HomeMy WebLinkAboutWD-13-90 TOWN OF NEWCASTLE
REPORT
File #
Res. #
By-Law #
hEHING: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION MEETING
DATE: FEBRUARY 5, 1990
REPORT #: WD-13-90 FILE #:
SUB.ECT: CONSOLIDATION AND REVISION OF TRAFFIC BY-LAWS
RECOMMENDATIONS:
It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and
Administration Committee recommend to Council the following:
1. THAT Report WD-13-90 be received;
2 . THAT $50,000 be included in the 1990 Budget, for Council's
consideration, to consolidate and update the Town's traffic by-laws
and to prepare an inventory of all signs on Town owned streets; and
3 . THAT, subject to approval of the funds in the 1990 Budget, Totten
Sims Hubicki Associates be retained to prepare the consolidation
and updating of the Town's traffic by-laws and to prepare an
inventory of the signs on the Town's streets .
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REPORT
1. 0 ATTACHMENT
No. l: Letter from Totten Sims Hubicki Associates dated
January 26, 1990.
. . .2
103
REPORT NO. : WD-13-90 PAGE 2
2 . 0 BACKGROUND
2 . 1 As Council is aware, Council passes by-laws from time to time to
regulate speed, stop signs, yield signs, etc . The by-laws which
the Town has dealt with are the following:
General Traffic
Regulating Parking
Parking Meters
Designated Through Highways
Designated Stop Signs at Intersections
Restricting Weight and Loads on Highways Other Than During
March and April
Prohibiting Traffic
Designating One-Way Streets
Restricting Weight Over Bridges
Restricting Speed Over Bridges
Increase/Decrease in Speed Limits
Pedestrian Crossovers
40 km/h Speed Limit in School Zones
School Bus Loading Zones
Public Transit Loading Zones
2 .2 The existing traffic by-laws are the product of many revisions and
amendments over the past several years . A review of the by-laws
has revealed that many of the schedules in the by-laws are
incomplete and in some cases incorrect. The rapid growth which has
occurred in the Town in the recent past has resulted in many signs
being installed which have not been authorized by a by-law.
. . .3
X044
REPORT NO. : WD-13-90 PAGE 3
2 . 3 most municipalities consolidate their traffic by-laws every five
years . This consolidation, which brings together all of the
amendments made to the by-laws over the past five years, results
in a single by-law for each of the several categories, thereby
making them much easier to use. The last consolidation of the
Town's traffic by-laws was done in 1979 .
2 .4 The consolidation and the updating of the existing by-laws is a big
job. The Public Works Department does not have the available staff
to do the job. For this reason, we have reviewed this matter with
our consultant, Totten Sims Hubicki Associates and we have obtained
a cost estimate from them to do the consolidation and update for
US .
2 .5 As part of the consolidation, and updating of the Town's traffic
by-laws it will be necessary to prepare an inventory of the signs
on the Town's streets . This inventory will be very helpful in
preparing a budget and a program of replacement of the signs.
2 . 6 In their letter (Attachment No. l) , Totten Sims Hubicki Associates
have provided an outline of the work required to update our traffic
by-laws, a schedule for the work and a cost estimate.
3 .0 RECOMMENDATIONS
3 . 1 In view of the above, it is recommended that $50,000 ( $45,000 as
quoted by Totten Sims Hubicki Associates plus an allowance of
$5,000 for Town staff time) be provided in the 1990 Budget for the
consolidation of the Town's traffic by-laws and subject to approval
of the funding, Totten Sims Hubicki Associates be retained to
prepare the consolidation and updating of the Town's traffic by-
laws and to prepare an inventory of the signs on the Town's
streets.
. . .4
0 4 .
REPORT NO. : WD-13-90 PAGE 4
Respectfully submitted, Recommended for presentation
to the Committee,
4xv�Ir
------------------------ A-
Walter ----------------
A. Evans, P. Eng. , Kotseff,
Director of Public Works . Chief Administrative Officer.
WAE*llv
January 25, 1990
Attachment
04
G.L.TOTTEN B.Sc., P.Eng.
R.E.SIMS B.A.Sc.,P.Eng.
J.M. HUBICKI B.A.Sc.,OAA, P.Eng.
R.L. WINDOVER M.Sc.,P.Eng.
P.C. EBERLEE B.A.Sc., P.Eng.
CONSULTANTS TOTTEN SIMS HUBICKI ASSOCIATES((1981))LIMITED
1500 HOPKINS STREET,WHITBY,ONTARIO
CANADA,UN 2C3
totten sims hubicki associates
(418)888.9383 Feu:888-0221
January 26th, 1990
Corporation of the Town of Newcastle WLN
40 Temperance Street r' �I Note and rWe
NE 0N' .�S rL L
Bowmanville, Ontario r��6�tt, , Discuss with
L1C 3A6 pr T)_ Ptte Answer
JAN y •) U �`+�U Note @ Return to Ate
Attention: Mr. W. A. Evans, P. Eng. tnwstigateandRFoorr Director of Public Works PUBLIC WORKS
��P�, r Take r4pyarite Aaron
Re: Transportation By-law Consolidation and' �(1G LirQ
Sign Inventory Compilation, Town of Newcastle
Dear Sir:
Further to our discussions with Mr. Ron Baker of your staff, Totten Sims Hubicki
Associates (TSH) are pleased to submit the following proposal regarding the consol-
idation of the Town of Newcastle's transportation by-laws and the creation of a
sign inventory.
The Town of Newcastle presently has a number of transportation-related by-laws that
have been revised and amended several times. It is understood that some of the
by-laws have been duplicated and that the Schedules for other by-laws are
incomplete.
