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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWD-68-97 Addendum"UNFINISHED BUSINESS" THE CORPDf2ATICN OF THE M.~VICIPALITY OF CLARINGTDN REPORT Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE File# To~G~ Date: Res. # ~~s~-`~-~~ JANUARY 5, 1998 By-Law # Report #: ~ File #: Subject: ADDENDUM TO REPORT WD-68-97, REQUEST FOR ADULT CROSSING GUARD, ON MEARNS AVENUE AT SOPER CREEK DRIVE, BOWMANVILLE Recommendations: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Addendum to Report WD-68-97 be received; 2. THAT the request for a three-way stop, crosswalk, markings on the road and school signs be denied; and 3. THAT a copy of Addendum to Report WD-68-97 be forwarded to Warren Medd, Principal of Vincent Massey Public School and Mrs. Diane Cary. REPORT 1.0 ATTACHMENTS No. 1: Report WD-68-97 2.0 BACKGROUND 2.1 At a meeting held on October 27, 1997, the Council of the Municipality of Clarington passed the following resolution #GPA-598-97: "THAT Report WD-68-97, be received; THAT as a result of low study results, the request for an Adult Crossing Guard at Mearns Avenue and Soper Creek Drive be denied; ..PE ~®° ~.~. ? 3 h 3 f R8PC3RT NQ.: ADDSNDIIM TO ~-6$-97 PAGB 2 THAT the crossing location. continue to be monitored by staff a minimum of twice each school year to record any increased traffic volumes or delay to children crossing; THAT staff report on the installation of a three-way stop, crosswalk, markings on the road, possible school sign and other alternatives; and THAT a copy of Report WD-68-97 be forwarded to warren Medd, Principal of Vincent Massey Public School and Diane Cary." -3>.0 RSVI~P AND Ct)MMBNT 3.1 Staff Rssvoae~.biliti®s: when staff are directed to review areas of concern by Council,. it is completed by following prescribed methods (warrants,. guidelines) by the. Province of Ontario or Policies established by Council itself. A traffic control device is a sign, signal, marking or other device placed upon a road al owance by a public authority or offical~having jurisdiction. The device is designed to regulate,. warn, guide and inform the- roaduser in order to enable observance of the law and warn of: roadway hazards. Uniformity of traffic devices is essential to provide simplification of the driving task. .Improper or excessive use of regulatory and warning signs tends to cultivate disrespect for signs in general. As a result, signs tend to lose their authority throughout the area where the improper or excessive use occurs as well as in adjacent areas. 3.2 Cross nc C3uard Studv Methods: Staff are satisfied that the study methods developed by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, as modified and ~3 REPORT NO.t ADDB~IDIIDS-TO 4PD-68-97 PAGB 3 approved by Council, is a-:fair and unbiased metl2od to determine the need for Adult .Crossing Guards: Previous Cotuzcils reduced the warrant .figure from approximately 70& delay to on1y,50~ delay to make it easier to-qualify fora crossing guard. The study is,pez'formed by using a stop watch.. and :measuring safe gape between vehicles during the crossing periods. The recognised 12 second margin is-..considered safe: for children. To .verify that margin, children were tithed crossing .Hearne. .Avenue, .with the :fastest time being 6.1.0 seconds _and the slowest at 8..46 seconds. Comments heard during the October 27, 1997 delegation that children need 17 seconds to Cross the street appears to be unrealistic in light of our me?surements. Council is reminded that some children who cross Hearne Avenue. at this location. are picked up by a school bus and have .protection provided by the flashing lights which obligates motorists to atop .while children are crossing the streets 3.3 Qrsda 91x Oss~ssin~ Guard Prosram: busing the October,20, 1997 G.P. & A. meeting tY,te above noted program was mentioned. This program is sponsored by the' school boards, Principals, parents and Durham Regional Police Community Services Department, and is only ;-recommended immediately adjacent to echo©ls and therefore is .not suitable for this location. 