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Jayne Kirkpatrick, Director, Public Affairs
Prepared by: David Blount, Public Affairs Specialist
November 7, 2013
For more information: Bill Black, City of Raleigh Public Works, 919-996-3030
Downtown Remote Operations Facility A Step in a New Direction
The City of Raleigh’s new Downtown Remote Operations Facility isn’t just a more modern, state-of-the-art facility. It’s a significant step towards a more efficient, de-centralized local government ready to accept the challenges of an ever-expanding city. The City of Raleigh isn’t just increasing in population. Since 1995, Raleigh’s city limits have increased by 33 percent. Providing municipal services and maintaining an infrastructure across such a landscape is a challenge. A de-centralized operations facility is a step towards meeting that challenge in a more environmentally and fiscally responsible manner.
By constructing the new remote operations facility, the City hopes to:
- Replace outdated operational facilities;• Improve municipal service to a growing area;
- Improve operational efficiency by reducing the time that City crews spend in vehicles;
- Reduce fossil fuel use in support of the City’s 20 percent fossil fuel reduction plan;
- Reduce greenhouse gases in support of the Climate Protection Plan; and,
- Vacate high-value real estate in Downtown Raleigh.
The new facility will house the City’s Vehicle Fleet Maintenance staff, Radio Shop, Street Maintenance, and Traffic Engineering. The second phase of the facility will include Parks and Recreation staff as well as an expansion of the existing Brentwood Road Facilities Maintenance and Operations Facility.
In 2005, the City of Raleigh commissioned a study to evaluate the existing operations facilities. The study examined expected growth and the operation benefits of moving the facilities from a centralized locale to a more city-wide distribution. The study showed that the existing buildings were outdated, having been constructed in a period from the mid-1960s to the 1980s. They were also undersized and inefficient.
Vehicle Fleet Services
For the Vehicle Fleet Services division, too much time was spent travelling to and from the maintenance facility. By reducing the excessive drive time for City crews, the City will realize greater savings both in fuel costs and increased productivity by staff. Currently, Vehicle Fleet Services maintains a heavy equipment shop at 4120 New Bern Avenue that was constructed in 1990. The other facility is part of the Devereaux Meadows facility at 1014 N. West Street and was initially constructed in 1965.
The Vehicle Fleet Services division is responsible for maintain utility trucks, dump trucks, bucket trucks, flatbed trucks, pickups, vans, buses, police cars and motorcycles, City sedans and SUVs, street sweepers, leaf collection equipment, and some Solid Waste Services vehicles. The current facility is limited in space and lack the specialty shop spaces needed to do repairs. As a result, crews are often forced to work on walkways and shop aisles.
Once completed, the new facility will provide nearly 69,000 square feet of space for services, repairs, and preventive maintenance. The facility will feature garage bays and support spaces for parts, tire and alignment service, a wedling shop, a vehicle chassis wash, a dedicated service bay for compressed natural gas vehicles, a training room, administrative offices, and employee locker facilities and break room.
Public Safety Radio Communications Shop Like their colleagues at Vehicle Fleet Services, the Public Safety Radio Communication Shop staff currently works in a cramped, outdated facility. The crews work on more than 500 vehicles per month. Service requests range from battery and small parts replacements to full communication system overhauls.
The existing shop is inadequate for all of the technicians and on-site storage space is limited. The current radio installation bay is undersized. Many vehicles have to be worked on outside of the bay and can only receive service in good weather.
At the new facility, a larger machine shop will be available with additional service bays. Larger storage rooms with stage space will remove the need for remote storage areas. The Radio Communications Shop will share resources with the Vehicle Fleet Services staff.
Street Maintenance
The Street Maintenance Division currently occupies two parcels at the Devereaux Meadows site. Built in 1985, the approximately 24,000 square foot facility does not allow for the storage of all the vehicles within the Street Maintenance Division fleet. The division is responsible for routine maintenance and cleaning of the streets, storm water sewer system, and both leaf and snow removal. The current location also lacks appropriate circulation space, leaving workers and vehicles stalled while waiting for other vehicles currently being loaded in drive aisles. Additionally, administrative and staff space is inadequate with no room for expansion
The new Street Maintenance Division facility will serve as operational headquarters during emergencies and foul weather events. Because of the city-wide duties, the Street Maintenance Division will divide their resources with 40 percent of staff and equipment and the new Northeast Remote Operations Facility and 60 percent at the Downtown Remote Operations Facility.
The new facility will also include more than 10,000 square feet dedicated to maintaining and repairing Street Maintenance equipment, a salt barn and brine production facility with more than 6,800 square feet to support snow removal, nearly 20,000 square feet of covered storage structures for vehicles, equipment, and materials, and more than 21,000 square feet for an administration building.
Traffic Engineering
The City of Raleigh Traffic Engineering staff currently occupies a field office located at 1615 S. Wilmington Street. The staff is responsible for maintaining and repairing traffic signals and signs throughout Raleigh. Built in 1977, the facility is shared with the Raleigh-Wake Emergency Communications Center Radio Communications Shop. Undersized and outdated, the crowded shop spaces and offices offer limited storage space, inadequate shop spaces, and extremely limited covered storage space needed to protect expensive equipment.
The new facility will feature more than 20,000 square feet. The building will include administrative offices, sign design and fabrication shop and warehouse, signal testing and repair shop and warehouse, shared conference spaces, rooms dedicated for sign and signal crews, and employee locker and support areas.
Shared Fuel and Wash Facilities
The new Downtown Remote Operations Facility will also serve as a fueling and washing center for all City vehicles. The first phase of the fueling center will include two fuel islands. Plans call for this to be doubled in the future. The facility will include pumps for both unleaded and diesel gasoline as well as alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas, liquefied pressured gas, and bio-fuels.
An additional building will include two automated vehicle wash bays and two rough wash bays. In keeping with the City’s dedication to environmental stewardship, a water reclamation system will recycle water in the automated washes.
Altogether, the new facilities will include more than 174,000 square feet of space for City employees and equipment. The campus will be designed to achieve a silver LEED rating.
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