Latest news with #WSP
BBC News
11 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
'Work progressing' on Eden Project Morecambe, report says
Eden Project Morecambe is "still a viable scheme" and work is progressing on the design details, Lancaster city councillors have been told in a new next consultation on the project, which will be built on the site of the former leisure complex, will be held at Morecambe Football Club on 9 Pye, formerly the head of estates for the Royal Horticultural Society in the north, who will lead the scheme after being appointed in March, is expected to Project Morecambe is expected to open in 2028. The update comes as Lancaster City Council's budget and performance panel is due to assesses a range of big projects including Eden at a meeting on 4 Project Morecambe will be built on the promenade where Bubbles leisure complex used to be sited. Detailed design stage An update report for councillors said work was currently in the detailed design stage and added: "Work has been progressing on the new design-to-cost programme. "Modelling shows the project is still viable."Bosses have also appointed an external design team, headed by WSP consultants and architects firm Grimshaw. WSP has previously supported Eden Project Morecambe with planning, highways and environmental led the design of the original Eden Project in Cornwall and has worked with Eden Project Morecambe in earlier phases of the development, the Local Democracy Reporting Service Project Morecambe involves a partnership between Lancaster City Council, Lancashire County Council and Lancaster as a "global garden", it will feature three large shell-shaped pavilions overlooking Morecambe Bay. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
RIPTA's efficiency study is a third of the way there
A Rhode Island Public Transit Authority bus is seen parked outside the State House on April 29, 2025. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) The state's legislative leaders don't yet have the efficiency study they asked for from the cash-strapped Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), but for the past two weeks, they've had a 19-page report. That puts the state's public transit agency a third of the way done with an overdue study lawmakers mandated RIPTA deliver to them by March 1. The efficiency study was requested by Gov. Dan McKee and the General Assembly as a condition in last year's state budget to plug the agency's deficit. RIPTA now faces a $32.6 million shortfall heading into the fiscal year beginning July 1. House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, who has made clear there is no extra money to fill RIPTA's deficit now that federal pandemic aid has dried up, confirmed Wednesday that he had received the report. 'I received an embargoed synopsis that I have not fully reviewed yet,' Shekarchi said in a statement. 'However, I look forward to hearing from RIPTA on how they plan to change their management practices.' Senate President Valarie Lawson said she too plans to review the memo sent by RIPTA. 'This is an issue that has been a top concern of many members of the Senate,' she said in a statement. 'A robust public transit system is vital to our economy and quality of life.' RIPTA's board of directors commissioned Canadian-headquartered engineering consulting firm WSP to do the efficiency study on March 27 at a cost of $412,346. The scope outlined in RIPTA's request for proposals called on the contractor to deliver a memo within 30 business days detailing best practices among public transit agencies, a performance assessment of transit operations within 45 days, and a review of the state's long-term transit strategy and its implementation within 75 days. 'We're working rapidly to get all reports coming out of the study to the General Assembly as soon as possible to inform the state budget,' agency spokesperson Cristy Raposo Perry said in an email to Rhode Island Current. 'We will update you when the next product is complete.' WSP completed the first phase on May 16, a report that looked at five other similar-sized transit agencies. The peer comparison report confirmed that RIPTA is not alone in facing a post-pandemic deficit. The other agencies were Hampton Roads Transit based out of Norfolk, Virginia; Regional Transit Service, which services Rochester, New York; Capital District Transit Authority, which serves Albany; Delaware Transit Corp.; and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. The report found per capita spending ranged from $23 to $145 among the five while administrative cost per service hour ranged from $21 to $48. Other data points included advertising revenue and passenger trips per service hour and fare revenue per trip. But no corresponding figures for RIPTA are provided in WSP's memo. 'Recognizing the timing constraints related to the state budget process concluding in June, we have structured the scope of work to prioritize delivering critical information as quickly as possible,' Raposo Perry said. 'This includes sharing draft deliverables such as this. The final report will include those figures.' A man who answered the phone at a Connecticut number for WSP said he could not answer questions about the report and then hung up. A spokesperson for the firm in Montreal did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment. 