Road management plan 2018-2027

1. Introduction

Public space is one of the pillars of our society with a great social return. A well-functioning public space contributes to mobility and accessibility objectives. And also adds value in terms of livability, social cohesion, safety, health and even property value.

Investment in the management of public spaces is therefore not just a cost; it also yields a lot. A well-functioning road network, for example, is essential for good accessibility to and within the municipality. The road network is directly linked to important themes such as: travel, transportation and livability, as well as agriculture and tourism.

1.1 Rationale

In 2013, the 2013-2022 Roads Management Plan was adopted. Choices in the plan were primarily fueled by large-scale budget cuts the municipality had to make. The plan included funds for asphalt maintenance. Element maintenance was not included in the plan; it was only performed on an ad hoc basis. The municipality had to request a separate budget from the city council for replacement investments.

Inspections in 2014, 2016 and 2017 show that this mode of maintenance is not adequate. The quality of roads is slowly but surely deteriorating. There are also increasing complaints from citizens about the poor condition of bicycle and pedestrian paths.

With the 2013-2022 Roads Management Plan, the municipality does not have sufficient control over its legal duty of care. It also increases the risk that the municipality will be held liable for damages and their consequences. In addition, the regulations surrounding the BBV (Budget and Accountability Decree) have been tightened; these require long-term financial assurance. Incidentally, the latter is also a requirement from the Province of North Brabant.

All these developments necessitate an update that has been developed in the 2018-2027 Roads Management Plan.

1.2 Objective 

The Road Management Plan 2018-2027 should provide the framework for overall road maintenance, elaborated in a multi-year maintenance program. This program must comply with applicable financial guidelines.

As an objective for the roads, we strive for maintenance at a basic level. This ensures road safety for citizens and the accessibility of the municipality at a socially acceptable cost level.

1.3 Improvements Road Management Plan 2018-2027

The following improvements were made in the 2018-2027 Roads Management Plan:

• A current Roads Management Plan as the basis for the municipality's legal duty of care
• plan of action and costing for structural maintenance of element pavements in addition to asphalt maintenance
• A planned approach to road maintenance in accordance with CROW's qualitative and cyclical methodology
• preparing a multi-year maintenance program 'Roads' as a basis for the financial translation and the integral implementation program
• Quality level A for footpaths and centers. For other residential areas and elements, quality level B applies
• tackling overdue maintenance of pedestrian and bicycle paths, including from the discipline 'Green' the damage caused by root pressure is remedied as much as possible
• the financial allocation of resources to the regular budget, provision and assets, in accordance with the guidelines of the updated BBV
• Understanding long-term trends in terms of activation and provisioning
• Partial charging of coverage to the sewer fund. This applies to projects where roads and sewers are renewed together (structural treatment in the multi-year budget)
• The preparation of an integrated implementation program from the "Roads," "Sewerage," "Traffic" and "Green" management plans.

1.4 Plan period

A lead time of 10 years has been chosen for this Roads Management Plan. Within the current decision-making process, the financial consequences for this period are manageable. It also gives the opportunity to monitor the method used for a number of years. The recommendation is to draw up a financial reassessment after approximately four years.

1.5 Reading Guide

This Roads Management Plan is structured around a number of central questions. Each chapter answers a central question. Successively you will read:

To be able to say something about quality, it is important to first know what quantity we are talking about. In this chapter we look at the management area of the municipality of Gemert-Bakel and describe the fixed data of the road area. For example: what is there now and what function does it have?

2.1 Size and structure of municipal acreage

Pavement type

The municipality of Gemert-Bakel has a total surface area of over 2.6 million m² of pavement. Besides roads with asphalt, element or cement concrete pavement, the municipality also has other roads with semi-paving (such as shell paths) and roads without pavement (such as dirt roads).

Of the total area, 39% is asphalt pavement (dense asphalt concrete and surface treatment), 43% is elemental pavement (clinkers, tiles, etc.), 3% is concrete pavement and 15% is other pavement (especially semi-paved).

See pdf for graph

The table below shows the acreage totals from 2014 through 2017, supplemented by the increase or decrease.

The area to be maintained has increased slightly from the previous management plan. The total paved area of the municipality has also increased by approximately 300,000 m². The increase is due in small part to the completion of a number of construction sites. But the increase is mainly due to the inventory and inclusion of semi-paved areas in the management plan. In addition, roadside paving has been added to the management area.

