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Transportation Committee Comité
des transports Minutes 28 / Procès-verbal 28 Wednesday, 4 February 2009, 9:30 a.m. le mercredi 4 février 2009, 9
h 30 Champlain Room,
110 Laurier Avenue West Salle Champlain, 110, avenue Laurier ouest |
Present / Présents : Councillors / Conseillers M. McRae (Chair / Présidente), C. Leadman (Vice-Chair /
Vice-présidente), A. Cullen, G. Bédard, R. Bloess, C. Doucet, J.
Legendre, D. Thompson, M. Wilkinson
DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY
INTEREST /
DÉCLARATION DE CONFLITS D’INTÉRÊTS FINANCIERS
No declarations of interest were filed.
CONFIRMATION
OF MINUTES /
Ratification dES PROCÈS-VERBaUX
Minutes
26 of the Transportation Committee meeting of Monday, 12 January 2009 and
Minutes 27 and Confidential Minutes 2 Transportation Committee meeting of
Wednesday, 21 January were confirmed.
INFRASTRUCTURE
SERVICES & COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY
SERVICES D’INFRASTRUCTURE ET
VIABILITÉ DES COLLECTIVITÉS
COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY SERVICES
SERVICES DE
VIABILITÉ DES COLLECTIVITÉS
1. Integrated Street Furniture Program - Project
Update and Way Forward
Programme intégré de mobilier
urbain – Mise à jour du projet et orientation
ACS2009-ICS-CSS-0008 CITY WIDE / À L'ÉCHELLE DE LA VILLE
All members of Council received a
memo dated 28 January from the Deputy City Manager, which provided additional
information about the report.
Michael Murr, Manager,
Strategic Initiatives/Business Plan, provided a detailed presentation. In attendance with him was Lee Ann Snedden,
Program Manager, Strategic Planning and Project Management. A copy of his PowerPoint presentation is
held on file.
The following public delegations were received:
David Gray, President, Creative
Outdoor Advertising asked that consideration be given to not limiting the
advertising panels to bike racks and transit shelters, but to let the designers
determine where those should be; such companies know best what is most
attractive on the street. He suggesting
capping the total advertising space if necessary, but to ensure the program is
modified so the designers determine if the advertisement should be on the bike
rack or the transit shelter.
Responding to a question posed by
Councillor Bloess, Mr. Murr agreed that the people in the business have the
expertise and he would be comfortable with removing that specificity.
When asked to explain his position
further, Mr. Gray indicated that the placement of the advertisement is
determined by the requirements at the stop.
The advertisement panel may go on any of the walls of the shelter, for
example and what he is suggesting is that the City not prescribes where that
panel is attached. Instead, show the
industry the suite of furniture and the style, but allow the proponents to make
the determination of where it goes.
Councillor Deans did not think this strategy was about furniture but
where advertising opportunities are maximized.
She believed the City should have the control of where the furniture is
actually located so it provides a service and does not simply maximize
advertisements. Mr. Gray agreed with
this perspective and Mr. Murr confirmed that it is clearly the City’s right to
determine where the street furniture elements will be located.
Following on this
discussion, Councillor Legendre suggested that it was his intention to recommend
removing Recommendation 5 from the report.
Mr. Murr indicated that staff would be comfortable with that, keeping in
mind the response from the public and, based on their feedback. It was clear there should be no
advertisements on benches or litterbins.
Mike McCann,
Velocity Media indicated that he runs the bike rack program in the city and asked
that consideration be given to removing them from the city-wide amalgamation of
advertising mediums into one contract and service provider. He was concerned that if bike racks were
included with other large mediums, managed by huge, multi-national providers,
it would put this relatively small-based service to a low priority. And, as a service that cyclists increasingly
need, this medium requires the close attention only a small local partner can
provide. He felt it was in the best
interests of the City and cyclists, for Velocity Media to continue providing
this program in its current structure.
A copy of his written statement is held on file.
