01. Council Sidewalk Discussion Memo April 2012
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS MEMORANDUM
April 19, 2012
TO: City Council
FROM: Mike Payne, Engineering Manager
SUBJECT: Discussion/possible action on City of Janesville sidewalk program including
the 2012 Sidewalk Program, the Pedestrian Transportation Corridor Plan
and proposed Resolution 2012-907.
Summary
Council members Jim Farrell and DuWayne Severson have requested the topic of
sidewalks be discussed by the Council. A Special Council meeting will be held April 30,
2012 to discuss sidewalks.
Below is a timeline of sidewalk related events taking place before the Council since the
Pedestrian Transportation Corridor Plan (PTCP) was adopted by Council January 14,
2008. Items in bold have staff memos with attachments and Council meeting minutes
included at the end of this memo to provide specific details of critical milestones.
Timeline of Sidewalk Items with the Council
Sept 6, 2007 – Council Study Session on Sidewalks
-
Jan 14, 2008 – Public Hearing, Amend CP # 70 – Sidewalks & Adopt PTCP
-
March 24, 2008 – Amendments to CP # 70 – Sidewalks
-
- Sept 8, 2008 – Prelim Sidewalk Resolution for ADA accommodation request
- Oct 13, 2008 – Public Hearing, Final Sidewalk Resolution for ADA request
- June 22, 2009 – Prelim Resolution for 2009 Sidewalk Program
- July 13, 2009 – Public Hearing, Final Sidewalk Resolution, Contract Award
Dec 14, 2009 – Staff seeks Council direction for 2010 Sidewalk Program
-
March 8, 2010 – Amendments to CP # 70 – Sidewalks
-
- March 22, 2010 – Prelim Resolution for 2010 Sidewalk Program
- April 12, 2010 – Public Hearing, Final Sidewalk Resolution & Contract Award
July 12, 2010 – Direction to staff to proceed with 5-9 miles of walk in 2011
-
Oct 11, 2010 – Direction to staff on PTCP Implementation
-
- Oct 25, 2010 – Public Hearing then Council approves 2011 Sidewalk Program
Feb 28, 2011 – Consideration of amendments to CP # 70 - Sidewalks
-
- March 14, 2011—Award of Sidewalk Contract
- Feb 28, 2011 – Consideration of amendments to CP # 70 - Sidewalks
Sept 26, 2011 – Public Hearing for 2012 Sidewalk Program
-
Oct 24, 2011 – Cont’d Discussion then Council approves 2012 Sidewalks
-
- Feb 13, 2012 – Award of Sidewalk Contract
Background
Historically all Janesville neighborhoods have had sidewalks. In the 1960’s and 1970’s
suburban and rural developments began to gain popularity with larger lots, no sidewalks
and sometimes no curb and gutter. At the same time, two and three car families became
more common. Urban developers began to press for relief from sidewalk requirements
likely to compete with the suburban and rural developments.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s, Janesville planners prepared neighborhood plans for
developing areas. These plans included proposed sidewalk routes which were intended
to provide a basic level of connectivity from neighborhoods to attractions such as
schools, parks, businesses as well as other neighborhoods. On local streets these were
often on one side of the street while on arterial streets walk was planned on both sides of
the street. Despite the existence of these plans, subdivisions were intermittently
developed without sidewalks.
In the 1980’s and 1990’s awareness of the problems of dependence on automobiles
increased and efforts developed and grew to make communities walkable and more
pedestrian friendly again. In Janesville the City Council had many discussions on how to
make the City a more walkable community. In 1992 the City Council began to require
sidewalks in new subdivisions following alignments designated on the neighborhood
plans.
In 2006 the City Council began to require walks on both sides of all new streets. In 2008
the Pedestrian Transportation Corridor Plan, which was primarily but not entirely a
compilation of the neighborhood plans, was adopted by the City Council. Neighborhood
plans around the perimeter of the City were essentially created in the late 1970’s and
early 1980’s. All neighborhood plans were reviewed and approved by the Plan
Commission. As developers proposed projects, their preliminary certified survey maps
(CSMs) or subdivision plats were reviewed by the Plan Commission which may have
adjusted sidewalk routes, especially if the street layout was affected. The final CSM or
subdivision plat was then approved by the City Council.
In 2010 the Council adopted a 7 year sidewalk implementation plan. The City Council
directed staff to proceed with the installation of the planned unfunded sidewalk
commencing in 2011, completing 5 to 9 miles of sidewalk construction each year until
completed. The PTCP has always been accessible to the public through the City website
as well as hard copies on display at City Hall and available at the reference desk at the
Hedberg Public Library.
