Benchmarking

Municipality

Operating costs for winter maintenance of

roadways per lane kilometer maintained in winter Sarnia $ 1,016 Clarington $ 1,031 Newmarket $ 1,138 Pickering $ 1,144 Waterloo $ 1,373 Whitby $ 1,843 Guelph $ 1,949 Brantford $ 1,990 Average $ 1,436 Peterborough $ 1,853

There are a number of factors that impact the cost of service including but not limited to the following:

• The frequency and severity of winter storm events • The extent of the road network located in urban areas

• Municipalities service threshold for responding to winter storm events • The municipalities service standard for road condition after a storm • Accounting and reporting practices

Therefore, the focus of the benchmarking in winter control activities is on operating practices rather than the cost comparison to identify if the City is employing what are considered to be best or industry practices.

Shifts and Staff Deployment Strategies

The goal is to have 24 hour coverage in winter storm conditions. The current shift structure in Peterborough allows 24 hour coverage by having day shift operators work overtime and night shift operators come in early, however, the current collective agreement specifically states the type of shift structure that is permitted which does not provide management with the flexibility to customize shifts. In addition, the collective agreement does not permit the hiring of temporary employees from November 30th to April 1st which reduces flexibility to meet service demands and poses challenges in terms of the cost of service as overtime is the main tool used to meet service delivery requirements.

The most common approach to winter service delivery is through the use of two or three shifts. A number of municipalities have moved to a full or partial two shift approach to providing winter maintenance. Benefits which resulted from these practices include:

• Reduced overtime and expenses

• Unit cost reduction through overtime cost avoidance

• Better able to meet requirements of Commercial Vehicle Operator Regulations and Employment Standards Act re hours of work

• Avoids staff burnout from excessive hours of work during prolonged winter event periods

• Improved response time to evening winter events through a second already- deployed shift – avoids call-out “lag time”

• 24 hour, 7 day per week response capability

As stated by the Ontario Centre for Municipal Best Practices, decisions on how best to deploy winter control manpower (seasonal shift structures) are a critical driver of direct- delivery service costs and quality. The blend of winter control straight time versus overtime service hours varies greatly across the municipal sector. Local winter event conditions play a role in determining the optimal shift structure. The best practice is not a one-size-fits-all shift structure, but rather a process of experimenting with and learning from various options in order to find one that is best suited to local conditions at the time.

The City has found greater efficiency by using a “one-man” plowing operation to a greater extent than in the past. This is considered to be a best practice and is the most common deployment practice used in Ontario.

Contract versus Internal Service Provision

Currently, the City provides almost all winter control activities through internal staff. There are 13 routes with approximately 65 kms on each route. Most municipalities have routes designed at 40-45 kms. Also, the City provides winter control service at bus shelters and downtown parking lots and the level of service has generated concerns from the users, however, considering the availability of staff resources, the bus stops cannot be given a higher priority over the primary transportation network. These are areas where a number of other municipalities have elected to contract out the service to ensure that the service is delivered in a timely manner.

Of the municipalities surveyed, the City of Peterborough contracts a significantly lower proportion of winter control activities. The following table summarizes the percentage of the operating budget allocated to contract services using the 2004 financial information returns. This provides an approximation of the extent to which services are contracted.

Municipality Contract as a % of Total Operating Costs Belleville 0% Cambridge 0% Kitchener 0% Pickering 0% Sarnia 0% Waterloo 0% Guelph 0% Ajax 2% St. Catharines 2% Peterborough 6% Niagara Falls 8% C-K 21% Brantford 22% Oshawa 22% Barrie 27% Whitby 31% Kingston 33% Milton 34% Hamilton 44% Burlington 45% Newmarket 46% Cornwall 51% Markham 51% Oakville 51% Windsor 53% Vaughan 61% Brampton 74% Average 25%

As shown above, based on the allocation of operating costs to contracted services, the majority of the other municipalities surveyed provide services with a higher proportion of contracted services than that currently used by the City of Peterborough.

Beyond offering an alternative that may be more cost effective, municipalities also elect to contract out services in winter maintenance to improve the timeliness of service delivery during peak periods. For example, cul-de-sacs, sidewalk, parking lots and bus shelters tend to be the services that are most frequently contracted out to ensure that the these areas can be cleared on a timely basis with dedicated resources and clearly defined service standards. By contracting out these services, municipalities surveyed identified that this permitted municipal staff to focus on the main arteries. Additionally, a number of municipalities also contract out some of the road winter maintenance activities, either on a zone basis or for residential roads. Examples include the City of Brantford, Burlington, Oakville, Hamilton, Waterloo, Whitby, London and Guelph.

provide year round service and then to determine the most efficient and effective method of meeting the peak demands, whether this is through in-house services or external contractors. Typically, the peak periods are in the winter.

Illustration from the Ontario Centre for Municipal Best Practices

The City of London’s Winter Maintenance Operations is a 24/7 program delivered through a mix of contracted units and staff-operated units. The program is managed by the Roads & Transportation Division, which also has responsibility for non-winter maintenance activities like Parks and Recreations Operations, similar to the structure in the City of Peterborough. This Division manages its mix of fixed and variable labour costs and service hours through an entire fiscal year, not just through the winter season.

Full-time winter control staffing (representing fixed costs and a bundle of year-round service hours) is carried over into the non-winter road and park maintenance activities.

