HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-01-11 Special Common Council - Board of Public Works Meeting Agenda
OFFICIAL NOTICE OF MEETING
A Special meeting of Common Council and the Board of Public Works will be held on
Monday, August 1, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. in Common Council Chambers, City Hall, 108
East Green Street, Ithaca. Your attendance is requested
AGENDA
1. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS:
1.1 Means Restriction on Bridges and Its Impacts on City Operations
2. NEW BUSINESS:
3. ADJOURNMENT
If you have a disability that will require special arrangements to be made in order for you
to fully participate in the meeting, please contact the City Clerk at 274-6570 at least 48
hours before the meeting.
______________________________
Sarah L. Myers
Acting City Clerk
Dated: July 27, 2011
CITY OF ITHACA
108 East Green Street, Ithaca, New York 14850-6590
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
William J. Gray, P.E. Superintendent / City Engineer
Telephone: 607/274-6527 Fax: 607/274-6587
June 30, 2011
Andrew L. Magre
Associate University Architect
102 Humphreys Service Building
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York, 14853
Re: Means Restriction Proposal
Site Visit, Materials Investigation, Switzerland
Dear Mr. Magre:
I wanted to thank you for the invitation that you extended to me to join the Cornell
team's investigation of means restriction measures and materials applications that are
already in service. It is a measure of Cornell's institutional and your team's professional
commitment to the project goals that sends you great distances in very short time
frames to try and collect information which will improve the project and answer
community wide questions. I am sorry I cannot join you to gain my own insights and
ask my own questions during the tour of existing installations. The negative seven
percent budget I will be submitting in response to the Mayor's 2012 budget directives
make travel this year seem almost irresponsible.
I have discussed the opportunity to see existing installations with JoAnn Cornish
and we would like to suggest a few areas of inquiry and provide a few questions for your
use. We know that many of these ideas you or your team will have already thought of,
but perhaps we will have included something that will be useful, new, or an extension of
ideas you are working on. Our thoughts include the following:
1. Materials - Maintenance free, durable, good looking. Are there problems with
dissimilar metal corrosion? Special fasteners or dielectric separation required?
How long have the current installations been in place? Can we project life
expectation from their experience?
2. Installation - Is the installation simple and straight forward? Does it block (or
aide) any of the maintenance operations that follow installation? Is the
installation so highly specialized that it will always require specialized service?
Can the installation be done in such a way that it does not impinge on the utilities
or their suspension systems under the bridge? Does the installation add so
much weight that it limits bridge load capacity or future utility upgrades?
3. Maintenance - See Installation and Materials above. Will the installation require
any special maintenance? Will it impede or improve other maintenance
operations on the bridge structure or the utilities under it? Is the maintenance
cycle of the new installation significantly different than that of the structure it is
on? Is the system easy to inspect as part of the bridge condition survey? Is there
any estimate of long term costs to maintain system? Does trash, road signs,
snow and ice, or other items seem to collect in the netting? Does the installation
complement or simplify the other bridge maintenance operations?
4. Visual or Aesthetic Impacts - What is the visibility of the netting in a horizontal or
nearly horizontal application? As seen from above on the deck? As seen from
the handrail looking down? As seen from below, and probably at a distance,
looking up or looking on?
5. Rescue or Emergency Operations - What is the first responder's description of
the nets and the impact on their operations? Have they ever put any personnel
into the nets? Have they rescued an injured person from the nets? Are there
problems we should anticipate for rescue personnel? Is special rescue
equipment required? How far are the nets down and what is the injury level of
individuals who have fallen or jumped into the nets?
I hope your trip and site investigation is helpful as you complete your proposal
phase and get ready to undertake final design for the Cornell bridges. I am sure you
share our technical and operational concerns with the proposal to add these structures
to Cornell and city-owned bridges. I cannot yet list all the social and economic issues
that will be raised and addressed while the proposal is considered by the City, but we
got a good preview at last night’s joint meeting of Common Council and the Board of
Public Works to take public input on the question.
Thank you again for the invitation to join you on your investigation of existing
installations. I hope these questions and ideas are useful as you construct your own
questions during the visit. We look forward to your summary of the investigation.
Very truly yours,
William J. Gray, P.E.
Superintendent of Public Works
WJG/kdg
cc: Carolyn K. Peterson, Mayor
JoAnn Cornish, Director of Planning and Development
Gilbert Delgado, University Architect, Cornell University