As part of the sidewalk implementation strategy, Council supported the idea of making
two passes through the City where higher priority sidewalk routes would receive
sidewalks in the first pass through the City and the second pass through the City would
completed all remaining sidewalk routes. The locations designated in the PTCP were
prioritized and scheduled as follows:
Sidewalk Corridor Ranking
To provide for orderly scheduling of the directed work, staff developed a ranking
system which considered:
1. Development status
2. Land use
3. Proximity to schools
4. Traffic volume
5. Presence on a bus route
Item 1 above considered streets with current conditions unsuitable for the installation
of sidewalk. This involved streets primarily along the periphery of the City with rural
cross sections, open ditches, prohibitive cross slopes or other major obstructions.
This initial screening resulted in the recommended deferral of 17 of the original 63
miles of planned unfunded sidewalks. The remaining 47 miles of sidewalks were
ranked using the following point system:
1. Zoning
a. 0 points - Agricultural, conservation and mining (A,C & M)
b. 1 point – Low density residential (R1 & 2)
c. 2 points - Industrial (M1 thru 4)
d. 3 points - Business or Office (B1 thru 6, BT and O1 thru 3)
e. 4 points – Medium to high density (R3, R3M & R4)
2. School Proximity
a. 1 point - Between ¼ and ½ mile radius
b. 2 points - Within ¼ mile of schools
3. Street Classification
a. 0 points - Local
b. 1 points - Collector
c. 2 points – Minor Arterial
d. 3 points – Principle Arterial
4. On bus route
a. 0 points - No
b. 1 point – Yes
Scheduling Installation
Approximately one half (25 miles) of the streets received a ranking of 3 to 7 (with 7
being the highest priority) and the remaining (21 miles) ranking 1 to 2. In order to
achieve construction and management efficiencies while giving priority to higher
ranked locations, a schedule was devised to group work in adjacent PTCP zones and
to make an initial pass of the City completing the locations ranked 3 or higher and
then a second pass for the locations ranked below 3. With this in mind the following
schedule was developed:
PTCP Rank Miles Year
Zones
3 & 4 3 thru 7 5.68 2011
1 & 2 3 thru 7 5.19 2012
7 & 8 3 thru 7 7.58 2013
5,6 & 9 3 thru 7 6.89 2014
2,3 & 4 1 & 2 6.95 2015
1,6 & 7 1 & 2 7.56 2016
5,8 & 9 1 & 2 6.88 2017
Locations designated as deferred would be worked into the schedule as their status
changes. Also, any gaps within a block where partial existing walk exists would be
installed along with the locations ranked 3 thru 7 in the same PTCP zone.
Public Hearing
To allow affected property owners time to comment on sidewalk orders and/or to
fiscally plan for the cost of installation, a public hearing is held before the Council
each fall prior to the scheduled construction year for those locations included in the
following year’s program. All affected property owners are notified of the public
hearing. Staff prepares a recommended list of locations based on the approved
schedule with the intent of providing approximately six (6) months notice to affected
property owners. The final list of locations to receive sidewalk installation orders is
considered by the City Council following the public hearing.
Ability to Complete Work Privately
Following sidewalk orders by council, all affected property owners are provided
correspondence outlining their ability to conduct the work privately or have the City
contractor complete the work. The correspondence includes an actual length of
sidewalk and an estimated sidewalk rate if the City contractor completes the work.
Billing for Work Completed by City Contractor
Property owners are given until May 31st of the year following notification to complete
private installation of ordered sidewalk. Any sidewalk not installed by the property
owner will be installed through a contract bid by the City with the cost thereof billed to
the property owner. Cost this year on the City contract is $29.90 per linear foot. A
typical 80 foot wide lot with 15 foot driveway would cost about $1,950. That cost can
be paid over 5 years. Last year we heard of private contractors installing sidewalk for
less than $20 per linear foot which would cost about $1,300 for the same typical lot.
Reasons for the City contracted price being higher than privately installed walk
include:
1. Statutorial requirements for public contracts such as prevailing wage rates,
bonding requirements and minimum insurance thresholds
2. Included costs for retaining walls and tree removal which are incorporated
into the rate
3. Administrative costs which are included in the rate
4. Private contractors generally pursue the least complicated sidewalk
locations (meaning no tree removal, significant grading, or retaining walls)
Once invoiced following sidewalk installation by the City contractor, the property
owner is given three (3) payment options.
