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OPWA – National Public Works Week (NPWW)

National Public Works Week (May 16-22, 2010) is a celebration of the tens of thousands of men and women in North America who provide and maintain the infrastructure and services collectively known as public works.  The OPWA Kick-off Event and Pioneers Luncheon (Thursday, May 13th) featured 7 excellent speakers discussing public works infrastructure/asset management current status, issues and several important future challenges.       

Kathleen Llewellyn-Thomas, Allan Magi, Andrew Pollock and Mike Price discuss “Challenges for the Next Decade”.

 Wally Wells, P.Eng., Wells Infrastructure Group Inc. (“Asset Management BC”) outlined the status of the Local Government Asset Management Working Group (LGAMWG).  The group has finalized their terms of reference, vision, mission and objectives.  The ‘way forward’ for the group will be:       

• PSAB 3150 follow-up (i.e. condition assessment guidelines)
• Integration – focus on core strengths and deliverables
• Communication – get the message out and solicit input from stakeholders; educate public and politicians
• BC Knowledge Product – follow up actions
• Pilot projects – find practical asset management (AM) solutions
• Tools – create a ‘tool chest’ for sustainable AM
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Michael Mortimer, P.Eng., Program Manager, CSA Standards provided an update on CSA training and publications for buildings and municipal public works.  The Municipal Infrastructure Solutions Program (MSIP) focuses on delivering practical, pragmatic and proven tools and services in the form of new standards, best-practice guides, technologies and training offerings.
Currently there are 14 technical committees/working groups established to guide the development of additional courses and publications.  CSA would welcome additional knowledgeable participants on these advisory committees.
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An excellent round table discussion –“Challenges for the Next Decade”- featured Kathleen Llewellyn-Thomas, P.Eng., York Region (transportation), Allan Magi, P.Eng., City of Birlington (facilities), Andrew Pollock, Niagara Region (solid waste) and Mike Price, P.Eng., Mike Price& Associates Inc. (water/wastewater).
Some of the issues/challenges outlined included:    

Transportation
• Fiscal sustainability
• Accommodating urban growth
• Succession planning     

Facilities
• Performance measurement similar to linear assets needed
• Consistent condition assessment approach (i.e. facility condition index)
• Energy management
• Funding/inflation
• Multiple use facilities to address aging population and recent immigration patterns/interests   

The new MTO maintenance facility at Hwy 401/Hurontario was built with the latest green technologies. It will require consistent condition monitoring and assessment to ensure full service life.

  Waste Management
• Recycling – move to full producer responsibility (Waste Diversion Act/June 2010)
• Composting – 2nd generation plants, different/conflicting methods; biofuel
• Disposal – landfill capacity; district heating potential/projects (Durham); fuel production from waste    

Water/Wastewater
• Source Protection – world-wide and in Canada
• Future design/capacities of infrastructure – considering reductions in usage (i.e. condos)
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The keynote speaker Reg Andres, P.Eng., Vice President, R.V. Anderson Associates Limited presented ‘Sustainable Infrastructure Management – Where We Are & Where We Are Going”. 
His main message for OPWA members….asset management has come a long way; OPWA members need to lead the way into the future; continue to get the message out regarding infrastructure management, funding and sustainability.
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RoadMap:
• National (Canada) Asset Management
• Asset Management International – Dr. Penny Burns (Australia) 
CentreLine:   “An asset without a user is an asset without a value” 

By Graham Zeisner in Association, Buildings & Grounds, Fleet, Roads & Bridges, Sewer & Wastewater, Solid Waste Disposal/Recycling, Transportation, Water on May 19th, 2010 - No Comments »
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National Public Works Week 2010

When I joined APWA in 2004, I received a very comprehensive package of promotional material in the mail which included a letter of thanks, information about their services, the Info Now network, the historical society, benefits of membership and a publications/resources catalogue. Needless to say, I was impressed and as we all know…you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression”.

Harry Campbell's graphic interpretation of the theme "Public Works: Above, Below & All Around You".

Over the years their publications and promotional materials have been consistently relevant, essential and timely. The National Public Works Week (NPWW) flyer that I received this week is no exception. The flyer cover – a copy of the 2010 NPWW poster by illustrator Harry Campbell – is an amazing interpretation of the theme “Public Works: Above, Below, & All Around You” .

