HomeMy WebLinkAboutDTS-06-002 - Greenbrook Drive Traffic Calming Schedule B, Class Environmental AssessmentJ
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Development&
Technical Services
6 REPORT
Report To: Development and Technical Services Committee
Date of Meeting: January 9, 2006
Submitted By: John McBride, Director of Transportation Planning
Prepared By: Barry Cronkite, Traffic Technologist (741 -2738)
Ward(s) Involved: Forest — Rockway Ward (5)
Date of Report: December 23, 2005
Report No.: DTS 06 -002
Subject: GREENBROOK DRIVE TRAFFIC CALMING SCHEDULE B
CLASS ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That Council endorse the Preferred Alternative as detailed in the attached Class
Environmental Assessment and further;
That the Director of Transportation Planning be authorized and directed to file the Class
Environmental Assessment (EA) Project File Report for the Greenbrook Drive Traffic Calming
Study with the Municipal review commencing January 17, 2006 and further;
That the Recommended Plan be installed on a temporary basis in order to monitor the
operation of winter maintenance, to be implemented on a permanent basis as funding permits
and further;
That prior to any permanent traffic calming measures being installed, staff solicit input from
the residents as to the effectiveness of the temporary measures and the desirability of
installing these measures permanently.
BACKGROUND:
The existing City of Kitchener traffic calming policy was adopted by Council in August 2004 (DTS 04-
125). The traffic calming policy outlines a number of evaluation criteria that provides a fair and
consistent review of streets and communities, while defining and prioritizing the individual streets
and /or communities that are most in need of traffic calming, from a traffic safety perspective.
In April 2005, Paradigm Transportation Solutions Ltd. was retained to conduct a Class "B"
Environmental Assessment for Greenbrook Drive, as it was identified as one of three streets with the
highest priority on the traffic calming priority list. The priorities are defined by a number of factors
which include, but are not limited to volume, collisions and speed.
Greenbrook Drive is a major collector roadway that serves as an access to the surrounding arterial
road network (Westmount Road, Fischer Hallman Road, Homer Watson Boulevard and Ottawa
Street) and the Kitchener Waterloo Expressway for the community. In the past, Transportation
Planning has received many requests to review traffic conditions on Greenbrook Drive, specifically
relating to speeding and cut through traffic.
Public meetings were held on May 26, 2005 to introduce the project and traffic calming options and
on September 21, 2005 to present the preferred alternative.
REPORT:
The Environmental Assessment for Greenbrook Drive traffic calming commenced in April of 2005
when Paradigm Transportation Solutions Ltd (PTSL) was retained to undertake the project, and a
steering committee comprised of City Staff and members of the consulting team was assembled to
ensure the alternative solutions to the project would be feasible and meet the approval of regulatory
agencies.
Background traffic information and other relevant data was supplied to PTSL for analysis of the
information and evaluation of relevant concerns.
A public meeting was held on May 26, 2005 to introduce the project, its team, background conditions
and potential alternatives, as well as solicit comments from area residents and relevant agencies.
Based on resident input from the public meeting and the existing traffic data, cut - through traffic and
vehicle speeds were identified as the most significant issues.
Based on the analysis of existing traffic, public input and the City of Kitchener's Traffic Calming
Policy, four potential alternatives comprised of a number of measures of varying degree were
considered, including "do nothing" (the "do nothing" alternative is required as part of any class
environmental assessment). These alternatives were then evaluated by the steering committee
based on a number of social, natural and economic criteria to develop a preferred option.
A second public meeting was held on September 21, 2005 to present the alternatives, the
advantages and disadvantages of each alternative, and to present the preferred alternative as
determined by the steering committee. Attendees were asked to provide any comments before a
recommended plan was developed.
On December 5, 2005, Transportation Planning mailed a survey to all residents /property owners that
abut or are adjacent to Greenbrook Drive, as well as anyone that had expressed interest in the
study. The intent of the survey was to determine if there is sufficient support for the implementation
of the recommended measures. As per the City of Kitchener Traffic Calming policy, a minimum of
50% of directly affected residents /property owners must respond to the survey and 60% of the
respondents must support the recommended plan, in order for any further consideration of the plan.