'Many agencies are facing a drop in funding due to expiring pandemic funding and rising costs due to inflation,' the WSP report states. WSP pointed to a 'novel approach' of one agency's pursuit of 'universal access agreements,' defined as partnerships where employers pay an annual fee to cover their workers' fares to commute. But the report does not specify which of the five agencies had embraced these initiatives. RIPTA has already been coordinating with area employers to boost revenue. In January, RIPTA extended its 10x and 28 routes to align with shift schedules at the new Amazon Fulfillment Center off Route 6 in Johnston. In return, Amazon agreed to pay $90,000 annually over the next decade to cover employee fares. On Wednesday, RIPTA announced that the Omni Providence Hotel First Hotel Group had agreed to partially subsidize fares for 216 employees who work at Rhode Island's largest hotel. Passes for the general public cost $70 but the pass costs $65 for participants in the 'Wave to Work' program. Raposo Perry said the hotel will pay $45 per monthly pass, while hotel employees pay the remaining $20 balance for unlimited bus rides. Legislators have proposed their own measures to close RIPTA's deficit. That includes legislation that would put a $100 million transit bond on the 2026 ballot, upping the agency's share of the gas tax, and added rideshare fees that would go directly toward funding mass transit. Transit advocates have also pointed to resolutions introduced in the House and Senate in late February that would appropriate the full $32.6 million to keep the agency afloat for another year. But the Rhode Island General Assembly is facing significant challenges with a budget deficit and potentially devastating federal funding cuts with just weeks to go before the end of the 2025 legislative session. Among them, a $17.8 million budget shortfall for the state's homelessness services and an additional $15 million to cover proposed pay raises for state troopers and correctional officers.. The state will also have to make up a $24 million shortfall in education aid to local school districts in its fiscal 2025 and 26 budgets after a correction was made to data on the number of students in poverty. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Extra.ie
2 days ago
- Business
- Extra.ie
Stark warning: Dublin faces citywide water shortages within five years
Uisce Éireann has warned water shortages will hit 'all customers' in Dublin in 'the next five years' due to 'critical' infrastructure issues. The chief executive of the utility, Niall Gleeson, has written to Housing Minister James Browne seeking 'an urgent meeting' over the matter. Mr Gleeson fears a multibillion-euro proposal to pump water from the River Shannon into the Greater Dublin Area to meet growing demand could be delayed for several years by planning objections from environmentalists. Housing Minister James Browne. Pic: Sam Boal/Collins He pointed to plans for a new wastewater plant that was expected to be operational this year, but now won't be delivered until 2032. In correspondence released to under Freedom of Information legislation, the Uisce Éireann boss said that issues with the supply of water in Dublin have become so dire that a drought in the Liffey today would result in immediate water restrictions. has previously revealed that thousands of new homes in Dublin are at risk because Uisce Éireann (Irish Water) needs tens of billions in investment. Niall Gleeson. Pic: Sasko Lazarov / © But the delivery of new homes is not the only serious problem emerging from Ireland's creaking water infrastructure. Mr Gleeson said the issues will affect 'not just the new housing targets but current and future foreign direct investment' in Dublin and across the country. He wrote: 'Significant population and economic growth over and above forecasts in the GDA (Greater Dublin Area) in the last three years means that there will be a shortage of water for all customers within the next five years. Greater Dublin. Pic: Getty Images 'This shortage can only be adequately addressed by prioritising the delivery of the Water Supply Project Eastern and Midlands Region (WSP).' The WSP will see water from the Shannon piped 170 km through counties Tipperary, Offaly, and Kildare to a reservoir at Peamount in Dublin, connecting into the GDA water supply network. The Department of Housing estimates that the project could cost over €10 billion. But Mr Gleeson has raised fears the WSP will run into significant planning delays. He referenced the Greater Dublin Drainage Project (GDD), which provides for a new wastewater treatment plant in Clonshaugh. The office of An Bord Pleanála in Dublin. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos It has been in planning for six years, with the original consent quashed 'on one ground only, over which Uisce Éireann had no control', and which related to a consultation between An Bord Pleanála and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This, he said, was 'a direct consequence of the overly complex multiple consenting regime in Ireland' The planning application was lodged in 2018, and the project was expected to be 'complete and operational by 2025'. However, he added: 'As a result of the ongoing planning delays, we now believe that, at best, the project may be delivered and operational by 2032.' Mr Gleeson then warned that he fears the same problems will befall the WSP. He said: 'Given the issues experienced on the GDD project, we are concerned that the WSP will suffer similar delays and will be tied up for years in the consenting processes.' However, a spokeswoman for the EPA said that An Bord Pleanála had not fulfilled its obligations to seek the agency's views on the DDP. She told 'The judgment in this case did not identify any shortcomings or omissions by the EPA. Uisce Éireann has submitted an application to the EPA, which is currently under review. 'A final decision will be made by the EPA on this licence once the necessary planning decision has been made.' A spokesman for Irish Water said the supply in the GDA is on a 'knife edge'. He said this may result in 'water conservation orders (hosepipe bans) or supply restrictions', particularly during periods of drought/high demand. He added: 'This is an unsustainable situation and is a symptom of the critical need to develop a new source of supply.' On housing, Mr Gleeson said it is estimated that to meet housing targets of 50,000 units per year, Irish Water would need an additional € 1.7 billion in a 'nationally multi-annual ring-fenced fund for housing and growth'. He added: 'Our projects are of national importance and without them there will be significant curtailment of the State's housing programme despite our best efforts'. A spokesman for the Department of Housing said that 'while there are risks to water supply until the Eastern and Midlands Water Supply Project is completed in the early 2030s, Uisce Éireann will take all possible action to maintain supply and support new connections'.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Southampton bus gate data shows large surges in nearby road
A scrapped bus gate trial saw traffic in a surrounding residential road experience large surges during a peak time Portswood Road restrictions in Southampton meant only buses, taxis and cyclists were permitted to travel along sections of the road at certain was part of a six-month trial by Southampton City Council, which started in January but was recently suspended after what it said was a comprehensive three-month review, including feedback from residents.A report by consultants WSP found northbound weekday traffic increased by 228% between 7:00 BST and 10:00 and 130% between 16:00 and 19:00 on Abbotts Way between Russell Place and Brookvale Road. It was the road with the largest increase in traffic during the monitoring report compared figures collected last summer from automatic traffic counters to data obtained in late March and early April when the bus gate was in protested against the scheme in March, with some saying it was causing "chaos" on neighbouring small residential separate petitions were set up calling for the removal of the scheme, one of which attracted more than 5,000 signatures. The monitoring report also found increases in southbound traffic in Abbots Way of 95% in the peak morning period and 61% in the afternoon Brookvale Road was at the centre of many of the concerns related to the bus gate's report found traffic in both directions combined in Brookvale Road was up 66% between 7:00 to 10:00 on weekdays and 76% between 16:00 and 19: numbers were also up in Westridge Road, Belmont Road South, and Winn carried out monitoring in four locations along Portswood Road where traffic was down during the trial, with the biggest drop at 67% in the morning heading northbound in the area around Farmfoods. When the trial was live, traffic in Russell Place was significantly lower, while there was a smaller drop in Westwood Road, Abbotts Way between Highfield Lane and Russell Place, and Bevois the suspension was announced cabinet member for environment and transport Eamonn Keogh said the local authority's approach had always been rooted in evidence and safety."The data shows that while the intended benefits are emerging, we must address unintended effects on surrounding roads," Keogh added: "We are acting decisively to relieve that pressure while continuing to explore long-term improvements." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Mattawa man killed when car rolls
May 27—OTHELLO — A Mattawa man was killed when he was ejected from his car when it drifted off the roadway and rolled early Tuesday morning. Sergio Corrales, 52, was driving south on State Route 243 about 10 miles west of Mattawa when his car drifted off the road, according to a statement from the Washington State Patrol. Corrales overcorrected and drove back across the road. His car rolled, coming to rest on its top. The incident occurred around 3:45 a.m. Corrales was not wearing a seatbelt, the WSP statement said. His passenger, Sonia Corrales, 53, also was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected. She was transported to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland.
