When the topic of sidewalks came up for discussion at Monday’s city council meeting, Coun. Trudy Klassen was quick to ask director of civic operations Blake McIntosh about the lack of sidewalks for Hart residents whose children have to cross Highway 97 at the Handlen Road/Weisbrod Road intersection.
Both connecting roads to the highway have only ditches and there no sidewalks for the one-block sections of Weisbrod to the east and Handlen to the west. That intersection is the first traffic light for southbound vehicles on Highway 97 approaching the intersection from rural areas to the north and drivers don't adjust their speed accordingly, says Klassen.
“Because of the Handlen/Weisbrod lack of sidewalk on the way to Shas Ti Kelly Road (Secondary School), with so many students using that road to get to school it’s always a concern,” said Klassen, who asked McIntosh if there was a way to get that project high on the priority list.
He gave a favourable response, which Klassen said will prompt cheers from area residents concerned about the safety of children who have to walk that way to the high school or nearby Heather Park Middle School.
“That has been on our radar and it is on our radar,” said McIntosh. “I believe there is a development proposed there, particularly in the near future, that will provide some of that sidewalk and then the city can fill the gap and provide a safe access.”
When asked by Klassen how administration prioritizes sidewalk rehabilitation or new construction McIntosh said there are a number of considerations that go into that planning.
“Basically we look at links that are unfulfilled or if there’s gaps,” said McIntosh. “Our new subdivision bylaws include requirements for sidewalks in new developments. When those subdivisions are built at times there won’t be a link from the existing sidewalk to the new subdivision, so we look at closing those gaps.”
Last year’s capital budget allocated $6.1 million for road rehabilitation. A further $1,250,000 was set aside for sidewalk rehabilitation and $400,000 was used to build new sidewalks.
The sidewalk repairs represent two per cent of the current pedestrian network. A city study revealed that 44 per cent of that network is in fair to poor condition.
Last year the city repaved eight existing concrete sidewalks that totalled 2,182 metres in length.
Contractors also completed two rehabilitated stretches of asphalt sidewalks (on Foothills Boulevard and on 20th Avenue) and built a new concrete sidewalk on Davis Road that runs 485 m to Charella Drive.
Every year the city conducts three methods of road rebuilding – thin lift overlays, mill and overlay, and pulverize and pave.
Every three years the city performs condition assessments on three categories of roadways – arterial, collector and local – and assigns them a score based on their condition. Those scores help prioritize projects for the annual paving rehabilitation program.
In 2023, thin lift overlays, in which a 40-55 millimetre layer of asphalt is spread on top of the existing roadway, covered 24.83 lane kilometres.
For more intensive repairs, the mill and overlay method is used, in which 50 mm of existing asphalt is removed and then replaced with new asphalt. Milling removes surface deficiencies and is most often used on roads where curbs and gutters are present and road elevation is crucial for proper drainage.
The milled material is stored by the city and used later for utility service digs in winter conditions.
Mil and overlay projects repaved 32.24 lane kilometres of Prince George streets last year, including a 1.6 km stretch of Ospika Boulevard north of 15th Avenue.
The more intensive pulverize and pave method was used on Hoferkamp Road from Highway 97 to the turnoff to the Nechako River cutbanks lookout at McMillan Park. That involved pulverizing the existing asphalt down to the granular crush gravel base and adding a 50 mm layer of crush where needed as well as a 75 mm layer on new asphalt.