There were a total of 150 residential properties surveyed within the boundaries of the study area on
Greenbrook Drive. The results of the survey are as follows:
Residents of Greenbrook Drive
In favour of the recommended plan 66 (8891o)
Opposed to the recommended plan 9 (1291o)
Total 75 out of 150 responded (50%)
W
Residents that do not directly abut Greenbrook Drive
In favour of the recommended plan 9 (47%)
Opposed to the recommended plan 10 (53%)
Total 19 out of 27 responded (70%')
Therefore the Greenbrook Drive traffic calming plan is met with the required community support as
outlined in the City of Kitchener Traffic Calming policy.
It is clear that residents of the neighbourhood that do not live directly on Greenbrook Drive are
concerned that traffic on Greenbrook will infiltrate other neighbourhood streets. However, it is
anticipated that there will not be a significant amount of traffic diverted. However, if approved, all
applicable roadways will be monitored and corrective actions will be taken if necessary.
As part of the Environmental Assessment the recommended traffic calming plan was distributed to
all affected agencies for their comments /concerns. Responses were received from The Region of
Waterloo (Emergency Medical Services), Waterloo Regional Police Services, Grand River Transit
and City of Kitchener Operations Services. The following is a synopsis of their comments:
Region of Waterloo (Emergency Medical Services) — No immediate concerns, pending a trial
period.
Waterloo Regional Police Services —No concerns.
City of Kitchener Operations Services - Snow on the entrance and exit ends of the island
(parallel to flow of traffic) will not be possible to be removed with the plow truck, while this is
not directly on the driving lane, this will cause potential problems with melting and refreezing,
possibly causing isolated icy conditions in these areas, further, we may not be meeting
Minimum Maintenance Standards if this snow is left on the roadway. The presence of the
centre island, dictates we must plow these areas with the wing in the raised position. Without
the benefit of the wing plow moving the snow out and away from the rear tire tracking, snow
will be brought back onto the road by the rear tandems. Significant amounts of snow may be
left on the roadway as a result. Further, it was stated that driveways located within the traffic
calming area will receive significant amounts of snow being deposited at the driveway end.
Grand River Transit - Concerns regarding the use of chicanes and chokers and their impact
on transit operations.
To address these concerns, if approved, Transportation Planning will be installing the traffic calming
measures on a temporary basis for the winter season. This will allow staff to properly assess the
impact of these measures on operations. Potentially, Operations staff may be required to dedicate
more time in these areas, possibly impacting their budget.
Should Council endorse the Recommended Plan as detailed in the attached Executive Summary the
following implementation plan is proposed for the installation of the traffic calming measures.
1. Meet with residents in the vicinity of the proposed chicanes to obtain consensus on the ideal
location.
2. Install the required signage, chicanes and intersection narrowing using temporary materials.
3. Monitor the operation and refine the design as required to accommodate Grand River Transit
and City of Kitchener Operation Services.
4. As funds permit, implement the plan on a permanent basis.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The approximate cost for the permanent installation of the proposed Traffic Calming solutions within
the Recommended Plan is as follows:
CONSTRUCTION COST
Item
Unit Cost
(app.)
Quantity
Total
Curb Extension with Median
$ 20,000.00
2
$ 40,000.00
Curb Extension without Median
$ 155000.00
1
$ 155000.00
Intersection Narrowing
$ 155000.00
1
$ 155000.00
Speed hum
$ 15500.00
1
$ 15500.00
Total
$ 71,500.00
The temporary measures will be funded from the existing 2005 Traffic Calming budget. Permanent
measures will be installed in stages, to be coordinated with other traffic calming initiatives as funds
permit.
COMMUNICATIONS:
This project has had extensive public involvement and communication. It has included two public
information centres, newspaper notices, a comment form and a survey, as well as the use of web -
based communication through the City's website.
CONCLUSION:
The recommend plan, which includes the installation of chicanes located strategically along
Greenbrook Drive, a speed hump north of Ruskview Road and intersection narrowing at Birchcliffe
Avenue provides the best technical solutions to address the concerns residents of Greenbrook Drive
have expressed. Therefore, Transportation Planning supports the installation of the recommended
plan on Greenbrook Drive.
John McBride
Director of Transportation Planning
Barry Cronkite
Traffic Technologist
AN
Ken Carmichael, C.E.T.
Supervisor of Traffic and Parking
Attach. Executive summary of PTSL Greenbrook Drive Traffic Calming Environmental Assessment
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