When asked to
respond to these concerns, Mr. Murr indicated that if bike racks were removed
from the program, staff would have to determine how to develop the process to
ensure the standard line contract would work effectively with the other
elements on the street. Councillor
Bloess suggested that what the delegation requests would be contrary to the
principles of what is before the Committee today. Mr. Murr concurred, adding that while they appreciate the small
businesses that provide services, the fundamental purpose of this program is to
provide an integrated approach to street furniture; each time a specific
element is removed, it weakens the overall approach as well as the City’s
business case and the value of the program.
It was hoped that companies would work together on this.
Luc Beaulieu,
Vice President, Astral Outdoor and Jeremy Kramer, Kramer Design Associates spoke in favour
of the report. The two main points Mr.
Beaulieu wanted to convey were as follows:
Street Furniture
Needs Over the Life of the Contract
·
it is important that the City take the necessary time to fully asses
its needs before formalizing them in an RFP
·
the state of the economy is likely to affect the capacity of vendors to
secure capital investment of new product for construction, especially early in
the project; in extending this contract with the actual vendors, the City
should arrange for bicycle racks, bus benches and transit shelters to end at
the same time. This coordination will
be easier to work with when initiating the new contract
Advertising
·
providing opportunity for local advertisers should be a priority and
the RFP should not force vendors into prearranged solutions for local
advertising; vendors should be free to innovate with local advertisers and not
be limited to mandatory criteria
·
local advertisers should have the same opportunity to utilize the
highest quality advertising spaces offered to other clients and should not be
categorized into less-appealing formats such as small, unlit panels
Mr. Kramer
believed that in order to achieve design excellence, there is a need for a
custom program, which is carefully detailed to the specific needs of the
City. He offered that there is a need
to have a central control with a design vision and a vendor that is committed
to investing the design across a number of pieces. He did not believe that advertising on either litter/recycling
receptacles or benches is appropriate because those products should not be
placed based on where advertising is required, but where there is a need.
Councillor Bloess
inquired how they see maintaining the ability for local advertisers to get in
on this program, indicating that they may be dealing with national contracts
and there is going to be a different price structure. Mr. Beaulieu explained that the retail sales force is specialized
in talking to the local people, and they offer special rates that are lower
then national rates and can support their creativity. He stated that the main thrust is to give the same quality of
product to a local business, as they would for a national client.
In terms of the
local advertising aspect, Councillor Legendre stated that the delegation’s
argument is that the larger program will provide the better quality product and
the local business should have access to that higher quality product. However, he believed the higher quality
product, while accessible, is not affordable to local businesses. Mr. Beaulieu agreed with this concern and
suggested that some clients may not be able to afford the medium. He confirmed they would certainly pay less
then the national clients because they have programs and incentives for them to
use. He explained that there is a
balance between what is available in the street and the landscape and there
should be a product that will please the majority of the clients be they local,
regional or national.
Paul Seaman,
Clear Channel Outdoor Advertising made the following points:
·
in order for this process to work well, the City needs an understanding
of the market place, including the economics; they need to have the maximum
number of respondents at the end of the day so Council can make the
best-informed choice possible
·
he did not believe the RFP should be tailored to what staff assume are
the needs of the community; there are designers capable of providing solutions
to the problems and this is an opportunity to decide which one meets the City’s
needs
·
he agreed that an ad, for the sake of an ad, does not have any purpose
and it essentially comes down to the placement guidelines; the City has the
ability to say where a piece of street furniture is needed
·
to remove some elements from the program as has been suggested by a
previous delegation may be premature, especially since the point of this was
ultimately to keep with what the community wanted in a more harmonious and
aesthetical theme
Councillor Bloess
spoke to the issue of the product being the property of the City at the end of
the term of the contract (20 years) and was concerned about what would happen
with that product at that time and how the City would ensure it has the
qualities throughout those years. Mr.
Seaman explained that they would strive to design something that is going to
last for a couple of decades. The City
has the ability to have staggered terms within which it can do renewals.
The councillor
inquired if the delegation envisioned working with several partners to deliver
on the street furniture, or if he saw one company taking the lead. Mr. Seaman believed there was no reason why
an integrated program cannot consist of all of those elements, varying in sizes
and degrees of advertising at different price points. As well, he saw no reason why such a program could not include
the small business owner, as well as the larger regional or national business.
