Item - 2017.EX26.43

The Executive Committee deferred the item indefinitely.

City Council on May 24, 25 and 26, 2017, referred Motion MM29.19 to the Executive Committee.

During invasive multi-year capital infrastructure projects, it is routine for residents to receive information at the beginning of a project to inform them about what is to come.  The challenge becomes that once the projects extend beyond a year residents often become unclear about the details of the construction taking place around them. What residents do know is that their lives are in a perpetual state of disruption and their streets seem as if they will never get back to normal.

With no directions to staff about what should happen beyond the first year of an infrastructure project, increasingly it is left to individual Councillors to coordinate community information meetings. Consequently, there is no consistency as to the information residents receive about these projects and no accountability for the spread of misinformation. It can be difficult to coordinate a meeting between all of the appropriate parties involved in a large infrastructure project. Large amounts of time are spent correcting misinformation and determining who is accountable for returning a neighbourhood to its 'back to normal' state.

By regularizing a minimum threshold around which staff must meet with the community, staff are able to incorporate this step into their work plans and ensure all required individuals involved in the infrastructure project are present.