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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTRA_StaffMemo_Feb 8 2011TRAFFIC REVIEW ADVISORY BOARD AGENDA ITEMS FEBRUARY 2011 NEW BUSINESS A REQUEST FOR A FOUR-WAY STOP AT THE INTERSECTION OF CHURCH AVENUE AND DIVISION STREET. (CURRENT CONDITION: CHURCH AVENUE IS A THROUGH STREET.) This is a citizen request. There are two primary warrants for an all-way stop to be used to control traffic at an intersection. Under the safety warrant, there must be five or more reported crashes in a 12-month period that are susceptible to correction by an all-way stop installation. These crashes include right- and left-turn collisions as well as right-angle collisions. Under the traffic volume warrant, the following conditions must all be true: Traffic exceeds 300 vehicles per hour for at least eight (8) hours for the major street approaches. Traffic exceeds 200 vehicles per hour for at least eight (8) hours on the minor street approaches. Traffic volumes are relatively equal in distribution. The number of reported crashes at the intersection of Church Avenue and Division Street is shown in Table 1. As can be seen, the crash history at this intersection is not enough to satisfy the all-way stop warrant. Table 1: Number of Crashes at Church Avenue and Division Street, 2002 to 2009  Traffic volume data were collected in November 2010, after the Main Street construction project was complete; average weekday hourly traffic volumes are provided in Table 2. While there is sufficient traffic on Church Avenue to satisfy the major street warrant, there is not enough traffic on Division Street. Moreover, the traffic volumes at this intersection are not distributed equally, with more than two-thirds of the traffic being on Church Avenue. Table 2: Hourly Traffic Volumes at Church Avenue and Division Street, November 2010  In addition to the warrants not being met, it should be noted that Church Avenue is a collector street while Division Street is classified as a local street. Stopping traffic on Church Avenue at this intersection would reduce the ability of the street to move traffic as intended. I recommend denial of this request. A REQUEST FOR NO PARKING ON THE NORTH SIDE OF CHURCH AVENUE FROM 45 FEET WEST OF MAIN STREET TO 104 FEET WEST OF MAIN STREET. (CURRENT CONDITION: 2-HOUR PARKING BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 9:00 A.M. AND 6:00 PM. DAILY, EXCEPT ON SUNDAYS AND HOLIDAYS.) This is a citizen request. This section of on-street parking was added in early 2004. The Traffic Review Advisory Board supported this with a 4-2 vote. Supporting votes indicated that the street had sufficient width (at 42 feet) to accommodate the parking, and that a previous trial with this had shown no safety problems. Opposing votes cited the availability of parking elsewhere, specifically in the Division Street and 400 Block West municipal parking lots. The 2005 City of Oshkosh Comprehensive Plan calls for removal of on-street parking on collector streets, like Church Avenue, if necessary for additional traffic capacity. In addition, some studies have suggested that the removal of on-street parking can contribute to improved safety. The citizen making this request was concerned that continuing to allow on-street parking is a safety problem. There has been nominal traffic growth on Church Avenue in the last few years, but not enough that appear to require the removal of parking to facilitate traffic flow. The Main Street construction project did not result in any narrowing of this section of Church Avenue; therefore, there should be no new safety issues with on-street parking at this location. Moreover, a review of crash data from 2007-2009 did not show any crashes involving vehicles using this on-street parking. While a case could be made to remove this parking, I don’t believe there is compelling evidence that there is a current or potential safety problem significant enough to warrant the removal of the parking. Moreover, preserving this parking helps to offset the effects of some of the parking lost as a result of the re-construction of Main Street. I recommend denial of this request. A REQUEST FOR NO PARKING ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF PARKWAY AVENUE BETWEEN MAIN STREET AND DIVISION STREET. (CURRENT CONDITION: 2-HOUR PARKING DAILY FROM 9:00 A.M. TO 6:00 P.M. EXCEPT ON SUNDAYS AND HOLIDAYS.) This is a citizen request. Parkway Avenue is a 30’ wide local street with traffic volumes of approximately 800 vehicles per day. The citizen making this request is concerned that the presence of parked vehicles can increase the risk of crashes when vehicles are driving on this street. Parking restrictions on local streets are considered according to the guidelines presented in Table 3. Table 3: Guidelines for Parking