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HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-14-049 - Pedestrian Crossing - Ahrens St at the Temporary GO Transit Platform Staff Rep►�►r I r Infrastruc�ture5ervrresDepartment wvwuukitchenerra REPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: April 28, 2014 SUBMITTED BY: Justin Readman, Director of Transportation Services PREPARED BY: Justin Readman, Director of Transportation Services WARD(S) INVOLVED: Ward 10 DATE OF REPORT: April 8, 2014 REPORT NO.: INS-14-049 SUBJECT: Pedestrian Crossing —Ahrens Street at the Temporary GO Transit Platform RECOMMENDATION: FOR INFORMATION ONLY BACKGROUND: GO Transit completed an Environmental Assessment (EA) in 2009 for the "Georgetown to Kitchener Rail Expansion". The intent of the EA was to facilitate the expansion of GO Transit service to Waterloo Region. One of the requirements Identified within the EA was the temporary closure of Ahrens Street to facilitate construction of the south side platform. This closure allows for the use of the existing VIA station by GO trains which is required until the transit hub is operational in approximately 2017. At the time, The City of Kitchener agreed to the closure, understanding the value that GO Transit brings to the community, and recognizing that there are other links within the existing road network to accommodate the displaced pedestrian, cycling and vehicular traffic. In 2013, the Region began construction of the Weber Street Grade Separation Project. At approximately the same time, Margaret Avenue Bridge was closed due to unforeseen structural concerns. The resultant closures of Weber Street, Margaret Avenue and Ahrens Street has limited mobility options between the Mt Hope-Breithaupt Park Neighbourhood, west of Victoria Street to Downtown. Accordingly, at the December 9, 2013 meeting, Council directed staff to report back with information regarding the costs and implications related to re-establishing a pedestrian crossing over the GO Train tracks at Ahrens Street. IF1 - 1 REPORT: City of Kitchener staff has received a limited number of complaints regarding the temporary closure of Ahrens Street since 2009. These complaints were primarily received following the unanticipated closure of Margaret Avenue Bridge. Complaints cited limited access to the Downtown core and requested that the closure of Ahrens Street be revisited to allow for pedestrian access and crossing of the rail corridor. Staff have investigated two options that would re-establish a pedestrian crossing across the railway corridor. The first option looks at providing an at-grade crossing for pedestrians and/or vehicles and the second option would be a temporary pedestrian bridge over the platform. AT GRADE CROSSING FOR PEDESTRIANS AND/OR VEHICLES An at-grade crossing has a number of implications on GO operations. Correspondence from GO Transit outlines the following technical and financial challenges: Rule 103 (d) of the Canadian Railway Operating Rules states: "Except at those public crossings indicated in special instruction, no part of a movement may be allowed to stand on any part of a public crossing at grade, for a longer period than five (5) minutes, when vehicular or pedestrian traffic requires passage. Switching operations at such crossing must not obstruct vehicular or pedestrian traffic for a longer period than five (5) minutes at a time. When emergency vehicles require passage, employees must cooperate to quickly clear the involved crossings."In review with Rail Operations, GO could look into reducing the dwell time at Kitchener to ensure the 5 minutes would not be exceeded. For reference on the points below, a GO Transit platform is 315m in length, the train itself is approximately 350m in length when locomotives are included: 1. All doors on the train cannot be opened with Ahrens in operation. The platform would have to be modified and lowered back to the road grade. This would mean that the coaches over Ahrens could not be boarded as the elevation difference would be too great for passengers to safely board and detrain. 2. With Ahrens open, and further to point 1, GO does not have the ability to limit door closures on specific coaches. The GO trains serving Kitchener have 10 coaches, with Coach 5 being the accessible coach. Door opening is operated from Coach 5 as the Customer Ambassador (CA) also needs to deploy the ramp for accessibility. The CA can only open the doors from coaches 1 to 5, and then 6 to 10. In review, Ahrens Street is at Coaches 6 and 7 and therefore, the CA would only be able to open the east end of the train, coaches 1 to 5. The CA cannot open coaches 1 to 5 and 8, 9 and 10. 8, 9 and 10, closest to the station would not be available for use. Essentially, passengers would be expected to buy a ticket and walk over 200m to board the train, including crossing Ahrens. 3. Crossing arms and signals would have to be reinstated. Other options include shifting the platform east or west. This is covered under points 4 and 5. 