Markham receives two Infrastructure awards
By David Yin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
The City of Markham announced that it won two awards during its June 24 council meeting: The 2024 York Chapter Engineering Project of the Year Award by Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) and the 2024 Public Works Project of the Year Award by the Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA).
The city won the York Chapter award for CityRover Pulse in the large projects category. The city also won the OPWA award for repairing a slope failure near German Mills Settlers Park in the emergency construction/repair category.
Alice Lam, Director of Operations for the City of Markham, presented the award-winning CityRover Pulse, an AI technology that scans for pavement defects using cameras installed in city vehicles and then rates the severity of each defect along an index.
Mayor Frank Scarpitti presented greater details about the OPWA award-winning project.
On Aug. 18, 2024, a road embankment at John Street near German Mills Settlers Park collapsed, exposing a potentially hazardous gas main. The city initiated an emergency response to repair the park and prevent future crises. It restored nearby sidewalks and trails, stabilized the affected street, and consulted with the Toronto Region Conservation Authority to protect the nearby environment.
Scarpitti said that he was glad that Markham received both awards.
“I think this shows how much the city embraces technology and uses technology to provide better service to our residents, but also driving costs down,” Scarpitti said, in regards to the York Chapter award.
Markham was one of the first cities to work with CityRover in February 2020. CityRover increased Markham’s road defect reporting by up to 400 per cent, saving the city $36,400 annually per device.
CityRover has since collaborated with over 400 cities worldwide.
PEO York Chapter previously awarded the City of Markham for CityRover’s AI technology in 2022. PEO York Chapter listed the project as medium-sized at the time.
For more information, visit markham.ca.
Photo: Markham city staff pose around the 2024 York Chapter Engineering Project of the Year Award by Professional Engineers Ontario at the June 24 council meeting. (City of Markham photo)