Restrictions on Local Streets  Further, department guidelines state that a valid petition, signed by over 50 percent of the residents on a local street, should be the overriding factor in determining the parking restriction on local streets between 25 feet and 33 feet in width. If a petition isn’t presented to the Board, the following factors should be considered in removing parking on local streets between 25 feet and 33 feet: Traffic exceeds 1,000 vehicles per day. On-street parking exceeds 50 percent of available spaces. Significant curves, hills or sight restrictions. As noted earlier, traffic volumes on this section of Parkway Avenue are less than 1,000 vehicles per day. A 2008 parking utilization study showed parking utilization of these spaces at about 46 percent. There are no significant curves or hills or sight restrictions related to these parking spaces. In summary, none of these factors would seem to require the removal of on-street parking. While Parkway Avenue is a relatively narrow street, the presence of on-street parking on this block did not result in any crashes between 2007 and 2009. As was true with the previous item, preserving the parking here helps to offset the effects of the Main Street reconstruction project, especially as parking losses were most notable toward the northern end of the project limits. I recommend denial of this request. 4. A REQUEST FOR A LOADING ZONE ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF BAY SHORE DRIVE FROM 255 FEET EAST OF BAY STREET TO 295 FEET EAST OF BAY STREET BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 7 AM AND 6 PM, MONDAYS THROUGH FRIDAYS. (CURRENT CONDITION: UNRESTRICTED PARKING.) This is a business request. The business making this request is on Bay Shore Drive, which is a local street with a width of 30 feet at this location. Two reasons were cited by the business for wanting to limit on-street parking during business hours. First, delivery vehicles sometimes have difficulty accessing the entrance to his building. Second, there is no public sidewalk on the southern side of the road, so this is also the primary pedestrian to the building. It appears that the curb near the building’s entrance may have been painted in the past for this type of restriction; however, there is no current ordinance language to support a parking restriction. There is no parking on the north side of the street. This proposal would result in the loss of the equivalent of two parking spaces during daytime hours; however, in a couple of field visits, it did not appear that there is significant demand for daytime parking in this area. The proposed loading zone would still allow the parking to be used for evening and weekend parking, which would allow it to be used by residents. Therefore, the impact of this request appears to be minimal. I recommend approval of this request. 5. A REQUEST FOR A TRAFFIC SIGNAL AT THE INTERSECTION OF COUNTY HIGHWAY A AND COUNTY HIGHWAY Y. (CURRENT CONDITION: COUNTY HIGHWAY A IS A THROUGH STREET.) This is a citizen request. The citizen made this request out of concern for the safety of vehicles crossing or entering County Highway A from County Highway Y, specifically during the morning rush hour and the afternoon from 3-5 PM. The Transportation Department uses traffic signal warrants from the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices to provide an objective, consistent and proven way of assessing whether the benefits of a signal might outweigh the costs. The following is the staff’s preliminary analysis of these warrants. Warrant 1: Eight-Hour Vehicular Volume. This warrant is based on having a sufficient traffic volume on both streets at a given intersection over a minimum of eight hours of the day. Table 4 summarizes traffic volumes at this intersection as collected in May 2010. Table 4: Hourly Traffic Volumes at County Highway A and County Highway Y, May 2010  Satisfying this warrant would require: a) eight hours each day of 420 vehicles per hour on County Highway A and 140 vehicles per hour on one of the County Highway Y approaches; b) eight hours each day of 630 vehicles per hour on County Highway A and 70 vehicles per hour on one of the County Highway Y approaches; or c) 80 percent of the volume necessary to meet condition a) and 80 percent of the volume necessary to meet condition b). Condition a) appears to be met for one of eight hours, while condition b) appears to be met for five hours. Condition c) appears to be met for only seven hours for part a) and seven hours for part b); however, both parts of this condition are satisfied for only six hours. Therefore, this warrant is not satisfied. Warrant 2: 4-Hour Vehicular Traffic Volume. This warrant is also based on large volumes of intersecting traffic, and looks at hourly traffic during any four hours of a given day. To satisfy this warrant, there must be four points above the curve shown in Figure 1. Since only one of the points is above the curve, this warrant is not satisfied.  