Harry’s distinctive graphic line illustration work can be found in most major publications including The New York Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, and many others. A graduate of The Maryland Institute College of Art where he also has taught. Campbell has received numerous awards from The Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, and American Illustration.

National Public Works Week (NPWW) 2010 is celebrated on May 16-22. Instituted as a public education campaign by the American Public Works Association (APWA) in 1960, NPWW calls attention to the importance of public works in community life. The Week seeks to enhance the prestige of the often–unsung heroes of our society–the professionals who serve the public good every day with quiet dedication.

The Association of Ontario Road Supervisors (AORS) has formally partnered with the Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA) – A Chapter of APWA/CPWA. One of the goals of this agreement is to cross promote the partner’s significant events and awards including NPWW. OPWA has two awards available for NPWW in Ontario including:

  • Municipalities with more than 150,000 (The Bruce Brunton Trophy)
  • Municipalities with populations of 150,000 or less (The Roger Brown Trophy).

Township of Scugog staff and elected officials - winners of the Roger Brown Trophy.

The 2009 winner in the first category was the City of Brampton and the second category was the Township of Scugog. Congratulations to both Municipalities and their staff or organizing such great programs that met the strategic objectives of the program.

In my opinion, NPWW activities are like APWA publications. They’re opportunity to make a great impression…a lasting impression of your Municipal public works department and its important role in providing essential quality of life services in our communities. From my conversations with representatives of the winning teams, it doesn’t take a great deal of time or resources to make any NPWW celebratory event memorable. On the other hand, the benefits – award and trophies notwithstanding – including increased morale, teamwork and pride amongst participating Municipal staff are enormous.

So….don’t forget those dates…..May 16-22. If you and your Municipality are interested in supporting NPWW in Ontario please contact anyone at OPWA or AORS or better yet, talk to the Municipalities who have participated in the past. There is no sense in reinventing the wheel.
These folks have lots of experience and good ideas so tap into it.

CentreLine: NPWW is an opportunity to shout from the rooftops “We are public works”.

By Graham Zeisner in AORS, Association, Buildings & Grounds, Certification & Training, Fleet, Municipal Elected Officials, Parks & Recreation, Roads & Bridges, Sewer & Wastewater, Snow & Ice Control, Solid Waste Disposal/Recycling, Stormwater, Transportation, Water, Winter on February 17th, 2010 - No Comments »
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Canada’s Local Governments/Cities Legislation Is Antiquated

According to a recent study by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy Canadian municipal law is characterized by its prescriptive rules-based codes of compliance. That contrasts starkly with modern local government laws of other countries which seek to facilitate best-management practice by setting outcomes rather than rules. The approach of other countries leads to a performance and service-delivery framework designed to effectively and efficiently meet the needs of local taxpayers and residents.

All Canadians rely on a municipality of some kind to provide essential infrastructure, and unlike their dealings with private enterprises, which are disciplined by competition, they face a monopoly for the services that a municipality provides.

The study – Creating proper incentives for Canada’s cities through smart provincial legislation: A best-practice model of local government – compares municipal law in New Zealand with equivalent law in Canada. The New Zealand Act provides for the following:

  • It sets local government outcomes that can be achieved within practically based best-practice management processes;
  • These include asset and financial long-term planning, consultative process and democratic decision-making

Recommendations and likely results:

  • Canada should adopt much of New Zealand’s local government legislation.
  • Federal support for local provincial government law reform could be an impetus for change for the provinces. This might take the form of linking federal infrastructure funding to the required improvements in law.

This adoption would have the following results:

  • It would improve local government performance. There is no argument that improvements are necessary, as Canadian municipalities score poorly when measured on a number of international performance scales.
  • The national economy would benefit directly from local government law reform. Much of the economy’s vital arterial economic lines of production and supply, the nation’s roads and the water and waste-water systems, are owned and managed by the municipalities.

RoadMap:  View entire report as .pdf – 57 pages

Ontario Municipalities have reported on their tangible capital assets and move from a modified accrual format to full accrual accounting with new financial statements since 2009.  The Municipal Finance Officers’ Association (MFOA) and the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO), have forged a strategic partnership to provide ongoing information and education to assist municipal staff who will have to deal with the changes. The PSAB/Asset Management web site is designed to be a resource and information-sharing centre.ongoing information and education to assist municipal staff who will have to deal with the changes.

