Councillor Perry opened the discussion noting that standard requests from the public for maintenance activities go through the Case system, but wanted to know more about situations that go beyond regular maintenance requests, for example washouts or requests through petitions for roads not on the 5-year Roads Plan.
Director Robinson noted that requests for service beyond regular maintenance are noted by Public Works staff and a list is provided to Engineering every year for consideration. Director Rojas added that Engineering staff will provide an update on this list to the Roads Task Force at the next meeting. On the question of receiving public input, Public Works staff receive this through the Case system and address and repair as necessary until it is no longer cost-effective, at which time more extensive repair work is facilitated through Engineering.
Director Rojas explained the two types of road work categories: this first are those identified through the Roads Needs Study. This is a report compiled by a third-party and is a strategy that classifies roads needs as 'now', in '1-5 years', and '6 to 10 years'. It is presented to Council with a financial lens and organizes the information into three programs, Urban Arterial Reconstruction, Urban Resurfacing, and Rural Resurfacing. The second category are roads identified through the Lifecycle Extension program. These are roads whose maintenance costs are prohibitive or where there is a case to keep a 'good road good' usually around the 7-8 year mark before they land on the 5 year needs study.
Councillor Perry reiterated that he would like to explore a formalized process for raising the concerns of residents through to staff at an appropriate opportunity, whether that is during the Spring Report from Engineering, through a memo to the Mayor with a roads list at Budget time, or at a meeting to review the 5 year plan prior to budget, as he noted it is easier to amend first, rather than wait until it is printed.