The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutPWD-013-21Clarington Staff Report If this information is required in an alternate accessible format, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator at 905-623-3379 ext. 2131. Report To: General Government Committee Date of Meeting: February 16, 2021 Report Number: PWD-013-21 Submitted By: Stephen Brake, Director of Public Works Reviewed By: File Number: Andrew C. Allison, CAO Resolution#: GG-184-21 By-law Number: Report Subject: Speed Limit Reduction to 40 km/h on Neighborhood Collector B Roads Recommendations: 1. That Report PWD-013-21 be received; 2. That speed limits not be lowered to 40 km/h on all Collector roads; 3. That staff continue ongoing monitoring of the municipal road network and researching alternate traffic management options and their suitability on individual basis; and 4. That all interested parties listed in Resolution # C-462-20 and any delegations be advised of Council's decision. Municipality of Clarington Report PWD-013-21 Report Overview Page 2 In response to Council's request to investigate lowering speed limits to 40 km/h on all neighborhood Collector B roads, staff have reviewed the existing conditions, best practices, provincial regulations and standards, and have provided their recommendations. 1. Background 1.1 During the Council meeting held on November 23-24, 2020, Council passed Resolution # C-462-20, directing staff to report back on reducing speed limits to 40 km/h on neighborhood Collector B roads. 1.2 As per the Clarington Official Plan (OP) and the Clarington Transportation Master Plan (CTMP), roads have five classifications: • Arterial Road Type A • Arterial Road Type B • Arterial Road Type C • Collector Road • Local Road 1.3 In line with the OP and CTMP, the Municipality's Collector roadways provide connections between Local roads within the residential / commercial areas and the Arterial road system. Compared to Arterial roadways, Collector roads generally carry lower traffic volumes and have lower speed limits. However, Collector roads do provide a shared priority of property access and increased traffic movement when compared to the Local roads. A typical Collector road in Clarington will feature 10.0 meter pavement width, with wider boulevards and sidewalks on both sides. It is typically expected to carry up to 6,000 vehicles a day, including heavier traffic such as delivery and maintenance trucks and transit vehicles in a more free -flow fashion than a Local road. 1.4 Figures 1-3 below show the existing and proposed Collector roads within the boundaries of the three largest urban areas in Clarington being Bowmanville, Courtice and Newcastle. Although most of the Collector roads are within residential areas, property uses fronting these Collector roads vary from institutional, residential, commercial, and green space. It is also noted that Collector roads are only a small portion of the entire road network within a residential area. Municipality of Clarington Page 3 Report PWD-013-21 W -Deferred by the Region of Durham N9 LEVAR❑ W MOT-2 NAG ROA' CONCESSION IROAD3 t I I 4 � ' D2-Deferred by the Region of Durham~ w AVENUE + t� I R ILL I x I � L w x D1-0eferred by the Region of Durham } 4 i W CONCESSBON STREET w A147-22 A KI NG`,TRE ET w �ti I � SASE LINE ROAD P I Ell -Deferred by the -- I Region of Durham I I Lake Ontario DEFERREDSTTHE I REGIDN OF DNRHAM I URBAN AREA I RAILWKY 1y4� }t --J � FREEWAY TRANSPORTATION HUB EXISTING }11 � TYPE A ARTERL LL ROAD MA P J3 FREEWAY INTERCHANGE TYPE BARTERIAL ROAD TRANSPORTATION NETWORK FUTURE TYPE C ARTERIAL ROAD ROADS AND TRANSIT FREEWAY INTERCHANGE COLLECTOR ROAD BOWMANVILLE URBAN AREA EYJSTING GRADE SEPARATION --_--— REGIONAL TRANSIT SPINE OFFICIAL PLAN MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON PROPOSED * * 0 • RAIL TRANS IT LINE JUNE. 2D16 GRADE SEPARATION OFFICE CONSOLIDATION Figure 1: Bowmanville Road Network Municipality of Clarington Report PWD-013-21 P D1-DeFen-ed by the Region of Durham F Page 4 I PERR I� ME RDI J URBAN AREA I FREEWAY r I TYPE A ARTERIAL ROAD f II TYPE B ARTERIAL ROAD y T TYPE C ARTERIAL ROAD G ♦;GE R r i COLLECTOR ROAD 7g, REGIONAL TRANSIT SPINE FREEWAY BUS i • • ■ i RAPID TRANSIT LINE RAIL TRANSIT LINE r�� RAILWAY TRANSPORTATION HUB YEXISTING qF }FREEWAY INTERCHANGE ; 0FUTURE FREEWAYINTERCHANGE GLADE ROAD EXISTIN G 31-Deferred by the GRADE SEPARATION Region of Durham STREET RASELINE vAr 4r+ ❑1-Deferred by the Region of Durham MAP J2 TRANSPORTATION NETWORK - ROADS AND TRANSIT COURTICE URBAN AREA OFFICIAL PLAN MUNICIPALITY OF CL4RINGTON JUNE. 2DI B OFFICE CONSOLIDATION