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Home My WebLink AboutDTS-10-061 - Traffic Calming Follow Up Review - Chandler DrJ KITC~~R De~elopment& Technical5ervrces REPORT T0: Development & Technical Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: April 12, 2010 SUBMITTED BY: John McBride, Director of Transportation Planning PREPARED BY: Jeramie Lewis, Traffic Technologist (519-741-2665) WARD(S) INVOLVED: South Ward DATE OF REPORT: March 15, 2010 REPORT NO.: DTS-10-061 SUBJECT: CHANDLER DRIVE TRAFFIC CALMING -POST MEASURE INSTALLATION FOLLOW-UP REVIEW RECOMMENDATION: That the existing traffic calming measures on Chandler Drive between Strasburg Road to Mowat Boulevard, consisting of two (2) speed humps, a raised crosswalk, and a road narrowing, remain in place. BACKGROUND: As per the recommendations outlined in Development and Technical Services Committee Report DTS-07-078, Transportation Planning has conducted afollow-up review of the traffic calming measures that were installed on Chandler Drive in late 2007. The intention of this review is to evaluate the effectiveness of the traffic calming plan in terms of ensuring that the measures have successfully moderated traffic speeds and have discouraged traffic from using Chandler Drive as scut-through route. Additionally, a survey was sent to neighbourhood residents in early 2010, in order to determine the level of support the traffic calming plan receives from Chandler Drive residents. Transportation Planning had received requests from residents of the Laurentian Hills Community on numerous occasions to review the existing traffic conditions on Chandler Drive. According to the concerns indicated, traffic is using Chandler Drive as a short cut to avoid congestion on Ottawa Street South, and that the traffic was speeding, thereby creating safety concerns for the road users, including pedestrians, using Chandler Drive. In response to the requests, the City of Kitchener reviewed the existing traffic conditions on Chandler Drive and initiated a formal Traffic Calming Review. Undertaking a traffic calming review for a project of this scale and nature is considered good municipal planning and allows the City and stakeholders to understand all the impacts, constraints and opportunities associated with any traffic calming measures. i-i Chandler Drive runs from Strasburg Road to its south limit, south of Mowat Boulevard, and is designated as a local roadway. The function of Chandler Drive is to generally serve only the abutting properties and is not intended to carry through traffic. Chandler Drive provides direct access to the Chandler-Mowat Community Centre, the City of Kitchener Operations Yard at 82 Chandler Drive, as well as the Grand River Transit Strasburg Operations Yard. The unposted speed limit is 50 kmlh as outlined within the City of Kitchener Uniform Traffic Control By-law 2007-138. The first public meeting was held in March, 2006. Residents were invited to review the data regarding vehicle speeds, traffic volume data, collisions and the proportion of cut-through traffic collected by the study team, and to provide their input about the traffic issues in the neighbourhood. The preferred alternative consisted of installing two (2) speed humps, a raised crosswalk, and a road narrowing at Elmsdale Drive, on Chandler Drive. A final traffic calming recommendation, based on this plan, was submitted to Council in June 2007 (DTS Report 07-078). The recommended traffic calming measures were installed in the late 2007. REPORT: As part of the review of the traffic calming measures along Chandler Drive, Transportation Planning has compared the data for speeds, collisions and traffic volumes, based on conditions observed both before and after the traffic calming installation. The results are as follows: Chandler Drive Speed and Volumes Traffic Volumes Speeds (kmlh) Count Station Locations Date NB SB Total Change NB SB Avg. Change Btwn: Strasburg Road and 2004 1211 1381 2592 4 75% 63 59 61 26 2% Woodfern Court 2009 1237 1480 2715 45 45 45 . . Btwn: Bonfield Place and 2004 1245 1070 2315 g 46% 64 60 62 ~ 9 4% Elmsdale Drive 2009 1143 953 2096 . 48 50 50 _ , Btwn: Mowat Blvd and 2004 1232 1189 2421 28 58% 62 62 62 24 2% Leacrest Court 2009 933 796 1729 - 45 49 47 - . Note: 85t" percentile speed is the speed at which 85% of vehicles are travelling at or below. Based on this data, it can be concluded that traffic volumes on Chandler Drive have declined since the traffic calming installation in 2007. However, it should be noted that the slight increase in traffic volume between Strasburg Road and Woodfern Court can be attributed to the location of the Automatic Data Recorder (ADR). The studies conducted before and after the installation of traffic calming measures were done on opposite sides of the Grand River Transit driveway access. The discrepancy in these data collection locations has led to the apparent increase in traffic volumes at this location. However, traffic volumes on the remainder of Chandler Drive are down significantly. Traffic speeds have been reduced by 19% between Bonfield Place and Elmsdale Drive and as high as 26% between Strasburg Road and Woodfern Court. The collision history was reviewed for Chandler Drive. There were 28 reported collisions on Chandler Drive from January 2001 to December 2005. Over the five (5) year period, this equates to an average of 5.6 collisions per year. Since the traffic calming measures were implemented in late 2007 the number of reported collisions for January 2008 to December 2009 1-2 was a total of seven (7), which equates to an average of 3.5 collisions per year, a reduction of 2.1 collisions annually. Transportation Planning conducted afollow-up neighbourhood survey as part of the traffic calming plan for Chandler Drive. In January 2010, a survey package was mailed out to all Chandler Drive residents, in order to gauge community support for the traffic calming measures. The survey package included the results of the traffic studies performed both before and after installation, as discussed in this report. Responses were received from a total of 49 of the 695 residents surveyed, and the results are as follows: Total Survey Results: Residents in support of maintaining the existing traffic calming 44 (90%) Residents not in support of maintaining the traffic calming 5 (10%) Total 49 of 695 (7% response rate) The Chandler Drive traffic calming follow-up survey has yielded a low response rate. This can be attributed to the fact that a significant portion of the residents in this area live in higher density rental properties, where turnover is typically much greater and residents tend to take less "ownership" of the municipal issues in their neighbourhood. Additionally, this area is populated with a great number of residents new to Canada, where English is not the first language spoken. As a result, staff are of the opinion that this low response rate is not necessarily indicative of a lack of interest by the residents. Based on the follow up study for Chandler Drive, Transportation Planning recommends maintaining the current traffic calming measures on Chandler Drive. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: There are no additional costs to maintain the existing traffic calming measures. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Jeff Willmer, Interim General Manager Development and Technical Services Department 1-3 Chandler Drive Traffic Calming ..r ' r~~ F I yM ~I 1 r ~ ~_ ~ r d p- ~. ~ F T ~,ely ~:~ ~~~~~~~ ~. +L~i I ~YI ~ i i 1J4`~~~~'L Lf ~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~1~ i~t~~r~~~~:~ir~ . t~rr~~~~eit~ L ~1~~~~ Hli~~~~~ 1-4