When city councillors approved the public works portion of Ottawa’s proposed budget recently some highlighted the need for improvements to how the city maintains pavement markings.
Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney, for example, told the Nov. 27 meeting of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee that he thinks the road paint fades too quickly.
“I’ve been working very closely with the federal government actually right now (about the concern),” Tierney said. “The lines are fading very quickly because of the [volatile organic compounds] levels. … We are hopefully working towards something — I’m hoping very soon — with the federal government, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
“The material is definitely an issue,” said Public Works General Manager Alain Gonthier Gonthier. “We try to get to all of the lines at least once a year. The challenge that we’ll get in addition to the quality of the paint is … the weather.”
Each year, pavement painting begins in May and continues through November. Locations with irregular markings or are of significant safety concern are top priority. Cycling lanes and pedestrian crossings are next, followed by high-volume and then low-volume roads.
Riverside South-Findlay Creek Coun. Steve Desroches said he would like to find money in the budget to for another paint truck or, if that isn’t feasible, additional crews so the trucks can be out on the road up to “20 hours a day.”
Tierney, the committee chair, pushed back on the proposal to purchase an additional truck because of the city’s difficult budget situation.
But Gonthier insisted he “doesn’t want to leave you with the impression that we’re not spending time and attention” to pavement markings. “We absolutely are,” he said.
Desroches acknowledged the effort dedicated to painting municipal roads. He expressed willingness to continue the discussion but insisted “I think you need another truck.”
With winter approaching, Gonthier emphasized one “big accomplishment” has been improvements to sidewalk snowplow technology. He said that “traditionally, sidewalk units have not been able to track the amount of salt” being distributed.
Gonthier said that public works has been working with industry to bring more sophisticated tracking technology, currently used on roadways, to the city’s sidewalks. He said the success of Ottawa’s program has had other cities reaching out to understand best practices being developed in the national capital that could be implemented elsewhere.
Gonthier said the new sidewalk salt management is designed to improve “not only pedestrian safety but also the environmental impacts of the salt.” This development is also creating efficiencies that reduce the cost of municipal de-icing.
Provincial law requires municipalities to balance their budgets. which Ottawa describes as a “unique challenge.” Initiatives such as improving sidewalk snowplow technology while reducing costs support Ottawa’s effort to meet this challenge.
The draft budget will be considered again by full council on Dec. 10.
If grit was used to dilute sand on sidewalks (and in all the boxes which contractors and property managers use), then less salt would be used thickly to serve as grit, which is not appropriate.