PROPOSED GRADE SEPARATION DEFERRED SYTHE - REGION OF DURHAM } * a 61-Deferred bythe Region of Durham Lake Ontario 07 -Deterred by the Region of Durham Figure 2- Courtice Road Network Municipality of Clarington Page 5 Report PWD-013-21 FREEWAY TYPE A ARTERIAL ROAD TYPE B ARTERIAL ROAD TYPE C ARTERIAL ROAD COLLECTOR ROAD REGIONAL TRANSIT SPINE i I i- RAILWAY / EXISTING •Y! FREEWAY INTERCHANGE EXISTING - GRADE SEPARATION 0 PROPOSED �1 GRADE SEPARATION DEFERREDBY7HE REGION OF OURH41A Lake Ontario `Y MAP J4 TRANSPORTATION NETWORK ROADS AND TRANSIT NEWCA5TLE VILLAGE URBAN AREA OFFICIAL PLAN MUNICIPALITY OF CLAIR INGTON JUNE. 2a18 OFFICE CON�OUDA.TION Figure 3: Newcastle Road Network Municipality of Clarington Report PWD-013-21 2. Discussion Page 6 2.1 The official and statutory speed limit in Clarington is 50 km/h, unless otherwise posted, as per the Ontario Highway Traffic Act (HTA). This statutory speed limit of 50 km/h currently applies to the majority of Clarington's urban areas. There is no requirement for the statutory speed limit signs to be posted, however, Clarington, similar to many other jurisdictions, uses gateway signage at key locations to raise awareness of the existing conditions. Where the speed limit is different than the statutory limit, signs are required to be posted at speed dependent intervals varying from 300 meters to 900 meters and downstream of every intersection. Speed limit signs are also required at speed transition locations. 2.2 Many studies and best practices conclude that an effective and appropriate speed limit should be a function of variables such as road design, road purpose, surrounding environment, road user type and should include existing operating, or 85t" percentile, speeds as a main component. The 85t" percentile speed is the speed at or below which 85 percent of vehicles travel. Effective speed limits incorporate and respect these criteria, as drivers will most often operate at speeds that they are comfortable with, or at speeds that correspond to road users' knowledge of the surrounding environment. Artificially low speed limits rarely achieve desired results as many drivers will develop comfort levels and habits based on their repeat experience. Inappropriately lowered speed limits also put a strain on police agencies by increased enforcement requests and expectations from the public. Appropriately established consistent speed limits help to ensure that expectations are met from all road users and enforcement agencies across the surrounding area. 2.3 Statutory speed limits in some jurisdictions are being reduced to 40 km/h as a means to respond to vehicle speeding complaints. While it is recognized that this initiative may provide a perceived improvement, studies undertaken "before" and "after" the revised speeds have been implemented regularly confirm that there are no significant improvements in average speeds. Speed reductions to 40 km/h prove to have the least effect on Collector and Arterial roads since the design and service function of these types of roadways generally support higher comfort levels for motorists which consequently result in higher vehicle operating speeds. A review of neighboring municipalities' practices did not produce any evidence of support for speed reductions on Collector roads only. Municipality of Clarington Page 7 Report PWD-013-21 2.4 In a scenario where only the Collector roads within a subdivision were reduced to a speed limit of 40 km/h, the change would result in most of the local residents originating their trips within a 50 km/h Local road zone, transferring onto a 40 km/h Collector zone for a short distance, and then continuing onto a 50 km/h or higher speed zone when exiting the subdivision onto an Arterial road. This approach would result in a high level of non- compliance by local residents and potential confusion to visitors. Another unintended consequence is the increased speed differential between the compliant and the non- compliant driver, which decreases safety and may introduce frustration among all road users. 