Starting with the current construction season, the City of Sault Ste. Marie has altered the way it builds sidewalks.
"City engineering staff are implementing a new standard for 2018 capital works sidewalks," says Don Elliott, the city's director of engineering.
"Instead of there being five construction joints between expansion joints, only one sawcut is planned. That will essentially reduce the number of bumps by two-thirds, which will make for a much smoother ride for wheelchairs, scooters and strollers."
Elliott described the citywide fewer-bumps concrete-pouring technique in a report to Mayor Provenzano and city councillors about a section of sidewalk to be built along the south side of Second Line between Old Garden River Road and Great Northern Road.
J.J. Hilsinger, owner of the adjacent Algoma's Water Tower Inn, has been pushing along with cycling and trail enthusiasts for an eight-foot or nine-foot wide asphalt path instead of a sidewalk.
On Monday, Elliott will ask City Council to approve his original plan for a five-foot or six-foot concrete sidewalk.
The following are excerpts from Elliott's report:
Staff recommends a six-foot wide concrete sidewalk with as large a boulevard as possible. Mr. Hilsinger is advocating for an eight- or nine-foot asphalt path. To a great extent, asphalt paths in Sault Ste. Marie invite cyclists of all abilities, and that is not appropriate in this circumstance.
The Active Transportation Study includes the following quotes pertaining to implementation of cycling facilities on Second Line between Old Garden River Road and Sackville Road:
“Due to... high frequency of driveways, a multi-use pathway or off-road facilities... are not appropriate for Second Line as there is a high risk for conflict with vehicles at driveways. Only on-road separated bicycle lanes are an appropriate option....The implementation of a physical barrier system [for separate bicycle lanes] would require the widening of Second Line at great cost.”
“Property on all four corners of the intersection of Great Northern Road/Second Line is fully built out and implementing cycling facilities would result in significant impacts including property acquisition and likely site contamination issues.”“While implementation of a separated bicycle facility on Second Line would have great merit from a network continuity perspective, unless there is a total reconstruction of the road together with property acquisition and ideally a consolidation of driveways, it is not feasible at this time.... A recent proposal to extend a boulevard-based trail on the south side of Second Line between Great Northern Road and Old Garden River Road is similarly not feasible for the reasons stated above.”
It is abundantly clear that the transportation engineering specialist is recommending against an asphalt path at this location. City engineering staff stand behind this recommendation as is based on sound engineering principles and judgment.To recommend otherwise may, in the event of an adverse effect on public safety, result in liability exposure.
Specifically, if there was an accident, an injured party would 'plead' in a claim that the roadway/facility was constructed contrary to the recommendation of a specialist and that this constitutes negligence. This is especially so if the specialist has made such recommendations.
If council decides to direct staff to construct an asphalt path at this location with the knowledge of an expert recommendation, it would invite that liability exposure to itself.
Concrete is a rigid pavement, and asphalt is flexible. While asphalt paths may be less expensive to build, they do not have the longevity of concrete facilities.
They are more adversely affected by differential frost movement if not provided with full depth base preparation and subdrainage.
Asphalt paths require more maintenance than concrete facilities, and they require full replacement more frequently.
It is noteworthy that the proposed concrete sidewalk is a full two feet wider than most sidewalks in the area. Most are four feet wide compared to the city’s current standard of five feet, and this one will be six feet wide.
The cost of the concrete sidewalk as designed and priced in the contract is $108,000. The cost for an asphalt path with concrete banding along the borders is estimated at $150,000. The asphalt path would cost $95,000 without the concrete banding, however, along the Shell gas station it should be provided to delineate the asphalt path through the asphalt lot.
An asphalt path of eight to nine feet in width will require property primarily due to the presence of utilities in the boulevard. Mr. Hilsinger indicated he is willing to give the city a widening for construction of an asphalt path. Should this proceed, additional costs will be incurred for the legal survey, reference plan preparation and registry, and legal fees for both parties in the transfer of land.
The possible requirement for property from the Shell gas station was considered. Given the current locations of the car wash, buried fuel tanks and vacuum facilities, there would be a conflict with a setback path. It is recommended that the eventual facility be constructed within the existing boulevard along this frontage.
From a scheduling perspective, there is sufficient time in the construction season to complete utility relocates and the sidewalk as designed and priced in the 2017 contract. If an asphalt path is to be constructed, all or partly on donated land, there is likely insufficient time to complete it this year, given design, land acquisition and construction pricing considerations.
On August 23, staff met on site with Mr. Hilsinger at his request. It was a good meeting, but a compromise could not be reached. Mr. Hilsinger was firm that an asphalt path be constructed. Staff could not agree to this based on the reasons given above. Staff did suggest two alternatives: either the sidewalk could be moved onto the donated land thereby increasing the size of the boulevard buffer from the road; or, Mr. Hilsinger could build an asphalt path beside the sidewalk on his property.
The second option could happen at any time in the future.
The recently completed Active Transportation Study of this area identified better cycling route options that will extend the Hub Trail cycling network.Simply extending the trail along the south side of Second Line to Great Northern Road does not connect with any other existing or planned routes and forces cyclists of all abilities to cross the busiest intersection in the city.
As noted in the report, a better option would be to extend the cycling route along the north side of Second Line through the Walmart property to connect with the new traffic signals opposite the planned development on the west side of Great Northern Road.
From there, the route will continue to Sackville Road and the existing Fort Creek trail system.
Monday's City Council meeting will be livestreamed on SooToday starting at 4:30 p.m.