Agenda Item 9.3 Report No 149/16ts TO: TECHNICAL SERVICE COMMITTEE - MONDAY 17 OCTOBER 2016 SUBJECT: THE WIDENING OF ILPARPA ROAD AND THE POSSIBLE INCLUSION OF A DEDICTAED BICYCLE PATH/FOOTPATH AUTHOR: MANAGER INFRASTRUCTURE - STEPHEN BALOBAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report is regarding the widening of llparpa Road to improve traffic safety and the possible inclusion of a dedicated bicycle path/footpath RECOMMENDATION That it be a recommendation to Council: That Council give direction REPORT 1. BACKGROUND llparpa Road is a Sub-Arterial sealed Road 11.4 km long x 6m + wide that connects to Bullen Road that joins two major Arterial Roads the Stuart Hwy and Larapinta Drive. The project has 3 stages • Stage 1 - llparpa Road from Len Kittle to Greatorex Road (4.4km) • Stage 2 - llprapa Road from Greatorex Road to 600m past Lillicrapp Road(2.2km) • Stage 3 - llparpa Road from 600m past Lillicrapp Road to Bullen Road (4.8km) Stage 1 - The Alice Springs Town Council’s applied for HVSPP Round 5 funding and was not successful Stage 2 is funded through Councils Roads to Recovery Program In June 2016 the tender for the llparpa Road widening and a separate 3m wide bicycle lane was awarded to Sitzler Brothers, works have commenced on the widening of the road including improving stormwater drainage. The Alice Springs Town Council carried out a community consultation and project update on the llparpa Road widening project on the 18th of August 2016 at the corner of llparpa Road and Lillicrapp Road At the meeting there were representatives from the local community and bicycle riders both parties were unanimous in the fact they no longer wanted a 3m wide dedicated bicycle
Transcript
Agenda Item 9.3
Report No 149/16ts
TO: TECHNICAL SERVICE COMMITTEE - MONDAY 17 OCTOBER 2016
SUBJECT: THE WIDENING OF ILPARPA ROAD AND THE POSSIBLE INCLUSION OF A DEDICTAED BICYCLE PATH/FOOTPATH
AUTHOR: MANAGER INFRASTRUCTURE - STEPHEN BALOBAN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report is regarding the widening of llparpa Road to improve traffic safety and the possible inclusion of a dedicated bicycle path/footpath
RECOMMENDATIONThat it be a recommendation to Council:
That Council give direction
REPORT
1. BACKGROUND
llparpa Road is a Sub-Arterial sealed Road 11.4 km long x 6m + wide that connects to Bullen Road that joins two major Arterial Roads the Stuart Hwy and Larapinta Drive.
The project has 3 stages• Stage 1 - llparpa Road from Len Kittle to Greatorex Road (4.4km)• Stage 2 - llprapa Road from Greatorex Road to 600m past Lillicrapp Road(2.2km)• Stage 3 - llparpa Road from 600m past Lillicrapp Road to Bullen Road (4.8km)
Stage 1 - The Alice Springs Town Council’s applied for HVSPP Round 5 funding and was not successful
Stage 2 is funded through Councils Roads to Recovery Program
In June 2016 the tender for the llparpa Road widening and a separate 3m wide bicycle lane was awarded to Sitzler Brothers, works have commenced on the widening of the road including improving stormwater drainage.
The Alice Springs Town Council carried out a community consultation and project update on the llparpa Road widening project on the 18th of August 2016 at the corner of llparpa Road and Lillicrapp RoadAt the meeting there were representatives from the local community and bicycle riders both parties were unanimous in the fact they no longer wanted a 3m wide dedicated bicycle
lane, the bicycle riders comments were that they would only ride on the road and will not use the 3m wide dedicated bicycle lane. The local residents did not want the 3m wide dedicated bicycle lane because they would lose too much vegetation of the verge e.g. 6m- 7m wide clearing corridor to build a 3m wide dedicated bicycle lane.
A report was prepared and submitted to Council in September 2016 for assessment in regards to the overwhelming support not to build a 3m wide dedicated bicycle lane along llparpa Road.At the Council meeting 19 September 2016 Council resolved not to proceed with the Cycle path (resolution no 18838)
2. DISCUSSION
On 4th September 2016 the Technical Service Department carried out a community information session with the residents of llparpa (Refer attachment A), during that information session the following points were made
• That Council does not proceed with the llparpa cycle path and redirects funding towiden the road after community consultation.
• That from the community consultation on the 18th of August 2016 the local residentsand cyclist requested that Council does not build a 3m wide dedicated bicycle lane.
