HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 01 Unimproved Street Conditions Report
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
Meeting Date:
Meeting Type:
Department:
Staff Contact:
Staff Phone No:
Estimated Time:
March 17,2008
Work Session
Public Works ~
Brian Conlon a::.J
726-3617
20 minutes.
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SPRINGFIELD
CITY COUNCIL
ITEM TITLE:
UNIMPROVED STREET CONDITIONS REPORT
ACTION
REQUESTED: Request that Council discuss a policy issue and provide direction to staff.
ISSUE The inventory of the City's unimproved or substandard streets accounts for approximately
STATEMENT: 30 miles or 15% of the City's street network, of which 22 miles is asphalt mat and 8 miles
is gravel road ,base. Their condition is generally poor and steadily deteriorating. Public Works Maintenance Division
is faced with the challenge of maintaining them to the satisfaction ofthe residents living on them and minimizing
driving hazards. At the center ofthis issue is whether City Council should amend a long standing official policy of not
providing pavement preservation on unimproved streets where property owners are unwilling or unable to pay for
improvement, and therefore are not due the same level of pavement preservation provided on streets built to urban
standards. Staff asks that this issue be evaluated to determine whether the City of Springfield should consider
changing the policy to allow for pavement preservation on unimproved streets.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A: Council Briefmg Memorandum
DISCUSSION/ The Springfield City Council has consistently made it a goal to promote improvement
FINANCIAL ofthe remaining 30 miles of unimproved streets. Public Works has seen very few street
IMPACT: improvement petitions come forward over the last 15 years. Many property owners resist
being assessed for street improvements, yet expect their street to be preserved. Council's official policy has been to
direct preservation resources to maintain the improved street system, whereby owners have paid for the improvement
to urban standards and the City commits to perpetually maintaining them.
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Most of the City's unimproved asphalt mat streets are 40 to 50 years old and are in rough condition. Maintenance
work performed on these streets is done to address immediate road hazards and is much less extensive than activities
invested to maintain improved streets. More is needed however if we are to keep these streets from completely
disintegrating. We more frequently receive feedback from residents living on unimproved streets that believe the City
should provide more maintenance on their street because they "pay the same at the pump as anyone else."
Possible amendment of this policy poses a difficult decision: the dilemma of allowing preservation money to be spent
for extending the life of substandard roads; or realize that continuing the current policy will eventually revert many of
these streets to gravel. Alternatives the Council may consider are:
~ Do nothing.
~ Change the policy to allow preservation overlays on unimproved streets.
~ Refer the issue to the Mayor's Street Preservation Task Force.
The PW Maintenance Division has the equipment and experience to do thin-lift asphalt overlays that perform
surprisingly well for many years. We estimate that we can do thin-lift asphalt overlays for about $60K per mile on the
average unimproved street. The current 5-year CIP has approximately $400K programmed annually for pavement
preservation maintenance. If the City Council were to. change the policy to allow for pavement preservation on
unimproved streets, a budget level of$30K to $50K would help to begin addressing unimproved pavement failures.
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MEMORANDUM
City of Springfield
To:
From:
Gino Grimaldi, City Manager
Dan Brown, Public Works Director 9Uz
Brian Conlon, Maintenance Manager . a:.,
COUNCIL
BRIEFING
MEMORANDUM
Date:
Subject:
March 17, 2008
UNIMPROVED STREET MAINTENANCE - DISCUSSION WHETHER TO
MODIFY CURRENT POLICY AND/OR PRACTICES
ISSUE
The inventory of the City's unimproved or substandard streets accoUnts for approximately 30
miles or 15% of the City's street network, of which about 22 miles is asphalt mat and 8 miles is
gravel road base. Their condition is generally poor and steadily deteriorating. Public Works
Maintenance Division is faced with the challenge of maintaining them to the satisfaction of the
residents living on them and minimizing driving hazards. At the center of this issue is whether
City Council should amend a long standing official policy of not providing pavement
preservation on unimproved streets where property owners are unwilling or unable to pay for
improvement, and therefore are not due the same level of pavement preservation provided on
streets built to urban standards. Staff asks that this issue be evaluated to determine whether the
City of Springfield should consider changing the policy to allow for pavement preservation on
unimproved streets.
BACKGROUND
The Springfield City Council has consistently made it a goal to promote improvement of the
remaining 30 miles of unimproved streets. This accounts for 15% of the total street network. As
recent as last fall the Council directed staff to research street improvement financing options
hoping to provide property owners some financial assistance with improving their streets. The
unfortunate truth in the matter is that prospective funding sources are scarce and the property
owners either can't afford or are unwilling to pay for the full assessment for the improvement, yet
expect their street be maintained to a higher standard. Furthering the problem, the ever rising cost
of petroleum and cement products is making it less affordable for property owners.
