Winter Maintenance Review Interim Report

At the regular meeting of Council on Monday, October 27, the Interim Report and Key Findings for the Winter Maintenance Review, conducted by KPMG Consultants for the City of St. John’s will be tabled for discussion and approval.
 
The review process began in June and included public consultation, national benchmarking and operational evaluation with the goals of reviewing levels of service; finding low cost approaches to achieve an improved level of service reliability; and to identify mid- to long-term changes that may be required, due to growth and changing regulations. 
 
The interim report, made public today, include “quick hits” for the 2014-2015 winter season. Although the final report from the consultants is not expected until early November, Council and staff wanted to ensure that improvements to operations this year could be made this year.
 
“We recognize that steps must be taken to provide the highest level of service possible for the residents of our City,” said Mayor Dennis O’Keefe. “We strongly believe that these actions are a step in the right direction, and we commit to evaluating what is done this year and to keeping the public involved in the decision-making process.”
 
One significant change for the 2014-2015 winter season addresses a key concern for both City staff and residents – sidewalks and walkability.
 
“We acknowledge that not enough was done for pedestrians and sidewalks during last year’s most challenging winter, particularly in the downtown core,” said Councillor Jonathan Galgay, Chair of the Standing Committee on Public Works. “Walkability is an important principle in having strong, complete neighbourhoods, and, after all, everyone is a pedestrian at some point in their journey. For these reasons, we strongly support the recommendations around sidewalk clearing and snow removal.”
 
The City will invest in a pilot program to hire a dedicated sidewalk crew, working on the day shift, to supplement existing sidewalk resources. Furthermore, the City will invest heavily in increased snow removal.
 
“We want to ensure that main sidewalks, especially in the downtown core, are not blocked by snow pushed back from the roads and that snow storage capacity on the roads is preserved,” explained Councillor Galgay. “For this reason, we must add resources, internally and externally, to our snow removal processes.”

The total investment to achieve all approved “quick hit” recommendations is an estimated $1.65 million. 
 
These investments are in snow removal, the sidewalk crew pilot, improved staff training, an extended winter season (starting earlier, to accommodate training and ending later, to minimize the risk of being under-resourced for late-season storms) and changes in operational processes related to inspections. The City is also considering starting its on-street parking ban early, beginning with the first snow fall in excessive of 10cm.
 
The final report, due to be released in early November, will include more extensive operational suggestions including considerations on some longer-term issues, such as the possibility of additional snow dumping sites and consideration of satellite depots.
 
“We heard many excellent ideas and suggestions during our public consultations this summer,” said Councillor Galgay. “We also know that our experienced crews and City staff have much to add in terms of ways we can offer the best winter maintenance program possible.
 
“We will begin acting on these quick hits immediately, and we look forward to working over the winter months on the issues that require more thought and discussion.”
 
 
Media Contact:
Kelly Maguire
Media Relations
City of St. John's
Phone: 709-576-8491
Email: kmaguire@stjohns.ca