Footpaths and Shared Paths

Asset Management Plan – Footpaths and Shared Paths

Footpaths and Shared Paths This Supporting Section should be read in conjunction with Council’s Asset Management Plan, the Asset Management Policy (which sets out Council's philosophy of asset management) and Council’s Asset Management Strategy (which provides Council with a clear direction and goal for managing the community's $1.185 billion (as at June 2010) worth of assets).

1

Current Asset Base

The condition of Council’s assets has been audited as part of the asset inspection regime, rated against the asset condition reference sheet and captured in Council’s electronic mapping system. The condition of all Council’s assets is rated from excellent to very poor. The colours on the following map indicate the condition of the asset, as detailed in the below table.

1

Excellent

Dark Green

2

Good

Green

3

Average

Yellow

4

Poor

Orange

5

Very Poor

Red

Map – Condition The following tables highlight the proportion of the footpath and shared path networks in each condition across the Wagga Wagga Local Government Area (LGA).

Footpaths Excellent

5.5%

11,246m2

Good

8.9%

18,262m2

Average

28.4%

58,458m2

Poor

51.1%

105,198m2

6.1%

12,799m2

Very Poor

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 2

Footpaths and Shared Paths Shared Paths Excellent

12.7%

6,051m2

Good

51.8%

24,657m2

Average

14.5%

6,896m2

Poor

20.9%

9,928m2

0.1%

63m2

Very Poor

The following map indicates the condition of the footpath network from excellent to very poor across the Wagga Wagga LGA.

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 3

Footpaths and Shared Paths Size of the Network Council’s footpath network totals approximately 207km throughout the Wagga Wagga urban area. Footpaths are classified as off road pathways designed for pedestrians only. The network is made up of concrete, asphalt and paver style footpaths, with 90% being concrete.

Council also has approximately 48kms of off road shared paths throughout the Wagga Wagga urban area. These pathways are designed to be used by pedestrians and cyclists. This network is predominantly made up of sealed and gravel shared paths.

The following table indicates the various types of pathways across the Wagga Wagga LGA. Asphalt Concrete Concrete Stormwater Exposed Aggregate Granite

13,503m2 283,413m2 3,499m2 926m2 1,379m2

Gravel

656m2

Paving

19,856m2

Steps concrete Unformed

13m2 1,428m2

Challenges of the Network Concrete is a strong and solid building material with a life expectancy of between 50 and 100 years (depending on its environment). The urban footpath network is subject to an array of external factors that may result in lifting, cracking and misalignment of the footpath, which result in trip hazards.

Cracking, lifting and misalignment of any asset type increases the rate the condition of the asset deteriorates.

A significant challenge facing the footpath network is the damage caused by trees, in particular their roots. Trees roots often cause the footpath to move, crack or lift.

Along with the shared paths there is also a small amount of information signage along the bikeways that details things such as the bikeways name, park facilities (BMX tracks, lakes, tourist sites) and other general user information. Most of these signs are subject to ongoing vandalism, and as such require regular inspection and repair.

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 4

Footpaths and Shared Paths When new areas of the city are developed, it is important that new footpaths link with the existing network and link people’s homes to key community services within the new development. As the footpath network expands in new developments Council’s maintenance budget must also increase.

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 5

Footpaths and Shared Paths 2

Condition Assessment

Condition Ratings Reference Sheet The condition of footpaths and shared paths is audited against a rating scale which ranges from excellent to very poor. This scale is used as the basis of all assessments of footpaths and shared paths by Council’s Surveillance Team.

The rating scale forms the Condition Rating Reference Sheet below.

Footpaths

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 6

Footpaths and Shared Paths Shared Paths

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 7

Footpaths and Shared Paths Risk and Condition Ratings Indicators – Footpaths Council also uses Risk and Condition Rating Indicators to determine a prioritised works schedule for the maintenance, renewal and replacement of large asset categories. These indicators are used in addition to the Condition Ratings Reference Sheet to enable further analysis of the worst sections of the asset class.

