COMMUNITY SERVICES DIVISION

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Chairman and Members of the
Community Services Committee

None, for information only.

Council, at the meeting of February 8, 1999, approved Report TEAMS 5/99. The report recommended increased level of maintenance for passive parks, boulevards, beds, and hard surfaces for weed control. The report recommended consideration for increased funding during the preparation of the 1999 Current Budget. A decision unit was included in the 1999 Current Budget and was approved by Council in the amount of $229,500 for the increased level of maintenance.

In the short time since this approval, there has been a great deal of research and development occurring to establish a cost effective and logical approach to maintaining these areas of the City. The following report will provide information on what has been done in this area and what should be expected in the immediate future as well as the long term.

A team was assembled following Council approval of the 1999 Current Budget to research the areas of turf and bed maintenance. Information was obtained through discussions with staff, periodicals, internet sites, other municipalities, etc. to obtain an understanding of these areas as well as for comparison purposes of our proposed programs with other municipalities as a type of best practice review. As part of this process it was felt that outside consultants with expertise in these areas would be of benefit for additional recommendations as well as for providing a check of our proposed practices. Staff met with Mr. Chris Graham of the Royal Botanical Gardens to discuss alternate planting material and obtained information on the Royal Botanical Gardens’ turf maintenance programs. Mr. Graham also provided a contact for further assistance, as such, staff obtained the services of one of the foremost authorities in horticulture Dr. J. L. Eggens of the Guelph Turfgrass Institute and Environmental Research Centre, University of Guelph. Staff have reviewed Dr. Eggens’ report and have consulted with him on the telephone, in the very near future staff will be meeting with Dr. Eggens to finalize the following proposed programs.

The focus of this program is to address the concept of usage. Boulevards are not used like parks, but at the same time they are high in visibility. The primary concern in boulevards is aesthetics (e.g. people expect these areas to look like golf courses and do not accept the abundance of dandelions) rather than turf quality as in parks. Control of dandelions and promotion of healthy turf should be foremost and acceptance of alternate "green" ground cover such as broad leaf and grass weeds should be tolerated.

In an effort to rid the boulevards of dandelions and improve the turf quality, high profile areas were selected along all main arterial roads, selected bike path roadway crossings, and others considered to be publicly sensitive, for an initial application of granular weed and feed. These areas amounted to approximately 50 hectares and the material to be applied is a 16-4-4 fertilizer mixture containing 2-4D, mecoprop and dicamba. The quotation for this application is presently out for bid and the application of the material is to commence immediately following selection of the vendor. There has already been some suggestions by vendors to consider a liquid application as opposed to granular, there appears to be considerable cost reductions using liquid and the dependency of wet weather required to break down the granular material is eliminated. Given the very dry conditions the city is experiencing this year, staff are considering using liquid in some of the areas in place of granular for monitoring and comparative purposes. Following the initial application it is anticipated that this process will be required less frequently in the future and only for select areas once control of the dandelions is obtained and turf becomes healthier. Through constant monitoring of boulevard areas only those in which the problems persist will have subsequent applications of weed and feed in the spring or fall.

As the amount of weed and feed is reduced, there will be a shift to using straight fertilizer to maintain appropriate levels of nutrients in the soil. A mixture of 16-4-4 fertilizer will be applied in spring or preferably the fall of each year.

The cutting height of equipment used for urban boulevards has been set to 3 inches. This practice promotes healthy root systems, and turf is less susceptible to weed seed infiltration and insect infestation at taller heights. In cutting turf, it is recommended that no more than 1/3 of the grass leaf be cut, therefore, we are attempting to allow grass to reach between 4 and 4.5 inches in height prior to being cut. This process will continue throughout this year and for every subsequent year of the program.

During the fall of this year selected boulevard areas will undergo an aeration process. This reduces soil compaction , keeps thatch in check ( insects like to lay eggs in thatch ) , reduces disease incidence, and provides for better penetration of water and fertilizer, as well as improved seed germination. The plugs or soil cores that are left on top of the turf return top dressing and nutrients to the soil. This process should occur in the spring and fall of each year.

Topsoil and overseeding applications are not essential everywhere. Through a monitoring program select areas will be identified and this process will be applied to them in the fall of each year.

