REPORT TO THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES DEPARTMENT KAMLOOPS RESOURCE RECOVERY CENTRE REVIEW OF ACCESS OPTIONS

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1 July 20, 2016 REPORT TO THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES DEPARTMENT ON KAMLOOPS RESOURCE RECOVERY CENTRE REVIEW OF ACCESS OPTIONS PURPOSE To provide Council with the results of the of access options review for the Kamloops Resource Recovery Centre (KRRC), and to seek approval to proceed with the short- and long-term recommendations. SUMMARY The City purchased the KRRC, formerly known as the Owl Road Landfill, and began operating it in January Prior to the purchase of the site, a delegation from the Valleyview Community Association attended the October 6, 2015, Council meeting to raise concerns about the current access route at Owl Road. Council directed staff to complete a technical review for the two possible access points to the KRRC, specifically Highland Road and Owl Road. Urban Systems Ltd. (Urban Systems) was subsequently retained to assist the City with the technical review considerations that needed to be established to review the access options, including traffic safety information (vehicle volumes and characteristics, collision history, vehicle travel speeds, and sight lines), construction costs, and site operations, with the main emphasis on safety. Urban Systems completed a high-level review of a number of options and a detailed review of three options. With the focus on safety, Urban Systems made the following recommendations: Modify the existing Owl Road/Valleyview Drive intersection to improve sightlines (Option 2.as outline in this report); Monitor the volumes of traffic to and from the KRRC site, along with the number and type of collisions occurring in the vicinity; If warranted due to public safety and traffic issues, consider additional traffic management measurements at the Owl Road/Valleyview Drive intersection; and Undertake a broader Valleyview Drive corridor transportation review.

2 KAMLOOPS RESOURCE RECOVERY CENTRE July 20, 2016 REVIEW OF ACCESS OPTIONS Page 2 RECOMMENDATION: That Council authorize staff to: a) Modify the existing Owl Road/Valleyview Drive intersection; b) Monitor the volumes of traffic to and from the Kamloops Resource Recovery Centre (KRRC) site, along with the number and type of collisions in the vicinity; c) Report back with the costs and resources required to undertake a broader Valleyview Drive corridor and transportation review; and d) Report back in approximately 18 months with information regarding recent traffic counts at the KRRC. COUNCIL POLICY There is no applicable Council policy. DISCUSSION The City purchased the KRRC, formerly known as the Owl Road Landfill, in Residents from the Valleyview Community Association attended the October 6, 2015, Council meeting to raise safety concerns about the existing Owl Road access and requested that it be reviewed. Council directed staff to complete a technical review of traffic concerns, public safety, and estimated cost comparatives for the two possible access points to the KRRC (Highland Road and Owl Road). The City employed Urban Systems to complete the technical review. In March 2016, the City hosted two open houses to provide an opportunity for residents to bring forward their comments, suggestions, and concerns regarding access to the KRRC. One open house was held in Valleyview and the other was held in Juniper Ridge. The results of the open houses showed that residents were concerned about dust, pollution, safety, and speeding vehicles. The Valleyview residents had these concerns with the Owl Road option, and the Juniper Ridge residents had these concerns with the Highland Road option. Based on suggestions made at the open houses, a number of access options were reviewed at a high-level, including the following: Rose Hill Road; Orchard Drive; Right in/right out via Highland Road; Right out via Owl Road; and Right in access via Highland Road and right out egress on Owl Road.

3 KAMLOOPS RESOURCE RECOVERY CENTRE July 20, 2016 REVIEW OF ACCESS OPTIONS Page 3 The results of the high-level review showed that only the following three options met the criteria for detailed review (Attachment "A"): Option 1 - Relocate the Owl Road/Valleyview Drive intersection approximately 35 m to the east to improve sightlines; Option 2 - Modify the Owl Road/Valleyview Drive intersection by maintaining the same location but shifting the access to the north; and Option 3 - Create a new access point from Highland Road. Safety Review Safety metrics and data utilized in the review included existing traffic volume and travel speed, collision history at and near the access locations, and sightline distances as checked in the field. All of this data is current and is commonly used in traffic safety and operations analyses. The traffic volumes reviewed in the safety review are as follows: Valleyview Drive has normal volumes for a collector road; Highland Road has normal volumes for an arterial road; and The KRRC site is expected to generate 50 vehicle trips per day (up to an additional 50 trips per day in the winter) for the foreseeable future. It should be noted that this is a generous estimate as actual daily traffic counts at the KRRC are normally between 12 and 21 vehicle trips per day. The most recent collision data available ( ) was obtained from ICBC and is summarized as follows: The Owl Road/Valleyview Drive intersection had no incidents recorded; The Valleyview Drive/Highland Road intersection had 38 incidents recorded, mostly during the morning commute, with no unusual patterns; Highland Road had six incidents recorded (five were single vehicles incidents), with no noticeable trends; and The Highland Road/Qu'Appelle Boulevard intersection had 19 incidents recorded, with most being rear-end collisions. The speeds recorded during the safety review are as follows: Valleyview Drive (September 2015) - Drivers travelled slightly above (6 km/hr) the posted speed limit of 50 km/hr; and Highland Road (June 2016) - Drivers travelled significantly above (16 km/hr) the posted speed limit of 50 km/hr.

