Date:

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Place:

Anderson Room

Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Ken Johnston, Acting Chair

Councillor Derek Dang

Councillor Harold Steves

Absent:

Councillor Linda Barnes, Chair

Councillor Sue Halsey-Brandt, Vice-Chair

Call to Order:

The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m.

MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Public Works & Transportation Committee held on Wednesday, July 21, 2010, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

Wednesday, October 20, 2010 (tentative date) at 4:30 p.m. in the Anderson Room

ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

1.

INTEGRATED LIQUID WASTE AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN

(File Ref. No.:) (REDMS No. 2957535)

A comment was made that some Metro Vancouver municipalities, but not Richmond, were questioning the commitment to Metro Vancouver rate surcharges.

A brief discussion between Committee and staff ensued with regard to the financial impact of the new municipal commitments, and Robert Gonzalez, General Manager, Engineering and Public Works, advised that there would be opportunities for discussion regarding: (i) long term implications, and (ii) the continuation of the funding model. He added that if there are changes to the financial impact, staff would come back to Committee.

It was moved and seconded

That the municipal commitments in the Metro Vancouver 2010 Integrated Liquid Waste and Resource Management Plan be endorsed.

CARRIED

2.

MULTI-FAMILY WATER METER PROGRAM UPDATE

(File Ref. No.:  10-6650-02/2010) (REDMS No. 2958590)

It was moved and seconded

That the Multi-Family Water Metering Program be submitted in the 2011 utility budget for Council consideration.

CARRIED

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

3.

REVISED IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY FOR ACCESSIBLE PEDESTRIAN SIGNAL DEVICES

(File Ref. No.:  10-6450-07-03) (REDMS No. 2970403 v.3)

Donna Chan, Manager, Transportation Planning, used audio technology to demonstrate the enhanced accessible pedestrian signal (APS) features, including: (i) the pole locator tone, (ii) the audible confirmation tone, and (iii) the verbal wayfinding message following the audible acknowledgement.

In response to a query regarding whether audible signal features were standardized, Victor Wei, Director, Transportation, advised that audible tones have been standardized for some time, but that verbal messaging is not yet standardized. He added that despite the as yet non-standardized verbal messaging, staff recommends proceeding with a testing period for verbal messaging.

Mr. Wei advised that new APS devices are installed at test locations throughout the City, and will remain in placed until November, 2010. Staff will seek feedback from the public, and will monitor the APS operation.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the installation of enhanced accessible pedestrian features at all City-owned signalized intersections and special crosswalks, as described in the report, be endorsed subject to Council’s further consideration of the associated costs as part of the City’s annual capital and operating budget approval processes starting with the 2011 programs; and

(2)

That the City send a letter to the Transportation Association of Canada offering the sharing of experience gained by Richmond on the new verbal messaging features of accessible pedestrian signals (APS) with a view to assisting in expediting the development and publication of new national APS standards so to achieve consistency in the application of these devices by local governments across Canada.

CARRIED

4.

MANAGER’S REPORT

Jim Young, Manager, Engineering Design and Construction, reported that damage caused to No. 6 Road, between Blundell Road and the Francis Road right-of-way, on September 18, 2010, during infrastructure construction, is being addressed, and that No. 6 Road has reopened, after having been closed to the public during part of September 18 and September 19, 2010.

Mr. Young advised that the Public Works Association of B.C. recognized Richmond with its Project of the Year 2010 award. The award was for the capacity upgrade to the existing Cambie Drainage Pump Station. The station located on River Road at Cambie, now includes a Park Plaza, featuring a pump station control building with a green roof, and a public art installation.

Mr. Young introduced Committee to Milton Chan, the City’s new Senior Project Engineer.

Lloyd Bie, Manager, Engineering Planning, introduced Committee to Andy Bell, the City’s new Drainage and Roads Project Engineer.

Suzanne Bycraft, Manager, Fleet & Environmental Programs, introduced Committee to Romeo Bicego, the City’s new Manager, Sewerage and Drainage.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (4:45 p.m.).

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Public Works & Transportation Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Wednesday, September 22, 2010.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Councillor Ken Johnston

Acting Chair

Sheila Johnston

Committee Clerk