Following on the
previous comment about the street furniture becoming the property of the City
at the end of the contract, Councillor Legendre wondered if that was considered
a bonus because at the end of that timeframe, there is probably going to be a
societal change and the furniture may no longer be functional. Mr. Seaman explained that the purpose of
this is to get exciting new designs and services and programs the City cannot
otherwise afford and he did not believe that would change in 20 years time.
Mr. Murr
suggested that while owning the furniture at the end of the contract period was
the typical mode of operation, there is time through this process to go back
and revisit whether or not that particular aspect is a good thing.
In considering
the report before Committee, Councillor Leadman inquired about poster collars
and whether those would be incorporated into this program. Eric Katmarian, Manager, Operations
Planning, Research and Technical Services explained that this was discussed
last fall and the decision was made not to integrate it because there was no
really good advertising of that program.
And, there would be no benefit to integrating it because the collars are
used for advertising community-based local events. He confirmed that the poster collar program would continue.
The councillor
further inquired if the RFP would include looking at the different nuances
throughout the city such as neighbourhood planning initiatives and community
design plans that have specific elements particular to a community. Mr. Murr explained that staff continue to
work with stakeholders to identify the parameters around which they would ask
bidders to develop a suite of furniture that allows for that flexibility, such
that there is ability for that differentiation to occur. He agreed that some streets may warrant a
slightly different look than another and he confirmed it would be part of the
RFP specifications.
Mr. Murr further
indicated that the street furniture improvements that have been done during
construction projects or community design initiatives would remain. Through this program, when the integrated
package is approved and the City selects a successful proponent, they will
become the City’s partner to roll this out over the years and any future need
for new furniture within a main street will first go to this suite of furniture
and use this suite to help it implement the furniture within a given
district. If that is what is intended,
Councillor Leadman asked whether the City would be looking to reinstate the
recycling service for the business community along those corridors. Mr. Murr explained that that particular
aspect had not been contemplated as part of this program. The councillor believed it is something
staff should start looking at, to ensure a coordinated approach so there will
not be garbage trucks going up and down the streets. She remarked that if the City was going to look at an integrated
strategy for furniture, it should also be looking at an integrated strategy for
garbage/recycling pick-up as well. Mr.
Murr accepted this as a direction to staff.
While recognizing that it is
the industry ‘norm’ for the municipality to lock in for a 20-year contract,
Councillor Bloess inquired what it would mean in terms of quality and revenue
if the City opted to go for a shorter duration. Mr. Murr explained that when the RFP is issued, there is a need
to insure there are very clear guidelines and performance specifications with
respect to ongoing maintenance. He
posited that a shorter-term contract would move the City in a direction that is
against what most cities are doing in terms of delivering the program.
Councillor Bloess referred
to the concerns voiced by the delegations about local businesses being able to
continue to access advertising or the opportunity for adverting at affordable
rates and asked whether Recommendation 5, as it now stands, would leave that
wide open in terms of how the City is going to accommodate local
businesses. Mr. Murr explained that
accessibility for local businesses is extremely important and one of the
approaches they could use to build that into the RFP is to indicate that as
part of the overall factors that are assessed, the City would be looking at the
marketing plan that the proponent puts forward. As part of that assessment, they would want to see how they
propose to ensure those opportunities exist for smaller business.
The councillor suspected
that recommending no advertising on waste receptacles or benches would be of
concern to local or neighbourhood businesses that use that medium to advertise
because it is affordable. Mr. Murr did
not know if that is the case, and suggested there is an ability to create a
panel for a transit shelter that can rotate such that various faces of ads
would appear over the course of any cycle.
He suggested that might be a way that a proponent could put forward a
solution that would be at a lower cost.
He offered that in some cases, other companies have used benches and
bike racks as a means of providing more affordable opportunities for advertising.
Councillor Bloess wondered
whether the City, through this RPF, could discriminate against a company based
on where that business operates. Carey
Thomson, Manager, Legal Services explained that the Discriminatory
Business Practices Act states that no municipality or organization can
discriminate on that basis. He
indicated that the RFP could include some flexibility to evaluate the partners
or sub contractors that a proponent may come forward with and specifically on
their local expertise or ability to deal with local concerns. He suggested the City could consider the
length of time they have been in business and their work history with
municipalities, et cetera.
