4. ontario Ministry of Transportation emergency Detour routes

Détours d’urgence du Ministère des transporTS DE L’ONTARIO

Committee Recommendation

That Council approve City participation in, and implementation of, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s Emergency Detour Route Program, as it relates to Highway 417 and Highway 416 and as outlined in this report.

Recommandation du comité

Que le Conseil approuve la participation de la Ville à l’élaboration et à la mise en œuvre du programme sur les détours d’urgence du ministère des Transports de l’Ontario, puisque ce programme porte sur les autoroutes 416 et 417, et comme le souligne le présent rapport.

Documentation

1. Deputy City Manager’s report, City Operations, dated 30 September 2009 (ACS2009-COS-PWS-0023).

Report to/Rapport au:

Transportation Committee

Comité des transports

and Council/et au Conseil

30 September 2009 / le 30 septembre 2009

Submitted by/Soumis par:

Steve Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint

City Operations/Opérations municipales

Contact/Personne ressource:

John Manconi, General Manager/directeur générale, Public Works/ Travaux publics

613-580-2424, extension 2110, John.Manconi@ottawa.ca

City Wide/À’L’échelle de la Ville

Ref N°: ACS2009-COS- PWS-0023

SUBJECT:

ontario Ministry of Transportation emergency

Detour routes

OBJET:

Détours d’urgence du Ministère des transporTS DE L’ONTARIO

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

That Transportation Committee recommends that Council approve City participation in, and implementation of, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s Emergency Detour Route Program, as it relates to Highway 417 and Highway 416 and as outlined in this report.

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité des transports recommande au Conseil d’approuver la participation de la Ville à l’élaboration et à la mise en œuvre du programme sur les détours d’urgence du ministère des Transports de l’Ontario, puisque ce programme porte sur les autoroutes 416 et 417, et comme le souligne le présent rapport.

BACKGROUND

Ontario's highways carry over eight million drivers and nine million registered vehicles every year. Thousands of businesses rely on highways to move more than $1.2 trillion worth of goods annually to domestic and international markets. The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) believes that a safe, efficient and integrated transportation system is key to strong communities, economic prosperity and growth.

While Ontario maintains an impressive safety record in North America, incidents occur on provincial highways resulting in delays to the transportation of goods and services and the driving public.

To reduce these delays, MTO, Ontario Good Roads Association, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), local police and representatives from various municipalities in Ontario formed a task force to develop guidelines and best practices that will allow safe and orderly control of traffic on Emergency Detour Routes (EDR).

EDRs for major highways across Ontario are being established by the MTO so that traffic during unplanned highway closures of short duration can be detoured onto pre-identified municipal roads and re-routed back onto the highway in an orderly fashion. Use of pre-identified detour routes reduces impacts on substandard roads, reduces municipal road congestion and results in better-informed motorists and less driver frustration.

EDR programs and signing have been implemented across Ontario for many parts of Highway 401 in eastern Ontario with the desired intent to include Highway 416 and Highway 417 within the City of Ottawa. To proceed with the program MTO, requires support and approval from the associated municipalities, to place permanent EDR signs on municipal roads.

DISCUSSION

The EDR program, as established by MTO provides for an integrated approach to incident management for the 400 series highways within Ontario municipalities. As these are vital links in the transportation system, such an approach is necessary for effective and efficient movement of persons and goods in emergency situations, and to form part of the municipality’s overall Incident Management Plan for traffic operations on these facilities.

Outline of the program:

EDR Signing

Route signs will be produced during the implementation stage of the project. The standard signs to be used are presented in Document 1. MTO will provide the EDR signs to the City plus ten percent overstock. The City will be responsible for the installation and maintenance of the signs. Location and frequency of signs are yet to be established but will be jointly determined by MTO and City staff.

Establishment of Detour Routes

Routes are placed adjacent to provincial highways from interchange to interchange, to allow for the incremental closing of highway sections where and when necessary. Proposed routes for Highway 416 and 417 have been determined by MTO in coordination with the City’s transportation and emergency services staff, transit agencies, and polices services. Routes identified are contained within the arterial road system, and provide the most efficient path between interchanges. A sample EDR plan is attached as Document 2.

Activation of an EDR Plan

The legal authority to close a provincial highway rests with the OPP. The decision to close a provincial highway and to initiate the EDR plan is at the sole discretion of the OPP, and where necessary, will involve consultation with other emergency service agencies and departments including those within the City of Ottawa. When activating the Emergency Detour Route Plan, the OPP will ensure that the appropriate agencies and City staff have been notified prior to the closing and the directing of traffic off the highway and onto the municipal detour routes.

Deactivation of an EDR Plan

The OPP terminates the EDR when the need for the highway closure is no longer relevant, and traffic flows on the diversion routes have returned to relatively normal levels. As with activation, deactivation will have the OPP notify the appropriate agencies with this action.

Funding

MTO funds all signs and hardware. Participating municipalities are responsible for installation and maintenance of the signs on city roads. MTO is responsible for installation on provincial highways.

Public Consultation/Input

MTO, in coordination with the City, will launch a public education campaign, prior to implementation of the EDR program.

Operational Details

A formal agreement will be required between MTO, City of Ottawa, OPP and the Ottawa Police Services, outlining procedures and demonstrating each organization’s responsibilities during the activation and deactivation of an EDR plan.

CONSULTATION

MTO’s proposed Emergency Detour Route program has been developed in consultation with the City’s Traffic Incident Management Group (TIMG), which includes staff representing Public Works, Ottawa Police Services (OPS), OC Transpo, Ottawa Fire Services, Ottawa Paramedic Services and the local detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). This team endorses the proposed route plans.

TIMG responds to emergency closures for the area highways in a coordinated manner, the OPP in coordination with the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) look after securing the incident scene for emergency responders and closing the highway safely, while the City of Ottawa sets up detours on local roads and manages the overall accommodation of traffic displaced from the highway with the help of Ottawa Police Service.

The TIMG group conducts debriefing meetings to review incidents they respond to. They also hold a bi-monthly stakeholder meeting to ensure they are prepared for any planned or unplanned events on the areas transportation network and in support of ongoing communications between agencies.

Routes as established through the program have been circulated to the affected ward councillors for their review and comment. Feedback from the councillors will be used to adjust and modify the routes where required.

LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

Subject to the finalization of an operational agreement satisfactory to the parties involved, there are no legal/risk management impediments to the implementation of this Report's recommendation.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The cost to install and maintain EDR signs is available in the current Public Works signing and traffic management project budgets. As a result there are no budget implications.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Document 1 - Sample Emergency Detour Route Signs (Immediately following the report)

Document 2 - Sample Emergency Detour Route Plan (Immediately following the report)

DISPOSITION

Public Works staff will coordinate the City’s involvement with the Province’s EDR program, as directed.

Document 1 – Sample Emergency Detour Route Signs