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HomeMy WebLinkAbout30. 12-346 JUNE 26, 2012 12-346 ORDINANCE FIRST READING (CARRIED LOST LAID OVER WITHDRAWN ) PURPOSE: REMOVAL OF LEFT TURN REGULATIONS AT KOELLER STREET AND 7TH AVENUE INITIATED BY: TRAFFIC REVIEW ADVISORY BOARD A GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OSHKOSH AMENDING SECTIONS 27- 23(A-1) OF THE OSHKOSH MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO PROHIBITED LEFT TURNS. 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) 7th Avenue onto Koeller Street. SECTION 2. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from its passage, publication and placement of the appropriate signage, and after this intersection is re- located to the west. SECTION 3. Publication Notice. Please take notice that the City of Oshkosh enacted ordinance #12-XXX (A GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OSHKOSH AMENDING SECTIONS 27-23(A-1) OF THE OSHKOSH MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO PROHIBITED LEFT TURNS) on July 10, 2012. The ordinance allows left turns from 7th Avenue to Koeller 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. 4Tire OfHKOJH ON THE WATER MEMORANDUM TO: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager FROM: Christopher Strong, Transportation Director DATE: June 20, 2012 RE: Explanation of Traffic Regulations Ordinance Changes SECTION 1: SECTION 27-23 (A-1) —PROHIBITED LEFT TURNS A REQUEST TO RELOCATE THE INTERSECTION OF KOELLER STREET AND 7TH AVENUE TO THE WEST,IN ORDER TO ALLOW ALL TURNING MOVEMENTS. (CURRENT CONDITION: LEFT TURNS FROM 7TH AVENUE TO SOUTHBOUND KOELLER STREET ARE PROHIBITED.) This is a developer request. Koeller Street, near its intersection with 7th Avenue, has a median which prohibits left turns from southbound Koeller Street to 7th Avenue, and from 7th Avenue to southbound Koeller Street. The developer is interested in having full access at this intersection. In order to achieve this, the developer proposes relocating the intersection of Koeller Street and 7th Avenue to the west, so that the existing median does not prohibit either of the left-turning movements. The relocation of the intersection would also entail relocating a driveway from Red Robin restaurant so that it connects to 7th Avenue (not Koeller Street), which would reduce the number of access points on Koeller Street. A schematic is included with this staff memo. This request involves numerous considerations, which are described in the following sections. • Current traffic patterns. The developer's traffic impact analysis study shows, and staff observations confirm, that numerous vehicles disobey the current left turn prohibitions at this intersection. Peak hour traffic counts conducted by the applicant's traffic engineer showed about 65 percent of the traffic from 7th Avenue was turning left illegally, with several vehicles also making illegal left turns from southbound Koeller Street. • Crash history. Restrictions on vehicle movements at an intersection are sometimes enacted for safety reasons. Though there is a pronounced pattern of illegal left turns at this intersection, there has not been a corresponding crash pattern. According to Transportation Department records, there were no reported crashes at this intersection between 2004 and Page 2 of 3 Explanation of Traffic Ordinance Changes 2010. There were two crashes at this intersection in 2011, neither of which involved turning movements at this intersection1. • Access management. Each access point, whether a driveway or intersection, provides an opportunity for vehicle movements to conflict with each other, which may result in crashes. In general, a reduction in the number of access points corresponds to a reduction in the number of vehicle crashes. This request would reduce the number of access points from two (one full access and one limited access) to one full access, which would typically correspond to an improvement in traffic safety. • Intersection spacing. Section 25-104.1 of the Oshkosh Municipal Code calls for there to be no driveway approach improvement on a collector street within at least 120 feet of an adjacent driveway or intersection. The current spacing between the Red Robin driveway and the 7th Avenue intersection is less than 90 feet. Combining the intersection with the Red Robin restaurant driveway makes the intersection and driveway spacing comply with code requirements. • Impact of increased traffic on safety. Since the frequency of crashes tends to increase with increased traffic, it is important to note the amount that traffic is projected to increase at this intersection. Currently, 23 vehicles are exiting westbound 7th Avenue during a typical weekday afternoon peak hour. With the combined driveway and the proposed development, assuming that 7th Avenue between the development driveway and Lilac Street remains open, this would increase to 53 vehicles in the peak hour2. While this more than doubles the 7th Avenue traffic at that intersection, there is estimated to be only a 4 percent increase of traffic at the intersection as a whole, because traffic volumes on Koeller Street are much higher in comparison. • Sight distance. The curved alignment of Koeller Street presents some unusual sight distance challenges, especially for traffic turning from 7th Avenue. Motorists wishing to turn left onto southbound Koeller Street have to look farther back to the right in order to be able to see approaching traffic. The alignment of the road means that it is possible that landscaping and vehicle parking in the Red Robin restaurant parking lot could make it difficult for motorists to see southbound Koeller Street traffic. Staff analysis indicates that relocating the intersection to the north may make sight distance more challenging, as the sight line goes more clearly through the area with parked vehicles. This is shown in the attached schematic. Managing a roadway network effectively requires balancing the needs of access (providing people the ability to go where they want to) and mobility(minimizing vehicle conflicts). This request provides an excellent illustration of this type of trade-off. Given the intersection's favorable safety history and the general benefits of access management, I do not believe that the relocation would create a significant safety problem. At the same time, the intersection's favorable safety history and lack of congestion provide no compelling reason to consider this request, apart from the developer's interest in paying for this improvement as a means of supporting their development. I recommend approval of this request, with the following conditions (which ultimately would 1 The crash history at the Red Robin driveway onto Koeller Street is not clear,due to some ambiguity in the relevant crash reports. 2 According to the developer's traffic impact analysis,this changes to 60 vehicles per peak hour if this section of 7th Avenue is made into one-way westbound,and to 46 vehicles per peak hour if the section is completely closed. Page 3 of 3 Explanation of Traffic Ordinance Changes need to be approved by the Common Council as a part of a developer's agreement). First, the applicant would be responsible for bearing all costs associated with reconstructing the intersection and Red Robin driveway to applicable State and City standards. Second, the applicant would be responsible for restoring the intersection and driveway to current conditions if, within the first three years after the opening of the pharmacy, the City's annual accident report identifies the intersection of Koeller Street and 7th Avenue as a high-crash location. PASSED BY TRAFFICE REVIEW BOARD (4-2))