Pavement function

In addition to the type of pavement, the function of pavement is important. The table below shows the surface area for each function.

See pdf for graph

Construction years

The graph below shows the area of pavement per construction period. (see pdf)

The expansion of roads in the 1960s is striking. When filling the management system, the year of construction was not always clear. These "unknown" roads were probably placed in the database in the period of the 1960s.

It does impact multi-year programming. The year of construction also determines the year of replacement or rehabilitation. As a depreciation period, we calculate 60 years.

The peak in construction years of the 1960s yields a substantial increase in replacement investment in multi-year programming beginning in 2020.

During the planning period of the 2018-2027 Roads Management Plan, we aim to "spread out" the replacement wave; leveling it out over a longer period of years to create a more even level of investment.

Future acreage expansion

No special measures for future acreage expansion are included in this Roads Management Plan. There are rules within the municipality's financial policy on the basis of which maintenance funds for new acreage are allocated to the budget.

2.2 Quality development

Once every two years, a visual road inspection is performed on the road area in accordance with the CROW system. In order to include the most recent status of the acreage in this Roads Management Plan, the spring 2018 road inspection was performed early in the fall of 2017. The results of the last three road inspections are shown for the total acreage in the bar chart. (see pdf for graph)

Results broken down by element and asphalt pavement:

The above tables and the bar chart provide good insight into the current quality and quality trends over the past period. The following stand out:

• Total acreage, both elements and asphalt, declines in quality

As the acreage ages, quality declines. In numbers, a decrease in A+/A quality also automatically means an increase in B quality. The current scores in quality images match the image of the national average. The area in the municipality of Gemert-Bakel is in reasonable to good condition with some specific points of attention locally.

• The maintenance wave is upon us

The rate of decline of A+/A (10% every two years) is too high. It means that part of the area is deteriorating quite rapidly. In itself, this fits with the large amount of roads from the 1960s that need replacement in the coming period.

• Unabated high D scores at local sites

Quite a few of the 2016 problem sites have been rehabilitated in recent years. Thus, the scores in 2017/2018 concern mostly new sites. This indicates incipient overdue maintenance.

• Bicycle and pedestrian paths and tree roots

Further analysis of the D-scores indicates many bicycle and pedestrian paths and locations experiencing tree root problems. These locations should be taken care of with extra care in the coming period. 

The above findings are based on a visual road inspection. Subsequently, a technical examination of the condition of the structure under the top pavement layer will have to take place. On this basis, the damage progression will be assessed. Together with an estimate of the risk course for safety and capital destruction, the road section in question will be included in the multi-year maintenance program.

As road administrator, the municipality is bound by (national) rules and legislation. There are also principles from other policies that influence road management. This chapter briefly describes the legislation and policy frameworks that underlie road management, the multi-year programming and the financial translation.

3.1 Statutory and legal framework

Roads Act

From the Roads Act, the duty of care for the roads has been placed on the road manager. The road manager is obliged to fulfill this duty of care. In sections 15 and 16 of the Roads Act[1] stipulates that the municipality has a maintenance obligation for its roads and that these roads must be in good condition. "Good condition" means that the roads must be of sufficient quality so that they are safe and can perform their necessary function.

These are public roads; where the public nature of a road is also defined in the Roads Act. For roads outside the built-up area, the Wegenlegger gives[2] legal clarity about the publicness of the road and the maintainer.

Upon demonstration of insufficient duty of care (inadequate maintenance), the municipality can be held liable for damage and its possible consequences.

Municipal Law

The Municipal Law gives an obligation for livability, road safety and social safety. This law applies to more than just roads. The entire public space contributes to a social and traffic-safe living environment. In order to fulfill the requirements of this law, coordination with other disciplines and their management plans is important.

Province of North Brabant

The province of North Brabant requires that road management must be structurally covered to prevent capital destruction. The review criterion states that the level of quality must match the resources made available for it. The province has a supervisory role in this regard. The province therefore does not pronounce on the quality level to be used; the municipality may determine this itself. However, overdue maintenance must be avoided.

3.2 Road policy frameworks (strategic)

These policy frameworks are of strategic importance for the development of the multi-year budget. The road categorization was adopted in 2017. An increase in the maintenance level is proposed for footpaths in this plan and not for bicycle paths (for now).

Road categorization

In 2017, the City Council adopted road categorization. The current through roads will remain 80 km roads. These roads must obviously be safe, but they do not have to be designed in accordance with the current "sustainably safe" rules. Where improvements are necessary, the municipality joins the usual road maintenance for implementation.