• A update on the construction completion time• Answered Questions in regards to stormwater issues• Answered Questions why the bicycle lane was so wide• That many residents now wanted some form of a path along llparpa Road but at the
same time did not want to lose any vegetation from the verge
At the meeting the deputy Mayor Jamie de Brenni thanked the residents for attending and then invited the community of Alice Springs to attend the next Council meeting on the 17th of October to discuss the possible inclusion/exclusion of a path along llparpa Road.This forum will take place at 5pm prior to the commencement of the Committee meetings at 5.30pm.
At the meeting residents had many different ideas for paths along llparpa Road so the Technical Service Department have estimated some costs for these ideas see below
Option 1No bike path or foot path = 0$
Option 2 Councils standard bike path• 2.5m wide x 125mm deep concrete standard Council bike path @$420/LM
• Cost for Stage 2 = $420x2200m =$924,000• Cost for full length of llparpa Road 11 4km = $420x11400m= $4.8M• 3.5m to 4m corridor required for construction
Option 3 Council standard footpath• 1.5m wide x 100mm deep concrete standard Council footpath @$200/LM
• Cost for Stage 2 = $200x2200m =$440,000• Cost for full length of llparpa Road 11 4km = $200x114O0m= $2.28M• 2.5m to 3m corridor required for construction
Stage 1 proposed Black Spot funding application
It is the recommenation of Greenhill Engineers not to include the cost to build the path along llparpa Road in Councils Stage 1 Black Spot funding application as the extra cost to
build the path will drop Council cost benefit ratio down and also Council application is based on vehicle crash reduction.
1 $6.7m 20yr 7% 1.14
2 $6.7m 20yr 3% 1.92
Stage 1 is 4.4km long esimated cost to raise, widen and build 3m separate bicycle lane would be around $4.4m, Just to widen the road and reseal without raising and no bicycle lane it would cost around $2m to $3m
Community consultation
The Technical Service Department have organised a letter drop (Refer Attachment C) an invitation to comment with six options that the community can respond back to Council by the close of business 28th October 2016Council will put an advert in the local paper and the invitation to comment will be available from the Council website and the Civic Centre front desk
3. POLICY IMPACTS
Nil
4. FINANCIAL IMPACTS
Apply for grant funding for stage 1 and stage 3
5. SOCIAL IMPACTS
Widening llparpa road would improve traffic safety for all vehicles and would allow for vehicles to be able to safely pull over onto the shoulder if needed to. The widened road would also give more room for motor vehicles to overtake cyclists.
6. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Nil
7. PUBLIC RELATIONS
Improve road safety
8. ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Field notes from community information session held on the 4th September 2016
Attachment B - Greenhills Technical requirements for paths Attachment C- Invitation to residents to select a path or no path option
Stephen BalobanMANAGER INFRASTRUCTURE
Attachment A
ILPARPA ROAD WIDENING PROJECT COMMUNITY CONSULTATION
NOTES-4/10/16
Council Attendees: Rex Mooney, Stephen Baloban, David Headland (Greenhill), David Gallasch, Scott Allen
Councillors: Deputy Mayor Jamie de Brenni, Brendon Keenan, Eli Melky, Steve Brown
Presenter: Stephen Baloban
-Stephen: Welcome to Councillors; Steve Brown, Jamie de Brenni, CEO, and Residence
-Stephen: Mayor apologises for not attending.
-Stephen: Explained the new design has now been completed for llparapa road. The bike path has been removed due to the previous public consultation and the money saved will be used to extend the length of road improvement. It is planned to complete the other stages of work on llparapa road pending funding. The bike path can be revisited in the future.
-Questions from the public; why the bike path was removed?
-Questions from the public; what was the consultation process?
-Comment from the public; if the bike path is removed there will never be money to do it in the future.
-Scott: Explained that 40 persons attended the previous community consultation and it was unanimous (39-1) to remove the bike path and this was taken to the council.
- Deputy Mayor Jamie de Brenni: Explained from the previous consultation that; The majority of residence had concern for the proposed 3m straight bike path and would prefer the money was spent to lengthen the widening of the road. There was a show of hands at the previous consultation and those prevent were in favour of the bike paths removal (39-1). The Alice Springs Cycling Club stated at this consultation that they would not use the bike path but would continue to cycle on the road. It was suggested in Jamie's discussion that a 2m meandering recreational track may still be a possibility.
-Questions from the public relating to; Not being informed there would be a vote regarding the bike path at the last consultation (there was nothing to explain this was the case on the letter they were provided). Many residences were not in attendance. If they were aware there would be a vote they would have sent a proxy to vote.