The City Council's official policy is and has been to direct preservation resources to maintaining
the improved street system whereby owners have paid for the urban standard street and the City
thus commits to perpetually maintaining them upon acceptance. Many past Councils have
wrestled with this same issue. Over the last 20 years less than two (2) miles of non-standard
streets have been improved to urban standards, and for most of those projects Community
Development Block Grants was the primary source of funding. As Council is well aware, Public
Works has seen very few improvement petitions come forward over the last 15 years and we
don't expect that trend to change anytime soon.
Attachment A
Page 1 of 3
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DISCUSSION
Most of the City's unimproved asphalt mat streets are 40 to 50 years old and many of them are in
rough condition. Some are even older. The typical unimproved street surface is a product of a
rudimentary construction consisting of built-up layers of asphaltic oil and gravel put down and
compacted over the course of several years. This practice was halted in the late 60's as most
cities began requiring that all newly constructed streets meet urban standards including curbs,
gutters, sidewalks, drainage facilities, street lighting, trees, etc. Concerns over water quality and
stiffer environmental regulations also caused cities to cease allowing the placement of any type
of oil on streets and right-of-ways in the late 70's.
A surprising fact is of the 22 miles of unimproved asphalt mat streets, 10 miles are classified as
Minor Arterial and Collector Streets that transport a high volume of traffic daily. In fact, one of
the City's busiest Minor Arterial streets is sub-standard one mile section of 42nd Street north of
Weyerhaeuser's Pulp Mill entrance. Public Works received City Council approval in FY2002,
FY2004, and FY2006 to contract construction of2-inch asphalt overlays to address surface
rutting and structural failures. Although there was consensus amongst Engineering and
Maintenance staffthat the project was critically needed, doing it contradicted City policy, thus
required Council approval.
The PW Maintenance Division repairs potholes throughout the year on unimproved streets to the
tune of about 1500 potholes filled annually. This activity is weather affected - the colder and
wetter, the quicker and bigger the damage. After years and years of repairs, residents have
accused us of "quilting" our streets because we are often patching over patches. During the
summer and fall we do a considerable amount of thin lift skin patching to slow the deterioration
and improve traffic and drainage conditions. This practice is done by manual shoveling, leveling
and compacting of fine mix asphalt, or using the track paving machine. Using the paving
machine is much more effective in constructing a thin asphalt layer that adds some structure to
the existing road surface. We have seen surprisingly good results with this treatment for a
relatively low-cost to benefit. Below is a before - after example of thin-lift paving performed on
South 71 st Street in the summer of 200 1 (almost 7 years separates the pictures).
Before thin lift - picture taken summer 2001
Picture taken almost 7 years post the project
Attachment A
Page 2 of 3
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As mentioned previously, the unimproved portion of the City's street network is old and steadily
deteriorating. Most of the maintenance work performed on these streets is done to address
immediate road hazards and is much less extensive than activities dedicated to maintain
improved streets. More is needed however to keep some of these streets from completely
disintegrating. More frequently we are receiving feedback from residents living on some of these
streets that are of the opinion that the City should provide more maintenance on their street
because they "pay the same at the pump as anyone else." Another argument we hear is that "the
pump doesn't discriminate to what type of street I live on." I'm aware that the Mayor's and City
Manager's Offices have also received a few letters identifying similar concerns. I was initially
surprised by some ofthe responses received during some follow-up conversations with folks that
said they are proponents of the State and Local Fuel Tax. In general, people see the Local Fuel
Tax as a means to fund street work but add that they want to see the benefit in front of their home
too.
Cost Of Providing Higher Level Maintenance
The City of Springfield is not alone in dealing with this challenging issue. Many other cities
across our region contend with the same problem. The City of Eugene has adjusted its
maintenance practices to allow thin lift overlays on non-city standard streets where it is
determined that maintaining a nonstandard and deteriorated street segment is more economical
and efficient. Springfield's PW Maintenance Division possesses the equipment and experience to
perform this work. To provide some cost perspective, we estimate that we can do asphalt thin-lift
overlays at about $60K per mile using today's materials costs for the average 22 foot wide street.
For example, the cost to do a project on South 70th and 71 st Streets is 90K for the 1.5 mile total.
Doing this type of work virtually eliminates the need to perform pothole or manual skin patching
on the segment for many years. However, the cost of doing the higher level overlay treatment
does not offset the current annual expenditures for unimproved patching activities.
NEXT STEPS
The City of Springfield is nearing a fundamental crossroads in the way we approach operations
and maintenance on our unimproved streets. The City's position for maintaining non-standard or
unimproved streets is a long standing operating policy dating back more than 30 years that
provides guidelines for the scope of maintenance activities provided on the unimproved portion
of the street system. Possible amendment of this policy poses a difficult decision: the dilemma of
allowing preservation money to be spent for extending the life of substandard roads; or realize
that continuing the current policy will eventually revert many of these streets to gravel. The issue
also begs the question if it is realistic to revert highly traveled Minor Arterial or Collector streets
to gravel? I think most would agree that the practical answer to that is no.
COUNCIL ACTION REQUESTED
Request that Council discuss a policy issue and provide direction to staff.
Attachment A
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