The Indicators are used to develop an overall Works Schedule Priority Rating for each individual asset or section of an asset.

The first stage considers the risk the condition of the asset poses to the community based on location, road classification and estimated pedestrian and traffic volumes. The following table details the Risk Rating Indicators for the footpath network.

Footpaths Risk Rating Indicators - Based on Location and Daytime Visibility Weighting

Location/Estimated Pedestrian Volume

1.2

Commercial Precincts (Central Business District, shopping malls)

1.1

Community Precincts (schools, churches, hospitals, clubs, community centres)

1.0

Residential Areas

Weighting

Daytime Visibility (can the hazard be readily seen?)

2.0

Low

1.5

Medium

1.0

High

The second stage of the process considers the Condition Rating Indicators.

The following indicators are considered for each section of footpath:   

cracking misalignment and ponding

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 8

Footpaths and Shared Paths The more deteriorated a section of footpath is, the higher the rating for cracking, ponding and misalignment. Each section of footpath is rated against the Condition Rating Indicators detailed in the below table.

Footpath Condition Rating Indicators Score

Cracking

Misalignment

Ponding

1

No cracks

No misalignment

No ponding

2

Isolated fine cracking

Isolated misalignment <5mm

Minor ponding in channel only

3

Block cracking 35mm

Misalignment 5-15mm up to 30% of length

More significant but in channel

4

Block Cracking 2050% of section

Misalignment 15-50mm over 50%

Ponding encroaching pavement <30%

5

Block Cracking more than 50%

Misalignment 50mm over 50%

Significant ponding encroaching pavement >30%

The results of the Risk and Condition Rating Indicators analysis are combined to give an individual section of the asset a Works Schedule Priority Rating.

For example a section of footpath could be rated as follows:

Condition Rating (CR) Cracking (C) Misalignment (M) Ponding (P) Location (L) Road Type (RT) Works Schedule Priority Rating Formula Works Schedule Priority Rating

Footpath XYZ 4 4 5 3 1 (Residential) 1.1 (Collector) (CR + C + M + P)L x RT (4 + 4 + 5+ 3)1 x 1.1 = 17.6

The Work Schedule Priority Ratings for footpaths are then ranked from highest to lowest to produce prioritised schedule of works for maintenance, replacement and renewal of the network.

As at 2010, Council does not use the risk and condition indicators for the shared path network. As the Asset Management Planning process continues to improve a set of indicators for the shared path network will be developed.

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 9

Footpaths and Shared Paths In addition to the above indicators the works required for the footpath and shared path networks will also be ranked based on the pedestrian linkage hierarchy developed by Council as part of the Pedestrian Access and Mobility Plan 2010.

Intervention Levels To guide Councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s response to customer requests a set of reactive triggers has been developed for each asset category. These triggers are called intervention levels and include expected response times. The following tables detail the intervention levels and response times for maintenance of the footpath and shared path networks.

Footpath Intervention Levels Lift <10mm

1 month to make safe

Lift 10mm-50mm

Corrective action taken within one week.

Lift >50mm

Corrective action taken within 24 hours

Missing lids/broken

These items should be reported to the utility company

Chipped pavers >10mm

Paver should be replaced within one month

Holes in pavers >30mm

Paver should be replaced within one month

Potholes <75mm deep or <300mm diameter

Corrective action taken within 2 months

Potholes >75mm deep or >300mm diameter

Corrective action taken within 2 weeks

Shared Path Intervention Levels Fallen Trees

Removal within 3 working days

Erosion - minor

Monitor only

Erosion â&#x20AC;&#x201C; moderate to major

Corrective action taken within one week

Potholes <75mm deep or <300mm diameter

Corrective action taken within 2 months

Potholes >75mm deep or >300mm diameter

Corrective action taken within 2 weeks

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 10

Footpaths and Shared Paths Condition and Risk Inspection Regimes - Footpaths For large asset categories of high risk, Council implements two separate inspection regimes, based on condition and risk. These inspection regimes have been developed for the footpath, sealed road and unsealed road networks. These particular assets require this level of inspection due to the size and the high usage of each network. These networks have been identified as high risk to Council.

