Investing in Neighbourhood Renewal

July 11th, 2012 in 2010-2013 Term, A fiscally responsible city, A functional city, Road Maintenance, Taxation

Construction season is upon us once again – but as each year passes Council is dedicating more of your tax dollars toward local roads, over and above the continued work on the main roads.

The blue shows the work from 1987-2008 (22 years, 53 neighbourhoods). The red shows the 2009-2014 work program (6 years, 69 neighbourhoods).

I recently requested a report from City Administration on progress, which was debated June 26th at Transportation Committee. The report can be accessed here: Multi-year Neighborhood Renewal Report

PowerPoint slides from June 26 Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Presentation

City’s Neighbourhood Renewal information page

Projected Reconstruction out to 2018

Projected Overlay Preventive Maintenance out to 2014

To put our progress in context, as recent as 2007 the City was only reconstructing one neighbourhood a year. This year the City is beginning reconstruction in six neighbourhoods, and five more next year. We aim to continue this pace of work for the next 10-15 years until we’re caught up.

This program is not only about the older areas. There is preventive maintenance occurring in the 20-40 year-old areas to ensure that the roads and sidewalks hold up for their full life, rather than prematurely deteriorating.

We aim to build a dedicated source of funds to ensure that all neighbourhoods are renewed in a timely fashion. However, this will require a few more years of the 1.5% levy added to the property tax to make the fund sustainable. [I wrote about the decision here to start this work back in 2008.]

Newer Ward 10 neighbourhoods currently slated for repaving and sidewalk maintenance include Keheewin next year and Sweet Grass in 2014. That’s as far out as this preventive work is scheduled, but the plan is to average about 8 neighbourhoods per year. Duggan, Greenfield and Bearspaw received attention last year.

The reconstruction schedule for older neighbourhoods runs out to 2018 and includes Lansdowne in the 2015-2018 window. The most recent report indicated that Allendale, Malmo and Royal Gardens are all high priority for the 2018-2021 timeframe, but specific start times have not been set.

I do hear frustration from neighbourhoods that are still waiting and wonder why. The answer is complex but I the priority is based on the condition of infrastructure (both underground and on the surface) as assessed by engineers whom we expect to be impartial.

The order is not political and Council is not picking winners and losers.

[UPDATE: the evaluation process is described here and the condition ratings are published in a map here.] 

With a little patience the investments will pay off and we will all catch up. That’s better than ‘sometime in the next century’ which was all we could say back in 2007.

10 thoughts on “Investing in Neighbourhood Renewal”

  1. Don,

    Just wondering if the impact of large scale residential infill projects are incorporated into the scheduling of neighborhood renewal?

    It would seem to me that the increased infrastructure use by an influx of new residents would necessitate moving affected neighborhoods up in the schedule.

    Brice

  2. I find it baffling that there’s a big blank spot in the centre of the city, where the infrastructure is already a decade or so overdue for rebuilding. Preventative maintenance is good, but to completely ignore the infrastructure needs of the densest parts of the city to benefit the suburbs is ludicrous.

  3. Neil, I can see how you might interpret the graphic it that way. However, many of the oldest areas have had reconstruction or significant maintenance work that predates the 1987 start point for the blue patches on the map. That said, many of these areas are now in need. From page three of the report, the following 13 neighbourhoods, many of which are in the blank spot you describe are next up for the 2018-2021 timeframe:

    The preliminary list of “candidate” neighbourhoods is as follows:
    • Neighbourhoods identified as first
    priority at end of current multi-year contracts
    1. Bellevue/VirginiaPark
    2. MalmoPlains
    3. RoyalGardens
    4. Strathcona
    • Older neighbourhoods with
    significant asphalt channel walk and poor road conditions
    1. McKernan
    2. SpruceAvenue
    3. Allendale
    4. ElmwoodPark 5. Garneau
    • Other residential neighbourhoods with roads approx 50 or more years old and limited prior overlays
    1. Belgravia
    2. Highlands
    3. Inglewood
    4. PrinceCharles

  4. Brice, good question – we probably could have connected the two (i.e. if you’re taking big infill, you move up the priority list) but it’s tough to change the priority system now, and that definitely would have politicized the prioritization. If your question is about oversizing in anticipation of possible infill, I would think that mostly relates to Drainage and I would hope they plan for that where it’s obvious that it’s coming – though that cost would normally go back to the entity getting the land value lift on the up zoning.

  5. What is the word on Westwood? That little area of houses and apartments north of NAIT next to the airport. Most of this area is 50-70 years old. The school is about 100 years old.

    Thanks

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