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Home My WebLink About12-38 JANUARY 24, 2012 12-38 ORDINANCE FIRST READING (CARRIED______ LOST_______ LAID OVER_______ WITHDRAWN_______) PURPOSE: APPROVAL OF PARKING REGULATION CHANGES ON WESTFIELD STREET, AND LEFT TURN REGULATIONS AT MAIN STREET AND MERRITT AVENUE INITIATED BY: TRAFFIC REVIEW ADVISORY BOARD A GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OSHKOSH AMENDING SECTIONS 27- 23(A-1) AND 27-23(A-11) OF THE OSHKOSH MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO PROHIBITED LEFT TURNS AND PARKING REGULATIONS ON DESIGNATED STREETS AND ALLEYS. The Common Council of the City of Oshkosh do ordain as follows: SECTION 1. That Section 27-23(A-1) of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to prohibited left turns is hereby amended as follows: A-1 PROHIBITED LEFT TURNS Remove Therefrom: (a) Merritt Avenue onto North Main Street. th Add Thereto: (a) 7 Avenue onto Koeller Street. SECTION 2. That Section 27-23(A-11) of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to parking regulations on designated streets and alleys is hereby amended as follows: A-11 PARKING REGULATIONS ON DESIGNATED STREETS AND ALLEYS WESTFIELD STREET Add Thereto: No parking, both sides, from Robin Avenue to 325 feet south of Robin Avenue. SECTION 3. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, publication and placement of the appropriate signage. SECTION 4. Publication Notice. Please take notice that the City of Oshkosh enacted ordinance #12-XX (A GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OSHKOSH AMENDING SECTIONS 27-23(A-1) AND 27-23(A-11) OF THE OSHKOSH MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO PROHIBITED LEFT TURNS AND PARKING REGULATIONS ON DESIGNATED STREETS AND ALLEYS) on February 14, 2012. The ordinance changes on-street parking regulations on Westfield Street and allows left turns from Merritt Avenue to North Main Street. The full text of the ordinance may be obtained at the Office of the City Clerk, 215 Church Avenue and through the City’s website at www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us. Clerk’s phone: 920/236-5011. 0 OYHKOlH ON THE WATER MEMORANDUM TO: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager FROM: Christopher Strong, Transportation Director DATE: January 18, 2012 RE: Explanation of Traffic Regulations Ordinance Changes SECTION]: SECTION 27- 230 -1) —PROHIBITED LEFT TURNS A REQUEST TO ALLOW LEFT TURNS FROM MERRITT AVENUE ONTO NORTH MAIN STREET. (CURRENT CONDITION: LEFT TURNS ARE PROHIBITED.) This is a citizen request. Recent traffic counts have shown that a number of vehicles make the left turn movement from westbound Merritt Avenue onto southbound North Main Street, even though there is adequate signage indicated that this is prohibited. This experience has led a couple of citizens to suggest that this left turn should be made legal. Left turns prohibitions may be appropriate for safety or capacity reasons. From a safety perspective, westbound traffic on Merritt Avenue will normally be able to see oncoming traffic from eastbound Church Avenue, and can see pedestrians crossing Main Street. Capacity could be a concern here, as there is only one lane for traffic on westbound Merritt Avenue, and a left - turning vehicle could create a backup. Capacity will be more greatly affected if there is a large amount of pedestrian traffic crossing Main Street when Merritt Avenue vehicles wish to turn left. To analyze the effects of allowing left turns, four scenarios were examined under existing signal timing: • Analyze the intersection under current volumes • Analyze the intersection assuming 10 percent of left - turning traffic shifts from adjacent intersections (Parkway Avenue and Washington Avenue) to Merritt Avenue • Analyze the intersection assuming 50 percent of left - turning traffic shifts from adjacent intersections to Merritt Avenue • Analyze the intersection assuming all left - turning traffic shifts from adjacent intersections to Merritt Avenue The results of this analysis are shown for PM peak traffic in Table 1. This table shows the average Page 2 of 3 Explanation of Traffic Ordinance Changes delay per vehicle (in seconds) for each approach to the intersection, along with the corresponding level of service (LOS). LOS is a qualitative measure that helps to assess the relative quality of traffic operations. The level of service is assigned on an A through F scale, with A signifying free flow conditions, and F signifying a breakdown in flow. Typically, the goal is to attain a level of service of D or better. Table 1: Estimated Delay and Level of Service (LOS) for Church/Merritt and Main under Existing Signal Timing (PM Peak Period) Increased delay for Merritt Avenue traffic may be the best reason to keep the restriction. Under the current signal timing plan, additional left - turning traffic would increase delay for westbound Merritt Avenue. Potentially, the level of service for Merritt Avenue could degrade to D, depending on how much traffic shifts from adjacent intersections to Merritt Avenue. Most