Bike paths

Today's electric bicycles, with speeds from 25 to over 40 km/h, make it possible to travel longer commuting distances by bicycle. In addition, elderly people can use bicycles longer and this type of bicycles provides growth in recreation and tourism. Considering that the increase in car traffic in the Netherlands is causing more and more congestion, it is of great importance that more bicycle kilometers can lead to a reduction in car kilometers.

These developments place different demands on today's bicycle infrastructure. In addition to traffic safety, there are increasing demands for comfort, directness (obstacle-free), attractiveness (recreation) and coherence (network)[3].

Based on the policy development, a 'Vision of recreational bicycle paths' is being drawn up for the municipality. It is also obvious to design as many separate bike paths as possible along 80-km roads as 'fast bike routes', so that a main network is created between the residential areas for speed-pedelecs, for example. More speed does require a higher level of maintenance in terms of comfort.

This bicycle policy has not yet been adopted. Any adjustments to infrastructure will also require investments that are larger than just maintenance. These policy developments are therefore not included in this Roads Management Plan.

In the financial calculations, the current quality level B was considered for the maintenance of bicycle paths.

Footpaths

Society is aging and older people are living at home longer. As part of its social policy, the municipality wants to positively influence the health of its residents by getting people to exercise more. Taking a stroll also gives the elderly the opportunity to meet others and helps prevent loneliness.

With the adoption of this Roads Management Plan, the municipality is raising the quality level of footpaths. They will go from B- to A-level. Specifically, this means flatter sidewalks and good accessibility for people with reduced mobility. This Roads Management Plan takes into account image quality level A.

[1] Wegenwet 31 July 1930, artikel 16: De gemeente heeft te zorgen dat binnen haar gebied gelegen wegen, met uitzondering van de wegen die door het Rijk of de Provincie worden onderhouden, in goed staat verkeren.

[2] The Roads Act stipulates that every municipality is obliged to prepare a road layer. The Wegenlegger is established by the Provincial Executive.

[3] CROW publication 340 Inspiration book of fast bicycle routes.

3.3 Road policy frameworks (operational)

These policy frameworks are included in this Roads Management Plan because they are important to the implementing departments. They have no (financial) impact on the multi-year budget.

Sandy roads

As unpaved roads, dirt roads are part of the natural habitat. Their value is described in the Policy Plan "Roadsides and Ditches. Sand roads are inspected by the municipality twice a year and maintained when necessary. Maintenance of the sandy and semi-paved roads in the residential forest Bakel and surroundings takes place 4 times a year.

Semi-paved roads

Many semi-paved roads, mostly bike lanes, no longer meet today's requirements. They are too narrow, suffer from tree root problems, or need a different surfacing that suits their current use. Addressing these roads and the associated investment is not included in this Roads Management Plan. When appropriate, scenarios for improvement with an elaboration of associated resources will be presented to the City Council for decision.

Verge paving

When maintaining the roads, the extent to which and in which places the use of verge pavement improves the function of the road is immediately considered. Verge surfacing is not applied by default, but only where it is necessary. These include driveways and exits, curves and intensively used roads. In Gemert-Bakel, grass concrete tiles are used as roadside pavement.

Ecological values of roadsides

As with the province, we assume for road maintenance that the first meter adjacent to roads in the outlying area belongs to the road. This is calculated from edge asphalt; any grass concrete pavers are counted as part of the first meter of shoulder. The space is needed for adequate water storage during heavy rainfall and to prevent damage to the road construction. Outside this first meter, primary consideration is given to the Nature Protection Act (January 1, 2017) and the municipality's ecological policy.

In places where lowering the verges ("unloading verges") conflicts with the value of the ecological verges, a good practice will be chosen by mutual agreement. In doing so, the municipality will take into account the above principles.

3.4 Other policy frameworks

Sewerage

Linked to the municipal Water Tasks Plan, sewerage has its own multi-year programming. There is intensive cooperation between the 'sewerage' and 'roads' disciplines. An integral approach and consideration is made to all projects or measures.
Municipalities are increasingly working in an area-specific and integrated manner. This reduces nuisance for residents and increases efficiency in implementation.

