After some enlightening debate around the council table, Bradford’s south west arterial road (SWAR) is set for better illumination.
Committee of the whole recommended council approve a new set of street lights for the intersection of the curve of the SWAR with Line 5 east, as well as a set of flexible marker posts for both sides of a 500-metre section of Sideroad 10, south of the roundabout with Line 6, during a meeting March 19.
The SWAR begins just east of Coffey Road, and runs east along Line 5 where it curves to join Sideroad 10, before continuing north to County Road 88.
While Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper expressed concerns about the lights not being warranted and moving away from a “data driven” approach, Ward 4 Coun. Joseph Giordano said he “fully” supports the idea, despite his previous concerns over potential costs.
“Sometimes we don’t have every single metric," he said, adding that councillors are also tasked with using "common sense" and "foresight."
Tuesday’s decisions came in response to two reports from Katy Modaressi, the town’s manager of capital projects, who estimated the total cost for the new lights and required utility poles to be about $72,000 and council estimating about $18,000 for engineering.
The idea was moved by Ward 3 Coun. Ben Verkaik as a scaled-back version of the first of four options Modaressi provided for council to consider as a way of addressing residents’ concerns regarding lighting and safety in the area, and in response to a previous report from the Feb. 20 council meeting. Committee of the whole referred that back to Modaressi, asking for more information about using solar-powered lights, after it was suggested by Ward 5 Coun. Peter Ferragine as a potential way to reduce costs.
“I was fighting hard for solar lights because I thought it would be a much better option,” Ferragine said in thanking Modaressi for her additional efforts. “They were more expensive than I had assumed.”
Modaressi’s most-recent report suggested four options:
- Install standard street lights at a total estimated cost of about $157,000
- Install double-capacity solar lights at a total estimated cost of about $179,000
- Install standard-capacity solar lights at a total estimated cost of about $130,600
- Install a set of flashing beacons at a total estimated cost of about $55,000
The standard street lights were suggested to be installed on three poles at the intersection of the SWAR curve and Line 5 east at an estimated cost of $72,000, as well as two poles at the intersection of Line 5 east and Sideroad 10 south at an estimated cost of $52,000, plus $33,000 in engineering costs.
The double-capacity solar lights are estimated to operate for 10-12 hours and were suggested to be installed on four poles at the intersection of the SWAR curve and Line 5 east at an estimated cost of $103,000, as well as two poles at the intersection of Line 5 east and Sideroad 10 south at an estimated cost of $56,000, plus $20,000 in engineering costs.
The standard-capacity solar lights are estimated to operate for four-five hours and were suggested to be installed in the same configuration at an estimated cost of $73,400 and $37,200 respectively, plus $20,000 in engineering costs.
The location of the flashing beacons wasn’t specified but included no new utility poles and the estimated $55,000 cost included engineering.
As mentioned in her previous report, Modaressi again warned council that “any lighting will likely need to be relocated/replaced when the road is widened to four lanes,” and during the meeting she cautioned the timing of that widening is currently unknown.
Also included in the previous report and resubmitted to committee of the whole was the suggestion to address residents’ other concerns by installing either a set of guardrails for both sides of a 500-metre section of Sideroad 10, south of the roundabout with Line 6 at an estimated cost of $192,000 plus taxes, or to instead install the flexible marker posts to help drivers identify the edge of the road at an estimated cost of $5,000, plus tax.
Modaressi related her experience patrolling the section of road with a police officer who pointed out that if an out-of-control vehicle hits the guardrail it’s likely to “bounce back” into traffic and pose a hazard for others on the road.
That’s in addition to her explanation from the Feb. 20 meeting that if a driver lost control, it would actually be safer for the occupants if the vehicle were to slide off the road than to crash into a hard guardrail.
“It’s better to slide than it is to crunch,” Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott summarized.
During a previous interview and in both her previous and most-recent report, Modaressi emphasized that the design of the SWAR — a process which began in 2009 — followed the standard engineering practices including consideration for all related safety requirements.
The combined $95,000 cost for both lights and markers is expected to be funded from roads development charges and developer contributions, in the same manner as the original project.
Modaressi previously acknowledged the existing street signs need to be updated, and on Tuesday said the new signs have been ordered.
Residents also previously expressed concerns about confusion over the road names and as chair of the heritage committee, Verkaik has asked staff to investigate a public renaming process, which is expected to be brought before council in future.
Recommendations from committee of the whole are considered for approval at the next regular meeting of council.
