HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-12-089 - Strasburg & Huron Rd RoundaboutREPORT TO:Community and Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING:
November 26, 2012
SUBMITTED BY: John McBride, Director of Transportation Services
PREPARED BY:
Ken Carmichael, Manager of Transportation Planning
(519) 741-2372
WARD(S) INVOLVED:
Wards 4 and 5
DATE OF REPORT:
November 23, 2012
REPORT NO.:
INS-12-089
SUBJECT:
HURON ROAD / STRASBURG ROAD ROUNDABOUT –
OPERATIONAL REVIEW
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That a 50 km/h speed limit be implemented on Huron Road from a point 400 metres north
of Strasburg Road to a point 400 metres south of Strasburg Road; and further,
That Waterloo Regional Police Services be requested to enforce speeding on Huron
Road and Strasburg Road; and further,
That City of Kitchener staff provide on-site educational support on the safe and proper
use of roundabouts by pedestrians at the beginning of each school year at the
Huron Road / Strasburg Road roundabout, in conjunction with the Waterloo Region
District School Board and Huron Heights Secondary School; and further,
That Portable Variable Message Signs (PVMS), with the message of “Stop For
Pedestrians At Roundabout”, be posted in advance of the Huron Road / Strasburg Road
roundabout on the two Huron Road approaches for a two (2) week period; and further,
That Transportation Services continue to monitor the traffic speed, volume and
pedestrian conditions at this roundabout; and further,
That the Uniform Traffic Bylaw be amended accordingly.
BACKGROUND:
At its meeting on November 19, 2012, Council provided the following direction to staff:
“Council agreed to direct staff to provide a report to the November 26, 2012 Community
and Infrastructure Services Committee meeting on the proposals put forward this date to
address the safety concerns at the Huron and Strasburg Road roundabout.”
This report serves to address this direction.
REPORT:
Roundabout Implementation
Through the roadway widening project for Huron Road between Strasburg Road and Fischer
Hallman Road, a roundabout intersection control was constructed and opened, in full, at Huron
Road and Strasburg Road on Labour Day weekend of 2011, in advance of the start of the new
school year. The construction of the roundabout configuration commenced late in the 2010-11
school year, while Huron Road between Strasburg Road and Fischer Hallman Road was closed
to through traffic for the roadway widening project. Huron Heights Secondary School is located
at the corner of Huron Road and Strasburg Road.
This roundabout was approved through the execution of the Environmental Assessment for the
Huron Road widening. This Environmental Assessment included:
Three (3) Public Information Centres (PIC), providing the public with the opportunity to
review and comment on the proposed Huron Road roadway design, including
roundabouts at Huron Rd / Strasburg Rd and Huron Road / Woodbine Avenue.
Regular communication with the Waterloo Region District School Board, School Council
and School Principal.
Two (2) workshops with the school board and parent / teacher council regarding the safe
and proper use of roundabouts.
Notices sent to all residents in the area of Huron Road, advising of Council’s
consideration for approval of the Environmental Assessment for the widening of Huron
Road.
Upon the opening of this roundabout, City of Kitchener staff, along with staff from the Region of
Waterloo and Waterloo Region District School Board, executed an educational program related
to the safe and proper use of roundabouts from a pedestrian perspective. This program
included:
Two (2) to four (4) City/Regional/School Board staff assisting students on September 1,
2011 (grade 9 orientation day), as well as on September 6 and 7, 2011 (first two days of
school), with the safe and proper crossing procedures at the Huron Road / Strasburg
Road roundabout.
Advisory letters and roundabout pamphlets (Pedestrians Take The Lead) were issued to
all students in advance of the school year.
City staff spoke to 1,400 Huron Heights students on their first school day assembly,
advising on the safe and proper use of roundabouts from a pedestrian perspective.
Since the opening of the roundabout, staff has followed up with the Principal of Huron Heights
Secondary School on operations related to the roundabout. No concerns had been identified
through the 2011-12 school year, with this particular issue identified being the first advisory of
concerns related to safe operations of the roundabout by high school students.
Roundabout Speeds / Volumes
City of Kitchener staff has met with Region of Waterloo staff to discuss the Region’s experience
with the Homer Watson Boulevard / Block Line Road roundabout, which is located in close
proximity to St. Mary’s High School. The following outlines the results of comparative studies
executed at both roundabout locations.