2.5 The Northglen neighborhood example in Figure 4 demonstrates that Northglen Boulevard and Edwin Carr Street are the only Collector class roads in the neighborhood. This equates to 1.33 km, or 13% of Collectors out of the total 10.1 km of all roads within the subdivision. This design characteristic is typical to other residential areas across Clarington and other jurisdictions. Balance of page left intentionally blank. Municipality of Clarington Page 8 Report PWD-013-21 N Henry Smi h Avenue Bruce Cameron Drive ti William Fair Dive `a E pre l ck rrs Ve c m m 2 North Ion Boulevard a� aL Robb Lane A2 O L Carey Lane' Ro r a � Hoo pc Ave nine m C� n Con essio Figure 4: Northglen Subdivision Collector roads (dash lines) and Local roads (solid thick lines) Municipality of Clarington Report PWD-013-21 Page 9 2.6 Another significant item to consider is signage associated with speed limit changes. Using Northglen neighborhood in Figure 5 as an example, it has been estimated that a minimum of 26 new speed limit signs would be required to effectively carry out the speed limit reduction within this specific area. At an average installation cost of $200 per sign including post and hardware, the Collector speed limit conversion would result in an approximate cost of $5,200. Staff estimate that a municipal -wide conversion of all Collector roads to any speed limit other than the current statutory speed limit would include approximately 1,000 sign locations with an estimated initial cost of signing the changes of approximately $200,000. Additional costs to the municipality, including on -going sign maintenance associated with retro-reflectivity, replacement, boulevard maintenance and increased risks during motor vehicle collisions are also worth considering. Balance of page left intentionally blank. Municipality of Clarington Page 10 Report PWD-013-21 Henry Bmi[hAvenue Bruce Cameron Drive William Fair Drive a � v� w ca pro, v in-2c� (Z -5 12 rM North rn Boulevard. ir .. -0 . Robb Lane . °} �E; 0 Carey Laneuy�. Rj)qipd Hooper Ave ni Essi,05� Ca . N Figure 5: Northglen neighborhood with a 40 km/h speed limit on Collector roads only — dots represent new speed limit sign locations required for a 40 km/h Collector speed limit change Municipality of Clarington Page 11 Report PWD-013-21 2.7 Over the last several years, staff have also collected speed data at various locations within the Northglen Subdivision area by using in-house data collection equipment. Radar Message Boards (RMB) are feedback signs that display speed information to drivers and collect data for staff to analyze. Armadillos are stealth versions of the RMB and discretely record the speed data without displaying it to drivers. The available results were collected at the sign icon locations shown in Figure 6 below. a i $d1C0�'4 mac. a Premiu repair Sugar y` BA Courtice Computing fltltsm Fred J - rkman AV. Sleeping Beautya Lash Lounge a Northglen Treasure Hill Model Home + a dkeighbourhood Park V O Co ngyy yy 101.5 tloA Highcastle Homes - nZr+a Northgler_ IR TheLan dscapr- Durham"a�� Landscaping Company Abe's Auto Wreckers �kketdlc R`re Ck calew A O Figure 6: Radar Message Board data locations in Northglen Subdivision Municipality of Clarington Report PWD-013-21 Page 12 2.8 The RMB data indicates that average speeds along typical Local roads within the Northglen neighborhood were 31-36 km/h and the 85th percentile speeds were 43-48 km/h. Average speeds along Collector roads were 33-43 km/h and 85th percentile speeds were 44-53 km/h. It is worth highlighting that the data collected along William Fair Drive and along Northglen Boulevard (prior to the All Way STOP installation at Edwin Carr Street) were representative of their surrounding environment; William Fair Drive having average and 851h percentile speeds lower than the Northglen Boulevard Collector road by several km/h. These roads run parallel to each other and at the time of the data collection, both were free flowing between Bowmanville Avenue and Middle Road. This shows that the roads within the area are functioning as per their intended classification and design, and within satisfactory speed levels. 3. Concurrence Not Applicable. 4. Conclusion It is anticipated that a speed limit reduction to 40 km/h along Collector type roads within residential areas would result in greater levels of undesired driver behavior, lower speed limit compliance and driver confusion. The costs associated with speed limit signage changes, as required by the Ontario Traffic Manual and Provincial Regulations, would amount to approximately $200,000. Staff do not recommend lowering speed limits to 40 km/h on Collector roads only. Staff recommend continuing the current approach of investigation and on -going monitoring of the municipal road network and research of alternate options and their suitability on an individual basis. Staff Contact: Slav Potrykus, Traffic Engineering Supervisor, 905-623-3379 ext. 2315 or SPotrykus@clarington.net. Attachments: Not Applicable Interested Parties: The following interested parties will be notified of Council's decision: Dave Bass Laurel Kahler Clarington Active Transportation and Safe Roads Committee