CentreLine:  Infrastructure assets can be properly maintained and monitored if  the legal framework of municipal operations is specifically designed to mandate best-practice asset management as measured by performance-based systems.

By Graham Zeisner in Association, Municipal Elected Officials, Roads & Bridges, Sewer & Wastewater, Solid Waste Disposal/Recycling, Transportation on February 3rd, 2010 - No Comments »
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IBM: Five Innovations to Change Cities Within Five Years

Analytical software will find leaks and move water more efficiently.



IBM’s Smarter Planet Blog (Adam Christensen, social media communications manager, IBM) looks to the future and makes “five predictions of technological trends that will change the way we live in the next five years”. 

  1. Cities will have healthier immune systems
  2. City buildings will sense and respond like living organisms
  3. Cars and city buses will run on empty
  4. Smarter systems will quench cities’ thirst for water and save energy
  5. Cities will respond to a crisis — even before receiving an emergency phone call

RoadMap: Read the blog post  and the elaborations on each prediction

CentreLine: Canadian cities are centres of innovation and creativity, driving the economy and creating the necessary wealth to raise the living standards of citizens.

By Graham Zeisner in Transportation, Water on December 18th, 2009 - No Comments »
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Electric Bikes Allowed on Ontario Roads

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Electric bikes - with new safety requirements - like this Silver Lark can now share Ontario roads with other users

E-bikes can share the road starting tomorrow with cars, pedestrians and other traffic throughout Ontario —with new safety requirements.

E-bikes reach a maximum speed of 32 kilometres per hour and offer another option for clean, green commuting and travel.  Effective October 3, 2009, new requirements that will increase rider safety include:

  • Limiting the maximum weight of an e-bike to 120 kilograms
  • Requiring a maximum braking distance of nine metres
  • Prohibiting modifications of the e-bike’s motor to enable power-assisted speeds greater than 32 kilometres per hour.

All riders must be at least 16 years of age, wear approved bicycle or motorcycle helmets and follow the same traffic laws that apply to bicyclists such as keeping as close to the right edge of the road as possible.

Municipalities can determine where e-bikes may be ridden on their streets, bike lanes and trails.

“E-bikes provide an important transportation option to Ontarians. They are affordable, green and easy to use. The McGuinty government is pleased to welcome the e-bike to Ontario’s transportation mix.”

 – Jim Bradley
Minister of Transportation

RoadMap:  Find out what new and alternative vehicles are permitted on Ontario roads.

CentreLine:  I’m going down to my local bike store to check these out.

By Graham Zeisner in Roads & Bridges, Transportation on October 2nd, 2009 - No Comments »
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OPWA Fall 2009 Newsletter

The Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA) promotes professional excellence and public awareness through education, advocacy and the exchange of knowledge regarding public works in Ontario.

Paul May (Chief Engineer York Region Rapid Transit Corporation)

Paul May (Chief Engineer York Region Rapid Transit/Viva Corporation)

Learn More:  OPWA Fall Newsletter (pdf) Enjoy the read!

Contents:

  • President’s Message
  • CPWA Report
  • OPWA/AORS Partnership Report
  • York Region First Community Environmental Centre
  • Legislative Update
  • News From APWA
  • People in Profile – Paul May (Chief Engineer York Region Rapid Transit Corp.)
  • other interesting articles

CentreLine:  The OPWA/AORS Partnership Agreement is moving forward and will benefit the members of our respective Associations.

By Graham Zeisner in AORS, Association, Fleet, Transportation on September 14th, 2009 - No Comments »

Intelligent transport: A path to smarter mobility

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IBM Study - "Intelligent transport: How cities can improve mobility"

IBM conducted in-depth research in more than 50 developed and developing world cities, followed by in-depth interviews with senior transport officials in 16 selected cities around the world

Cities around the world face common transport challenges – from increasing congestion, safety concerns and aging infrastructure to a lack of funding and increasing environmental impacts. Like their colleagues in city administration and government, transport officials are starting to implement “smart solutions” to address these challenges and provide improved mobility in their cities, better services for citizens and a more cost-effective transport network.