likely, however, if all of the westbound left - turning traffic were to shift from adjacent intersections to Merritt Avenue, the resulting average delay would encourage vehicles to shift back to the adjacent intersection. Field data and citizen reports indicate that the prohibition is regularly disobeyed. Even so, a review of crash records from 2008 -10 did not find any reportable crashes that resulted from a vehicle on Merritt Avenue making an illegal left turn. The Transportation Department has long recommended removing traffic control devices when they are not necessary. This helps to support greater driver compliance at those locations where these devices are necessary. This left turn prohibition does not seem necessary at this intersection nor is it obeyed. Removal of this prohibition would be consistent with past department recommendations. Concerns were expressed at the January 11, 2012 Traffic Review Advisory Board meeting. The Department of Public Works was concerned that eastbound left - turning could block the intersection while waiting for an acceptable gap to complete their turn. Some Board members expressed concern that a left - turning vehicle could create a long back -up of traffic on Merritt Avenue. However, Board members also noted that they have observed vehicles breaking the prohibition on many occasions in the past. With these concerns in mind, the Board recommended that this be implemented, with a report back to the Board in a few months regarding any safety or congestion issues that may have emerged. PASSED BY TRAFFIC REVIEW BOARD (5 -1) WB Merritt EB Church NB Main SB Main Total Delay sec / veh LOS Delay sec / veh LOS Delay sec / veh LOS Delay sec / veh LOS Delay sec / veh LOS Existing 27 C 17 B 10 B 13 B 16 B Existing + 10% 28 C 17 B 10 B 13 B 16 B Existing + 50% 33 C 17 B 10 B 13 B 17 B Existing + 100% 48 D 17 B 10 B 13 B 22 C Increased delay for Merritt Avenue traffic may be the best reason to keep the restriction. Under the current signal timing plan, additional left - turning traffic would increase delay for westbound Merritt Avenue. Potentially, the level of service for Merritt Avenue could degrade to D, depending on how much traffic shifts from adjacent intersections to Merritt Avenue. Most likely, however, if all of the westbound left - turning traffic were to shift from adjacent intersections to Merritt Avenue, the resulting average delay would encourage vehicles to shift back to the adjacent intersection. Field data and citizen reports indicate that the prohibition is regularly disobeyed. Even so, a review of crash records from 2008 -10 did not find any reportable crashes that resulted from a vehicle on Merritt Avenue making an illegal left turn. The Transportation Department has long recommended removing traffic control devices when they are not necessary. This helps to support greater driver compliance at those locations where these devices are necessary. This left turn prohibition does not seem necessary at this intersection nor is it obeyed. Removal of this prohibition would be consistent with past department recommendations. Concerns were expressed at the January 11, 2012 Traffic Review Advisory Board meeting. The Department of Public Works was concerned that eastbound left - turning could block the intersection while waiting for an acceptable gap to complete their turn. Some Board members expressed concern that a left - turning vehicle could create a long back -up of traffic on Merritt Avenue. However, Board members also noted that they have observed vehicles breaking the prohibition on many occasions in the past. With these concerns in mind, the Board recommended that this be implemented, with a report back to the Board in a few months regarding any safety or congestion issues that may have emerged. PASSED BY TRAFFIC REVIEW BOARD (5 -1) Page 3 of 3 Explanation of Traffic Ordinance Changes PROHIBITED LEFT TURNS FROM 7 TH AVENUE ONTO KOELLER STREET. This is simply a matter of updating the code book to reflect field conditions. SECTION 2: SECTION 27- 230 -11) — PARKING REGULATIONS A REQUEST TO RESTRICT PARKING ON BOTH SIDES OF WESTFIELD STREET FROM ROBIN AVENUE TO 325 FEET SOUTH OF ROBIN AVENUE. (CURRENT CONDITION: UNRESTRICTED PARKING.) This is a Department of Public Works request. The Westfield Street bridge over Sawyer Creek was reconstructed in 2011. The project narrowed the driving width of the bridge deck from 40 feet to 32 feet, and the driving width of Westfield Street from 50 feet to 32 feet. Westfield Street is a collector street which, according to the current comprehensive plan, should have parking eliminated as needed in order to accommodate moving vehicle traffic. If parking is preserved on both sides of Westfield Street, it will become more difficult for vehicles to pass each other, and could create potential safety problems. I do not believe on- street parking is extensively used in this area except perhaps for events at Red Arrow Park. Even in that case, the proposed parking change would impact only a small percentage of the parking adjacent to the park. PASSED BY TRAFFIC REVIEW BOARD (6 -0)