The two inspection regimes are detailed below.

Condition Assessment Inspection Regime The Condition Assessment Inspection Regime is developed for all Councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s infrastructure assets and is designed to audit the condition of each section of the asset against the Condition Ratings Reference Sheet. An on-site Scheduled Condition Assessment Audit of the entire footpath and shared path networks will be conducted every three years.

The inspection regime also includes Reactive Condition Assessment Audits which are conducted throughout the network when there are changes to the network, for example when maintenance events like grinding occur the condition rating will change and the inspection will capture this change to the network.

The condition assessment inspections are in the form of a walking GPS audit for all footpaths in the Wagga Wagga urban area and the rural villages. All audit results, data variations and updates to the network are captured in Councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s electronic mapping system (ArcGIS).

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 11

Footpaths and Shared Paths The following map details the inspection regime of the Scheduled Condition Assessment Audits for the footpath network.

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 12

Footpaths and Shared Paths Risk Management Inspection Regime Due to the size and usage of the footpath network, a Risk Management Inspection Regime has also been developed for this infrastructure asset and will be conducted separately to the Condition Assessment Audit. The Risk Management Inspections will identify and map: 1. all pedestrian trip hazards relating to footpath lifting, cracking, misalignment, breakage, and 2. all damaged and/or missing utility pit lids and surrounds.

Risk Management Inspections are undertaken in response to customer requests, on a needs basis and where the asset degrades due to un-foreseen or unusual circumstances, like a storm event. These inspections are done onsite by trained Surveillance Officers and the results are captured in the ArcGIS system.

Condition Inspection Regime â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Shared Paths Due to the size of the shared path network, the condition and risk will be assessed simultaneously as part of the Condition Inspection Regime. This inspection will audit the condition of the section of shared path against the Condition Rating Reference Sheet and also assess the risk based on location and usage. The entire shared path network will be audited every year.

The inspections will be in the form of a GPS audit routine for all shared paths in the Wagga Wagga LGA. The inspections will identify: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

encroachment of grasses and trees over or on the pathway scouring across the gravel bikeways scouring around bollards and bridges/culverts minimal gravel cover over bikeway (resheet required) water ponding on bikeways (low spots) litter and rubbish on or near the bikeways broken bikeway information and direction signage and Potholes or seal damage

Ad hoc inspections will be conducted in response to customer requests, on a needs basis and where the asset degrades due to un-foreseen or unusual circumstances, like a storm event. These inspections are done onsite by trained Surveillance Officers and the results are captured in the ArcGIS system.

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 13

Footpaths and Shared Paths 3

Life Cycle Management

Life cycle management details how Council plans to manage and operate the asset category at the agreed level of service while minimising life cycle costs throughout the useful life of the asset.

For most local government assets there are four key phases to the life cycle, namely: acquisition, operation and maintenance, renewal, and disposal.

Costs occur in each phase of the asset life cycle. It is important to attribute these life cycle costs to each phase to allow for effective decision making about how the asset will be managed.

The life cycle costs of assets include:       

initial capital investment operation and maintenance refurbishment and renewal administration, overheads and taxes depreciation capital use rate charges or rate of return and disposal of the asset at the end of its useful life

The initial capital or investment cost of a new asset is a significant cost and often dominates the decision as to whether to acquire the asset or expand the infrastructure network. However, it is important to include all the costs associated with each phase of the asset life cycle, including ongoing operation and maintenance, future renewal and disposal.

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 14

Footpaths and Shared Paths Target Maintenance Events The following table details the target maintenance events associated with footpaths and shared paths annually.

