[Amended 7-27-2015 by Ord. No. 40-2015]
A. Where, in the opinion of the Director of Public Works and at his/her sole discretion, site conditions are determined to involve construction work beyond that required for a small single utility service connection, the permittee shall provide additional information, and may be required to perform additional work and pay additional fees. Where additional work is required to restore the pavement and other features within the rights-of-way, those terms shall be included in the letter of agreement before issuance of the permit.
B. Special site conditions include, but are not limited to, permanent restoration of the street surface by the applicant, permanent restoration of the street beyond the area of the trench cut opening, construction of features within the rights-of-way other than trench restoration, and other special site construction work determined during the application. Examples of special site conditions are described below:
(1) Large cuts.
(a) Additional restoration of the pavement wearing surface will be required for cuts larger than those made for small single utility service connections. Large street cuts include, but are not limited to, the following conditions:
[1] Where two or more transverse or longitudinal cuts are made within a one- hundred-foot-long section of street and the total area of the cuts is equal to or greater than 40.0 square feet. (Transverse cuts are typically made for laterals that run across the street, and longitudinal cuts are typically made for mains running with the street.)
[2] Where the area of a single cut is equal to or greater than 40.0 square feet.
(b) The additional restoration for these cuts shall comply with the City's standard engineering drawings and specifications for large street cut restoration which shall include milling and overlaying of the wearing surface of the entire lane(s) between the curb and the street center line within the area bounded by the cut(s).
(2) Curb ramps.
(a) For conditions where the permittee proposes an alteration to a street crosswalk or other crosswalk within the City's rights-of-way and where the existing curb ramps at that crosswalk do not meet the current requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the permittee will be required to upgrade the crosswalk to meet current ADA standards including curb ramps for that crosswalk. Crosswalk and pedestrian access route alterations, as defined by the ADA and PennDOT, shall include any project that will affect or could affect the accessibility or use of the accessible route. Alteration projects that meet these conditions shall be determined by the Director of Public Works on a case-by- case basis and shall follow the latest PennDOT guidance, including Publication 13M, Chapter 6. City crosswalks are located at all street intersections whether or not crosswalk markings are present. Crosswalks are also located along sidewalks where the sidewalks cross alleys and driveways. For crosswalks that are not marked, the crosswalk area within a street intersection is the area delineated by the outside curb radii and the lines drawn across the streets that connect the termini of the curb radii, excluding the area of the interior rectangle. The interior rectangle is formed by projecting the curblines into the intersection and the rectangle is defined by the corners of the intersecting projected curblines. Unmarked crosswalks include the area that is defined by the projection of the sidewalk across the street, alley or driveway. For street cuts proposed under these conditions the permittee will be required to construct or reconstruct curb ramps at the crosswalk to meet the current ADA and PennDOT requirements. To facilitate the proper construction of the ramps, the permittee shall include with their permit application the following additional provisions:
[1] An existing conditions survey that includes all of the curb ramps within the intersection, alley or other accessible route where the cut is proposed to determine compliance and/or noncompliance with ADA.
[2] Curb ramp designs for construction of each new and noncompliant curb ramp. The curb ramp designs must comply with the most current applicable PennDOT standard for curb ramps. The existing condition survey and the ramp designs must be sealed by a qualified engineer or surveyor registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[3] An amendment to the letter of agreement that states that the permittee will construct or replace curb ramps within the intersection or alley that does not currently meet ADA and PennDOT requirements.
[4] A bond, letter of credit or other form of appropriate surety that includes an amount equal to cost to construct the ramps per the approved design. The form of surety other than a bond must be approved by the City Solicitor. The amount of the surety must be approved by the Director of Public Works.
(b) Ramp designs will be reviewed by the Director of Public Works for approval prior to issuance of the permit. For projects that involve state and/or federal funding, additional PennDOT approval shall be required.
(c) Following construction of the curb ramps, the permittee shall submit to Public Works completed as-built (record) drawings of the work indicating that the ramps were properly inspected and were found to comply with the approved design.
(3) Steel plates. When a temporary surface is required the temporary installation and maintenance thereof shall be the responsibility of the permittee until the permanent surface is completed and accepted. [Amended 11-23-2015 by Ord. No. 77-2015]
(a) Steel plates shall only be used to secure open excavations when the permittee is unable to backfill the same day excavation occurs and may be utilized as permitted by the City. In the event steel plates must be left unattended for a period exceeding 20 business days without prior approval, the permittee is required to notify the City of Reading Public Works Department the reason(s) and necessity of the plate(s), as well as the estimated time before resuming their work. Failure to provide notice, remove the plates, resume or complete excavation constitutes a violation of this Part and the appropriate fine shall be levied.
(b) All steel plates shall be properly marked with the utility and contractor name, and a twenty-four-hour contact phone number in the event of a disturbance. Additionally, the steel plates shall be of sufficient thickness to resist bending and vibration under traffic loads and shall be anchored securely to prevent movement. If these conditions are not met, the permittee shall be required to backfill, pave the excavation, or use alternative methods sufficient to remedy the disruption.
(c) (Reserved)
(d) The plates shall be secured to prevent any lateral movement. If movement occurs, the permittee will be notified to resecure plating immediately; otherwise the permittee shall be charged 115% of the cost incurred by the City to secure the permittee's plates.
(e) All plated locations must utilize traffic control devices as defined to include signs, signals, or markings generally used to warn or guide vehicular traffic through streets, highways, or private roads open to public travel as regulated by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).