2022 Capital Budget Approved

Today, City Council voted to approve the capital budget with some projects funded from the Parks and Open Spaces Reserve totaling, $13,795,655. Capital projects cover a wide range of services including transportation improvements, water and sanitary service upgrades, housing projects, capital grants to community groups, snow clearing equipment, and playground infrastructure.

“The identified projects for 2022 address high priority and high demand projects,” explained Councillor Ron Ellsworth Council Lead for Finance and Administration. We are also pleased to announce that funds from our Parks and Open Space Reserve will be used to begin construction on a new Pump Track in Quidi Vidi and to complete a conceptual design for a skating surface in Bowring Park.”

The full list of approved capital projects for 2022 is available online and includes:

• $2,000,000 for grind and patch to repair city streets;
• $1.1M for new sidewalks and the repair of existing ones;
• $500,000 for capital grants to community groups;
• $4,400,000 has been allocated for much need fleet replacement in 2022; and
• $750,000 towards our three year, $3M Canada Games capital commitment. 

The City continues its commitment to transportation projects, including:

• $50,000 for Audible Pedestrian Signal (APS) systems at two intersections.
• $200,000 towards the Traffic Calming Program to support ongoing initiatives based on the Traffic Calming Policy priority list.
• $100,000 for the Intersection Safety Program, which assesses and prioritizes roadway safety improvements.
• $50,000 for Uninterruptable Power Supply at Key Intersections.
• $50,000 to provide for coordination of traffic light signals along key corridors. 

The City’s Capital out of Revenue program is determined annually and funded primarily from an allocation from the City’s annual operating budget, as well as other sources. This program is different from the City’s larger cost-shared capital arrangements with the Federal and Provincial Governments, for which the City borrows its share of the cost. $2M remains uncommitted for 2022. The Parks and Open Spaces Reserve contained a balance of $1.29M at December 31, 2021. The balance after the 2022 commitments is $842,267.