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Home My WebLink About00-305 attach.docTO: FROM: MEMORANDUM Richard Wollangk, City Manager Mark Huddleston, Transportation Director Q/HKO/H ON THE WATER DATE: July 19, 2000 Items Defeated by the Traffic Review Board at their July 11, 2000 Meeting REQUEST FOR NO PARKING ON THE EAST SIDE OF WESTERN AVENUE FROM CONGRESS AVENUE TO BENT AVENUE. This is a request from a citizen. There is currently a no parking restriction on the east side of Western Avenue between Congress Avenue and New York Avenue. This citizen has requested that the restriction be extended to Bent Avenue. The width of Western Street is 26 feet. The general rule for parking removal is that a width of 26 feet or less should have parking prohibited on both sides; whereas, widths of 27 to 31 feet may need a one-side prohibition. The actual need to remove parking depends on parking demand, traffic volumes, land use, driveway access and the desires of the residents. The width of Western Street would indicate the need for a one-side parking prohibition. If vehicles are parked directly across from each other, the traffic lane is reduced to 10 feet. This width would be further reduced if there was any significant accumulation of snow. The current parking situation on Western Street could impede larger vehicles such as garbage trucks, snow plows or emergency vehicles. DEFEATED BY TRAFFIC REVIEW BOARD, (2-4) REQUEST FOR 20 MPH SPEED LIMIT ON GRACELAND DRIVE BETWEEN GOLDEN AVENUE AND GRACELAND COURT. This request is the result of a petition. The normal residential speed limit in any city in Wisconsin is set at 25 mph. This is a national standard that is used so there is a consistent speed limit that a motorist can follow even in the absence of speed limit signs. A lower speed limit can be imposed if there is a valid reason to lower the speed limit. The normal basis for determining the need for a lower speed limit would be accident data. A very narrow roadway may also justify a lower speed limit. A lower speed limit on curves is generally posted as an advisory speed limit to avoid %pot" speed zoning which could be determined to be illegal. This is the case of Graceland Drive. It is unfair to have a lower speed limit without a series of advanced signs as required by state statute for school zones. The purpose of the curves on Graceland Drive is to slow traffic. This is a form of traffic calming that will reduce speeds for the majority of motorists. It is generally accepted that a small percentage of motorists will ignore traffic signs, irregardless of the message. The impact of lowering the speed limit on Graceland Drive to 20 mph would be almost nonexistent. It should also be noted that Graceland Drive is a collector type street. I would expect lower traffic volumes once Westhaven Drive is connected to Witzel Avenue, which may help to alleviate some of the current problems on Graceland Drive. DEFEATED BY TRAFFIC REVIEW BOARD, (0-6) Page 2 REQUEST FOR TRAFFIC SIGNALS AT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS: A) 20TM AVENUE AND OAKWOOD ROAD, B) 9TM AVENUE AND OAKWOOD ROAD AND C) HARRISON STREET AND MURDOCK AVENUE. The Oshkosh Common Council has allocated funds for the installation of one traffic signal in 2000. I have investigated three (3) intersections for the possible installation of a traffic signal. The pertinent information is shown below: TRAFFIC VOL UMES AVERAGE DALLY TRAFFIC Intersection Maj or Minor Murdock Avenue/Harrison Street Oakwood Road/9th Avenue 20th Avenue/Oakwood Road 11,453 4,923 6,921 5,108 6,297 3,169 The motorists using the minor street will have their travel time improved at the expense of those motorists using the major street. The Board must weigh the impact of improving the travel time for motorists on a minor street against creating a delay for the much higher number of motorists on the major street. ACCIDENT DATA The next chart shows the number of accidents at each location for the last three years. It should be noted that a traffic signal will generally reduce the number of right angle accidents, but an increase in rear-ends type accidents can be expected. 1997 - 1999 ACCIDENT DATA Intersection 1999 1998 1997 Total Murdock Avenue/Harrison Street 5 1 2 8 9th Avenue/Oakwood Road 3 0 2 5 20th Avenue/Oakwood Road 1 2 0 3 The Wisconsin Department of Transportation uses the following rule of thumb in determining a potentially hazardous intersection. The rates are expressed in terms of 1,000,000 vehicles entering the intersection. INTERSECTION ACCIDENT RATES 0 - 1.5 Normal to Typical 1.6 - 2.0 Gray Area Over 2.1 Investigation Warranted The following rates were calculated for the intersections under consideration for a traffic signal. Murdock Avenue/Harrison Street .8 9th Avenue/Oakwood Road 20th Avenue and Oakwood Road .3 .7 The three intersections under consideration for traffic signals fall within an acceptable level for accident rates. Page 3 VEHICULAR VOL ~E WARRANTS The principle function of a traffic signal is to permit crossing streams of traffic to share the same intersection by means of time separation. Therefore, the major criterion for traffic signals is the volume of traffic entering the intersection. The need for a traffic signal at any particular location must be carefully evaluated in relation to the established warrants. WARRANT 1 - M1NIMUM VEHICULAR VOLUME (HIGHEST 8 HOURS) Vehicles Per Hour On the Major Street Vehicles Per Hour On the Minor Street (both approaches) (one direction) Two Lanes Four Lanes One Lane Two Lanes 500 600 150 200 NUMBERS OF HOURS EXCEEDING VOLUME REQUIREMENT Intersection Major Street Minor Street Murdock Avenue/Harrison Street 9th Avenue/Oakwood Road 20th Avenue/Oakwood Road 10 3 0 8 2 1 An intersection qualifies under this warrant if it exceeds the required traffic volumes for at least eight (8) hours on the major and minor streets. The intersections under consideration for a traffic signal did not meet or exceed this warrant. WARRANT 2 - INTERRUPTION OF CONTINOUS TRAFFIC (HIGHEST 8 HOURS) Vehicles Per Hour On the Major Street (both approaches) Vehicles Per Hour On the Minor Street (one direction) Two Lanes Four Lanes One Lane Two Lanes 750 900 75 100 NUMBERS OF HOURS EXCEEDING VOLUME REQUIREMENT Intersection Major Street Minor Street Murdock Avenue/Harrison Street 9th Avenue/Oakwood Road 20th Avenue/Oakwood Road 1 12 0 17 2 9 An intersection qualifies under this warrant if it exceeds the required traffic volumes for at least eight (8) hours on the major and minor streets. None of the above intersections qualify under this warrant. Page 4 SUiPgdAR Y The accident rates at the above intersections are well within acceptable levels and don't indicate a safety hazard. It must be remembered that in many cases the installation of a traffic signal will not significantly reduce the total number of accidents occurring at an intersection. The three intersections under consideration for the installation of a traffic signal do not meet the warrants for a traffic signal under either of the major warrants. My philosophy is to protect the free flowing movement on major arterials by minimizing the number of traffic signals on major arterials. I have not observed any long term backup of traffic on the minor streets being considered for a traffic signal. If an intersection doesn't qualify under the warrants, the Board must take a very close look at an intersection before installing a traffic signal. It may be difficult to cross the major street during peak periods, but does it justify the installation of a traffic signal. The Board needs to consider the actual length of delay, alternative routes, number of right tums and the type of accidents occurring at the intersection. The intersections examined in this report do not meet the warrants for immediate installation of a traffic signal. ALL LOCATIONS DEFEATED BY TRAFFIC REVIEW BOARD, (0-6).