Footpaths and Shared Paths Target Maintenance Events Type

Event

Target Maintenance Events per Year

Shared paths

Vegetation control

Twice per year for the entire network

Concrete

Grinding

2,500m

Hotmix Correction

2,500m

Unsealed

Grading

Once per year

Pavers

Pressure cleaning

Twice per year

Renewal A detailed work plan for the renewal of the footpath and shared paths network is developed annually to support this Asset Management Plan. This renewal program is prioritised based on condition and risk.

Disposal Currently, Council includes the cost to dispose of an asset in the unit rate of that asset type. As Council moves towards strategic asset management this cost will be captured separately. The Asset Management Plan will be updated to reflect this change as it occurs across the asset types.

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 15

Footpaths and Shared Paths 4

Level of Service

The Asset Management Plan for 2011 has been developed based on data collation, research outcomes and the results of Councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s internal stakeholder engagement process.

The next stage of the process is to ask the community to identify which asset condition is satisfactory to them. This will begin with an extensive community consultation process. The consultation will be in the form of a community survey which will be conducted online, at community gatherings, through focus groups and stakeholder meetings. The survey will use new technology, be based on images and a simple selection process. The outcomes of the consultation will form the foundation for true community engagement to occur in relation to the management of infrastructure across the Wagga Wagga LGA, in particular the development of agreed levels of service, supported by Council and the community.

As Council gathers data from the community about the level of service for each asset category the outcomes will be integrated into the Asset Management Plan.

Until the outcomes of the community engagement are known Council will provide costings to achieve an average condition for each asset category and use this as the satisfactory level of service.

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 16

Footpaths and Shared Paths 5

Financial Considerations

Current Liability The following graph details the proportion of the footpath and shared path network in each condition.

Council’s current liability in relation to the infrastructure network is the sum of all asset units which have a condition rating of poor and very poor. The current liability of the footpath network is approximately $25,300,000 and the shared path network is approximately $614,000 (in 2010 dollars). The following table provides the details of the footpath network current liability.

Asset Condition 4 – Poor 5 – Very Poor Total Current Liability

Amount 104.2km 12.8km 117km

Estimated Cost in 2010 dollars $22,800,000 $2,500,000 $25,300,000

The following table provides details of the shared path current liability.

Asset Condition 4 – Poor 5 – Very Poor Total Current Liability

Amount 10.8km 0.1km 10.9km

Estimated Cost in 2010 dollars $610,000 $4,000 $614,000

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 17

Footpaths and Shared Paths Projected Annual Maintenance Costs For Council to achieve the intervention levels as detailed in Section 3 of this Asset Management Plan and the target maintenance events as detailed in Section 3, the projected annual maintenance budget for the footpath and shared path networks is estimated to be $324,636 (in 2010 dollars). This projected budget was estimated by Council’s Asset Management Planning and Program Integration Teams in 2010.

It is a first principle estimate and is expected to vary as Council improves its asset management processes and strategies. The following table provides further details of the projected estimated costs associated with maintaining the footpath and shared path network each year.

Footpaths and Shared Paths Network Projected Annual Maintenance Event Projected annual Maintenance Costs Vegetation control $63,227 Grinding $56,250 Hot mix correction $39,452 Pothole patching $35,975 Grading of unsealed pathways $24,889 Fettling of unsealed pathways $1,419 Pressure cleaning pavers $79,424 Minor repairs to pavers $24,000

Required Increase to Annual Maintenance Budget per Additional Unit As the asset base increases it is important to ensure that the annual maintenance budget also increases. The following table details how much per unit the annual maintenance budget for footpaths and shared paths should increase as the network expands.

Required Increase to Maintenance Budget for Additional Footpaths and Shared Paths Category Maintenance Costs per Year per m2 Concrete – sealed $0.88 Concrete asphalt – sealed $6.46 Sealed $1.45 Pavers $0.30 Unsealed $1.48

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 18

Footpaths and Shared Paths 6

Assumptions

There are some generic assumptions made in the management of assets in Wagga Wagga City Council, these are found in the Asset Management Plan.

Wagga Wagga City Council // Asset Management Plan // Footpaths and Shared Paths // Page 19