TSH proposes to replace all of the Town's transportation by-laws with a series of
documents. Each by-law would address a specific traffic issue with the relevant
Schedule(s) attached. It is fundamental that the Schedules reflect the exiting
field conditions; therefore, a thorough review and inventory of the Town's signage
should be undertaken. The Town of Newcastle does not presently maintain a signing
inventory.
The revised by-laws, as assessed by TSH, should address the following subjects/
issues individually:
• General Traffic
• Regulating Parking
• Parking Meters
• Designated Through Highways
• Designated Stop Signs at Intersections
• Designated Yield Right-of-Way Signs at Intersections
• Restricting Weight of Loads on Highways Other Than During March and April
• Prohibiting Heavy Traffic
• Designating One-Way Streets
• Restricting Weight Over Bridges
• Restricting Speed Over Bridges
ATTACHMENT 1JQ ,1.
ENGINEERS ARCHITECTS AND PLANNERS
1 047
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o Increase/Decrease in Speed Limits
o Pedestrian Crossovers
0 40 km/h Speed Limit in School Zones
o School Bus Loading Zones
o Public Transit Loading Zones
The creation of a series of new by-laws has many advantages including:
• Quicker to produce;
• Easier to understand;
• Easier to amend;
• Fewer court challenges; and
• Easier to locate relevant by-laws.
In recognition of the above objectives and our understanding of the by-law related
issues, the following work program is proposed. The Study would be divided into
the following major phases - data collection and assessment, sign suitability
analysis, sign inventory, by-law preparation and schedule preparation. j
I
1. STUDY APPRECIATION, DATA COLLECTION AND ASSESSMENT
The initial activity would be a complete review of the consolidation process,
schedule, and budget with the town's Director of Public Works and Solicitor. Each
of the proposed new by-laws would be ranked so that the most important by-laws
would be produced first.
A comprehensive field review of all roadways within the corporate limits of the
Town of Newcastle would be undertaken by TSH. The existing traffic control devices
will be noted and incorporated into the schedules of the appropriate by-laws.
2. SIGN SUITABILITY ANALYSIS
It is fundamental that all signage and pavement markings erected by the Town of
Newcastle conform to the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) . TSH
will provide an experienced traffic engineer as part of the data collection team to
assess the suitability of all signage and pavement markings within the Town. A
report will be provided to the Town which will outline any modifications required
to ensure conformity with the MUTCD.
3. SIGN INVENTORY
The Town of Newcastle does not presently maintain a sign inventory. An inventory
can be used as a tool to determine future sign replacement and purchasing
requirements for budgetting purposes as well as for legal defense (liability and i
by-law challenges) purposes. TSH would create a sign inventory for the Town, based
on the data collected during the field review phase. The field data could be input
into a spreadsheet or database format. Lotus 1-2-3 would be used by TSH to create
the sign inventory.
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totten sims hubicki associates
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As part of the by-law review study, TSH would provide the Town of Newcastle with
recommendations for the implementation of a sign replacement program and for the
proper procedures to be followed by the Town for updating the signing inventory.
4. BY-LAW PREPARATION
It is proposed that each by-law will be developed separately according to priori-
ties established in consultation with Town staff. This will allow for the greatest
needs to be addressed quickly. All by-laws will be based upon the Province of
Ontario's Model By-laws for municipalities. Draft by-laws will be submitted to the
Town staff for review. TSH will incorporate any changes suggested by the staff and
then send the revised by-laws to solicitors apppointed by the Town for a legal
review and interpretation. It is understood that some by-laws require a review by
the Region of Durham. TSH would liase with the Regional staff, as required. It is
recommended that the draft by-law be submitted to the Ministry of Transportation
for their review and comments, The by-law would then be presented to Town Council
to be ratified.
5. SCHEDULE PREPARATION
Upon completion of the field review, Schedules would be prepared for each by-law
where appropriate. The schedules typically list the location and limits of roadway
sections where a particular by-law applies. It is critical that the use of all
traffic control devices be authorized through a by-law.
The work schedule proposed by TSH is as follows:
Authorization to 0
pr ceed: April 2
p 1990
Start Up Meeting: April 6, 1990
Data Collection and Assessment: April 9 - May 18, 1990
Sign Suitability Analysis: May 31, 1990
Sign Inventory June 8, 1990
By-law and Schedule Preparation: May 14 - June 15, 1990
Town Staff Review: May 21 - June 22, 1990
Legal Review: June 4 - July 6, 1990
By-laws Presented to Council: June 18 - July 20, 1990
The estimated cost to complete the data collection, sign inventory, and preparation
of sixteen separate by-laws is $45,000. The estimated fee for each phase of the
work program is:
• Data Collection and Assessment $22,300,00
• Sign Suitability Analysis $ 3,500.00
• Sign Inventory (Lotus 1-2-3) $ 2,000.00
• By-law Preparation $10,000.00
• Schedule Preparation $ 2,200.00
• Disbursements* $ 1,000.00
• Contingency $. 4,000.00
$45,000.00
*Disbursements include costs associated with the data collection, printing
costs, etc.
1 0 4 9 totten sims hubicki associates
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The estimated fee above is based upon TSH's assessment of the work program detailed
in this proposal. The above fee does not include the cost of any legal reviews
required as part of the by-law consolidation.
TSH is currently reviewing traffic by-laws as an integral component to larger
traffic operation and transportation planning studies for two municipalities at the
present time. This recent experience will be very beneficial towards the
successful and timely completion of this assignment.
We welcome the opportunity to work with the Town of Newcastle on this challenging
project. If you wish to discuss any aspect of our proposal, please do not hesitate
to contact the undersigned.
Yours very truly,
D. I. Allingham, P. Eng.
Manager, Transportation Engineering
DIA/dh
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ptotten sims hubicki associates