January 21, 2020 - Minutes

Date:

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Place:

Anderson Room
Richmond City Hall

Present:

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

Also Present:

Councillor Harold Steves

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 December 18, 2019, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

February 19, 2020, (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

1.

Richmond Active Transportation Committee – Proposed 2020 Initiatives 
(File Ref. No. 01-0100-20-RCYC1) (REDMS No. 6350886 v.3)

In reply to queries from Committee, staff noted that (i) improvements to roadways and sidewalks are part of the road projects, (ii) an inventory of gaps in sidewalks and roadways is currently underway, and (iii) alternate signalling options are being examined for cyclists.

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the proposed 2020 initiatives of the Richmond Active Transportation Committee, as outlined in the staff report titled “Richmond Active Transportation Committee - Proposed 2020 Initiatives” dated December 10, 2019 from the Director, Transportation, be endorsed.

(2)

That a copy of the report titled “Richmond Active Transportation Committee – Proposed 2020 Initiatives” be forwarded to the Richmond Council-School Board Liaison Committee for information.

CARRIED

2.

Traffic Safety Advisory Committee - Proposed 2020 Initiatives 
(File Ref. No. 01-0100-30-TSAD1-01) (REDMS No. 6349593 v.2)

In reply to queries from Committee, staff noted that fences in school zones has not been considered as it is difficult to manage; however can be examined, and the standard toolkit of engineering measures will be applied to all schools and will provide a comprehensive examination of traffic issues that arise at schools.  

It was moved and seconded

(1)

That the proposed 2020 initiatives for the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee, as outlined in the staff report titled “Traffic Safety Advisory Committee - Proposed 2020 Initiatives” dated January 6, 2020 from the Director, Transportation, be endorsed.

(2)

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

CARRIED

ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION

3.

Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade Project 
(File Ref. No. 10-6060-04-01) (REDMS No. 6357529 v.3)

Discussion took place on comments on the Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade Project and it was requested that No. 13 be amended to include both energy recovery and biological recovery from the wastewater treatment process.

In reply to queries from Committee, staff noted that (i) comment No. 3 can be amended to include the McDonald Slough, (ii) Bird Studies Canada can be included in stakeholder engagement events, (iii) investigations into opportunities for biofuel disposal is underway, (iv) federal regulations require that the plant be brought up to standards, and (v) the project completion date is attainable.

It was moved and seconded

That the comments and recommendations on the Metro Vancouver Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade project, as outlined in the staff report titled “Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade Project,” dated December 11, 2019 from the Acting Director, Engineering be endorsed for submission to Metro Vancouver.

CARRIED

4.

Regional Flood Protection Management and Governance 
(File Ref. No. 10-6060-04-01) (REDMS No. 6361339 v.9)

It was moved and seconded

1.

That the following be endorsed as the City’s position on regional flood protection management:

(a)

That flood protection continue to be evaluated and managed at the local government level, currently through the Diking Authority model, with additional support from senior levels of government;

(b)

That dedicated funding for flood protection be established at the Provincial and Federal level, to be used by Diking Authorities, which include local governments, for flood management projects; and

(c)

That the Province require Diking Authorities, which include local governments, to develop and maintain flood risk management plans and strategies for their respective areas so that regional objectives are met.

2.

That staff communicate the comments and recommendations in the report titled “Regional Flood Protection Management and Governance,” dated December 13, 2019, from the Acting Director, Engineering, to regional Diking Authorities, the Fraser Basin Council, and the Province.

CARRIED

5.

MANAGER’S REPORT

(i)

Canada Line Service Increase

Staff highlighted that the Canada Line has increased its capacity by 15% percent during peak hours and will increase in capacity by 35% by the end of the year.  

In reply to a query from Committee, staff noted that (i) concerns regarding the midday closure of the 480 bus has been forwarded to TransLink, (ii) most concerns were with regard to capacity on the Canada Line; however with the recent increase to capacity many concerns should be addressed, and (iii) the 480 bus continues to operate during peak hours.

(ii)

Lafarge Canada

In reply to a query from Committee, staff advised that regular meetings take place with Lafarge Canada with regard to various opportunities and initiatives that can be explored, and it was noted that should Committee have any suggestions they can be forwarded to staff for discussions with Lafarge Canada.  

(iii)

Snow Removal

Staff advised that (i) January 2020 saw the second highest annual snowfall since 2008, (ii) brining and salting of roads were quite successful, (iii) the pauses in the snowfall allowed crews to salt and brine the third priority routes, and (iv) brine capacity will be increased for the next winter season.

In accordance with Section 100 of the Community Charter, Cllr. Greene declared to be in a conflict of interest as her husband works for a technology company that tracks vehicles, and Cllr. Greene left the meeting – 4:23 p.m.

Discussion took place on how to determine which roads had recently been plowed and showing real-time location of snow plows through the Richmond mobile app.  

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

It was moved and seconded

That staff examine the feasibility of showing the real-time location of snow plows on the Richmond mobile app.

CARRIED

Cllr. Greene returned to the meeting – 4:24 p.m.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (4:25 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 Tuesday, January 21, 2020.

_________________________________

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Councillor Chak Au
Chair

Sarah Goddard
Legislative Services Coordinator