HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-14-022 - Trail Entrances and Road Crossings Staff Rgpor t
I r rc'.�► t .R Infrastructure Services Department wmkitchener.ca
REPORT TO: Community & Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: September 8, 2014
SUBMITTED BY: Jim Witmer, Director of Operations (741-2600 ext. 4657)
PREPARED BY: Mark Parris, Landscape Architect (741-2600 ext. 4397)
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All Wards
DATE OF REPORT: August 22, 2014
REPORT NO.: INS-14-022
SUBJECT: Trail Entrances and Road Crossings
RECOMMENDATION:
That the Primary Trail entrances and road crossings be referred to the 2015—
2024 capital budget process; and further
That the Cycling and Trails Advisory Committee be consulted to develop a
hierarchy of trail entrances and crossings within the Priority W — Primary Trail
Networks, and be consulted in the implementation of all Primary Trail entrances
and road crossings.
BACKGROUND:
City Council at its regular meeting held on Monday, June 24, 2013, passed the following
resolution:
"That signage be installed on all of the City's multi-use pathways and trails where
there are currently road crossing gate control measures to warn users that they
are approaching a road crossing, and,
That subject to the road crossing warning signs being in place, all trail gate
access control measures shall be opened along the City's multi-use pathways
and trails, and,
That Operations and Transportation Services staff be directed to prepare an
implementation plan to phase in the new standards over 10 or more years
starting in 2014 for the primary multi-use pathways as noted in the Cycling
Master Plan, the Multi-Use Pathways & Trails Master Plan and to work with the
Cycling Advisory Committee to assist in identifying priorities for upgraded
crossings, and further,
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That funding for the incremental upgrading of multi-use pathway— roadway
crossings be identified in the Operations Division 10 Year Capital Forecast for
Council's consideration."
The following report will propose an upgraded multi-use-pathway — roadway crossing
standard and introduce a 10 year implementation strategy in response to the above
council resolution.
REPORT:
Staff has acknowledged the variability that currently exists at many trail entrances and
road crossings across the city. The sub-standard infrastructure presents physical
barriers and impedes some cyclists with large panniers (saddle bags) or bicycles with
trailers from accessing the trails. The following report will describe and display an
updated trail entrance and road crossing standard, including an implementation
strategy.
Definitions
Trail entrance Access to a trail from a public roadway
Road crossing A trail that must cross a public roadway to be used
continuously.
Type 1 trail network Primary trails performing city-wide function and four season
off-road transportation corridors.
Type 2 trail network Secondary trails, may also perform city-wide function with
three season off-road community connections.
Type 3 & 4 trail network Local routes typically provided within city-owned parkland
offering neighbourhood connections.
Type 5 trail network Foot trails or desire lines that are both unplanned and
unmaintained by the city.
Primary trail crossings Type 1 trails, named and unnamed, crossing or intersecting
public roads.
Secondary trail crossings Type 2 trails crossing or intersecting public roads.
Walkway blocks Interior neighbourhood walkway connections.
Maintenance accesses Paved access to city facilities such as stormwater ponds or
natural areas.
Proposed Infrastructure
The proposed trail crossing standard will not be a single, universally applied detail but a
series of details to be applied to varying conditions. The following will describe the
proposed infrastructure for Primary and Secondary Entrances and Road Crossings-
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Primary and Secondary Road Crossing and Entrance Detail
The following plan illustration shows the typical layout and design of a primary and
secondary road crossing-
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Primary and Secondary Road Crossing and Entrance Detail
Design Descriptions
1) Traffic Control
To control unauthorized vehicular access into trail corridors and allow authorized
access, metal removable bollards will be installed 2.Om from the back of sidewalk
centred within the 3.Om standard trail width. The bollard will be 900mm in height
complete with reflective surfacing.
A minimum of two pieces of armourstone will be used to control access around the
central bollard. Additional stones and/or permanent bollards may be used as required
by the site conditions and constraints. The maximum allowable distance between
control objects will be 1.8m
2) Roadway Access
Access from the public roadway will be a 5.Om wide curb cut complete with a concrete
ramp returning to sidewalk elevation. The curb will return to barrier elevations with 1.0m
returns on both sides, providing a smooth transition.
3) Accessibility
Cast iron tactile warning plates will be embedded within the concrete ramp abutting the
back of curb to provide final notification of roadway entrance to trail users. Seven,
600x600mm iron panels will be used, finished with yellow powder coating.
4) Trail Pavement
All primary and secondary trail crossings will be paved 10.Om from back of sidewalk
with 3.Om wide asphalt, meeting sidewalk flush and perpendicular. A 500mm wide
painted stop bar will be laid on the asphalt pavement 1.0m back from sidewalk.