Roundabout Huron/Strasburg Homer Watson/Block Line
Roadway Huron Strasburg Homer Watson Block Line
Speed limit 60 50 70 (50 through 50
(km/h) roundabout)
th
85 % Speeds 65-72 65 77 N/A
On Approach* (km/h)
th
85 % Speeds 53 49 52-73 43-51
On Exit (km/h)
Traffic Volume 6100-6600 3500 26000-29000 7000-13000
(AADT)
*Approach speeds measured approximately 100-150 m in advance of roundabout entry point.
The Region of Waterloo conducted a vehicle speed study on the Homer Watson Boulevard
approaches to the roundabout at Block Line Rd. The following outlines the results of this study:
Location Average Speed Before Average Speed After
50 km/h Speed Limit * 50 km/h Speed Limit*
Homer Watson SBNBSBNB
Ottawa St to Hanson Ave 73 70 68 70
Hanson Ave to Block Line Rd 74 74 69 73
Block Line Rd to Bleams Road 84 73 81 75
Average 77 72 73 73
This study indicates that the reduction of the speed limit on Homer Watson Boulevard from 70 to
50 km/h resulted in increased speeds in the northbound (NB) direction, while speeds slightly
reduced in the southbound (SB) direction.
thth
*note that average speeds were used for this study instead of 85 % speeds. 85 % speeds
would be higher than the average speeds.
Pedestrian Conditions
Studies were conducted to determine the number of pedestrians crossing at the roundabout
locations.
Huron Rd / Strasburg Rd
Observations were taken on May 26/11, May 27/12 and Jun 3/11, when three legs of the
roundabout had been constructed, as well as on Nov 14/12 and Nov 23/12, when full
roundabout operations were in place.
Roadway Crossing Pedestrian Crossings (8 hour period)
North leg (crossing Huron Rd) 90-125
West leg (crossing Strasburg Rd) 25-60
South leg (crossing Huron Rd) 5-10
East leg (crossing Strasburg Rd) 5-10
Homer Watson Blvd / Block Line Rd
Observations were conducted on Sept 19/11.
Roadway Crossing Pedestrian Crossings (8 hour period)
North leg (crossing Homer Watson Blvd) 957
West leg (crossing Block Line Rd) 0
South leg (crossing Homer Watson Blvd) 25
East leg (crossing Block Line Rd) 10
Adult Crossing Guards
Adult Crossing Guards are installed primarily to assist kindergarten to Grade 6 students. The
guards at Homer Watson Boulevard and Block Line Road are the only guards that are provided
solely for high school students in the Region of Waterloo.
The adult crossing guards in place at the Homer Watson Blvd / Block Line Rd roundabout were
asked for their observations related to assisting high school students in crossing at this
roundabout.
Pedestrians have the right-of-way when crossing at a roundabout. The key aspect to safe and
proper crossings requires the pedestrian to proactively indicate their desire to cross, making eye
contact with approaching drivers, ensuring that vehicles stop to ensure their safe crossing.
Crossings are executed across one direction of travel at a time due to the provision of a
pedestrian refuge area in the middle of the roadway. The provision of adult crossing guards at
this location has resulted in the students having a false sense of security by relying on the adult
crossing guard stopping the traffic. This condition reduces the requirement for crossing
pedestrians to engage the drivers on the approach, resulting in pedestrian crossings that rely on
others for their safe crossing. This condition does not support the general expectations of
pedestrians crossing at roundabouts.
It has also been noted that crossing guard operations have created additional delays within the
roundabout due to the increased times that vehicles are stopped to allow for guards to return to
their location. This adds to the congestion due to the high volume of pedestrian crossings at
school peak times. This has resulted in complaints being received related to motorist frustration
due to the delays.
Observations at the Huron Rd / Strasburg Rd roundabout indicate that adequate gaps in traffic
exist to allow for safe pedestrian crossings. Pedestrian crossings at this roundabout are
significantly lower than those experienced at the Homer Watson Blvd / Block Line Rd
roundabout. Based on observations at this time, adult crossing guards are not warranted for
this location.
It is acknowledged that continued development in the Huron Rd / Strasburg Rd area, including
commercial properties at this roundabout location, will serve to increase pedestrian crossings at
this location.
Collisions
An analysis of collisions was conducted for the Huron Road / Strasburg Road roundabout and
compared to the collision experience at the Homer Watson Boulevard / Block Line Road
roundabout. The following outlines collisions that have occurred at both roundabouts, before
and after their opening. Both intersections were under signal control before the implementation
of the roundabouts.
Huron / Strasburg Homer Watson / Block Line
Before After Before After
(3.5 years) (1 year ) (3.5 years) (1 year)
Total collisions 15 10 47 86
Injury collisions 2 1 11 10
Pedestrian collisions 0 0 0 1
The following information regarding this collision experience should be noted:
5 of the 10 collisions at Huron / Strasburg since the opening of the roundabout occurred
on a two day period in the winter with extreme snow and ice conditions.
