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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDTS-07-078 - Traffic Calming - Chandler DriveT~HE~E Development & Technical Services REPORT Report To: Development and Technical Services Committee Date of Meeting: 2007 June 18 Submitted By: John McBride, Director of Transportation Planning Prepared By: Ken Carmichael, Supervisor of Traffic and Parking Ward(s~ Involved: West -Victoria Park Ward ~6} Date of Report: 2007 June 13 Report No.: DTS 07-078 Subject: TRAFFIC CALMING -CHANDLER DRIVE RECOMMENDATIONS: That a raised pedestrian crosswalk with curb extensions be installed on Chandler Drive at the north property limit of the Chandler-Mowat Community Centre, and further; That an intersection narrowing be installed on Chandler Drive at Elmsdale Drive, and further; That two (2} speed humps be installed on Chandler Drive between Elmsdale Drive and Strasburg Road. 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 provide 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 Chandler Drive, as well as for Chopin Drive and Bradley Drive. Transportation Planning has received requests from residents of the Laurentian Hills Community on numerous occasions in the past to review the existing traffic conditions on Chandler Drive. According to the concerns indicated, traffic is using Chandler Drive as a short-cut to avoid congestion on Ottawa Street South, and that this traffic is speeding, creating concerns regarding pedestrian safety. In response to these requests, the City of Kitchener has reviewed the existing traffic conditions on Chandler Drive and initiated a formal Traffic Calming Review. Undertaking a traffic calming review 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 Chandler Drive runs from Strasburg Road to its south limit, south of Mowat Boulevard, and is designated as a local roadway. The function of Chandler Drive is to generally serve only the abutting properties and is not intended to carry through traffic. Chandler Drive provides direct access to the Chandler-Mowat Community Centre, the City of Kitchener Operations Yard at 82 Chandler Drive, as well as the Grand River Transit Strasburg Operations Yard. The unposted speed limit is 50 km/h as outlined within the City of Kitchener Uniform Traffic Control By-law 2000-159. On March 22, 2006 our study team held its first public meeting to discuss traffic issues and concerns on Chandler Drive and possible approaches to developing solutions. Traffic volume, traffic speeds and pedestrian safety were identified as the main concerns. The existing traffic conditions as discussed in the first meeting are as follows: Automated Volume & Speed Studies From September 25 -October 1, 2004, and from July 2 -July 8, 2005, volume and speed studies were conducted on Chandler Drive at three separate locations. The following data was recorded: Location AADT 85t Percentile Chandler Drive between Strasburg Road & Woodfern Northbound 1211 veh/day 63 km/hr Court Southbound 1381 veh/day 59 km/hr Chandler Drive Between Bonfield Place & Elmsdale Northbound 1245 veh/day 64 Km/hr Drive Southbound 1070 veh/day 60 km/hr Chandler Drive Between Mowat Boulevard & Leanest Northbound 1232 veh/day 62 km/hr Court Southbound 1189 veh/day 62 km/hr Traffic volumes are minimally above the expected range for a local roadway, however Chandler Drive does provide a significant element of medium and high density residential uses that can generate significant traffic volumes. Speeds are higher than anticipated for a roadway with similar geometrics. 2 Collision Analysis The collision history was reviewed for Chandler Drive. There were 28 reported collisions on Chandler Drive from January 2001 to December 2005. Collision types included failure to yield right-of-way, loss of control, parked vehicles, as well as two collisions involving pedestrians. This collision history does not show a clear, identifiable collision trend. Origin /Destination Study An origin /destination study was conducted for Chandler Drive on October 1, 2004. This licence plate trace study was conducted during the time periods of 11:30 am to 1:30 pm and 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm, recognizing when traffic to the area's new commercial plaza is greatest, in combination with on-street peak hour traffic conditions. This study determined the percentage of vehicles that are using Chandler Drive, however, are not destined to or from Chandler Drive. Results of this study are as follows: 11:30 am to 1:30 pm 11-13% through traffic on Chandler Drive 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm 18% through traffic on Chandler Drive These study results indicate that a portion of traffic destined for the new commercial plaza is using Chandler Drive as an alternative to busier, more congested conditions on Ottawa Street South. Community Response Response received following the first public meeting did not indicate a clear traffic calming approach preferred. 