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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDTS-07-037 - Traffic Calming - Chopin DriveT~HE~E Development & Technical Services REPORT Report To: Development and Technical Services Committee Date of Meeting: 2007 March 05 Submitted By: John McBride, Director of Transportation Planning Prepared By: Barry Cronkite, Traffic Technologist (741-2738} Ward(s~ Involved: West -Victoria Park Ward ~6} Date of Report: 2007 February 20 Report No.: DTS 07-037 Subject: TRAFFIC CALMING - CHOPIN DRIVE RECOMMENDATION: That a raised pedestrian crosswalk with curb extensions be installed on Chopin Drive at the existing School Crossing location, immediately in front of AR Kaufman Public School, and further; That an all-way stop be installed at the intersection of Chopin Drive and Hazelglen Drive, and further; That the Uniform Traffic Control By-law be amended accordingly. BACKGROUND: The existing City of Kitchener traffic calming policy was adopted by Council in August 2004 (DTS O4-125). 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 November 2005, Council approved DTS Report 05-187 - "Traffic Calming Priority -2006", which recommended that a traffic calming study be conducted for Chopin Drive, as well as Chandler Drive and Bradley Drive. Transportation Planning has received requests from residents of the Victoria Hills Community on numerous occasions in the past to review the existing traffic conditions on Chopin Drive. According to the concerns indicated, traffic on Chopin Drive is unsafe, particularly in regards to the safety of children attending A.R. Kaufman Public School. In response to these requests, the City of Kitchener has reviewed the existing traffic conditions on Chopin Drive and initiated a Traffic Calming Study. Undertaking a traffic calming study for a project of this scale and nature is considered good municipal planning and allows the City and stakeholders to understand all of the impacts, constraints and opportunities associated with any traffic calming measures. REPORT Chopin Drive runs from Westmount Road to Hazelglen Drive and is designated as a minor collector roadway. The function of Chopin Drive is to generally collect and distribute traffic from local roads and other minor collector roadways within the surrounding community and is not generally intended to carry through traffic. Chopin Drive does provide direct access to both A.R. Kaufman Public School and Victoria Hills Community Centre, which are both community facilities. The unposted speed limit is 50 km/h as outlined within the City of Kitchener Uniform Traffic Control By-law 2000-159. On March 9, 2006 our study team held its first public meeting to discuss traffic issues and concerns on Chopin Drive and possible approaches to developing solutions. Some additional issues were identified but traffic volume and traffic speeds were the main concerns. The existing traffic conditions as discussed in the first meeting are as follows: Automated Volume & Speed Studies From October 4th to 10th, 2005 volume and speed studies were conducted on Chopin Drive, mid- block, near the boundary of A.R. Kaufman Public School. The following data was recorded: Location AADT 85t Percentile Cho in Drive -near # 95 3125 veh/da 65.2 km/hr While volumes fall within the expected range for a minor collector roadway, speeds are much higher than anticipated for a roadway with similar geometrics. Collision Anal The collision history was reviewed for Chopin Drive. There were eight reported collisions on Chopin Drive from January 2003 to December 2005, however, the collision history on Chopin Drive does not show a clear, identifiable collision trend. Two collisions involved vehicles stopping for children to cross the roadway in the indicated school crossing area and being rear ended, two were a direct result of high speeds resulting in a loss of control, and two involved parked vehicles. The remaining two collisions were a result of improper manoeuvring and poor weather conditions. All-Wa,r~ Stop Analysis A traffic study was conducted for the intersection of Chopin Drive and Hazelglen Drive on May 4, 2006. The results of the traffic study were then compared to the City of Kitchener local/ minor collector roadway all-way stop warrant, which is a set of guidelines based on the all-way stop warrants established by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and the Ministry of Transportation. The traffic counts were compared to the local/minor collector roadway warrant to be representative of roadway operating characteristics. 2 Chopin Drive/Hazelglen Drive All-Wa Sto Intersection Anal sis Local/Minor Collector Warrant (Min. Requirements Results Hi hest Hour Volume 350 499 Split on Minor Roadway 25% 35% OR Avg. Hourly Volume(AIl Approaches 250 354 Avg. Hourly % Split on Minor Roadway 25% 29% Avg. Yearly Collision History 3/ r. 1.33/ r. All-Way Stop Warranted? YES As a result of the traffic studies performed, Transportation Planning is recommending that an all- way stop be installed at the intersection of Chopin Drive and Hazelglen Drive to appropriately allocate right-of-way at this intersection. As this is not a "traffic calming" issue, but rather a traffic control issue, it is recommended that the all-way stop be installed regardless of the results of the traffic calming study. Community Response Response received following the first public meeting did not