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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDTS-08-016 - Traffic Calming Priority 2008T~HE~E Development & Technical Services REPORT Report To: Development and Technical Services Committee Date of Meeting: 2008 January 07 Submitted By: John McBride, Director of Transportation Planning Prepared By: Barry Cronkite, Traffic Technologist (741-2738) Wards} Involved: ALL WARDS Date of Report: 2007 December 17 Report No.: DTS 08-016 Subject: TRAFFIC CALMING PRIORITY - 2008 RECOMMENDATION: That the 2008 traffic calming program include the completion of traffic calming reviews for Pioneer Drive/Bechtel Drive (Doors Village Road to Doors Village Road}, Laurentian Drive, Upper Canada Drive, Morgan Avenue and Dixon Street. BACKGROUND: The existing City of Kitchener traffic calming policy and annual traffic calming budget 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. The annual budget allows for Transportation Planning to implement a limited number of traffic calming measures on these streets. REPORT: The intent of traffic calming is to reduce vehicle speeds, deter non-residential traffic from the area and reduce the incidence of collisions, thereby increasing safety for all users within the right-of-way. The types of traffic calming chosen depend on the issues being addressed and the function of the road. Over the past year we have received a number of requests, either directly from the public or through the Ward Councillor, to review traffic conditions on a number of streets. This is in addition to the priority listing that had carried over from 2006. These streets were reviewed as per the approved Traffic Calming Policy with respect to speed, volumes, collisions and safety factors. Attached is the traffic calming priority listing for local, minor collector and major collector/secondary arterial roadways. COMPLETED TRAFFIC CALMING REVIEWS The following is a summary of traffic calming reviews that were completed in 2007: • Greenbrook Drive (initiated in 2005) -All measures were installed. These measures included 8 speed humps and an intersection narrowing at the Greenbrook Drive/Birchcliffe Avenue intersection. • Chopin Drive (initiated in 2006) -All measures were installed. These measures included a raised pedestrian crosswalk and an all-way stop at Chopi n Drive/Hazelglen Drive. • Bradley Drive (initiated in 2006) -All measures were installed. These measures included 2 speed humps and a raised crosswalk. • Kingswood Avenue (initiated in 2005) -All measures were installed. These measures included 6 speed humps, 2 raised crosswalks and an all-way stop. • Chandler Drive (initiated in 2006) -All measures were installed. These measures included 2 speed humps, an intersection narrowing and a raised crosswalk. • Homewood Avenue (initiated in 2006) -All measures were installed. These measures include a series of 3 speed humps. • Onward Avenue (initiated in 2005) -All measures were installed. These measures include a series of 2 speed humps in each direction. It should be noted that all traffic calming studies completed in 2007 will be assessed in 2008 to determine the effectiveness of the measures installed. To date approximately $250,000 has been spent on traffic calming within the past three years. This includes the hiring of a consultant for the 3 initial traffic calming reviews, the installation of temporary measures and the installation of permanent measures. CURRENT TRAFFIC CALMING REVIEWS There are a total of five traffic calming reviews ongoing at various levels within the City of Kitchener as a result of the traffic calming policy and traffic calming budget. The streets currently under review are: Vanier Drive/Traynor Avenue Clarke Avenue Heritage Drive Kinzie Avenue Old Carriage Drive. These reviews, while currently ongoing, are expected to be completed in spring 2008. It is anticipated that any traffic calming measures to be installed as a result of these reviews will be installed in the 2008 construction season. Additionally, permanent traffic calming measures for David Street/Schneider Avenue will be installed in 2009 with the reconstruction of Queen Street. This will include the installation of a one-way median at the intersection of Queen Street and Schneider Avenue, which currently exists in temporary conditions. 2 UNWARRANTED ROADWAYS While Transportation Planning receives numerous requests on a yearly basis for traffic calming, not all roadways that are reviewed warrant consideration for traffic calming. Therefore, in order to concentrate on those roadways that do potentially warrant traffic calming, any streets that have received fewer than 30 points have been removed from the traffic calming priority rating. There are three main categories within the priority rating system for traffic calming warrants; collisions, volumes and speed, each category being worth a maximum of 20 points each. The 30 point cut-off was determined by taking the median of all three of the major categories. While typically this would not indicate a major cause for concern, it does provide for a good base of comparison. This will help to clearly define roadways that do have a significant traffic issue and do warrant consideration for traffic calming at some point in the future. We will continue to monitor