3 .4 All:- Vey Sto$: This "T" intersection has been reviewed and falls far short of Provincial Warrants for the placement of an all.-way stop. The traffic volumes are low, there is no visibility problem and the intersection has no recorded motor vehicle collisions." fixperience shows us that the: placement of obviously 1365 R8P0RT NO.: ADDBNi'tIIM TO WD-68-9T PAGB 4 unwarranted stop signs produces frequent violatons:of failing. to stop. There are approximately 120 intersections in the .Municipality where residents have requested the placement of unwarranted. all-way stops but staff will only recommend those.. locations meeting provincial guidelines. Sn conjunction with staff, .some previous Councils have.. occasionally made. exceptions if the intersection was adjacent to a junior school combined with other factors such as visibility problems, lack of sidewalks or high pedestrian and volume counts. This intersection does not meet the provincial warrants and is neither adjacent to a school nor has other .conditions to justify placement of stop signs. 3.5 Crosswalk (Pedestrian ~r,~~_ :er): This location.. again falls far short of Provincial guidelines for consideration of a pedestrian crossover ,with overhead flashing lights. 3.6 Pavement Markiaae: Pavement markings are reserved for recognized purposes,such as .official controlled school. crossings or proper sgnalized_ pedestrian crossover locations. The crossing lines are only.. a guide to keep pedestrians in a confined area<and ensure vehicles atop back from them. Installing. painted lines at other locations may give young pedestrians a falge sense of security that the lines offer a form of protection or that motorists will stop. 3.7 School Sian: .Staff do not recommend a blue and white school zczne sign be placed such a large distance from the school. To advise- motorists of the potential for pedestrians crosazng, Public Works chose to install the larger pedestrian warning. signs on Mearns Avenue. 1 ^ 13b n'f R$PORT `l70.: 1W1.111~U1[ TO ilia-68-97 PAC~$ 5 3.8 Post4.S~.~ The regulatory posted-speed'on Mearna Avenue is 50 km/hr, but to address residents' concerns, advisory .speed tabs of 40 km/hr {black on yellow) were added below the pedestrian warning signs. and Durham Regional Police have been requested- to provide enforcement in this. area during crossing periods. 33 aa-tioa: Durham Regional Police Community Services and the Boards of Educatign`work together to provide students with basic road safety know3edge. Many parents also take time to walk with their children and practise safety lessons and i~rove,their judgement skills. Basic road safety knowledge is required at all` times because children cross roads at many tunes and days of the year while playing with friends, not just while: walking to school. 4`.0 COI~I+VSZE3bT 4.1 From the above, it is concluded that no additional action be taken at this intersection. Respectfully submitted, Reviewed by, Stephen A. Vokes, P. Eng. W Stockwell flirector of Public Works Chief. Administrative Officer SAV/RDB/ce December 24, 1997 Attachment pc: Diane Cary FJarren Medd, Pxincigal 40 Stxathmanor Drive .Vincent Massey Public School Bowmanville, ON Bowmanville, ON Z1C 4L3 LiC 1S3 ~~~ Concession St D C a Peachtre 5 u ~ ~ Cres. d ----• t P~ ~~ w w v ai c REQUESTED GUARDS ~ VINCENT MASSEY SCHOOL _ __ __ ALTERNATE WALKING ROUTE - - - - EXISTING WALKING ROUTE NEW SIDEWALK ON ST. GEORGE ST. DRAWN BY: J.R.M DATE: OCT. 1997 REPORT NO. wn-68-97 .~ REPORT NO.: WD-68-97 PAGE 4 3.3 Studv Results DATE PERIOD ~ DELAY Sept 29/97 P.M. 34.1 Sept 22/97 P.M 37.9 Sept 16/97 P.M. 35.3 Sept 15/97 P.M. 35.8 As per Municipal Policy, a 50~ delay is required before am- .Adult Crossing Guard is considered warranted. 3.4 Alternatives if a Guard was Warranted Alternate Walking Routes: The children from east of Mearns Avenue do not have to cross at this mid-block location to reach the school. The children could be encouraged to use the sidewalk on the east side of Mearns Avenue and 'cross Mearns Avenue with. the traffic light at King Street. The new sidewalk on St. George Street, built in September 1997, provides access to the school and has eliminated the need to cross Church Street. 