That the Finance Committee recommend to City Council:
Whereas, the Active Transportation Fund is a $400 million, 5-year investment to fund projects that expand and enhance active transportation with a maximum program contribution of 60%, and;
Whereas, through Report FIN-22-23 Active Transportation Funds Update, dated February 23, 2022, Council approved staff to submit four applications under this grant program, and;
Whereas, subsequent to FIN-22-23, the Region of Durham contacted staff to coordinate submitting applications on behalf of member municipalities for active transportation projects on Regional roads identified in Attachment 1, and;
Whereas, the Wilson Road Multi-Use Path (M.U.P.) is currently included in the City’s nine-year capital forecast in 2029, therefore, preliminary work has not begun, and;
Whereas, the Farewell Street M.U.P. from Marwood Drive to Harbour Road is included as part of project 22-75-0143 Farewell St Sidewalk & M.U.P. approved in the 2022 budget, and;
Whereas, the Rossland Road Multi-Use Path (M.U.P.) is currently included in the City’s nine-year capital forecast in 2029, therefore, preliminary work has not begun, and;
Whereas, the Simcoe Street projects are the responsibility of the Region, and;
Whereas, Engineering Services approach is to align projects with the Region’s planned construction projects in order to achieve economies of scale and ensure support from the Region of Durham, and;
Whereas, advancing the Wilson Road and the Rossland Road M.U.P. projects will require Engineering Services to manage these projects to completion by 2026, which would impact the timelines of other approved projects, and;
Whereas, staff support the list proposed by the Region, and;
Whereas, staff are seeking Council direction to submit a letter of support to the Region of Durham to include in their grant application submission, and;
Whereas, the grant application deadline is March 31, 2022,
Therefore, be it resolved:
- That pursuant to FIN 22-28, City Council support and approve the Region of Durham’s Active Transportation Fund application submission and if approved, the additional funding be funded from Transportation D.C. Reserve and Growth Related Non-D.C. Reserve; and,
- That staff report back to Finance Committee on the status of the grant applications advising which projects were successful and the impact of the funding decisions; which may necessitate additional staff resources and potential modifications to the approved capital work priorities.