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Franklin staff roll out CIP scoring tool and public sidewalk-gap map; board asks for samples and expectations
Summary
City staff presented a data-driven capital project prioritization framework and a public sidewalk-gap mapping tool; aldermen asked for sampling of projects through the new scoring system and cautioned about public expectation management for sidewalk requests given limited funding.
City staff presented a quarterly capital investment plan update and introduced a proposed, data-driven scoring framework for prioritizing future projects, plus a public, interactive sidewalk-gap mapping tool to collect resident input.
Michael Walters Young, the city’s chief budget and performance officer, told the board the city has completed 18 projects in the past six years totaling roughly $78.3 million and that the overall capital investment plan includes more than $450 million in projects at various stages of design, right-of-way, bidding and construction.
Staff proposed a five-category scoring framework adapted from metropolitan planning practice that includes state of good repair, economic opportunity, roadway safety, congestion management and project readiness. The system would draw on AASHTOware crash data and INRIX travel-time datasets and allow the board to weight categories through a pairwise comparison exercise; staff recommended testing the scoring with familiar, existing projects so the board can see how the tool ranks known items before applying it broadly.
Why it matters: The city must allocate roughly half a billion dollars across competing projects. Board members asked for a sampling exercise to validate the scoring and requested thinking about how frequently traffic and other dynamic data should be refreshed to keep priorities up to date.
Sidewalk-gap map: Staff also demoed a draft public website to collect and map sidewalk gaps. The platform allows residents to identify gaps, add photos and comments and ‘like’ others’ submissions, which staff said could be part of a transparent prioritization rubric. Several aldermen cautioned the board will receive a large number of submissions and urged clear communication about the modest amount of funding available (staff cited roughly $1.1 million) and the likely linear miles that can be completed in a given year.
What was decided: The board did not take a vote but generally supported piloting the scoring tool with a handful of known projects and asked staff to return with sample results and clearer expectations for the public-facing sidewalk tool (for example, whether the tool remains continuously open or is used during discrete outreach windows).