4.0 CONCLIISIONS 4.1 From the above it is concluded that, based on the study results, an adult crossing guard is not required at this location. Respectfully submitted, Step eh n A. Vokes, P. Eng.,. Director of Public Works RDB*SAV*ce October 15, 1997 Attachments (2) Reviewed by H Stockwell Chief Administrative Officer _~ REPORT NO.: WD-68-97 PAGE 2 2.0 BACKGROUND 2.1 At a meeting held on August 18, 1997, the Council of the Municipality of Clarington passed the following resolution: "THAT the correspondence dated July 31, 1997 from Diane Cary requesting a crossing guard at the intersection of Mearns Avenue and Soper Creek Drive, Bowmanville, be received; THAT the correspondence be referred to the Director of Public Works for review and preparation of a report to be submitted to the General Purpose and Administration Committee; and 1 THAT Diane Cary be advised of Council's decision." 3.0 REVIEW AND COMMENT 3.1 Municipality of Clarin4ton CrossincT Guard Policv: The request .for an adult crossing guard is often a very emotional issue with concerned parents expressing safety concerns. The standard method to determine the need for an adult crossing guard in an unbiased and consistent method, developed by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, is used by many municipalities throughout North America. This technique involves the use of a stop watch to determine the length and quantity of safe gaps between vehicles. The Municipality, when establishing it's policy in 1991, enhanced this criteria by reauiring only a 50% delav (difficulty in crossing) in place of the usual 70-80% delay required using the standard method. It is important to note that crossing guards are required when students experience long delays while waiting for safe gaps in 1 _) c~ ~~ woxcu. n~cTZOx 40 Strathmanor Dr. Bowmanvitle, ON L1C 4L3 - July 31, 1997 Dear Mayor Aamre & Members of Council, I am writing this letter to request that a crossing guard be placed at Meatus Ave. and Soper Creek Drive in Bowmanville. D - 1 Jucr 3i/97 I have a 6 year old boy, Jake, who has to cross Meam Ave. to catch his bus, and a 4 year old girl who catches the bus neaz our house. Both of these buses come at the same time.. I can't be in 2 places at one time. Meazns has become such a busy road-and the cars aze going very fast. I . have already talked to the school board and they have said that Jake doesn't have to cross the. street, he can wait till the bus.stops and the driver motions for him~to cross. I am fearful that some caz won't stop and my son will forget to wait for the bus driver to motion him and he will get hit. Jake. is only 6 and he may try and cross the street Before the bus-comes as all the. other i children are on the east side. I think it is.fair to say that this.would be a lot of responsibilityfor a 6 year old. The school board is not willing to bring Jake's:bus into our subdivision. Please seriously consider putting a crossing guard at this intersection. There are many children who cross Meatus Ave. at this intersection who walk to Vincent Massey School It is not just. the children catching the bus thatwould be.affected. Meares Ave. is very.busy with people- turning onto Meatus. I have witnessed 2 accidents at that corner this past year pee child was. almost hit. I know you aze having a special meeting in August. I want this item placed on the agenda as school starts Sept. 2. Please inform me when a traffic survey will be taking place andthe - results. Can I attend the meeting when it is on the agenda? My phone number is 697-0801. Thanks for your consideration into this matter. I hope we will have a crossing guard so our children will be safer. D1STF2iBUTlOt~1 Sincerely CLERK l ~ ACK. BY _ _ ~r I, „ _ I ORIGINAL TO-{ ~X.~I~P ~1,~ j COPIEC 70: ° Diane Cary '-_.-..----- ---- ~~- ATTACHME ~-- ~~ _ NT N0. 2 1_ j ; ORT N0. WD-68-97~ __~