Councillor Legendre
indicated that while he was comfortable with staff bringing forward a third
report, he hoped it would be in Q3 because he wondered if the one-year
extension would be sufficient.
Councillor Wilkinson
inquired whether staff plans to generate a list of how many and where the
street furniture is going to be placed.
Ms. Snedden explained that, as part of the process going forward, staff
will assess priority areas and the expectations of where those elements need to
go. She added that the next report,
which focuses on policy, design and placement guidelines, will help staff
determine how and the placement of the elements. When asked by the councillor if there are specific numbers of
street furniture the proponents will be asked to provide, Ms. Snedden indicated
that when the cluster approach is put together, it will address where transit
shelters or bus stops are and would include the desire for a bench and
litter/recycling container. She
confirmed that staff would be identifying specific numbers over the next 20
years in terms of when and how many and which elements should be rolled out
each year. Mr. Murr added that this
would be addressed in more detail in the next report, confirming that his staff
are working with Transit staff to assess and identify the demand, in the short,
medium and long term over that 20-year period.
Responding to another
question question posed by Councillor Wilkinson, Mr. Murr confirmed that the
City would have the ability to ensure that the content of any advertisement is
appropriate, otherwise it would not be permitted.
Councillor Cullen believed
that a 20-year timeframe may not be the way to go and suggested that for the
next report, staff should also be prepared to answer how this program would
work for a shorter time period, e.g., 10 years. When asked whether specific direction was required to bring
forward these options, Mr. Murr advised that staff would be prepared for that
discussion. The councillor believed the
vendors should be consulted on this particular aspect as well.
The councillor went on to
state that one of the issues is the City’s ability to respond when there is a
need for a receptacle, for example and he was looking for something to be built
into this program, keeping in mind there should be some limits to respond to
place-based issues. He made note of the
fact that some of the delegations spoke about having the opportunity of placing
the advertisement where they think it is appropriate and the councillor
believed that if garbage receptacles, for example, are based on advertising
revenue, then there is a mismatch between the requirement for that receptacle
and the value it may have for advertising.
He believed that if the City’s contract is tied to how much advertising
can be garnered from a location, it would require another City program to deal
with that particular aspect and he was looking for some flexibility in that
regard.
Councillor Deans believed
the report lacks the level of detail to give comfort that what the City
ultimately buys at the end of this process is going to be what it is looking
for. She understood that significant
revenue is generated from the current program, but at the end of this process
there will be less of those advertising spots, so she wondered if in fact there
would be less revenue generated than the City currently receives. Mr. Murr indicated that the expectation
is that this program will generate more dollars for the City. The councillor suggested that staff prepare
a confidential report for the Committee and for Council, explaining the revenue
generation of the current program and the expectation of what this new program
will generate for the 20 year period of the program. The Chair suggested that staff be prepared to address this in camera at Council next week.
Councillor Deans also
expressed concern about creating a monopoly by having one vendor provide all
the street furniture and the control they may choose to exercise with regards
to advertising and the fees they may charge, effectively eliminating local
businesses from advertising. Mr. Murr
confirmed that vendors know they have to operate within a given framework in
terms of their ability to charge, and still be attractive to business. He confirmed that mechanisms would be put in
place and assured the councillor this would be addressed.
Councillor Deans introduced
a Motion, the effect of which would be to remove the bicycle parking component
from the program. She believed there
was an overall sense that the approach is appropriate and one that improves the
look and feel; however, there is also a need to be functional. With regard to the bike racks, she indicated
that there is a local company that moves those around, takes them to the
schools, to community events, et cetera and they are very responsive because
they are located in Ottawa. Given these
tough economic times, she believed the City must consider the impact on local
businesses and be more responsive to the needs of the local community. She made note of the fact that local
businesses contribute financially to local charities and organizations and in
this particular case, bike racks have been very successful and responsive to
the needs of the community. Councillor
Wilkinson agreed to put forward the Motion on behalf of the councillor.