Green management

Within the built-up area, Senzer performs green space maintenance in the municipality of Gemert-Bakel. Outside built-up areas, contractors and the municipality's own department perform the green space maintenance. The quality level for the maintenance along the roads is level B. In case of reconstructions of roads, the Roads Authority seeks coordination within the municipality about possible renovation of greenery. The integral approach allows more complex interests to be better addressed.

For climate adaptation and the creation of an attractive living environment, the municipality strives for more greening and thus less paving. The maintenance plans take this ambition into account.

Tree management

The presence of trees is important for the quality of public spaces. As a green municipality, the municipality of Gemert-Bakel cherishes the presence of sufficient trees. The policy around trees is laid down in the 2017 Tree Policy Plan.

A tree inventory was conducted in 2017. This shows that about 6% of the approximately 45,000 municipal trees are poorly manageable. These are trees that are in the pavement or too close to the pavement. Thus, there are situations where almost annual maintenance of the pavement is required, while the ambitions for quality are not achieved.

The approach to bottleneck situations is aimed at preserving trees, but also at reducing the frequency of maintenance. This involves looking at: the green value, the vitality and the monumental character of a tree (its policy status), the widening of tree pits, the improvement of growth areas, root protection measures or raising or moving paving. Only when all possible solutions have been reviewed does removing a tree become negotiable.

Some situations lend themselves to a new layout of the road, parking facilities and tree planting, in which "the right tree gets the right location and the right growing place" so that it can grow into a mature tree and reach its intended life span. Large-scale approaches to complex (tree) interests always take place within integrated projects. (image see pdf)

Public lighting

The municipality places lighting in public spaces to contribute to traffic safety, social safety and the quality of the living environment, where atmosphere also plays a role. In doing so, the municipality also takes sustainability into account.

The municipality takes the "Dark where possible, light where necessary" approach. This means that they only illuminate where and when necessary. For each road, the municipality (per road category and possibly per road section) makes a customized assessment.

Participation

After the advent of the Participation Society (2013), the relationship between citizens and government is changing. The role of government is shifting more toward "taking care of that" rather than "taking care of for. In road maintenance, both aspects occur.

Based on the duty of care, the municipality has to "ensure that" the quality of roads is up to standard. Carrying out road maintenance requires specific technical knowledge, equipment and materials. In this process, residents are mainly informed about planning and implementation aspects.

Increasingly, the municipality is tackling maintenance projects in an area-oriented and integrated manner. This offers the opportunity to combine sewer replacement and road redesign with new green and traffic design. This method of working provides an excellent opportunity to involve residents. Residents influence the end result, with the municipality "ensuring" a good process. The goal is to give substance to citizen participation in an interactive and creative way and to use the power of our local society (even) better.

4.1 Qualitative and cyclical (CROW)

Various CROW publications indicate how the Road Authority can properly fulfill its duty of care. Various national standards and rules are laid down in these. These standards are safeguarded in the road management package and used as a starting point for road management. For the short term the qualitative method is applied and for the long term the cyclic approach.

The qualitative methodology uses the age (year of construction) of the pavement, inspection results, inspection date, guidelines, warning guidelines and behavioral models to determine whether maintenance measures are necessary.

The cyclical method was developed for long-term planning and budgeting and applies to the period beyond the first 5 years. Using national experience figures for guidelines, warning limits and key figures, a structural planning of measures takes place. This creates a long-term planning and financial overview. Using this multi-year budget, the municipality can identify and level out peaks in implementation and anticipate any financial shortfalls early on.

4.2 Types of maintenance

Broadly speaking, road management can be typified into three types of maintenance measures:

1. Daily and minor maintenance

This includes all measures for emergencies in the context of keeping public spaces "safe" and "whole" by fixing minor problems quickly. Even if planned (major) maintenance or replacement is postponed, minor maintenance measures are necessary to ensure the safety of the road. For example, potholes are repaired and verges are replenished. When long-term major maintenance is postponed, the pressure on daily maintenance increases. Regular items for daily maintenance are included in the operating budget.

(Partial) major maintenance 2.

Major (partial) maintenance involves maintaining a portion of the surface. It is maintenance work that is carried out on a multi-year and planned basis. An example of this maintenance is milling out bad sections and replacing a (partial) covering layer (asphalt) of a road. Within elements, for example, the flatness of pedestrian and bicycle paths are improved and tree root problems are permanently solved. A feature of this maintenance is that the measures are planned and result from road inspections, etc.

The purpose of partial major maintenance is to make timely and structural improvements to the pavement to achieve the intended life of the entire structure. Depending on the measure, safety (safe use), durability (resistance), comfort and appearance are improved. Partial major is charged to the provision.