4. Shifting the platform east could allow for full use of the train, but would require that the current design of the replacement bridge at Margaret Street be modified to include space for the platform to pass beneath it. Otherwise, the mini-platform (assessable platform at IF1 - 2 Coach 5) would have to be relocated east so that coaches 5 to 10 can open. This would increase the travel distance for passengers up to in excess of 300m. 5. Shifting the platform west is not feasible. There is simply not enough room between Ahrens and Weber Streets for even half a train. A half or full platform would require modifications to the Weber Street grade separation currently under construction. In addition, the train would still extend beyond Weber and also block Duke. As part of the approved EA for service extension to Kitchener, the closure of Ahrens by GO Transit was permitted temporarily until the King Street Terminal was constructed sometime in 2017. GO Transit feels that this request for the re-opening of Ahrens Street is solely related to the sudden closure of Margaret Street as a result of the bridge being condemned. In addition, shortly after this sudden closure, The Region of Waterloo proceeded with their plans to grade separate Weber Street, resulting in further traffic constraints to the area. Any costs related to the re-opening of Ahrens Street in advance of the King Street Terminal in 2017 would have to be covered by the City of Kitchener. Lastly, it should be noted that between Mile 63.03 and 62.08, there are currently 6 of 8 crossings in operation. Before any further consideration of this request, GO Transit would like to see a full traffic analysis on the request to reopen Ahrens, as the number of crossings through this area is significant. This option creates a number of challenges and city borne costs (flashing lights, warning beacons and gates, concrete/asphalt work to remove the platform and reinstate the roadway and sidewalk access, traffic study). It is anticipated that this option would cost a minimum of $200,000. PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE OVER THE EXISTING PLATFORM A temporary pedestrian bridge over the platform also proposes significant technical and financial impacts to the City. The installation would require the completion of a Schedule B Municipal Class Environmental Assessment, which would delay the onset of construction of a pedestrian bridge over the platform by a minimum of a year, pending the outcome of the EA. Should a pedestrian bridge be constructed, it would not likely be accessible to the general public until after the Margaret Avenue bridge and/or the Weber Street grade separation have already been completed. It should be noted that the completion of Weber Street and/or Margaret Avenue will provide improved connections between the neighbourhood and the Downtown, which will in and of itself address the concerns that have been raised. In addition the cost of this option is considerable. The bridge would require fabrication (or rental if a temporary and suitably sized pedestrian bridge could found) footings for the bridge, railway crossing agreements, stairs and/or ramps to access the bridge, engineering and design costs. It is anticipated that the bridge would cost a minimum of$2,000,000. For either option, the nearest available signalized intersections on Victoria Street are located at Margaret Avenue and Weber Street. Each of these streets provides access across the rail corridor. In 2013 staff improved signage within the Mt Hope — Breithaupt Park Neigllh,ll ,ourhood to direct cyclists and pedestrians to available crossings. Staff will continue to work with IF1 - 3 residents and business owners to improve signage in the area and to amend temporary signage plans following the reopening of Weber Street and Margaret Avenue. 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." FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: This report is for information purposes only. However, should Council choose to recommend a solution it will cost: • At grade crossing - $200,000+ • Pedestrian bridge - $1,500,000+ Neither has been accounted for within the annual capital program and therefore, should either option be recommended, a funding source would need to be identified. COMMUNICATIONS: GO transit was consulted on the feasibility of reopening Ahrens Street for pedestrian and vehicular use and would require a traffic impact study to demonstrate the need to reopen this connection prior to the opening of the transit hub at King Street and Victoria Street. The Mt. Hope — Breithaupt Park Neighbourhood Association indicate they are not supportive of re-establishing a vehicular or pedestrian connection at the Ahrens/Rail corridor in the short to long term. Part of their rationale with maintaining the pedestrian closure is the lack of a protected crossing at Victoria Street and Ahrens Street. There has also been a decrease in through traffic in the neighbourhood, and stats will likely show a decrease in accidents at Ahrens/Victoria/Water intersection as a result of no vehicular access. Pauline Houston, Deputy CAO ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Infrastructure Services Department IF1 - 4