The Opera ons Department is responsible for the opera ons and maintenance of the City s water, sanitary sewer, storm drainage, road and dyke infrastructure, as well as the opera on and maintenance of the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), over 100 parks and sports fields and the City s recrea onal trail network. 2016
GRASSROOTS GRANTS PROGRAM In 2015, The City of Chilliwack Council recognized that suppor ng local community events and projects is a vital way in which to build a stronger community. Similar programs in other Municipali es have resulted in posi ve impact on resident wellbeing, economic development, and on residents sense of a achment in the community. In the spring of 2016 Council launched the Grassroots Grants Program as part of its neighbourhood engagement strategies. The program allows the ci zens of Chilliwack to apply for a matching fund grant for a resident led, neighbourhood enhancing project. In August, The City of Chilliwack awarded funding to two applicants; 1) Vedder Village Community Gardens and Food Forest Project in the amount of $4,000. 2) Greendale Elementary Community School Project in the amount of $4,000. Shown in the photograph is Carolyn Nickel (Parent Advisory Commi ee), Nicole Driscoll (Principal of Greendale Elementary Community School) accep ng the funding from Mayor Sharon Gaetz. YARROW GREENING PROJECT The Yarrow Greening and Streetscape Improvement Project took place in the summer of 2016. The main focus of this project was to improve pedestrian crossings on Yarrow Central Road. Drainage was improved by building pedestrian refuges, with the addi on of new curbs and gu ers and allowing shrub beds to be incorporated into the design. The intersec ons that were upgraded include Wilson Road, Poplar Road, and Kehler Street. With full coopera on from neighboring residents and businesses the Yarrow Greening project was a success. 1
OperaƟons Department FAIRFIELD PARK IRRIGATION Fairfield Park ballfields were upgraded this summer by city staff and contractors to provide user groups with safer, high quality playing fields. Each field took 3 weeks to complete; scheduling was staggered to ensure user groups would not be displaced. City staff prepped the field for the contractors to excavate and install the pipe, then coming in later to do the cleanup and finishing touches. The irriga on upgrade came in under budget and now allows for all levels of users to enjoy the ballfields including the new UFV team that plays teams from out of province. Irriga on improvements will con nue in 2017 to ensure that Fairfield park remains a top quality sports field complex. THE LANDING BOULDER As part of the con nued plan to create a few community significate playgrounds; a large climbing boulder was installed at The Landing Playground. This feature is unique to Chilliwack and was designed to be easily climbable from one side and increasing in difficulty as the user works around the outside. The more difficult side has numerous hand and toe holds which does create a real challenge. This feature is a great addi on to the Landing playground and should challenge the climbers for many years. 2
ROSEDALE STREETSCAPE PROJECT The Rosedale Streetscape Improvement Project along Yale Road in Rosedale took place during the month of September 2016. The project was primarily focused on greening along Yale Road, improving drainage with curb and gu er placement, and a pedestrian refuge was created, making the intersec on at Yale and McGrath more pedestrian friendly. Sidewalk, curb and gu er were installed along Yale Road and McGrath Road on the south east side and improvements were made on the south west corner. Two large shrub beds were planted with low growing plants and trees with high canopies to improve sight lines. A shrub bed with a tree was planted at Yale Road and Nevin Road to welcome residents and visitors alike in to Rosedale. A large shrub bed with trees was planted at Munro Avenue and Yale Road to provide some greenery in the large gravel parking lot. With the full coopera on of neighboring proper es the project was a success and helped to improve the aesthe cs of the main road through Rosedale. 3
ROSEDALE SKATEPARK The youth in the Rosedale area of Chilliwack excitedly welcomed the addi on of a skate park facility to the Rosedale Park on Yale Road in August of 2016. Skate parks, now known as all wheeled parks are used by skate boards, BMX s, wheelchairs and scooters. These facili es have become a welcome addi on to many communi es in the world as they engage youth physically and socially. Local youth have been filling this all wheeled park since the opening in mid August. The simple set up challenges all levels of users. The flat asphalt area of this park is about 20 m (65 ) x 10m (30 ) and the events consist of one ¼ pipe on one end, a centre Funbox ramp, and a back ramp at the other end. A few other elements have been installed for addi onal fun. Socially, all wheel parks engage the youth to interact with likeminded youth whether they are a BMX er, scooter or skate board rider. In this socially interac ve environment older users guide the younger users and soon unwri en rules are formed and become the normal behavior in the facility social calm is the result. COOTE AND AUBURN PARK An opportunity to provide greater play service levels for the community on an exis ng City Property was iden fied in the Greenspace Plan. Coote and Auburn Greenspace located at the southern end of Coote Street was iden fied to be able to accept a sizable Playground area. This neighbourhood is highly densified with single family homes but there is a dis nct lack of green play space in this area. The new park improvements will go a long way to help fill the play space void. Community involvement helped develop the plan and the design of this park which includes the basic elements of a playground; swing, spin, slide and climb. The community iden fied the need for a small sports court area as part of an extension of the road surface with separa on from Vehicle traffic and the need to keep the small slope area for tobogganing and bike riding enjoyment. 4
