They're upgrading utilities, meaning water, sanitary sewer, and sewer force mains. They haven't altered any of the storm drainage piping along the rail path I don't think, at least in the downtown itself.
I don't really see the huge issue with this type of flooding, it's bound to happen here at some point... people should plan for it and act accordingly, meaning dont park your vehicle in a spot you know is prone to flooding, and don't drive through 10' of water in a sedan... This is kinda what we should come to expect from living at 8 feet above sea level in an area that was historically marshland. There's just nowhere for all the runoff to go when it comes down at that high of a rate...
If you were downtown during it you would have seen water shooting up through all the storm drain structures because the flow in the pipes was just too high. I think we were lucky that there wasnt a strong southwest wind & an incredibly high tide...combine those factors with a high rainfall intensity, and that's when serious issues happen.
York Street looked pretty bad, brambleton had a lake on it, and Boush street was a warzone...took me over an hour to get home...from waterside drive! I enjoyed watching it from my balcony though once I got home...brambleton was an utter mess-