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Home My WebLink AboutTIC 2019-11-05 Item 2C - Report - Operations and Accomplishments of Public Works Street Division11416O.,„ City of Tukwila Public Works Department - Henry Hash, Director INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM TO: Transportation and Infrastructure Committee FROM: Henry Hash, Public Works Director ///1 BY: Scott Mitchell, Street Superintendent CC: Mayor Allan Ekberg DATE: November 1, 2019 SUBJECT: Public Works Street Division Report Allan Ekberg, Mayor ISSUE Overview of the Public Works Street Division's operations and accomplishments. BACKGROUND The Street Division is responsible for maintenance of 127 lane miles of commercial/industrial streets and 90 lane miles of residential streets for a total of 217 lane miles, including bridges and sidewalk. It is comprised of twelve full-time employees: one Superintendent, three Foremen, five Maintenance & Operations Specialists, and three Maintenance Technicians. The Street division has three main units: Roadway, Traffic Control, and Vegetation. The Roadway unit is responsible for duties such as crack sealing, asphalt repairs, potholes, striping, pavement markings, maintenance and repair of shoulders, sidewalks, structures, curb and gutter, and snow/ice response. The Traffic Control crew oversees signal cabinets and heads, pedestrian modules, signs, streetlights, RRFBs, video and fiber, CCTV cameras, radar signs, and utility locating. The Street CleaningNegetation crew sweeps, mows, applies herbicide, island/median maintenance, irrigation system control, brush cut, tree/shrub replacement, litter control, and sweeping disposal. ANALYSIS In addition to the Street Division's core maintenance functions, the Street crew is also supporting numerous citywide programs that improve customer service such as: • Tukwila Works: 430 hours in 2017, 554 hours in 2018, and approx. 3,100 hours so far in 2019 • Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program, approximately 900 hours in 2019 • Mailbox Program, approximately 180 hours so far in 2019 • Accident response (Seattle City Light), approximately 840 hours • Respond to other City departments; Parks (240 hours), CIP (200 hours), Police Parking Enforcement (over 200 signs installed, 724 hours), TIS (Wi-Fi hotspots) The total hours spent on these citywide programs is 6,184 hours or 3 full-time employees. As the hours increase for these citywide initiatives, it reduces the Street Division's time and manpower to complete routine maintenance activities. Many of these must be done seasonally due to weather requirements. Below is a list of activities that are being reduced or deferred: Crack Sealing Roadway Cracks in the asphalt allow water to penetrate and loosens the asphalt, which leads to potholes. A good crack sealing program can add an additional five years to the life of a road. Without a crack sealing program, we have increased roadway repair costs, poor driving surfaces, more pothole complaints, and increased claims for vehicle damage. Due to all of the newer tasks listed above, the Street division has not been able to crack seal for the last two years. WAShared Copy Only \Streets \Info Memo Street Overvew 102819 docx 17 Street Operations Info Memo Page 2 Asphalt Dig outs Asphalt dig outs are the removal of the asphalt down to the base for a complete replacement. These are done in relatively small areas where the asphalt has reached a level of deterioration that requires total removal. We have not performed asphalt dig outs in three years. Trip Hazards Trip hazards are created when a tree root heaves up a sidewalk panel or a sidewalk panel settles or cracks. The best repair is to completely replace the sidewalk panel, but short of that, we grind the raised lip or install an asphalt ramp to mitigate the hazard. We have not had time to properly address sidewalk trip hazards throughout the City. Shoulder Maintenance The maintenance of gravel shoulders involves regrading and adding material to fill holes. We can no longer support this maintenance activity. Right-of-Wav Vegetation Control and Tree Trimming Tree trimming in the right-of-way provides line -of -sight clearance for motorists, prevents large limbs from falling in a storm, and provides sunlight to the roadway to help prevent ice formation. We have not been able to complete roadway vegetation control over the last three years. Signalized Intersection Preventative Maintenance Since 2008, the Street Division staffing has been reduced from three IMSA Certified Signal Technicians to one Technician. This technician is responsible for 65 signalized intersections and 29 pedestrian crossings and flashing beacons. The industry standard for preventative maintenance on signals is twice a year and the industry standard for MMU testing (traffic signal controllers) is annually. Municipalities are responsible by Tort law to provide adequate maintenance of signal infrastructure. The negative impacts of not maintaining signals are the possibility of; the signals going into red flash, not working completely causing dark intersections, Opticom not responding for emergency vehicles, pedestrian crossing signals not operating properly, and vehicle detection equipment malfunctioning. We have not been able to keep up with the required maintenance. Traffic Camera System Maintenance The traffic camera system consists of 81 traffic CCTV cameras and 31 surveillance and security CCTV cameras. With only one signal technician with the technical skills to repair and replace these cameras, our level of service is not able to keep up with preventative maintenance. FISCAL IMPACT In 2019, there were unforeseen emergencies; the snowstorms and the SCL pole emergency, that required additional labor and supplies that impacted our core maintenance functions and the Street division's budget. RECOMMENDATION Discussion only. Presentation can be given to the Committee of the Whole. Attachment: Street Division Overview PowerPoint WAShared Copy Only‘StreelskInfo Memo Street Overvew 102&l9docx 18 19 20 21 IIIIIIIIIIII, u Illlllllllo uuuuumuuuum Illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll000111llllll�lllllllllll111H,H ,,, ,'1ti1111. 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