February 21, 2019 - Minutes

Date:

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Place:

Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Chak Au, Chair
Councillor Kelly Greene
Councillor Alexa Loo
Councillor Michael Wolfe

Absent:

Councillor Linda McPhail

Call to Order:

The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.

MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Public Works and Transportation Committee held on January 23, 2019, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

March 20, 2019, (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room

DELEGATION

Norman Van Eeden Petersman, Richmond resident, spoke on the reduction of parking minimums and parking benefit districts in relation to the Strong Towns movement and the book, “The High Cost of Free Parking” by Donald Shoup and offered the following remarks:

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the Strong Towns movement, StrongTowns.org, has materials on making cities financially viable;

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the re-development of existing buildings should not become burdened with trying to fit parking in because, as a consequence, small/medium projects are often set aside as the parking requirement has to be large enough for the project to be viable, which could be an issue in places like Steveston;

§   

the article included in the agenda package materials highlights the outcome when projects are exposed to high parking requirements;

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the amount of land Richmond devotes to parking is an unproductive use of the land and there is an opportunity to think about things differently and offer improvements;

§   

as noted by Donald Shoup in “The High Cost of Free Parking”, private cars are heavily subsidized, and both land and quality space is devoted to the parking of vehicles;

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cities should reflect on what it costs to park vehicles, key land and space are dedicated however that space could be utilized for more beneficial development;

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people expect space on public land for parking and use their own private property non-productively to store other items instead of parking their vehicles;  

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it would recalibrate the value of a second or third vehicle when public streets are taxed through parking meters to recapture revenue district initiatives;

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Donald Shoup in “The High Cost of Free Parking” introduces the concept of parking benefit districts in business districts, such as those implemented in Pasadena, California, which capture parking meter revenue and reinvest it into local neighbourhood improvements;

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similar parking benefit districts could be implemented in Steveston or on Saba Road in Richmond where the funds raised from parking meters could benefit improvements in the area;

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the City is undergoing rapid densification and cars will continue to be an issue unless new solutions can be implemented; and

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encourage the City to consider transforming how vehicles are treated in the city and there is an opportunity to continue to improve Richmond if the way of treating parking is transformed.

Discussion took place on (i) addressing transit accessibility in the downtown Richmond core, (ii) the high number of vehicles in the city and the unequal distribution of parking, and (iii) the potential of a Business Improvement Area and the creation of a parking benefit district in Richmond.

In response to queries from Committee, Mr. Van Eeden Petersman was of the opinion that resident only parking restrictions would not address parking issues and would not encourage residents to park on their own property. Mr. Van Eeden Petersman further remarked that the City of Pasadena, California worked with the community association or business district in regards to the parking benefit district to distribute parking revenue for that particular neighbourhood.

As a result of the delegation’s comments, direction was given to staff to review the delegation’s presentation and provide comment and feedback.

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

1.

Traffic Safety Advisory Committee - Proposed 2019 Initiatives
(File Ref. No. 01-0100-30-TSAD1-01) (REDMS No. 6051615 v. 2)

In reply to questions from Committee, Lloyd Bie, Director, Transportation advised that staff could provide further information on the pool of community police volunteers who participated in the distracted driving campaign. In further response to queries from Committee, Mr. Bie remarked that road degradation on Westminster Highway south of River Road has been addressed.  

Discussion then took place regarding the speed test on King Fisher Drive south of Westwind Elementary to determine if the crosswalk should be raised and road improvements along the No. 4 Road exit off of Highway 99.  

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the proposed 2019 initiatives for the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee, as outlined in the staff report titled “Traffic Safety Advisory Committee - Proposed 2019 Initiatives” dated January 18, 2019 from the Director, Transportation, be endorsed; and

(2)

That a copy of the above staff report be forwarded to the Richmond Council-School Board Liaison Committee for information.

CARRIED

2.

Potential Accommodation of Tour Buses on Dyke Road
(File Ref. No. 10-6360-01) (REDMS No. 5896306 v. 6)

Discussion took place regarding the potential impact of tour buses to bird habitats and migration patterns in the area and in response to questions from Committee, Sonali Hingorani, Transportation Engineer commented that should potential widening of Dyke Road be pursued in the future a full comprehensive environmental assessment would be undertaken through that process. Discussion further ensued regarding a potential update to the existing speed bumps on the north-south section of Dyke Road.

It was moved and seconded

That the report titled “Potential Accommodation of Tour Buses on Dyke Road” dated January 29, 2019 from the Director, Transportation, be received for information.

CARRIED

ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION

3.

