Trucking Agreement between the Town of View Royal and the Esquimalt Nation Staff Report

PUBLIC WORKS & TRANSPORTATION

TO: Committee of the Whole DATE: December 20, 2016 FROM: John Rosenberg, Director of Engineering MEETING DATE: January 10, 2017

Trucking Agreement between the Town of View Royal and the Esquimalt Nation

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report be received for information.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS:

I concur with the recommendation.

PURPOSE OF REPORT:

The Town has been approached by the Esquimalt Nation enquiring about the opportunity to use Hallowell Road, located in View Royal, as a trucking route for the Nations’ commercial activities. The current street is not a trucking route and as such trucks may only enter on a direct route for the purpose of delivery.

There are a couple of options moving forward if the proposal were to be considered by Council.

1. Designated Truck Route The first option is to designate Hallowell Road as part of Bylaw No. 456 “A bylaw to prohibit trucks travelling on any street within the Town of View Royal other than on the designated truck route”. This option is the simplest solution and can be executed after amending the current bylaw.

2. Community Charter Agreement Embedded within the Community Charter is the ability to establish various agreements. Section 42 of the Community Charter enables the municipality to enter into an agreement with respect to compensation for extra-ordinary traffic.

Staff would support the Section 42 agreement approach to allow for the Town to negotiate the impacts of the truck traffic on the road. It is paramount that the Town has the ability to be compensated for the impacts that are created by trucks travelling on local roads.

It is the intention of staff to bring forward to the January 17, 2017 Council meeting a request for Council to consider the signing of the agreement (see attached) with the Esquimalt Nation to allow trucks to utilize Hallowell Road for the purpose of trucks entering and traveling upon Hallowell Road from the Esquimalt Nation lands.

TIME CRITICAL:

The Esquimalt Nation has a funding opportunity from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). If the timelines can be met the Nation would be able to access approximately $1,300,000 in funding for road construction. In addition the CRD has grant funding that is time critical for the completion of the E&N Rail Trail.

BACKGROUND:

The Nation has approached Town Council to ask that they consider allowing the Esquimalt Nation and their commercial leaseholders to utilize Hallowell Road for their business concerns as well as the Esquimalt Nations’ residents. As a part of the agreement the Capital Regional District (CRD) would be allowed to place the E&N trail (a multi-modal bike and pedestrian pathway) on the Esquimalt Nation lands, thus providing a crucial connection for the trail that currently does not exist.

The agreement is not without precedent. The Town currently has an agreement to provide Fire service to the Esquimalt Nation.

PROJECT INFORMATION:

The process of allowing the Esquimalt Nation to utilize Hallowell Road is very complex concerning several issues:

• Maintenance Costs- With the truck traffic creating a significant amount of maintenance issues, staff have negotiated the following protocol:

  • Asphalt Patching & Crack Sealing- EN $5,500/ToVR $500 annually
  • Catch Basin Cleaning- (VR 1st cleaning/ EN 2-4 cleanings as required)
  • Street Sweeping (VR X4/ EN 5-22 as required)
  • Lane Markings & Sign Replacement- 50% Cost Share $1,000 annually

• Capital Costs- The funding responsibility to build the required infrastructure will be as follows:

  • Road Realignment & Sound Attenuation Barrier- Esquimalt Nation
  • Trail Construction & Alternative Parking- Capital Regional District (maintenance of the alternative parking will be the responsibility of the Town of View Royal)
  • Railway Crossing-Esquimalt Nation & Capital Regional District

• Future Road Replacement Costs- All costs to be borne by the trucking companies including administration and monitoring by the Town of View Royal. Each round trip performed by a truck is:

  • Truck Cost: $2.00
  • New Business Truck: $10.00
  • Premium Truck: $20.00
  • Penalty Truck: $500.00

An agreed upon truck traffic limit has been established as part of the negotiations, as volumes increase or if limits are breached trucks become increasingly more expensive:

Additional funds collected over the truck cost impacts ($2/truck), will be available for Town of View Royal amenities to be determined by Council. If the maximum non-penalty trucking volumes were reached the Town would have an annual amenity package valued at $135,000.

In the summer of 2016 from June 1st to September 30th, Trio truck traffic was monitored and averaged approximately 650 truck trips per month. Allowances have been incorporated into the agreement for the Esquimalt Nation to engage new business entities within their lands that will have the ability to access Hallowell Road.