Public Information will become a key component of this program. Staff are considering various means of public education such as flyers, pamphlets, media articles, internet, etc. and will be making an effort to put these initiatives in place by the spring of year 2000.

Staff are continuing to look at alternative planting material for boulevard applications. At present there does not appear to be a miracle plant that is salt tolerant and more cost effective than the grass used today. As stated above, there are numerous varieties of weeds that exist in our boulevards that make excellent ground cover and we should encourage their propagation. Staff from Roads and Parks Maintenance, Parks and Recreation, and Engineering have been meeting frequently to look at alternate plantings. As an example, a proposal has been received for alternate plantings along the proposed Burloak Drive Reconstruction project, staff are in the process of reviewing the proposal and comparing it to traditional maintenance practices.

The program for turf in passive parks is very similar to boulevards as described above. Weed and feed, fertilizer, increased cutting heights, aeration, etc. all apply to passive parks areas as well. Given the financial restrictions surrounding such a large program, the initial focus of weed control will be in boulevards. However, it is anticipated that entrances and portions of passive parks, which abut roadways, will be treated this year in a similar manner to boulevards. Once a cycle of regular maintenance is established the emphasis will shift to interior areas of passive parks.

There is a greater opportunity for alternate plantings in park areas, as salt is not present and the planting area is larger. The key to establishing one of these sites is public awareness, there have been instances where sites have been developed and designed to grow fairly high, however, abutting property owners quickly took it upon themselves to cut the areas down.

Dr. Eggens made some suggestions regarding turf restoration of higher profile passive park areas which staff are going to consider when finalizing the program. An example of this is complete resodding of small problem areas every several years, it may be cheaper in the long run to do this.

One of the main problems that staff is faced with when it comes to bed maintenance is the lack of proper inventory. During the summer months staff will be compiling an accurate database of City owned beds to identify the type of bedding material, size, needs, etc. to establish a regular maintenance program. In an effort to minimize the use of chemicals in these beds, applications of steam (where applicable) will be used to destroy weeds that are present. Staff will still continue to use wood chips and manual methods of weed control where required.

Staff have presently contracted some of the underpasses for steam application where chemicals are normally used. Staff will continue to review this program this year in an effort to establish a regular cycle for weed control within hard surface areas. The emphasis of the program will be to shift to non chemical methods such as steam where possible. An accurate inventory and monitoring program that is being developed is essential, as it is for all the areas discussed previously.

A great deal of research and development has been undertaken and professional services have been retained for assistance and self verification. The initial focus of the program will be in boulevards and entrance ways to passive parks. Once results are obtained and cost control is in place, this focus will then shift to interior areas of passive parks, beds, and hard surface weeds. As this program is in its infancy, it is reasonable to assume that the City’s turf will not be repaired overnight. There may be some noticeable results this year in boulevards, however, given the present dry weather conditions, it is possible that results may not be realized until next year. It has taken a long time for the City’s turf to deteriorate to its’ present state so it is fair to assume it will take a few years (cycles) to get it back to an acceptable level.

At present the general processes of the program have been established at a City wide level, however, to simply apply the same process across the board at a fixed time each year would be extremely costly. These processes must be brought down to a site specific level, as such, emphasis will be placed on inventory and monitoring during this year to assess the needs and determine the appropriate process for remedy. A long term detailed plan will then be developed with assistance from Dr. Eggens, additional processes will also be considered that have not been mentioned and may only be used on a site specific basis, such as, use of insects and/or insecticides for control of various bugs, use of fungicides, strategic locations of tree planting that will not interfere with turf maintenance, asphalt "kill" strips behind curbs where turf cannot grow, etc.

The long term intent is to establish a detailed turf management program, similar to the "1996 Turfgrass Alternatives" program, which will provide greater detail and encompass all the programs described above (boulevards, passive and active parks, beds, and hard surface areas). The program will also address the reduction of chemical usage to a minimum. It is understood there is a significant requirement for chemicals initially to establish healthy turf but as the requirement diminish the resources will be shifted to increasing the frequencies of fertilization, aeration, etc. Realistically, the establishment of this program is a very large undertaking and completion of such this detailed initiative could not be achieved this year, it is staff’s intent to bring forward a report next year with a draft of the program for Council approval.

Respectfully submitted:

G. Kotsifas, P. Eng.
Manager of Program Development,
Budgets & Contracts