4 KAMLOOPS RESOURCE RECOVERY CENTRE July 20, 2016 REVIEW OF ACCESS OPTIONS Page 4 Each option would affect the sightlines as follows: Option 1 - The sightlines to the west would not improve enough to meet the guideline recommendations if the Owl Road/Valleyview Drive intersection was relocated; Option 2 - The sightlines would dramatically improve if the Owl Road/Valleyview Drive intersection was modified, with full sightlines achieved in both directions; and Option 3 - There are full sightlines to the south of the Highland Road access; however, sightlines are limited to the north to approximately 150 m, so the sightline guideline recommendations are not met. Additional Public Input Following the completion of the technical review of the access options, a public information session was held on June 22, 2016, at the Valleyview Arena. The information session was moderated by the Fraser Basin Council, and City staff and the consultant (Urban Systems) gave a presentation on the recommendations. A question and answer session followed each of the presentations. The majority of the questions were related to the age of the data used in the technical study. The collision data from ICBC was from , which is the most current information ICBC has available for distribution. The traffic volume and speed data were updated for the final revision of Urban Systems' technical report to ensure the most current data was used in the analysis. The use of the updated numbers did not change the recommendations made by the consultant. Residents were concerned that only the access points were considered for the technical review and that overall traffic safety for neighbouring intersections, such as Vicars Road and Oriole Road, were not taken into account. Based on the initial direction from Council, the study only focused on the access points; however, the report from Urban Systems does recommend a study of the Valleyview Corridor. Conclusions A number of factors were considered by staff when determining which option was the most suitable, including safety (sightlines, accident statistics, vehicle count, and speed), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and geotechnical concerns. The following table shows the results of the review from a sightline perspective: Intersection Meet Minimum Crossing Sightline Distances? Passenger Car Dump Truck Semi-trailer Existing Owl Road/Valleyview Drive No No No Relocated Owl Road/Valleyview Drive No No No Modified Owl Road/Valleyview Drive Yes Yes Yes Highland Road Yes No No

5 KAMLOOPS RESOURCE RECOVERY CENTRE July 20, 2016 REVIEW OF ACCESS OPTIONS Page 5 The Highland Road option would result in more GHG emissions as the elevation change would be greater than the Owl Road option (88 m versus 56 m). The Highland Road option would also present greater challenges from a geotechnical perspective as it is located within the South Thompson Silt Bluffs Red Zone Development Permit Area. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS The costs estimates for the options are as follows: Option 1 - Relocate the Owl Road/Valleyview Drive intersection - $123,000; Option 2 - Modify the Owl Road/Valleyview Drive intersection - $50,000; and Option 3 - Create a new Highland Road access - $552,000. It should be noted that the cost for Option 3 only includes work up to the embankment. Additional work (and therefore additional costs) would be required to complete a roadway into the site. The $50,000 cost for the recommended option (Option 2) is within the original cost budgeted for upgrades to the KRRC. The scope of work outlined in the recommendation will be completed by both the Public Works and Utilities Department and the Development and Engineering Services Department. COMMUNICATIONS PLAN If approved by Council, the modifications to the Owl Road intersection will be constructed during summer This work will be communicated to the public using traditional media, as well as the City's website and social media page. The cost, scope of work, and timeline for the broader Valleyview Drive corridor and transportation review will be the subject of a follow-up report to Council. J. Fretz, P.Eng. Public Works and Utilities Director Approved for Council Consideration: Concurrence: M. Kwiatkowski, P.Eng., Development and Engineering Services Director Author: R. Driedger, P.Eng., Capital Projects Supervisor RD/ts/dla/kjm Attachment

6 Option 1 - Owl Road/Valleyview Drive Intersection Relocation Attachment "A" Kamloops Resource Recovery Centre Review of Access Options

7 Option 2 - Owl Road/Valleyview Drive Intersection Modification Kamloops Resource Recovery Centre Review of Access Options

8 Option 3 - Highland Road Access Kamloops Resource Recovery Centre Review of Access Options