• Parking- Currently there is parking on both sides of the street. There are three parking stalls devoted to Reliable Controls (a local business), and the design will be able to incorporate their parking requirements. However, all other on street parking will be removed. Staff, in conjunction with the CRD, has been able to negotiate an area with the Island Corridor Foundation (ICF) for additional parking. The parking will have two separate areas; one will be for the local residents (if they would like the parking area created) that have lost their on street parking and will only be accessible by local residents. The second area will be available for E&N trail users to park their cars and commute into work.

• Social Issues- Residents have several significant concerns. What was formally a local road with typical traffic now has the potential to have up to 100 trucks daily driving down the street. Staff has attempted to negotiate an agreement that mitigates the concerns of the residents.

  • Traffic Issues- If traffic becomes an issue and the level of operation for the intersection drops to a level of service “D” (LOS “D”). This level of service is represented by: “At this level, the motorist experiences increasing restriction and instability of flow. There are substantial delays to approaching vehicles during short peaks within the peak period, but there are enough cycles with lower demand to permit occasional clearance of developing queues and prevent excessive backups.” There are several alternatives that the Director of Engineering may impose on the Esquimalt Nation, in all instances the cost of the remedies would be at the Nation’s expense:
    1. An additional traffic light will be installed at the intersection of Aldersmith Place and Admirals Road. This light is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transportation but staff has received assurances that the installation of a light would be favourably received by the Ministry.
    2. A truck lay-by where the trucks wait until an existing truck clears the intersection before proceeding to enter the intersection. As part of the initial construction of Hallowell Road, to allow truck traffic, the lay-by will be constructed. The lay-by would only be enforced upon the trucks and not local residents.
    3. Currently there is a single left turn lane entering the Admirals corridor from Hallowell Road. A second left turn lane could be created; however, this is the least desirable remedy as it would require significant upgrades to the intersection.
  • The Town will have the ability to enter into an individual agreement with every resident company operating trucks on the Esquimalt Nation Land. In addition, all new companies may be required to complete a traffic study at the discretion of the Director of Engineering. Traffic Study requirements will be based on the projected volumes of truck traffic that is anticipated to be generated by the new company.
  • The Town will be able to enforce monetary penalties for transgressions of the agreement and if deemed appropriate Council may terminate the agreement with the individual trucking company.
  • To ensure the noise levels are within an acceptable range decibel meters will be installed on the Esquimalt lands as well as on Hallowell Road to ensure infractions can be traced to the offending company. Furthermore, a sound attenuation barrier will be constructed for residents that face onto Hallowell Road. Staff will endeavour to engage the residents to determine a design that is both affective in mitigating sound and is aesthetically pleasing for the residents. Part of the consideration will also be the ability to maintain the sound attenuation barrier.
  • Where dirt tracking or excessive debris is determined to be problematic the Director of Engineering can require the installation of a tire wash for the offending trucking company.
  • At this time it was determined that particulate monitoring was not viable for several reasons:
    • Laboratory testing of the particles is extremely difficult.
    • Collection of the particles is very onerous and time consuming.
    • The source of the particulates cannot be confirmed at time of collection and are subject to various parameters such as wind direction, original source of particulate and type of particulate.
    • Staff are not trained in the collection protocols required to ensure accurate collection results.
  • All trucking companies will be required to submit monthly trip counts. At the Esquimalt Nation’s expense several traffic counters will be installed. The Town will have unencumbered access to record, maintain, and repair the counters for the purposes of auditing the monthly truck trip reports.

BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:

It is anticipated that there will be no funding impacts to the capital or operational budget for the Town of View Royal. All capital costs will be borne by the Esquimalt Nation and the Capital Regional District.

Existing operational budgets will not be impacted by the signing of an Agreement.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS:

There are no policies that would preclude the Town from entering into the extra Ordinary Traffic agreement with the Esquimalt Nation or the trucking companies. The signing of the Agreement prevents the trucks from being in contravention of Bylaw No. 456 “A bylaw to prohibit trucks travelling on any street within the Town of View Royal other than on the designated truck route”.

SUSTAINABILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

During the negotiations staff considered impacts concerning the sustainability of the Agreement. In considering the environmental, social and economic factors it is Staff’s contention that the agreement has addressed these factors.

ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION:

That Council direct Staff to inform the Esquimalt Nation that the Town of View Royal will not be entering into an agreement to allow trucking on Hallowell Road.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report be received for information.

SUBMITTED BY: John Rosenberg, Director of Engineering

REVIEWED BY: Kim Anema, Chief Administrative Officer