Streets tidbits

• Wheelchair Ramp Program has an annual budget to install new curb wheel chair ramps. The City is also starting to provide visually impaired design features such as beepers, textured pavements, etc.  Since 2005, 43 new signalized intersections have been equipped with audible indicators. The City now has a total of 341
as part of the City’s Green Streets Program.
• The city has 26 designated bike routes (400 lane-kilometres in total) which are equipped with activated traffic signals, traffic circles, diverters, medians and other traffic calming measures discourage non-local car drivers.
• The Central Valley Greenway is a 25 km recreation route for walking, bicycling, and other non-motorized travels that passes through shopping centres, schools, workplaces, and parks. By the end of 2008, the greenway will be complete, linking Vancouver, Burnaby, and New Westminster together.
• The City has its own cement manufacturing plant, allowing new paving materials to be tested and new recycled mixes to be produced. For example, asphalt road grindings are recycled (a total of 35,000 tonnes/year). The higher quality grindings are put into new asphalt mix which now contain up to 20% recycled content. All roadway slab material is also recycled (a total of 90,000 tonnes/year). Trials are underway to use crushed concrete as an aggregate source for the city’s ready mix plant. Using recycled paving materials saves the city $500,000 annually.
• In July 2006, a trial area on Penticton Street between Charles and Parker was laid with Superpave asphalt. This asphalt mix consisted of over 70% of the crushed, recovered boulders, 20% RAP (Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement), small amount of recovered native soil and a small percent of asphalt cement binder.
• The total percent of recycled materials in the mix was over 90%. The performance of the pavement is being monitored.