Roads Committee ROADS ADVISORY COMMITTEE - NEW Chair: Councillor Ken Redpath – kredpath@mindenhills.ca More tax dollars are spent on roads than anywhere else in the municipal budget. The objective of the Roads Committee is to assist Council by identifying best practices in roads management, particularly in small rural municipalities. The Roads Committee will be expected to recommend to Staff and Council regarding any changes that would increase our overall efficiency and effectiveness. Committee Members: Gord Alford Bill Obee Michael Wahlroth Glen Sharp - Resource Jerry Harrison - Resource Staff: Road Superintendent, Kevin Hills Email: khill@mindenhills.ca ROADS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES August 2nd, 2011 Lutterworth Roads Office Present: Ken Redpath Chair, Gord Alford, Mike Wahlroth, Kevin Hill, Bill Obee, (Glen Sharp) Absent: Jerry Harrison The chair asked for someone to take the minutes as there was no staff member available. Bill Obee agreed to do so. 1. Motion to approve agenda Moved by Gord Alford, Seconded by Kevin Hill 2. There was no need to declare any pecuniary interests. 3. Motion to approve the minutes of May 10th Moved by Kevin Hill, Seconded by Bill Obee 4. Kevin gave a presentation of the 5-Year Roads Need Study, prepared by AECOM. A copy of the memo is attached to the minutes. Highlights are that the rating of our road system has gone from 6.3 to 6.8 which is due to the additional infrastructure money in the last few years. We have a total of 148.8 km of surfaced roads now compared to 121.9 five years ago. A structural evaluation should be done on the Milburn Bridge immediately so we are shovel-ready for the next infrastructure program. The committee commented how well our municipality has kept up the road system. The 5-year construction schedule is also included. 5. The tenders for the reconstruction of Newcastle Street will be opened on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. Project to start in September and last about three weeks. It will be two lanes plus a bike lane from the highway until the sidewalk. 6. Traffic issues at the intersection of Water Street and Bobcaygeon Road were discussed by the committee. The consultant that did the Roads Need Study looked at the area from the standpoint of a three way stop as has been suggested by some people. The consultant did not feel a three way stop to be the answer for this intersection. They said the municipality may want to try a two way stop as an experiment for a year to see if the public is satisfied. If there are still concerns then the municipality should have a traffic study completed to arrive at the best engineering solution. The cost would be about $4500.00. Traffic signals would certainly solve the issues of site as approaching Bobcaygeon Road from Water Street. The cost would be about $100,000.00. This could also slow the flow of traffic movement. Kevin reported that this is not an intersection with reported accidents warranting the installation of signals. The committee thought that the Municipality should wait until Canadian Tire has been in operation to see what happens to the traffic flow following the retail store being in business. Making Water Street one way for east bound traffic and having west bound use Milne Street would solve the turning movements from Water Street to Bobcaygeon Road. The Cause Study had recommended that the road in front of the Post Office be closed to vehicular traffic and only used by pedestrians. With the Riverwalk, this could do a lot more for the downtown. The committee recommends that the intersection remain as is and continue to monitor it and consider a traffic study after Canadian Tire opens. In the meantime a traffic count will be taken to see exactly the usage. 7. A question of the need for a pedestrian crossing on the main street was discussed. The comparison of the courtesy crosswalk in Haliburton Village was used, where people cross wherever they want and rarely use the designated crossing. It was felt a similar usage would result in Minden. 8. The parking situation on Invergordon Street from Bobcaygeon Road to the Anglican Church was discussed. The residents along the road have a great deal of trouble seeing to get out of their driveways and would appreciate no parking on the north side of the street. The committee agrees with this being implemented as there is additional public parking where the municipal water wells are located and that is a no further walk from downtown to Invergordon Street. A sign referencing the municipal parking area will be erected so it is obvious that it is municipal land and not private. 9. The cultural Centre wanted the committee to consider using the paved boulevard in front of the center for handicapped parking. It was the feeling that there are sufficient handicapped spots in front of the library and that the boulevard should remain a no parking area. 10. The issue of people parking in no parking zones was discussed. Of particular note is the area in front of the CIBC, which creates a very unsafe situation. Kevin told the committee that a student used to be hired to issue tickets but they were treated so badly by the public that it was almost impossible to keep them. The committee did not want to see so many tickets that it upset the public, but certain areas should be visited by the By-law Department when it can be worked into their schedule. 11. Kevin reported that the department should come in under budget this year unless something unforeseen happens. 12. Next meeting to be held on Oct 17th at 10:00 in the Lutterworth office. 13. Meeting adjourned by Glen and seconded by Mike at 11:51 Free @1 Event Publisher by UPOINT