2018 Zero Waste Conference Update
(File Ref. No. 10-6370-01) (REDMS No. 6049391 v. 5)

In reply to queries from Committee, Suzanne Bycraft, Manager, Fleet and Environmental Programs commented that (i) currently the private sector services commercial businesses and the City now offers cart services to businesses on a subscription basis for similar services available to residents, (ii) Metro Vancouver is working to get hauler licencing approved by the Province in order to require more recycling from businesses and staff are actively monitoring and, (iii) staff could implement additional promotion of the commercial organics, recycling and garbage collection program however, it is up to businesses to set up their own services as they are unique and individualized.

Discussion ensued in regards to promoting practices that encourage economic approaches that motivate businesses, residents, and the City to participate in a circular economy.

In response to further questions from Committee regarding building demolition recycling and utilizing more efficient materials, staff advised that (i) a report providing an update to the building demolition recycling program is forthcoming, (ii) the building demolition recycling program is exceeding the 70% recycling requirement, (iii) through the BC energy step code more efficient buildings are being constructed and staff expect utilization of some prefabricated materials in high performance buildings, and (iv) the city’s higher density buildings not constructed to the BC energy step code standard are equivalent to a LEED silver rating, which has recycled content required.

As a result of the discussion, the following motion was introduced:

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the report regarding “2018 Zero Waste Conference Update” dated February 1, 2019, from the Director, Public Works Operations be received for information;

(2)

That letters be sent to the Board Chair of Metro Vancouver and the Federal and Provincial Ministers of Environment and Climate Change, requesting their leadership in advancing the circular economy agenda under a broad-based approach;

(3)

That staff participate in regional and provincial forums relating to the circular economy agenda and report back at appropriate intervals; and

(4)

That staff review the City’s current purchasing practices for ways to support the circular economy.

CARRIED

As a result of further discussion regarding the organics, recycling, and garbage collection program for businesses, there was agreement that the following motion be added as a Part (5):

It was moved and seconded

(5)

That a more proactive approach be taken to increase awareness of the City’s commercial organics, recycling and garbage collection pilot program.

CARRIED

4.

2019 Liquid Waste Management Plan Biennial Report
(File Ref. No. 10-6060-01) (REDMS No. 6074892 v. 7)

In response to queries from Committee, John Irving, Director, Engineering advised that a report regarding options on restructuring the sewer rate is forthcoming.

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report titled “2019 Liquid Waste Management Plan Biennial Report,” dated January 25, 2019, from the Director, Engineering, be submitted to Metro Vancouver.

CARRIED

5.

Burkeville Drainage Update
(File Ref. No. 10-6060-01) (REDMS No. 6066590 v. 8)

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report titled “Burkeville Drainage Update”, dated January 11, 2019 from the Director, Engineering, be received for information.

CARRIED

6.

2018 Winter Storm and 2019 Flood Protection Update
(File Ref. No. 10-6060-01) (REDMS No. 6108057 v. 5)

It was moved and seconded

That the staff report titled “2018 Winter Storm and 2019 Flood Protection Update”, dated January 25, 2019 from the Director, Engineering, be received for information.

CARRIED

7.

MANAGER’S REPORT

(i)

Power Outage in Steveston

 Jason Ho, Project Manager, advised Committee of a power outage in Steveston that commenced at approximately 6:30 p.m. on February 20, 2019 caused by a failure to the BC Hydro power poll north of the Japanese Cultural Centre. Mr. Ho further remarked that as a result a number of City buildings lost power including the Japanese Cultural Centre, Steveston Martial Arts Building, Steveston Pool, Salmon Festival Building, and the Steveston Park Fieldhouse. He commented that generators have been set up on site to restore power to the affected buildings and BC Hydro is on site to repair the issue. He further noted that staff anticipates power to be restored by the evening.

In response to a question from Committee, Mr. Ho advised that staff could advise Council if the power was not restored by tonight.

(ii)

Capital Projects Open House

Milton Chan, Manager, Engineering Design and Construction advised that staff are preparing for the annual Capital Projects open house, to be held Wednesday, April 17, 2019 at 3:00-7:00 p.m. at City Hall.

(iii)

Snow and Ice Update

Larry Ford, Manager, Roads and Construction Services provided an update to Committee regarding the City’s response to the recent snowfall and noted that over 20,000 kilometres of brine, with 34,000 kilometres to date, had been placed on the roads.

In response to questions from Committee, Mr. Ford remarked that crews removed snow and ice build-up around bus stops and wheelchair ramps on primary and secondary routes in order to address accessibility issues.   

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (4:46 p.m.).

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Public Works and Transportation Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Thursday, February 21, 2019.

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Councillor Chak Au
Chair

Amanda Welby
Legislative Services Coordinator