65 responses were received from area residents, with issues raised including volume of traffic, speed of vehicles and pedestrian safety. 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 formal traffic calming review). 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 chicanes -chicanes are a series of horizontal deflections that cause a weaving pattern forcing vehicles to slow down and weave between the chicanes. A series of three speed humps -speed humps are vertical deflections in the roadway that force vehicles to slow down to negotiate the humps. Two raised intersections and one road narrowing -raised intersections are vertical deflections of an entire intersection that force vehicles to slow down to negotiate the intersection, while a road narrowing reduces a driver's comfort level, thereby reducing speeds. A series of two speeds humps, one intersection narrowing, and one raised crosswalk - raised crosswalks are vertical deflections in the roadway, along with a narrowed roadway, that forces vehicles to slow down when negotiating the crosswalk. Do nothing. 3 A second public meeting was held on November 29, 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 May 14, 2007, Transportation Planning mailed a survey to all residents/property owners that abut or are adjacent to Chandler 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 608 properties surveyed within the boundaries of the study area. The results of the survey are as follows: In favour of the recommended plan 94 (90%) Opposed to the recommended plan 11 (10%) Total 105 out of 608 responded (17%) Therefore the Chandler Drive traffic calming study has not met the minimum required community support as outlined in the City of Kitchener Traffic Calming policy. However, a significant portion of the residents in this area live in higher density rental properties, where turnover is typically much greater and residents tend to take less "ownership" of the municipal issues in their neighbourhood. Additionally, this area is populated with a great number of residents new to Canada, where English is not the first language spoken. As a result, staff are of the opinion that this low response rate is not necessarily indicative of a lack of interest by the residents. The measures recommended for Chandler Drive can be considered good traffic engineering in that they address the concerns regarding speeding traffic and pedestrian safety. Therefore, while the minimum public input requirement was not met through this process, staff recommends that the proposed speed humps, road narrowing and raised crosswalk be implemented on Chandler Drive. 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 -Concerns with crossing the centre line on Chandler Drive when turning right from Elmsdale Drive. 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. This extra attention required will add to the cost and time taken to conduct winter maintenance. 4 Emergency Medical Services - No concerns. City of Kitchener Fire Services -Opposed to any vertical deflection due to increased response times and concerns regarding vehicle maintenance. Additionally, Fire advise that all roadways be designed to meet the requirements of the OBC Ontario Building Code) and the City of Kitchener Urban Design Guideline Manual. Further, Fire Headquarters is located on Strasburg Road near Chandler Drive. Accordingly, in the event of a situation at the main Fire access intersection of Strasburg Road and Ottawa Street, Chandler Drive is used as an alternate route. All measures proposed for traffic calming on Chandler Drive meet the requirements of the OBC and City's Urban Design Guideline Manual. Should Council endorse the Recommended Plan, all proposed traffic calming measures are expected to be installed in the summer/fall of 2007. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The cost to install a raised pedestrian crosswalk, road narrowing and two (2) speed humps is approximately $35,000. This cost will be taken from the existing traffic calming 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 two (2) speed humps, one (1) road narrowing and one (1) raised crosswalk, 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 general traffic conditions, as well as improved pedestrian safety specifically for the Chandler-Mowat Community Centre, as well as for all users of Chandler Drive. John McBride Director of Transportation Planning KC Attach. Ken Carmichael, C.E.T. Supervisor of Traffic and Parking 5 CHANDLER DRIVE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE #4 CURB EXTENTIQNS/ RAISED CROSS WALKS/ SPEED HUMPS NOTE: THE RAISED PORTION OF THE CROSSWALK IS THE SAME DESIGN AS A SPEED Nl1MP. 6