Councillor Cullen inquired
how the one bicycle rack supplier would be able to participate in this program
and Mr. Murr advised that the local supplier would be very aware of the
opportunity to bid on the RFP and staff would expect that they would be looking
for opportunities to partner with others.
And, as expressed by Legal staff, they would be building into the RFP
elements that speak to the proponent’s knowledge of the local area and to the
extent to which they have operated with municipalities, et cetera.
Moved by M. Wilkinson
WHEREAS the City of Ottawa has been developing the
framework for an Integrated Street Furniture Program (ISFP) since September
2008;
AND WHEREAS the report before committee seeks the
necessary approval for the continued development of the program;
AND WHEREAS the weakening economy is placing the
street furniture business case at a serious disadvantage as it is negatively
impacting the value that proponents are likely to place on the City’s street
furniture assets, as well as the advertising potential;
AND WHEREAS a City of Ottawa request for proposal
would look at locking the city into an agreement of up to 20 years in term;
AND WHEREAS staff’s recommendation to Transportation
Committee and Council is to extend the existing contracts by one year due to
the economic climate;
AND WHEREAS in the business case proposal serious
consideration should be given to the role that local business play in providing
street furniture to the City of Ottawa;
AND WHEREAS one of the local businesses has provided
bicycle parking racks, with over 500 racks for the City’s use and another 150
in transit locations and at local schools for the past 12 years, comprising
less than 5% of the ISFP program;
AND WHEREAS small businesses with offices based in
Ottawa are quick to respond to community needs and contribute to the local tax
base, as well as contribute to local charities;
THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED THAT the bicycle parking program component be removed from the
Integrated Street Furniture Program.
CARRIED
YEAS (5): M. Wilkinson, C. Doucet, D Thompson, C. Leadman, M. McRae
NAYS (4): R. Bloess, A. Cullen, G. Bedard, J.
Legendre
Moved
by J. Legendre
That recommendation #5 be
amended by continuing the consideration of advertising on litter/recycling
receptacles and benches.
CARRIED
Moved by J. Legendre
That recommendation #5 be amended
by continuing a provision for local business advertisers.
CARRIED
That Transportation Committee
recommend Council:
1. Receive the results of best practice research and public
consultation;
2. Approve the Integrated Street Furniture Program (ISFP)
guiding principles as prioritized in this report and as set out in Document 4;
3. Approve the street furniture elements to be included in the
ISFP as described in this report;
4. Approve the advertising based funding model upon which the
ISFP will operate;
5. Approve the ISFP advertising permissions, controls and
exclusivity as detailed in this report;
6. Direct staff to work with existing street furniture
providers to negotiate a one-year extension to the existing contracts to July
2011; and
7. Direct staff to return to Council prior to the release of
the Request for Proposal (RFP) with the final Policy, Design and Placement
Guidelines for the ISFP, the overall RFP strategy, and recommendations on
litter/recycling collection.
CARRIED,
as amended
2. SUNNYSIDE AVENUE AND BANK STREET – ADDITIONAL ON-STREET
PARKING AND PARKING STUDY
avenue sunnyside et rue bank –
places de stationnement sur rue additionnelles et étude sur le stationnement
ACS2008-CCS-PEC-0002 CAPITAL/CAPITALE (17)
Moved by C. Doucet
That the
report be deferred to staff for further study.
CARRIED
INFORMATION PREVIOUSLY DISTRIBUTED
INFORMATION
DISTRIBUÉE AUPARAVANT
A. Advisory Committee
Reserve Appointment – ROADS AND CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Nomination d’un membre suppléant au Comité consultatif sur les ROUTES ET
CYCLISME
ACS2009-CMR-CCB-0008-IPD CITY WIDE / À L'ÉCHELLE DE LA VILLE
RECEIVED
ADJOURNMENT
LEVÉE
DE LA SÉANCE
The Committee adjourned the meeting at 12:30 p.m.
Original signed by Original
signed by
R. Nelson Councillor
M. McRae
_____________________________ _____________________________
Committee Coordinator Chair