If London delivered the sanding/salting program with a higher concentration of full time staff, an excess capacity of service hours (and fixed costs) would carry over into the non-winter season – resulting in excess hours of paid staff time searching for viable activities to perform. The key to the practice is the optimal mix of direct staff required year round, and then assembling a team of seasonal winter resources that deliver “peak demand” (variable costs).

Over time, London has determined that a ratio of 55% contracted units to 45% staff-operated units provides the optimal year-round balance across winter roads, non-winter roads, and parks maintenance activities.

In analyzing the potential costs of doing business, London compares winter event hours to non- event hours. Contracted operating hours are compared to the cost of City resources that can be utilized year round across all operations.

Municipalities have struggled for years over the question of whether to contract or directly deliver winter control services. The London practice suggests that the “best practice” answer is to not choose-one-or-the-other, but rather to seek the optimal mix. The following provides the benefits identified by London:

• Improved winter event response times resulting from aggressive patrol coverage & early response decisions

• Reduced year-round costs • Reduced winter operations costs

Winter Maintenance Road Standards

Winter road services are essential and valued by the residents and businesses of Peterborough. It is important that a balanced and valued set of services be offered to make the roads functional and safe under most winter driving conditions. The purpose of standards in policy is to set a measurable, realistic, and accountable threshold for performance of the resources of the division.

The winter control work is organized around zones so the arterial collector roads within the City do not receive a consistent level of service. Depending on where the operators are in their zones determines when the arterial/collectors are plowed and in what order.

As previously mentioned the Public Works Division has recently reviewed both the Levels of Service (standards) and has included in their 2006 Work plan a review of the Winter Control Routing Design to optimize this service which will address the problems inherent in zone plowing.

The current best practice for Municipal Standards, as suggested by the Ontario Good Roads Association, is to avoid having two sets of standards for any one activity. Since the MMSMH is designed to lower a municipality’s exposure to liability a second set of standards could undo this benefit if the higher service standard is upheld by the courts. The best approach is to have the higher service standards documented as “A Level of Service”, so there is no confusion. The City has utilized this approach in developing it new “Levels of Service Document” for Winter Control operations.

Winter Sidewalk and Windrow Standards

As shown in the following table, a number of municipalities require property owners to remove the snow from sidewalks adjacent to their properties and elect to establish programs for seniors and disabled that are unable to remove their snow. While this approach would reduce the cost of operations, this approach also brings its own challenges. For example, various enforcement strategies are then needed to monitor that the snow has been cleared within the requisite amount of time. Some municipalities include a fine that will be imposed for properties that have not been cleared within the required time frame. In addition, typically some form of assistance program is often provided which requires staff time to administer. There is a cost to provide the assistance program. Based on experience, the net savings are not significant when municipalities decide to exit sidewalk clearing services and the cost to settle negligence claims are factored in.

Municipality Sidewalk Clearing Policies

Brantford

Responsibility of the property owner within 24 hours of the end of the snow fall.

Clarington

Sidewalk clearing must be completed within 12 hours from when the snow fall stops. If the sidewalks are not cleared, the By-law will be enforced, snow and ice removed and costs will be charged back to the property owner.

Guelph Provided by Municipality

Newmarket

Responsibility of the property owner within 24 hours of the end of the snow fall.

Pickering Property owners must remove the snow

Sarnia Provided by Municipality

Waterloo

Responsibility of the property owner within 24 hours of the end of the snow fall.

Whitby

Starting for the 2005 / 2006 winter season, property owners on local streets will now be responsible for clearing the snow and ice from the sidewalks adjacent to their properties. Within 24 hours

Hamilton Property owners must clear within 24 hours. By-law in place to fine Oakville Provided by Municipality

Peterborough Provided by Municipality

An appropriate way to consider sidewalk, bus shelters and stops, and parking lot winter services is from the pedestrian’s perspective; the purpose of the intended service. The goal is to make the full pedestrian journey on municipal infrastructure; clear, safe and barrier free – including wheelchair assisted pedestrians. Given the higher number of seniors residing in the City of Peterborough, a move away from the current practice of clearing all sidewalks would be problematic and therefore not be recommended.

5.1.3 Gap Analysis

Insufficient Resources to Service Routes Effectively

There are currently 16 zones and 13 trucks to service them. This number has remained unchanged for approximately 20 years.

The City has 840 lane kilometres of roads inventory and 13 plow trucks so each vehicle has to handle approximately 65 lane kilometres. According to a staff survey, where municipalities were polled to see how many lane kilometres each of their trucks were assigned to plow, Peterborough crews had the highest number. Other studies carried out by the Study Team related to winter control resources supports the staff’s conclusions.

not receive a consistent level of service. Depending on where the operators are in their zones, determines if the arterial/collectors are plowed and in what order.

Use of Wingman

The City has found greater efficiency by using a “one-man” plowing operation. While only two of the trucks now have wingmen which are assigned to routes where a wingman is required for reasons of safety, the use of a wingman is more costly and has been eliminated in the majority of other municipalities through the use of improved technology and equipment and is recognized as a best practice in Ontario. .

Ability to Service Ancillary Services on a Timely Basis

The City provides plowing and sanding operations on the entire sidewalk network, with a limited amount done by contract. The City provides winter control service at bus shelters, parking lots and sidewalks and the level of service has generated concerns from the users, however, considering the availability of staff resources, these services cannot be given a higher priority over the primary transportation network. In situations where there are competing priorities, the solution in other municipalities has been to outsource the work.