HOPEDALE WEST ROTARY TRAIL RIVER ACCESS IMPROVEMENT In October of 2015 Council approved the expansion of the Vedder River Rotary Trail Network along a now closed gravel haul. The road was permanently closed to vehicle access on January 1, 2016. There was some public concern raised because of elderly persons who have mobility challenges that would lose drive in access to a desirable fishing loca on. Staff met with several user groups to iden fy suitable solu ons to improve river access for the elderly and mobility challenged. The solu ons arrived at were to create improved public access points at several loca ons along the River, including near the newly created Hopedale West Rotary Trail access and parking area. With regulatory permits in place, pubic works constructed a gradually sloped ramp from the trail, down to the gravel bar, just a few meters from the new parking lot, improving access for all, but especially those with mobility challenges. The new ramp allows people to access the waters edge within close proximity to the parking lot gate. The parking lot was also improved with the installa on of disabled parking spaces close to the trail gate and with the provision of washrooms and garbage cans. BROWNE CREEK WETLANDS RESURFACING In September 2016 in a joint partnership with the Chilliwack Rotary Club, 800m of the Browne Creek Wetland trails were resurfaced. The resurfacing has improved the popular bird watching trails by raising low spots and leveling out the trail. The Browne Creek Wetland trails are becoming increasingly well used and the plan is to have all trails in the area resurfaced as part of the Vedder Greenway Trail improvement and looping project as this area will become an important recrea onal node along the greenway. 5
SWANSON PARK EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT In early 2000 the playground equipment in Swanson Park was removed as it did not comply with CSA safety standards. At the me of removal a le er was sent to all residents in the area to inform them of the City s plan to reinstate up to date equipment at a later date. With over 85 playgrounds, the City put in place an annual program to reinstall up to date equipment in parks where old equipment was previously removed due to safety concerns. In 2016, as part of this replacement program, Swanson Park was one of three neighborhood Parks which will see new, replacement equipment installed. 6
2016 DITCH CLEANING AT A GLANCE The 2016 open channel drainage maintenance, nonfish, consisted of 50,170 lineal meters. The 2016 open channel cleaning, fish bearing, consisted of 11,215 lineal meters, for a total of 61,385 lineal meters of ditch cleaned. In 2016 we introduced new salvage techniques for systems that have verified poten al habitat for Oregon Spo ed Frogs, and worked closely with the provincial government doing the salvage. David Blair salvaging Oregon Spotted Frogs with the Provincial Representative KNOTWEED SMORGASBORD A new technique for invasive plant removal along ditch lines was explored this year by way of using goats to eat their way through the invasive plants. It seemed prac cal to try this op on but had limited success as it took too long for the goats to eat through the smorgasbord of vegeta on. Goats brushing the invasive Japanese Knot Weed along Evans ditch NEW TECHNIQUE USED IN DITCHING Another new technique used this year, was the use of a spider excavator to access the inaccessible areas of Semiault ditch which are behind the Cessna drive proper es. This par cular watercourse has not been machine maintainable for 66 years and was a yearly hand clean system with storm water overload issues. We are hopeful that this will resolve drainage issues for the area residents. Spider excavator working on Semiault Creek 7
STRATEGIC VALVE INSERTION LIMITS WATER DISRUPTION As part of the City of Chilliwack s drainage system capital works, it was decided that a culvert on Marble Hill Road needed to be replaced. To do so required the elimina on of a conflict with the exis ng water distribu on main at the loca on where the two pipes crossed. However, to perform this pipe reloca on ac vity meant interrup ng the water supply to approximately 400 homes in the Marble Hill area. Staff ini ally looked into the possibility of installing a strategically placed valve to minimize the amount of residents that would be without water. However, this op on would s ll require crews to remove a sec on of water main in order to install the new valve. Staff would have to isolate the sec on of water main, then cut and drain the pipe in order to install the new valve. Then, once crews have completed the valve installa on they would need to turn the water on and flush the water main to remove any air and debris that may have been introduced into the water main during the valve installa on process. That all being said, the disrup on of water supply to the residents in the area would not have ended up being avoided. For this reason, staff decided against this common method of valve installa on. Understanding the inconvenience that this would cause, Opera ons staff reviewed alterna ve methods that are readily available in the industry. Staff decided to proceed with a technique called valve inser on; for the first me in Chilliwack. Valve inser on is a highly specialized method of installing a main line valve while the water main remains under pressure, with absolutely no interrup on to the water supply. However, this method requires specialized equipment and very inten onal step by step procedures; only one contractor in Bri sh Columbia specializes in this technique. Pacific Flow Control (with 35 years of experience in performing work on pressurized pipes) was brought in to carry out the process with Opera ons staff. The valve was successfully installed with no interrup on to the water supply for the residents in the Marble Hill area. 8