-Person from the public explained the main reason the bike path was stopped was due to the large amount of verge clearance of trees that would be required to construct the 3m bike path and the cycling club will not use it.
-Questions from the public; Why can't the bike path be a meandering recreational track for families.
Stephen: Explained the requirements under Australian Standards for bike paths widths and why it was necessary to have a 3m bike path.
-David (Greenhills): Explained the requirements needed for bike paths under the Australian Standards.
-Members of the public questioned why other paths around Alice Springs were not this size.
-Stephen: Explained the differences in shared paths and bike paths under the Australian Standards and the necessary cyclist separation needed for the higher vehicle speed on llparpa road compared to some other bike paths/shared paths.
-David (Greenhills): Explained the completion of the roadworks is scheduled for mid November.
-Questions from the public relating to: Why road base on llparapa road had been removed and replaced.
-David (Greenhills): Explained this was due to the existing subgrade was too soft and needed to be a firm base for the integrity of the new road.
-Questions from the public relating to: Erosion issues.
-David (Greenhills): Explained this would be fixed when the batters have been completed.
-Questions from the public relating to: Their fence that has been damage during construction.
-David (Greenhills): Explained he would take a look and ensure it is repaired.
-Jamie: Welcomed all present and all residence to attend the next Council meeting on the 17th October at 5:30 to voice their views on the proposed bike path or alternatives including a meandering path. Council to advertise this discussion will be taking place in the paper.
-David: Members of the public invited to provide contact details so they can be notified of future consultation and provide comments
Attachment BGREEN HILL ENGINEERS m-ltd ABN 39 061 222 964
11 October 2016
Alice Springs Town Council
93 Todd Street, Alice Springs
NT 0871
GREEN HILL
AdelaideLevel 164 Mind marsh Sq. Adelaide SA 5000 T: 08 8406 1300 F: 08 8215 0018 PO Box 134 Rundle Mall SA 5000
Attention: Stephen Baloban
Dear Stephen
RE: llparpa Road - Footpath / Shared Path Options
GREENHILL have been requested by Alice Springs Town Council (ASTC) to provide commentary as to the opportunities and limitations for the construction of various types of footpaths/shared paths adjacent llparpa Road on either side of llparpa Road. The following options are considered:
The location of the path on llparpa Road should be decided in accordance with Austroads. Specifically, Section 5.3 of Austroads Part 6A states that where a high speed limit of 80km/hr or above exists, a wider clearance or physical barrier is to be considered appropriate.
llparpa Road is currently sign posted at 100km/hr in stages 1 and 3 and 80km/hr in stage 2. The road is also regularly used by large trucks and road trains. In accordance with the Austroads, a bike lane should not be placed adjacent the vehicle lanes, but be separated by some distance to provide a safety buffer for cyclists.
Given that it is not advisable to place the path on the carriageway, the following provides a summary of the opportunities and limitations for placing the path on the northern and southern sides.
Northern Side of llparpa Road
Opportunities
• Less vegetation removal required when compared to the southern side
Limitations
13988_llparpa Road Path Letter docx 1 GRERNHII.I
• There is a limited amount of space available on the northern side of the road, between the widened road and property boundaries with the available width reducing to approximately 2m in some locations. The path would have to be very narrow in some locations to fit.
• There are a large number of services in the verge, including electrical poles and associated support wires, water main valves (both above and below ground) and stormwater outlets.
• A path of any sort on the northern side is required to be constructed at the invert of the stormwater drain on the northern side. Building a path within a drainage swale will result in a number of safety issues, as well as cause large maintenance problems throughout the life of the path.
Southern Side of llparpa Road
Opportunities
• There is a wide width of road reserve available for use on the southern side of llparpa Road (approximately 15 to 20 metres along the length of the road). The space available will mean that the path can be constructed a safe distance away from the carriageway.
• The proposed path can be constructed above the invert of the drainage swale adjacent llparpa Road, reducing maintenance issues when compared to the northern alignment.
Limitations
• There are a large number of existing trees within the space available for a path. It is likely that a number of trees will be required to be removed to facilitate the construction of the shared path.
• An optic fibre cable that services the Pine Gap facility exists approximately 5m offset of the property boundaries on the southern side of llparpa Road. A path on the southern side would have to be designed to ensure it does not impact this cable.
Option 1 - 3m wide 2 coat spray seal shared path.
A 3m wide two coat spray seal will comply with the desirable width of a shared path/cycle way in accordance with Austroads standards. The 3m wide path will also require a 0.5m wide rubble shoulder on each side to ensure the integrity of the sealed path, resulting in a total path pavement width of 4m.