But intelligent transport is about more than implementing discrete technologies. Leading cities are using these technologies to evolve their transport systems from single modes to integrated ones, improve transport services and provide an improved value proposition to customers.

Download their study, “Intelligent transport: How cities can improve mobility,” to learn how pacesetting cities are applying their leadership and vision to build “smarter” transportation systems.

Learn More:

By Graham Zeisner in Municipal Elected Officials, Roads & Bridges, Transportation on September 11th, 2009 - No Comments »

The Need for Exclusive Cycling Facilities

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Exclusive cycling facilities are abundant and well used in Montreal.

There have been too many tragic accidents lately in Ottawa – and other cities/towns I’m sure – involving vehicular traffic and cyclists.

In particular, my daughter’s friend and former work colleague was killed in a collision with a City of Gatineau bus on Sussex Drive in Ottawa.  This location has a cycling facility that is shared with a exclusive bus lane.  Sounds like a bad mix to me and perhaps another accident waiting to happen. 

Full story in the Ottawa Citizen

On July 21, a 22-year-old cyclist died two days later of head injuries after being struck by a car while riding on Ogilvie Road.  Police determined that the cyclist drifted out of the bike lane into the roadway. He was also not wearing a helmet.

Just two days before that crash, five cyclists were struck by a minivan in a hit-and-run on March Road. The collision resulted in serious injuries for most of those cyclists.

I travel to Montreal frequently to visit family and I notice that city accommodates cyclists very well at least in the downtown core.  The cycling infrastructure is integrated into the entire transportation system.  Cycling facilities are separated on major streets with curbs, pavement markings and special traffic signals at intersections.  The system is used by thousands of cyclists and pedestrians have to be careful and look both ways for motorized vehicles and cyclists when crossing the street.

While not an avid cyclist, I certainly believe that it’s about time we recognized bicycling as a legitimate mode of transportation with dedicated bike lanes and parking wherever possible.  World Changing is an organization dedicated to covering the world’s most innovative solutions to the planet’s problems, inspiring  readers around the world with stories of new tools, models and ideas for building a bright green future.

A recent post on their website (Bike-frastructure 101: Sharrows, Street Parking, Superhighways and More) is an excellent video, graphical and general informational tour of cycling facilities in many large cities around the world including the Bixi system used in Montreal.   

CentreLine: In an increasingly ‘green-conscious’ world there will only be two kinds of mayors:  those who are implementing bike amenities and bike-sharing programs, and those who plan to do so soon.

By Graham Zeisner in Municipal Elected Officials, Transportation on September 1st, 2009 - No Comments »
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Ontario TDM Municipal Grant Program: A program to Encourage Cycling, Walking, Transit and Trip Reduction.

Fast, affordable, convenient transit systems will attract and maintain ridership.

Fast, affordable, convenient transit systems will attract and maintain ridership.

The Ministry of Transportation is pleased to invite applications for the 2009-2010 round of funding for the Ontario Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Municipal Grant Program: A Program to Encourage Cycling, Walking, Transit, and Trip Reduction.

The program provides financial assistance to Ontario municipalities for the development and implementation of TDM plans, programs, and services that promote alternatives to driving alone such as cycling, walking, transit, or carpooling.

Learn More: What is TDM? Program Guidelines and Application.

By Graham Zeisner in Transportation on July 14th, 2009 - No Comments »
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Public Works Update

I subscribe to Public Works Update which is an online e-newsletter published twice monthly  by publishing company Hanley Wood.

 
In each edition of the PUBLIC WORKS Update you can expect to find the latest industry news, trends and information from across the country (USA), as well as selections from the latest PUBLIC WORKS Magazine. Many of the articles relate to American public works issues but obviously there are a lot of common issues, challenges, equipment etc. that should be of interest.  I will continue to provide this link on a monthly basis for your information.

Learn More: 3rd June Public Works Update & 17 June PW Update

By Graham Zeisner in Buildings & Grounds, Fleet, Health & Safety, Parks & Recreation, Roads & Bridges, Sewer & Wastewater, Transportation, Water on June 18th, 2009 - No Comments »

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