indicate a clear traffic calming approach preferred, as only 8 responses were received from area residents, only 3 of which were from residents of Chopin Drive. This is only representative of approximately 10% of the properties adjacent to Chopin Drive. However, Transportation Planning chose to continue with the traffic calming study, given the indicated traffic safety concerns along Chopin Drive. Based on the analysis of existing traffic, public input and the City of Kitchener's Traffic Calming Policy, five 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 project team based on a number of social, natural and economic criteria to develop a preferred option. The attached chart outlines the evaluation of the criteria. The following is a list of the alternatives considered: A series of three speed humps -speed humps are vertical deflections in the roadway that force vehicles to slow down to negotiate the humps. A series of three chicanes -chicanes are a series of horizontal deflections that cause a weaving pattern forcing vehicles to slow down and weave between the chicanes. A raised pedestrian crosswalk with curb extensions - both a vertical and horizontal deflection that causes drivers to slow down while providing for a safer crossing point for pedestrians. A narrowed intersection -narrowing of the roadway at an intersection to slow traffic and provide a shover distance for pedestrians to cross. Do nothing 3 A second public meeting was held on September 26, 2006 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 January 3, 2007, Transportation Planning mailed a survey to all residents/property owners that abut or are adjacent to Chopin Drive, as well as to any other parties that had indicated interest in the study, outlining the recommended plan. 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 30 properties surveyed within the boundaries of the study area. The results of the survey are as follows: In favour of the recommended plan 7 (70%) Opposed to the recommended plan 3 (30%) Total 10 out of 30 responded (33%) Therefore the Chopin Drive traffic calming study has not met the minimum required community support as outlined in the City of Kitchener Traffic Calming policy. However, there is only one measure proposed in the form of a raised pedestrian crosswalk with curb extensions. The primary benefit of this measure is added pedestrian safety. Given that there are two major pedestrian generators directly in the vicinity of the proposed location of the measure, Transportation Planning recommends that the raised pedestrian crosswalk with curb extensions be installed. Additionally, although there were not enough overall responses to meet the minimum requirements of the traffic calming policy, it is clear that the traffic calming plan is supported by those that did respond to the survey. As part of the traffic calming study the recommended traffic calming plan was distributed to all affected agencies for their comments/concerns. Responses were received from The Region of Waterloo, Waterloo Regional Police Services, Grand River Transit, City of Kitchener Operations Services and City of Kitchener Fire Services. The following is a synopsis of their comments: Waterloo Regional Police Services -No concerns. Grand River Transit - No concerns City of Kitchener Operations -Concerns with icing at the base of vertical deflections which results in extra salting at the base of any vertical deflection. The curb extensions are difficult to plough around and will slow ploughing in the area. Emergency Medical Services - No concerns. City of Kitchener Fire Services -Opposed to any vertical deflection. Should Council endorse the Recommended Plan, the following implementation plan is proposed for the installation of the traffic calming measures: 4 1. Install the all-way stop at Chopin Drive/Hazelglen Drive in spring 2007. 2. Install the raised pedestrian crossing with curb extensions prior to school commencement in September 2007. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The cost to install a raised pedestrian crosswalk with curb extensions is approximately $15,000. This cost will be taken from the existing traffic calming budget. The installation of the all-way stop will cost approximately $1000 and will be taken from the existing sign maintenance budget. 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 recommended plan, which recommends the installation of a raised pedestrian crosswalk with curb extensions and an all-way stop at the intersection of Chopin Drive and Hazelglen Drive, provides the best technical solution to problems indicated through the traffic calming study. While resident input did not meet the minimum policy requirement, those that did respond are in majority support of our proposal. Transportation Planning feels that the recommendations improve pedestrian safety for both Victoria Hills Community Centre and A.R. Kaufman Public School and therefore supports the recommended plan and supports its installation. John McBride Director of Transportation Planning Barry Cronkite Traffic Technologist BC Attach. Ken Carmichael, C.E.T. Supervisor of Traffic and Parking 5 Raised Pedestrian Crosswalk Location .w ,. ~ T ,r :~ ; ~ w w ~~ r ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~o. ~. h, ~S, ~ ~ ~ r ~"~ K~ a ~ ~.u ~i ~ ~ ~~ ,~ ,~ ,,,s ,. ~, ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~. ~~ ' ' Intersection proposed for all-way stop 6