family structures (i.e. 45 Westbay Quay, ETS)
Each one of these changes will result in a different impact to the corridor or requirements for the corridor.
The work to date has been focused on how to increase the capacity of the corridor to provide upgraded infrastructure and allow improved movement and integration of pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles. This approach includes the development of Options 1 to 4. Based on these discussions, Options 3 and 4 would provide a cross-section that best meets residents’ expectations for the corridor and would also increase capacity. At the Open House held November 22, 2018, Option 3 was presented as the suggested cross-section for the public to review and to provide input, comments and suggestions.
When the financial component for the various options is factored into the discussion, none of the options would have adequate reserve funds available to carry them out. The Township would have to seek long term debt financing for Options 2, 3, 4 and short term debit financing for Option 1. The payback period could range from 5 to 30 years. All loan payments would come from the Capital Projects Reserve Fund. These payments would impact the Township’s ability to carry out other Capital Works due to the amount of the payments required for the works on this project and would impact future capital project funding available to all departments.
Due to the magnitude of the funding and the impact on debt servicing, this amount of borrowing may require electoral approval in order to occur. Staff has reviewed potential external funding sources for this proposed work, but has not found an external source that would enable the majority of the project to be funded from that source. See Attachment 1 for the financial costs for the various options.
Under the current Financial Plan, two capital works programs exist. The purpose of the programs is to increase the walkability and connectivity of the Township through a sidewalk network. The New Sidewalk Program is for the construction of new sidewalk along corridors where no sidewalks exist and the Replacement Sidewalk Program is for the replacement of older, below standard sidewalks with new concrete sidewalks. The costs of the two programs vary each year depending on the location of the works, but generally have expenditures totaling $75,000 to $150,000 per year. One option would be to divert these funds to works along Lyall Street, but that would mean the suspension of these two programs for approximately 10 to 15 years.
During the public engagement process, the focus was to gain an understanding of the public’s expectation for the corridor. With this objective in mind, pamphlets were hand-delivered to residents along Lyall Street notifying them of the potential cross-section profiles. An online survey was also carried out in order to gain an understanding of users that are located outside the corridor. The information from the survey indicated:
• Total number of respondents - 299
• Number of respondents that were not Township residents - 65
• Number of respondents that were Township residents - 234
• Number of respondents that live on Lyall Street - 58
• Number of respondents that live within a 5 minute walk of Lyall Street - 131
• Number of respondents that live within the Township - 52
While this information was useful, it did point out that the Township was looking at this corridor in isolation from other corridors. Council has provided direction that the Township should undertake an Active Transportation Study in 2020. This study would look at all corridors within the Township and would provide a global view of how people move and commute within the Township. Before any significant action is to take place on Lyall Street, it would be beneficial to understand how this corridor fits in with the rest of the Township’s multi-modal movements.
If significant work is delayed on Lyall Street in order to gain an understanding of its interaction with the rest of the Township, some initial work could still be carried out. This work would utilize the $950,000 that is currently available through the McLoughlin wastewater agreements.
This new option [Option 5] would address some of the main concerns raised about the corridor. The concerns that would be addressed include: on street parking, speed control measures and making the corridor more bike friendly. This option would see the following works undertaken:
• 5(A) - Carry out the removal and replacement of the asphalt sidewalk and abandoned bike lane along the south side of the Corridor and replace it with a 2 metre wide concrete sidewalk
o Approximate cost - $580,000
• 5(B) - Installation of speed control features
o The first speed control measure would be the installation of bump outs at all of the intersections (18). Bump outs would be filled in with concrete.
o The second speed control measure would be to make all of the intersections into three or four way stops
§ Cost - $280,000
• 5(B-1) Installation of street furniture (i.e. bike racks, benches, trash cans) within the bump outs, as value added alternative to 5(B)
o Cost - $27,000 additional
• 5(B-2) Installation of trees/vegetation complete with irrigation within the bump outs, as value added alternative to 5(B)
o Cost - $60,000 additional
• Total cost [5(A), 5(B), 5(B-1) & 5(B-2)] is $947,000.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. That the COTW receive Staff Report No. EPW-19-019 for information, provide any additional direction to staff as the COTW considers advisable, and direct staff to prepare a report for Council’s consideration.
2. That the COTW provide alternative direction to staff.
3. That the COTW request further information from staff