1. They can pay the invoice in full by October 31st
2. They can have the invoice rolled over onto their property tax bill and incur no
interest.
3. If the bill is over $250 they can elect to use the five-year payment plan and
incur interest charges. The interest rate is currently 3% for sidewalk.
Tree Conflicts
Sidewalk specifications indicate the back edge of sidewalk should be one (1) foot
inside the right-of-way. A typical street has 70 ft of right-of-way, 36 feet of pavement,
5 feet of sidewalk and 10 feet of (grass) terrace. Over the last several years, City staff
has been very flexible with sidewalk alignments and allows meandering sidewalks to
minimize the impacts to trees. In 2009, 2010 and 2011, 8.4 miles of sidewalk were
installed and approximately 100 trees were identified as a conflict for standard
sidewalk alignment. More than 70% of those tree conflicts were avoided by realigning
the sidewalk or trimming tree branches to provide 7ft of clearance. Some of the trees
removed prior to sidewalk construction were in poor condition and property owners
requested they be removed even though there was no conflict of space with new
sidewalk installation.
When trees are removed to facilitate sidewalk installation, the affected property owner
does not pay additional costs above the City sidewalk billing rate. The City sidewalk
billing rate includes tree removals when necessary.
When removing a tree or trees is unavoidable, the City has a process to allow
property owners to purchase a tree or trees and install them in the front yard area with
the City reimbursing the affected property owners up to $250. This process was
established to help concerned property owners take the initiative to replace trees with
appropriate streetscape trees if desired.
Retaining Walls
In some instances, retaining walls may be required to install sidewalk for several
reasons including: affected property owners not allowing grading back onto private
property, utility conflicts, property owners believing a retaining wall adds aesthetic
value to the property curb appeal, etc. In 2009, 2010, and 2011, one (1) small
retaining wall only a few courses high was installed.
In 2012 there are several potential retaining walls along the west side of N. Wright
Road south of Ruger Avenue and one (1) fairly significant retaining wall required at
the northeast corner of Skyview Drive and N. Wright Road. When retaining walls are
necessary, the affected property owner does not pay additional costs above the City
sidewalk billing rate. The City sidewalk billing rate includes tree removals when
necessary.
City Manager Recommendation:
The City Council has two issues before it tonight.
1. The first issue is relatively straight forward. The City Council can determine
whether it wishes to form a committee to evaluate the sidewalk program moving
forward. The three options that I see are:
Initiate the formation of a committee to evaluate the sidewalk program.
o
Continue to move forward with the current 7 year plan.
o
Determine forgo the installation of future unfunded sidewalks.
o
2. The second issue before the City Council is a little more complex.
The City Council could approve the attached resolution which is proposed by
o
the Citizen Committee. This would establish forming a committee and
including the 2012 program in that evaluation. By doing this, the City Council
likely
would delay sidewalk work to the 2013 year at the earliest.
The City Council could move forward with the 2012 sidewalk program.
o
The City Council could delay the order to install sidewalk by 30 to 45 days but
o
continue with the 2012 sidewalk program.
The City Council could request that the City Manager amend the current
o
contract for the 2012 sidewalk program to only included funded sidewalks or
cancel the contract.
One particular concern I have is the precedent this would potentially set of one
Council cancelling a previous City Council’s approved contractual agreements.
Attachments:
- Proposed Resolution presented by Citizen for Sensible Sidewalks Committee
- Sept 6, 2007 meeting – Council study session on Sidewalks
- Jan 14, 2008 meeting – Public Hearing, amend CP # 70 – Sidewalks & adopt PTCP
- March 24, 2008 meeting – Amendments to CP # 70 – Sidewalks
- Dec 14, 2009 meeting – Staff seeks Council direction for 2010 Sidewalk Program
- March 8, 2010 meeting – Amendments to CP # 70 – Sidewalks
- July 12, 2010 meeting – Direction to staff to proceed with 5-9 miles of walk in 2011
- Oct 11, 2010 meeting – Direction to staff on PTCP Implementation
- Feb 28, 2011 meeting – Consideration of amendments to CP # 70 - Sidewalks
- Sept 26, 2011 meeting – Public Hearing for 2012 Sidewalk Program
- Oct 24, 2011 meeting – Continued discussion then Council approves 2012 Sidewalks
- Council Policy #70 – Sidewalks
- Current Sidewalk Map of Zones 1 & 2 affected in 2012