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Home My WebLink AboutINS-13-062 - Lorraine Avenue Road Diet - Traffic and Pavement Marking Plan REPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: August 12, 2013 SUBMITTED BY: Justin Readman, Director of Transportation Services PREPARED BY: Justin Mishko, Traffic Technologist, extension 7153 WARD(S) INVOLVED: Ward 1 DATE OF REPORT: July 10, 2013 REPORT NO.: INS-13-062 LORRAINE AVENUE ROAD DIET – TRAFFIC AND SUBJECT: PAVEMENT MARKING PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS: That Schedule 1 - No Parking of the Uniform Traffic By-law, be amended to change the on-street parking regulations for specified sections of Lorraine Avenue, as outlined in Appendix ‘A’ of Infrastructure Services Department report INS-12-062; and, That on-street cycle lanes be installed on both sides of Lorraine Avenue from River Road to Lackner Boulevard; and, That on-street parking areas be defined through on-road pavement markings; and further, That the Uniform Traffic By-law be amended accordingly. BACKGROUND: Transportation Services has received requests to review the traffic conditions on Lorraine Avenue, more specifically, to address concerns regarding speeding, pedestrian safety, and cycling safety. Furthermore, Lorraine Avenue is scheduled to be resurfaced in the immediate future and is a prime candidate for a new pavement marking plan to provide a multi-user st roadway. In addition, The City of Kitchener Cycling Master Plan for the 21 Century identifies Lorraine Avenue as part of the City’s priority network. The priority network consists of cycling improvements that are relatively easy to implement yet are important in providing connections to key destinations, filling important gaps in the network, and linking to existing facilities. The bicycle lanes on Lorraine Avenue will connect to existing cycling facilities on River Road East and Lackner Boulevard. 10 - 1 REPORT: According to the City of Kitchener’s Official Plan, Lorraine Avenue is designated as a major collector roadway providing access to the surrounding street network within this neighbourhood as well as serving as a north/south link between River Road and Lackner Boulevard and the surrounding trail network. Lorraine Avenue is a four lane road with a fairly consistent pavement width of 14 to 15 metres, and a speed limit of 50 km/h as per the Uniform Traffic By-law. Lorraine Avenue is well below capacity and operates primarily as a two lane road as evidenced through intermittent on-street parking in the curb lanes. Below are the results of a seven day study which captured traffic speed and volume data on Lorraine Avenue between Carson Drive and Montcalm Drive and between Heritage Drive and Confederation Drive: th CountAADT85Percentile LocationAADT* DateCombinedSpeed(km/h)** LorraineAvenuebetweenMayNorthbound:2511 520568 CarsonDrive&MontcalmDrive2011Southbound:2694 LorraineAvenuebetween MayNorthbound:2684 HeritageDrive&Confederation533457 2011Southbound:2650 Drive * AADT: annual average daily traffic th ** 85 Percentile Speed: 85% of vehicles are traveling at or below this speed. Lorraine Avenue is part of the priority network of the Cycling Master Plan. Lorraine Avenue is classified as a major collector roadway, resulting in cycling lanes being recommended as the most appropriate cycling facility in this case. Cycle lanes provide adequate separation between cyclists and motorists on a roadway with the traffic volumes and speeds on Lorraine Avenue. The proposed cycle lanes would link with the existing cycle lanes on River Road and Lackner Boulevard. The recommended installation of on-street cycle lanes on Lorraine Avenue will serve in helping to reduce the overall pavement width which will have a positive impact on pedestrian safety and lowered vehicle operating speeds. In addition, this installation complies with the Cycling Master Plan by installing an integral cycling link connecting two north/south arterials with the surrounding area neighbourhoods The installation of on-street cycle lanes on Lorraine Avenue will impact on-street parking facilities. Currently there are approximately 188 available spaces; the recommended changes to the on- street parking on Lorraine Avenue between River Road and Lackner Boulevard will result in a loss of approximately 50 spaces. Details of the recommended on-street parking configurations can be found in Appendix A. Details of the recommended on-road pavement markings can be found in Appendix B. Transportation Services staff held a drop in format public information centre on May 9, 2013 where affected area residents attended to review and comment on the proposed traffic and pavement marking plan. The meeting was attended by approximately 20 area residents along with Councillor Scott Davey. Two comment forms were received, one for the recommended changes and one against/impartial to the recommended changes. 10 - 2 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.” By working with the neighbourhood, safety concerns related to vehicle speeds, pedestrian safety and cyclist safety have been addressed. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: As the recommended changes are planned to be installed with the resurfacing project, the standard reapplication of lane markings, anticipated to be approximately $1,000, will be absorbed by Engineering’s resurfacing contract. Changes to parking signage, estimated to be approximately $500, will be absorbed by the sign maintenance budget. The newly added lane markings and symbols related to the on-street cycle lanes, estimated to be approximately $1,000, will be absorbed by the cycling budget. COMMUNICATIONS: Transportation Services staff held a public information centre on May 9, 2013. Two comments were received via comment form, one for the recommended changes and one against/impartial to the recommended changes. Pauline Houston, Deputy CAO ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Infrastructure Services Department 10 - 3 “APPENDIX A” Proposed changes to on-street parking regulations “No Parking Anytime” ADD Lorraine Avenue East River Road A point 65m north of Anytime Carson Drive Lorraine Avenue East A point 40m south of A point 70m north of Anytime Confederation Drive Confederation Drive Lorraine Avenue East A point 85m south of Lackner Boulevard Anytime Heritage Drive Lorraine Avenue West River Road A point 42m north of Anytime Baird Avenue Lorraine Avenue West A point 42m south of A point 70m north of Anytime Montcalm Drive Montcalm Drive Lorraine Avenue West A point 92m south of A point 62m north of Anytime Heritage Drive Heritage Drive Lorraine Avenue West A point 42m south of Lackner Boulevard Anytime Lackner Boulevard REMOVE Lorraine Avenue West Montcalm Drive A point 70m north of Anytime Montcalm Drive 10 - 4 “APPENDIX B” Proposed changes to on-road pavement markings Lorraine Avenue from River Road to north of Carson Drive 10 - 5 Lorraine Avenue from north of Carson Drive to Montcalm Drive 10 - 6 Lorraine Avenue from Montcalm Drive to south of Heritage Drive 10 - 7 Lorraine Avenue from south of Heritage Drive to Lackner Boulevard 10 - 8