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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEGD-018-08 Cl~l[Jgron REPORT ENGINEERING SERVICES DEPARTMENT Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE Monday, April 14, 2008 Resolution #:qfi}- d bl-o'2? Date: Report #: EGD-018-08 File#: By-law #: Subject: INTERSECTION OF WELLINGTON STREET AND GEORGE STREET BOWMANVILLE, 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-018-08 be received; 2. THAT the request for an all-way stop at the intersection of Wellington Street and George Street be denied; and 3. THAT "no parking" signs be installed in the area of the intersection; and 4. THAT staff monitor the intersection of Wellington Street and George Street after the no parking signs have been installed. Respectfully, {)~-S Znc Submitted by: A.S. Cannella Director of Engineering Services Reviewed by: Franklin Wu Chief Administrative Officer ASC/LJB~o/jb April 1, 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-018-08 Page 2 1.0 BACKGROUND 1.1 In response to a recent request from the community staff have undertaken a study to determine whether an all-way stop at the intersection of Wellington Street and George Street is warranted. Our findings and recommendations are detailed in this report. 2.0 COMMENT 2.1 ODeratina SDeeds On November 21, 2007, staff used the municipal radar gun to accurately record and calculate average vehicle operating speeds of through traffic on Wellington Street. The results showed an average speed of 44.1 kmlhr in a maximum 50 km/hr zone. The average speeds on George Street would also be well below the regUlatory speed limit to the south, due to the short distance to the stop sign at Church Street. The curve to the north of the intersection also reduces vehicular speeds. 2.2 Motor Vehicle Collision Historv Despite the low volume and local nature of the roadway there have been nine MVC's in the last five years, the details of which are shown below: 2007 2 did not stop 1 did not yield 2006 2 did not stop 1 did not yield 2005 1 impaired 1 did not yield 2004 None 2003 1 did not stop Report #EGO-o1S-oS Page 3 Clarinaton Wide MVC Historv Motor vehicle collisions occur on a daily basis, usually on clear sunny days and are generally attributed to driver error rather than roadway design or maintenance issues. Motor vehicle collisions occur on straight stretches of roadways, 2 way stops, all way stops, and traffic signals. Year # of MVC (Clarington Roads only, excludes Regional Roads/private property) 2004 350 2005 426 2006 349 2.3 Intersection Review Based on AII-Wav Stop Volume Warrants In the Official Plan, Wellington Street and George Street are both local roadways which are intended to move traffic between low volume local streets and towards higher volume arterial roadways. During 2005, Engineering Services worked closely with the Clarington Traffic Management Advisory Committee (CTMAC) 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 stringent/more 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. Report #EGD-018-08 Page 4 Using the new modified warrants during early 2007, staff recommended the implementation of all-way stops at the intersections of Sandringham Drive and 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 of Wellington Street and George Street is only 52% of the already reduced warrant level. Furthermore, a review of the history of MVC's at this intersection already shows a pattern towards charges of "did not stop" , "did not yield". The use of an unwarranted all-way stop at this location is unlikely to address the factors that resulted in these charges and may in fact present an additional safety hazard. 2.4 ProDosed ImDrovements As a proactive measure we recommend the installation of no parking signs near the intersection to ensure that ideal sight line conditions are not compromised by those who may choose to park too close. These signs will be installed under general terms ofthe traffic by-law 91-58 and no amending by-law is required to implement the postings. Report #EGD~18~8 Page 5 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 local roadways from the Provincial figure of 350, to only 250, but this intersection only has 131 or 52% of the reduced warrant and so an all-way stop is unwarranted. Driver error has the potential to occur at any time, in a variety of lighting and weather conditions and is not effectively mediated by all-way stops. The introduction of an all-way stop at this unwarranted location is not recommended but the intersection of Wellington Street and George Street will be carefully monitored by staff and measures deemed necessary to reduce driver error will be initiated where appropriate. Attachments: Attachment 1 - Key Map List of Interested Parties: List with Engineering Services Carlisle Av W~E S Legend [=--J LotFob'k o [@ Requested All Way Stop Proposed No Parking at Intersection DRAWN BY: E.L. DATE: April 1, 2008 REPORT EGD-018-08 ATTACHMENT NO.1 G;\A.ttachments\WellingtonGeorgeStop.mxd