Figure 1: Evaluation of Warrant 2, County Highway A and County Highway Y, May 2010 Warrant 3: Peak Hour. This signal warrant is intended for use at a location where traffic conditions are such that for a minimum of 1 hour of an average day, the minor-street traffic suffers undue delay when entering or crossing the major street. According to the MUTCD, “This signal warrant shall be applied only in unusual cases, such as office complexes, manufacturing plants, industrial complexes, or high-occupancy vehicle facilities that attract or discharge large numbers of vehicles over a short time.” As such, this warrant is not applicable in this case. Warrant 4: Pedestrian Volumes. This warrant requires minimum pedestrian volumes during a peak hour or over a four-hour period, as well as a lack of gaps in traffic in which pedestrians may safely cross. The requirement is for there to be 190 pedestrians crossing in a single hour or 100 pedestrians in each of four hours during a day. With limited pedestrian amenities at this intersection, it is doubtful that these pedestrian volumes are occurring. Warrant 5: School Crossing. This warrant is a variant of the previous warrant and focuses on pedestrian crossings toward a school. As this intersection is not near a school, this warrant is not applicable. Warrant 6: Coordinated Signal System. This warrant can be used to help traffic progression through signals by preserving platooning of vehicles. Given the distance from adjacent traffic signals, this warrant is not applicable. Warrant 7: Crash Experience. Traffic signals can be used to improve intersection safety. The following must be satisfied: Five or more reported accidents of types susceptible to correction by a traffic signal within a twelve month period; the volume of traffic is at least 80 percent of the required level for the minimum vehicular volumes from Warrant 1; and adequate trial of alternatives with satisfactory observance and enforcement has failed to reduce the crash frequency. Table 5 summarizes the crash history at this intersection from 2002 to date. Table 5: Number of Crashes at County Highway A and County Highway Y, 2002-2009  As can be seen, the crash experience warrant is not satisfied. Warrant 8 – Roadway Network. A traffic signal may be installed to encourage concentration and organization of traffic flow on a roadway network, especially in the intersection of two major streets. Due to the traffic volumes required to satisfy this warrant, it is unlikely that this warrant will be applicable to intersections in the City in the foreseeable future. Warrant 9: Intersection near a Grade Crossing. The purpose of this relatively new warrant is to look at special circumstances where the intersection’s proximity to a railroad grade crossing is the main reason for considering a signal. While a rail line is near this intersection, this is not the primary motivator for this request. Therefore, this warrant was not examined any further. Based on the preliminary analysis, this intersection does not satisfy any of the signal warrants. Therefore, I recommend denial of this request. STAFF STATEMENTS 6. REVIEW OF DOWNTOWN PARKING RESTRICTIONS In follow-up to last meeting, staff did a quick review of on-street parking regulations in the downtown area for consistency. In general, the standard duration for free parking in the downtown area is two (2) hours. Table 6 lists exceptions to the 2-hour standard in the downtown BID area. The areas with parking of shorter than two hours seem to make sense, as they are in locations where higher parking turnover is encouraged or appropriate. The areas with 4-hour parking are on the periphery of the downtown BID, where on-street parking demand is expected to be lower. Table 6: Exceptions to 2-Hour Parking in Downtown BID 5-minute zone High Avenue, north side, in front of Grand Opera House  15-minute zones Main Street, west side, near Stannard Cleaners Otter Avenue, south side, in front of post office  30-minute zones Commerce Street, west side and east side loading zones to serve the Shops at City Center and US Bank Court Street, west side, in front of Fire Station 15  4-hour zones Court Street, Ceape Avenue to Otter Avenue Court Street, Waugoo Avenue to Washington Avenue Division Street, Algoma Boulevard to the north   7. REVIEW OF ACCIDENT EXPERIENCE AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY AT ROUNDABOUTS The Oshkosh Police Department recently compiled a summary of accident experience and enforcement activity at the four roundabouts which opened in 2010. The summary is attached to this staff memo. A Police Department representative will appear at the meeting to answer questions.