5) Signage
Regulatory signage, a 600x600mm "stop" sign, will be located 3.Om from back of
sidewalk located on the right side of the paved surface as trail users approach the
roadway. Additional notification signage beyond the crossing location may be required
at crossing locations with limited visibility.
Trail crossing signage will also be installed at both approaches facing roadway users at
a minimum of 12.Om from the crossing, notifying of the crossing per OTM standards,
sign codes WC-44L & WC-44T.
Additional way-finding signage may also be included to assist trail users in navigating to
destination points.
6) On-road Markings and Infrastructure
A combined crossride surface painting will be applied to the road surface at a minimum
of 5.Om width. Pavement markings are consistent with OTM shared pathway crossing
standards.
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7) Miscellaneous
Other infrastructure may be considered at trail crossings such as additional vegetation
or permanent bollards to control unauthorized vehicular access.
The above detail describes typical roadway conditions that include sidewalk, boulevard
and barrier curbs. Roadway conditions may vary, however all infrastructure described
as back of sidewalk will remain the same.
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Implementation Strategy
Priority trail networks as defined in the Multi-Use Pathways & Trails Master Plan (2012)
will be used to determine the sequence in which crossings will be upgraded to current
standards. It is the intent of the networks to recognize high-use, commuter and
recreational trail corridors prior to those of lower volumes.
The average trail crossing and entrance upgrade will cost between $7,500 and $8,000.
Costs will range from the average based on existing infrastructure present at each
crossing.
PRIORITY A — Primary Trail Crossings & Entrances (192 Entrances)
The named and type 1 trails within the overall trail network will be considered prior to all
other crossing locations. Their hierarchy is as follows:
Iron Horse Trail 29 entrances
Trans-Canada Trail 16 entrances
Dom Cardillo Trail 27 entrances
Walter-Bean Trail 36 entrances
Un-named Type 1 Trails 84 entrances
TOTAL 192 entrances
Named Trails and Type 1 Network:
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PRIORITY B — Secondary Trail Crossings & Entrances (90 - 100 Entrances)
All type 2 trails will be considered for road crossing and entrance upgrades after the
primary networks are brought up to current standards.
Type 2 Trail Network:
LEGEND a
TYPE 2 TRAIL
TYPE 1 TRAIL , "
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PRIORITY C — Local Trail Crossings (400 - 450 Entrances)
Type 3 & 4 networks will be considered for road crossing and entrance upgrades
following the above primary and secondary trail networks. Type 5 trail networks are low
priority and are not considered in this report as they are both unplanned and
unmaintained by the city.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
Quality of Life
Safe and convenient road crossings of the multi-use pathways will lead to healthier,
more active population within Kitchener.
Environment
Convenient and safe road crossings of the multi-use pathways will improve the users'
satisfaction and therefore increase the number of active transportation trips outside the
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right of way. Reducing the number of people commuting by motorized vehicles will help
to improve the environment, by a reduction in green-house gases.
Development:
With well planned, safe and convenient road crossings along the City's multi-use
pathway system will improve the usability, increasing the number of people walking and
cycling, and therefore increase the interconnection of our City's neighbourhoods. Staff
are upholding this philosophy while creating the new standards.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Staff recommends that a staged approach of first addressing Priority A - Primary Type 1
trail entrances and road crossings be considered in the ten-year capital forecast at an
estimated cost of$1,500,000 or$150,000 annually. This would allow staff to upgrade 15
to 20 trail entrances or road crossings per year and complete all Primary Type 1 trail
entrances and road crossings within ten years. Priority B - Secondary Type 2 Trails and
Priority C - Local Trails would be considered beyond the ten year forecast or as part of
other scheduled trail improvements.
The existing Community Trails General Provision ten year capital forecast is
approximately $4.5M and does not include trail crossings as a funded priority as this
was not identified as a priority during the intensive public process.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
Community involvement with the multiuse pathways and midblock crossing design has
been and will continue to be highly important to the design process. The Council Report
CDS-01-122, dated July 24, 2001 surveyed many users of the Iron Horse Trail, which
provided great detail regarding the use of the access control measures.
The Multiuse Pathways and Trails Master Plan (2012) and the Cycling Masterplan for
the 21 st Century (2010) engaged the public through surveys and open houses, provided
insight into the cycling and trail priorities.
Staff has and will continue to engage the Cycling Advisory Committee regarding multi-
use pathway crossing standards.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Pauline Houston, Deputy CAO, Infrastructure Services
Department
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