A 3m wide path will be able to accommodate both cyclists, as well as pedestrians.
A working corridor for construction vehicles of approximately 5m width will be required to construct the path. All vegetation within the working corridor will be required to be removed to facilitate the construction of the shared path, although the alignment could be varied along the road to minimise the vegetation to be removed.
A spray seal shared path is expected to be cheaper than a concrete path, however, can be assumed to have a lesser design life.
A 1,5m concrete footpath complies with Austroads for a pedestrian footpath. A 1.5m wide footpath is not considered appropriate where the path is expected to accommodate both cyclists and pedestrians.
A working corridor of approximately 3m would be required to construct the concrete footpath. All vegetation within the 3m working zone would require removal.
A 2.5m wide concrete path complies with the absolute minimum width for a shared path (use by cyclists and pedestrians) as stipulated by Austroads.
A working corridor of approximately 3.5m would be required to construct the path. All vegetation within the working corridor would require removal.
A concrete shared path is more expensive to construct than a spray sealed path, however, it could be expected that it will require less maintenance over the long term.
A 2.2m wide path does not comply with Austroads guidelines for a shared path. A 2.2m wide path would therefore be considered a wide footpath, and not be suitable for use by both cyclists and pedestrians.
A working corridor of approximately 3.2m would be required to construct the path, with all vegetation within the corridor to be removed.
The NTG standard path is also constructed from 100mm thick concrete (ASTC standard shared path is 125mm thick). It could therefore be considered that the NTG standard path would be cheaper to construct than the ASTC standard shared path, however, it may have a shorter service life and experience a greater prevalence of cracking.
Option 5 - 1.5m wide gravel path
A 1.5m wide gravel path complies with Austroads Guidelines for a footpath only, and not be considered appropriate for shared pedestrian and cyclist use.
A working corridor of approximately 3m would be required to construct the gravel path, with all vegetation within the zone to be removed.
A gravel path would be considered the most cost effective path type, however it will provide the lowest level of service for pedestrians and require a higher level of maintenance.
Summary Recommendation
It should be considered that the northern side of llparpa Road is not appropriate for the construction of a footpath/shared path due to the available space, proximity to the road, clashes with services and position in the base of a stormwater drain. It is therefore advised that the best place to construct a path on the southern side of the road.
We do not recommend option 4, as it does not comply with the requirements of a shared path, and is excessive for a footpath. All other options can be considered acceptable and comply with the relevant Austroads requirements for a footpath or shared path. The width chosen for the path will be dependent on the level of service required of the proposed llparpa path.
Yours faithfullyfor GREENHILL
David Headland
Civil Engineer
Enc:
Cc
13988_llparpa Road Path Letter.docx 4 GRHHNHIl.t
7 October 2016
Invitation to Comment:llparpa Road Widening Project
The Alice Springs Town Council is currently widening llparpa Road. It was initially proposed that a bike path would be a part of this project. Council has received feedback from residents opposed to this plan. As a result Council is seeking further consultation prior to deciding if the bike path will remain in some form. A report will be submitted to Council regarding this project at the Technical Services Committee meeting to be held on Monday 17 October 2016 and again at the Ordinary meeting scheduled for Monday 31st October 2016.
You are welcome to attend the Technical Services Committee meeting for a discussion with the Mayor and Councillors at 5pm prior to the commencement of the Committee meetings at 5.30pm,
A further opportunity will be available at 5.30pm on Monday 31 October 2016 to discuss the project with the Mayor and Councillors prior to the commencement of the Ordinary meeting at 6pm.
Should you require any additional Information, please contact the Manager Infrastructure Stephen Baloban on (08) 8950-0536.
Please indicate your preference for the bike path in the space provided on the next page. It would be desirable if all responses could be received by noon on Monday 17 October 2016. However responses will be accepted up until noon on Monday 24 October 2016 for inclusion in a final report to Council for the 31 October 2016 Ordinary meeting.
Only one response from each household will be accepted.
Forms can be returned via;1. Mail (addressed envelope attached)2. Fax ((08) 8953 0558)3. Or hand delivered to the Civic Centre, Cnr Todd Street & Gregory Terrace,
Alice Springs.4. Electronic file attached to email
Alice SpringsTOWN COUNCIL
Name:Address:
Please select one llparpa Road option below:
D Widening of llparpa Road only (no bike path or footpath)
D Bike Path - 2.5m wide x 125mm deep standard concrete bike path
□ Footpath - 1.5m wide x 100mm deep standard concrete footpath