speeds, volumes and collisions on both warranted and unwarranted streets on a yearly basis, as any change in traffic conditions could cause a change in priority ranking. Additionally, if a roadway is scheduled for reconstruction, consideration will be given at that time for a review of traffic calming. LOCAL ROADWAYS -PROPOSED TRAFFIC CALMING REVIEWS Upper Canada Drive is the highest ranked local roadway of those reviewed for traffic calming with 37 points. On Upper Canada Drive there is evidence of speeding traffic with a moderate collision history which makes it an ideal candidate for traffic calming. In this regard we are recommending that a traffic calming review be conducted for Upper Canada Drive. Sydney Street South is the second ranked local roadway with 34 points. The primary issue related to Sydney Street South is the significant amount of speeding traffic that is avoiding congestion on Ottawa Street South. However, the Region of Waterloo has scheduled the initiation of an Environmental Assessment for the proposed widening of Ottawa Street between King Street and Mill Street for 2008 with construction of this road widening scheduled for 2011. This impending road widening could potentially alter traffic patterns, therefore it is recommended that no traffic calming review be conducted for Sydney Street South until traffic patterns can be re-evaluated following the reconstruction of Ottawa Street South. MINOR COLLECTOR ROADWAYS -PROPOSED TRAFFIC CALMING REVIEWS Morgan Avenue is the highest ranked minor collector roadway with 38 points. Again, there is evidence of speeding traffic and a collision history. Historically there have been many complaints regarding traffic conditions along Morgan Avenue. Therefore it is recommended that a traffic calming review be conducted for Morgan Avenue. Pioneer Drive/Bechtel Drive (boon Village Road to Doon Village Road) is ranked second on the minor collector priority ranking list with 35 points. There is an elementary school on this section of Pioneer Drive, and speed is a concern. It is recommended that a traffic calming review be conducted for Pioneer Drive to address speeding and pedestrian concerns. 3 ROADWAYS SCHEDULED FOR RECONSTRUCTIONIREHABIL1TATlON - PROPOSED TRAFFIC CALMING REVIEWS Laurentian Drive and Dixon Street are ranked third and fourth respectively (35 points - Laurentian Drive, 33 points -Dixon Street}. Transportation Planning has received numerous complaints regarding both of these streets in the past. Laurentian Drive is scheduled for resurfacing in 2008 and Dixon Street is scheduled for reconstruction in 2009, therefore a traffic calming review is being recommended for both streets so that any recommendations can be incorporated into the projects, potentially leading to cost savings for any recommended traffic calming measures. It should be noted that the review associated with roadway reconstruction of Dixon Street will not commence until the summer/fall of 2008, once the reviews of Pioneer Drive, Morgan Avenue Laurentian Drive and Upper Canada Drive have been completed. It should also be noted that any measures recommended for Laurentian Drive will be installed during the 2008 construction season in conjunction with the rehabilitation works. PROJECT SCHEDULING Typically, in the past, Transportation Planning has completed traffic calming reviews and tried to install any recommended traffic calming measures within the same calendar year. We have found that this process is very difficult to schedule, as Engineering Services typically schedules road works at the beginning of the calendar year for the upcoming construction season. The traffic calming installations have been done as additional works in the past, however, timing is subject to contractor availability. Therefore, it is anticipated that any traffic calming measures to be installed as a result of the studies conducted in 2008 will be installed in the 2009 construction season. This type of scheduling will ensure that we can incorporate any traffic calming measures into the road works schedule, and therefore work should be completed in a timely and appropriate fashion. This will also be beneficial to constituents, as Transportation Planning will be able to provide an accurate installation schedule. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the traffic calming priority listings, and sound engineering judgement, it is recommended that traffic calming reviews be conducted for Morgan Avenue, Pioneer Drive/Bechtel Drive, Laurentian Drive, Dixon Street and Upper Canada Drive in 2008. In all of these instances, the priority ranking system indicated that these streets were in much greater need of traffic calming than other roadways. Because of their residential nature, these streets are ideal for traffic calming initiatives. 4 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Transportation Planning will conduct all of the upcoming traffic reviews, which will allow for the bulk of the $100 000 in available funding to be used specifically for the installation of applicable traffic calming measures. John McBride Director of Transportation Planning Ken Carmichael, C.E.T. Supervisor of Traffic and Parking Barry Cronkite Traffic Technologist BC Attach: Key Maps of Roadways Priority Rankin. 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