Email from Doug Wilson regarding Watkiss Roundabout
Resident correspondence arguing that the council does not have enough financial and maintenance information to make a decision.
Elena Bolster
Subject: FW: Oct 17, Pubic Hearing on Watkiss Roundabout
From: Doug Wilson
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 12:16 PM
To: Info Address info@viewroyal.ca
Subject: Oct 17, Pubic Hearing on Watkiss Roundabout
Please include the following letter on the agenda for the Public Hearing as well as the agenda for the October 17th Council Meeting.
Mayor and Council,
At this time the View Royal council is not in possession of enough information to make a decision on the Watkiss way intersection. The October 11, 2023 staff report does not offer the necessary information that council needs to make this decision.
The Watt Consulting Group August 21, 2023 Memorandum, page 15, clearly states that “Traffic signals are not as safe as roundabouts, provide limited traffic calming, and may be more expensive to maintain in the long term.”
The report fails to inform council about the difference in cost between the agreed upon roundabout and the proposed signalized intersection. On page 4, under the header Community Cost Contributions, the report mentions that no differential in cost is available due to an undefined time constraint. The paragraph does go on to tell the reader that while the covenant includes the roundabout as an agreed upon tangible amenity the residents should simply accept an “intersection improvement in any form” regardless of whether it enriches the proponent, reduces safety or adds unquantified ongoing costs to View Royal.
The report does have a paragraph headed Financial Implications on page 4. In this paragraph it is noted that “additional signalization maintenance costs would be prevalent” but gives no estimate of what the annual costs might be. The town of View Royal will be paying these costs in every future year as a result of changing the intersection improvement. To make a decision with no knowledge of the cost is irresponsible. To go ahead without exploring a method to have the developer absorb these costs is irresponsible.
The report does offer a sop to the signal maintenance costs by indicating that there will be no landscape maintenance costs without the roundabout. This ignores the additional landscape maintenance cost for a new “landscape median on Watkiss Way at the western approach” mentioned on page 2 of the same report. It appears that View Royal will be responsible for attritional maintenance charges for both the signalized intersection and the landscaping. Neither cost is quantified.
In conclusion, the View Royal council is not decision ready. Council has not been provided with the information required to make an informed decision. No investigation of the intersection upgrade cost difference has been undertaken, no estimate of additional maintenance cost has been provided and there has been no investigation of a partnering agreement with the proponent to eliminate or reduce these ongoing costs.
Doug Wilson
291 View Royal Ave