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Home My WebLink AboutEGD-005-08 Cl!Jl-!l1gton REPORT ENGINEERING SERVICES DEPARTMENT Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE Monday, January 21, 2008 Resolution #:8 (JI) 47d{ Date: Report #: EGD-00S-08 File#: By-law #: Subject: INTERSECTION OF ROSSWELL DRIVE AND SOUTHFIELD AVENUE COURTICE, REQUESTED ALL-WAY STOP Recommendations: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report EGD-00S-08 be received; 2. THAT the request for an all-way stop at the intersection of Rosswell Drive and Southfield Avenue be denied; and 3. THAT staff periodically monitor Southfield Avenue for speeds as part of the Traffic Watch Program and encourage residents to participate in the Road Watch Program. Respectfully, O~~~ Reviewed by: Franklin Wu Chief Administrative Officer Submitted by: A. S. Cannella, G.E.T. Director of Engineering Services ASC/LJB/jo January 9, 2008 CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L 1C 3A6 T 905-623-3379 F 905-623-9282 Report #EGD-005-08 Page 2 1.0 BACKGROUND 1.1 A letter to the Municipality dated November 15, 2007 from Roger Allen of Southfield Avenue was received requesting consideration of an all-way stop as a method of controlling speeds on his street. A traffic study was subsequently conducted on November 28,2007. 2.0 COMMENT 2.1 Operatina Speeds On November 28,2007, staff used the municipal radar gun to accurately record and calculate average vehicle operating speeds of through traffic on Southfield Avenue. The results showed an average speed of 51.5 km/hr in a maximum 50 km/hr zone. The speeds are not unlike many other residential collector streets in Clarington and Durham Region. While performing the study staff were able to obtain the plate numbers of the three top offenders and report them on line to Durham Regional Police as part of the Road Watch Program. As part of the program the registered owner will receive a warning letter from Durham Regional Police noting where they were observed and asking them to obey speed limits. Subsequent reports of the same plate number result in phone calls or visits from the police department. Two other residents of Southfield Ave have previously expressed speed concerns and borrowed the radar gun to check speeds on this street. During October 2007 a resident who borrowed the radar gun reported that after using it she saw that the actual speeds were much lower than expected. She had no plate numbers to report but advised she may wish to borrow the unit again in the future. Another resident who borrowed the radar gun previously did not report any high end offenders. In the letter Mr. Allen noted he did not need a radar gun but staff, police and the court systems would generally disagree. It is very difficult to estimate the operating speeds of vehicles and although staff would not disagree that some motorists are driving too fast, the vast majority are driving responsibly. Based on the speed study of November 28,2007, this location would not be considered a hot spot for regular police enforcement. The introduction of all-way stops only Report #EGD-005-08 Page 3 affect operating speeds over a very short distance with the abilities of modern vehicles to accelerate and brake over shorter distances. Staff can add this location to the Traffic Watch locations to monitor and if a significant number of top end speeders are observed repeat visits will be made and Durham Regional Police notified of the results. 2.2 Motor Vehicle Collision Historv There have not been any recorded motor vehicle collisions at this intersection to date. 2.3 Intersection Review Based on AII-wav Stop Volume Warrants Southfield Avenue and Rosswell Drive are both built as collector roadways which are intended to move traffic from low volume local streets towards higher volume arterial roadways. During 2005 Engineering Services worked closely with the (CTMAC) Clarington Traffic Management Advisory Committee to modify the provincial warrant for all- way stops, creating an in-house warrant that is more applicable to Clarington roadways. The in-house modified warrant structure makes it less stringenUmore permissive for collector and local roadways to meet warrants for an all-way stop by accepting lower traffic volumes, fewer peak hours and giving more recognition to unsupervised pedestrian crossings. These modified warrants are intended as a more relaxed guide for staff to evaluate intersections in an unbiased, uniform manner so that they can then make recommendations to Council. The warrants also provide Council with the assurance that the municipality is attempting to work with its residents in a consistent manner to balance efficient transportation with the needs of the local neighbourhood. Using the new modified warrants during early 2007 staff recommend the implementation of all-way stops at the intersections of Sand ring ham Drive at Report #EGD-005-0B Page 4 Claret Road; Pebblestone Road at Trulls Road and Trulls Road at Avondale Drive where intersections with higher vehicle volumes, pedestrian activity or collisions would benefit from implementation of additional traffic controls. As a result of the traffic study it was determined that the average number of vehicles at the intersection Southfield Avenue and Rosswell Drive of 65 vehicles per hour is extremely low and is only 17% of the already reduced warrant level. Although residential development is continuing in Courtice with houses soon to be constructed to the area south of this intersection, volumes are expected to remain relatively low due to the number of entrance and exit points into the area. 2.4 Siqht Line and Other Imorovements There were no sight line issues or other problems such as on-street parking noted which could contribute to future collisions. 3.0 CONCLUSION 3.1 Staff, working with the CTMAC, developed a modified all-way stop warrant policy to be used during intersection reviews by staff. This policy lowered the average intersection volume requirements for an all-way stop on collector roadways from the Provincial figure of 500, to only 375 but his intersection only has 65 vehicles or 17% of the reduced warrant. Staff cannot recommend this unwarranted all-way stop request. Staff encourage residents to borrow the radar gun and or report aggressive drivers through the Road Watch Program. Attachments: Attachment 1 - Key Map Interested parties: Roger Allen " ''>- / i --i" " "~dmrmrmiJIliElrill}jlliD F't'l f::[; ~u;;$!l/6'Z;;''/ "'-.___. ' --- "'!iitP;)-JI "'Ii -J _,,- /// I f;f~~;~". -ILL Bloor SI. ,;"il.~. c[ \~f ;;I.;I'O-==': - i ul-- ... ... ,,"^"~_"'"....,_.._ =,,-$ t... ! TfTIT"TIili"'iEJi""e r\=m;i;;i;~~'lj II i.i.1UimlWllilhll':,~~ .:. '/" ._ ..: "',T"-':j"C"'iF-.. ;,' '-'. ,_, II ""--'-'-"--~' o.-.u~..~mJfjj~Jild .U!.... '...... f.G.I.L.'.U.i.ff../! I ~crAv .,'T' i;'11r"7/ i ti '.tfS.ub!l"ect iT' I - _.J: lmiflliLI [j.:r;Jr r"rrrrr~:1 r.sitE!~- - ',i.' 1::1;'11[1",,,, .,_.~!U 'II=WJ!~~_ili 1'~\ _~>Jr-~ :! it <:, Sir "', f!. c. 1;--' I I I Montague Avenue I I L Aylesworth Avenue \ I Southfield Avenue COURTlCE I I I :1 ; .. > .;: C OJ ~ "' "' o ~ )J-~ I "'1M" r-r- . . ! MUJ KEY MAP -'" .....-.".-.. .~, S I ! , I I Kersey Crescent Legend o 'It/ JJJ ------ / / 'C .. o ~ .. c;; > <: ,g "' f! 0.. Requested All Way Stop t.____ . Existing Stop Signs ,~ DRAWN BY: E.L I DATE; January 11, 2008 r. REPORT EGO-ODS-OS t- ATTACHMENT NO.1 " G:\Attachments\SouthfieldRossweIlStop.mxd