The one injury collision (minimal in nature) at Huron / Strasburg involved the driver of a
truck that tipped over while negotiating the roundabout.
No pedestrian collisions have occurred at the Huron / Strasburg roundabout since its
opening.
Studies throughout North America have shown that roundabouts provide the following benefits:
Reduced vehicles speeds.
Reduced crash frequency and severity.
Reduced overall delays and increased intersection capacity.
Reduced pedestrian crossing distances.
The experience at the Huron Road / Strasburg Road and Homer Watson Boulevard / Block Line
Road roundabouts has shown that collision rates have increased since the implementation of
the roundabout control. However, these collisions have been minor in nature, compared to
collisions that occur at signalized intersections. It is common for new roundabout installations to
experience increased collision rates for the time period following their opening. However, as
time passes and drivers get more acclimated to their use, collision rates decrease. In this
regard, the monthly collision rate at the Homer Watson Blvd / Block Line Rd roundabout has
reduced from approximately ten (10) collisions per month down to approximately 2.5-3 collisions
per month since its opening in August, 2011.
The Region of Waterloo has provided collision rates for roundabouts of comparable traffic
volume to Huron Rd / Strasburg Rd. Ten (10) overall collisions, with one (1) injury collision, has
been the average collision rate at similar roundabouts within the Region. In the past year, the
Huron Rd / Strasburg Rd roundabout has experienced ten (10) total collisions, one (1) involving
personal injury. This collision experience falls directly in line with what can be expected at
similar roundabouts.
Rumble Strips
The City of Kitchener has not installed rumble strips on any of its roadways. Accordingly, the
Region of Waterloo was contacted regarding their warrant for installation.
Rumble strips are recommended for use in order to advise motorists of locations that present an
imminent and unusual change in the driving environment that requires greater driver awareness.
The Region of Waterloo’s warrant for their installation outlines that rumble strips are not typically
used in urban settings, due to the noise generated by vehicles traversing over the strips.
Accordingly, they are not recommended when located within 200 metres of residential uses.
In a rural setting, rumble strips may be considered when a minimum of four (4) disobey stop
sign collisions occur over the past five (5) years. Before rumble strips are considered, other
measures (oversize ‘stop’ and ‘stop ahead’ signs, overhead beacons) are to be considered.
The collisions that have occurred at the roundabout are typically related to entering and exiting
the roundabout and the conflicts that occur with these maneuvers. The application of rumble
strips would not assist in this case. Additionally, the placement of rumble strips on the Huron
Road approaches to the roundabout would see their placement directly adjacent to residential
uses, thereby creating a noise concern for these residents. Based on this information, rumble
strips are not recommended for use at this location.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
This initiative falls under the Community Priority of Quality of Life. “Work with partners, including
all orders of government, to create a culture of safety in our community.” Working with the high
school administration and student population, along with the school board and Region of
Waterloo, has assisted in meeting this mandate.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The cost of installing revised speed limit signs will be approximately $500. The cost to borrow
Portable Variable Message Signs from the Region of Waterloo will be approximately $400.
These items have not been provided budget support.
COMMUNICATIONS:
Through the development of the roundabout at Huron Road and Strasburg Road, its
implementation and continued use, the following partners have been included through varied
forms of communication, including the Environmental Assessment process, resident letters,
Committee and Council approvals, on-site meetings:
Huron Heights Secondary School administration
Huron Heights Secondary School students
Waterloo Region District School Board
School Parent / Teacher Council
Waterloo Regional Police Services
Region of Waterloo.
CONCLUSION:
The implementation of a roundabout at the intersection of Huron Road and Strasburg Road was
completed after an extensive public process that ensured input from the local residents, high
school, school board, Police services, along with any other affected agencies.
The student body, in conjunction with the school board, was provided with the education
campaign support, including on-site assistance, to assist with the safe and proper use of
roundabouts from a pedestrian perspective.
In order to address the immediate concerns, it is recommended that:
A 50 km/h speed limit be implemented on Huron Road, in the area of the roundabout
Police Services enforce speeding on Huron Road and Strasburg Road
Portable Variable Message Signs be installed on a temporary basis, advising drivers to
stop for pedestrians within the roundabout
The City of Kitchener is committed to maintain this educational support with the school
and school board.
Transportation Services continue to monitor traffic speed, volume and pedestrian
conditions at this roundabout.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY:
Jim Witmer, Interim Deputy CAO
Infrastructure Services Department