3. Replacement, also called rehabilitation or reconstruction

When replacing elements in public spaces, in principle the entire construction of a road is addressed. In other words, this includes the foundation.

Acreage management is based on the life cycle approach and timely replacement. This leads to a more balanced distribution of maintenance measures. After replacement, the pavement is like new again and has a normal maintenance frequency. Timely replacement also provides opportunities for improvement (design and dimensioning) of the public space. For replacement investments, a depreciation period of 50 years on average is calculated, with the costs being capitalized.

The figure below not only visualizes the relationship between the maintenance condition and the required maintenance measure, but also illustrates the relationship with the method of financing. (figure see pdf)

This chapter provides an overview of the resources required divided into: budget, provision and costs to be capitalized. These overviews have been prepared based on various financial assumptions. Important is the impact on the 2018-2021 budget and the long-term consequences and political choices involved.

 5.1 Financial assumptions

Calculating amounts in the budget for daily maintenance, provision and activation was done using a number of assumptions:

Daily maintenance

• The funds for street sweeping are allocated 50% to the "waste" product and 50% to the "roads" product.
• The means of removing unwanted herbs on pavement are based on the methods of "brushing and burning"; no chemicals are used.
• Due to catching up on overdue maintenance, less spending on minor and daily maintenance is anticipated. Therefore, an amount of €98,658 will be deducted from the budget for daily maintenance starting in 2020.

Provision

• Transfer an amount of 98,658 from the budget to the provision.

As a result of catching up on overdue maintenance, in principle less daily maintenance is needed. An amount of €98,658 has been calculated as of 2020.

• Correction to GBI unit prices of -10%.

Based on a comparison of GBI unit prices with market and benchmark data, a correction of -10% was applied. Post-calculation of executed projects should show in the coming years whether this assumption can remain valid.

Activate

• For the years 2018-2025, 30% of the costs for roads within urban areas will be allocated to the "sewerage" product.
• For the years 2026 and beyond, 16% of the total road amount is allocated to the sewerage product.

As of 2026, maintenance is shown cyclically. Approximately 53% of the area is located in built-up areas. This is again subject to the 30% charge to the "sewerage" product.

Qua calculation 53% * 30% = 15.9%.

• Correction to GBI unit prices of -10%.

Based on a comparison of GBI unit prices with market and benchmark data, a correction of -10% was applied.

General

• Indexation applied of 1% per year.

5.2 Resources needed and budget impact

Based on the qualitative (2018-2022) and cyclical (2023-2027) approach, a multi-year budget has been prepared. The schedule below shows the expenditures for the "Multi-Year Maintenance Program for Roads" for the years 2018-2027. The impact on the budget has also been determined. (see diagram in pdf)

5.3 Conclusions

The impact on the budget shows that within the plan period of this Road Management Plan 2018-2027, there will be a shortfall in capital costs compared to the required investments. Within the plan period, the provision does not show a negative balance. Because we also have insight into the build-up of the provision over a longer period, we can see that from the year 2035 onwards an increasing negative balance will occur.

It is desirable to adopt a Roads Management Plan 2018-2027 with sound financial operations within the plan period to carry out road maintenance.

5.4 Proposal equalization

For the 2018-2021 annual tranches, the budget is adequate. For the entire period of the Road Management Plan 2018-2027, the current resources are not sufficient. It is therefore proposed to deposit an additional € 110,000 structurally into a new equalization reserve "capital costs roads" starting in 2018. This is in addition to the additional funds already included in the 2018 budget for investments for roads (such as President's Neighborhood, Dr. De Quayweg).

5.5 Monitoring

The execution of road maintenance and cost developments are monitored structurally. With the results of the monitoring, a reassessment of the financing model will take place after approximately 3 years. The city council will be informed about this.

5.6 Future-oriented management

Managing is basically "maintaining what is already there. Refurbishing to extend the lifespan and replacing 'old with new' when investing in a new lifespan. Due to social developments, it happens that maintenance alone is not sufficient, but that the roads have to be made 'future-proof'. This occurs, for example, when roads are downgraded as a result of the realization of the North Om and the widening of bicycle paths. These investments are not included in the calculation of the multi-year budget. Where appropriate, the college and city council are presented with a number of scenarios so that well-considered choices can be made and the corresponding funds made available.

Project planning 2018/2019