Report to: Development Services Committee                                  Report Date: May 20, 2008

 

 

SUBJECT:                          Rodick Road - Alternative Measures to Traffic Calming

PREPARED BY:               Parveen Kalia, Engineering Technician, Ext. 6200

                                            Domenic Smarrelli, Supervisor, Traffic Operations, Ext. 4055

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

That the report entitled “Rodick Road - Alternative Measures to Traffic Calming” be received;

 

And that Council endorse in principle the use of a roundabout at the intersection of Rodick Road and Macrill Road;

 

And that the Engineering Department, in consultation with the local councillor, be authorized to hold a community meeting to seek resident endorsement for a roundabout at the intersection of Rodick Road and Macrill Road;

 

And that the Engineering Department be authorized to proceed to a detailed design and tendering of a roundabout in 2009, pending support from the community;

 

And that the design and construction for the roundabout be funded through the 2008 Engineering budget account #7660;

 

And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

 

1. Purpose                     2. Background                      3. Discussion                        4. Financial        

 

5. Others (Environmental, Accessibility, Engage 21st, Affected Units)             6. Attachment(s)

 

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to update Council regarding an alternative solution to traffic calming on Rodick Road, between 16th Avenue and Woodbine Avenue.

 

 

BACKGROUND:

 

Rodick Road, between Woodbine Avenue and 16th Avenue – Characteristics

Rodick Road is a four lane 13.5 m wide collector street, running generally in a north-south direction. The posted speed limit on this section of roadway is 40 km/h while the operating speed is approximately 60 km/h. Vehicular volume on this section of roadway is approximately 6000 vehicles per day.

 

There exists a traffic control signal at the intersection of Rodick Road and Calvert Road and an all-way stop control at the intersection of Rodick Road and Macrill Road. The distance between these two intersections is 435 metres. A secondary school, St. Augustine Catholic High School, is located between these two intersections and is on the west side of Rodick Road. See attachment ‘A’ for details.

 

 

Rodick Road – Traffic Operational Concerns

As mention above, St. Augustine Catholic High School is located on the west side of Rodick Road between Macrill Road and Calvert Road. In addition to speeding concerns fronting the secondary school, there exists other traffic operational concerns in the area.

 

Traffic operational concerns exist at the intersection of Rodick Road and Macrill Road, which is just north of St. Augustine Catholic High School. Since the intersection is geometrically large with five lanes of traffic for the north and south approaches, the existing all-way stop control does not provide sufficient right-of-way for the users of the intersection. Motorists and pedestrians negotiating through the intersection frequently experience right-of-way conflicts as there are many users at the intersection at any given time.

 

In addition, there exists motorist delay for parents and school staff attempting to enter and exit the school during the morning and afternoon periods. With the existing heavy morning vehicular volume travelling southbound on Rodick Road, motorists attempting to make a northbound left turn into the school can experience lengthy delays.

 

Previous mitigation measures to address the traffic operational concerns included:

  • a reduction of the posted speed limit from 50 km/h to 40km/h;
  • implementation of an improved school site circulation plan
  • holding a School Zone Education and Enforcement Event;
  • installation of traffic control signals at the intersection of Rodick Road and Calvert Road;
  • implementation of the Top 25 List of Enhance Police Enforcement (as mentioned below).

 

Notwithstanding the above mitigation measures, the Engineering Department continues to receive concerns from local residents, school officials and the parent council regarding traffic safety and efficiency concerns.

 

Safe Streets Strategy – Top 25 List of Enhance Police Enforcement

The Safe Streets Strategy targets speeding and aggressive driving through a three part process comprising of: Education, Enforcement and Engineering measures. The Town  first uses Education and Enforcement measures before considering Engineering measures (i.e. traffic calming).

 

Rodick Road was included in the 2005 Top 25 List of Enhanced Police Enforcement for a period of one year. Following one year of enhanced police enforcement, the effectiveness speed study revealed that Rodick Road had shown no improvement in increasing driver compliance. The “before” and “after” studies on operating speed remained unchanged at 62 km/h. As the street had shown no improvement, on May 15, 2006 Council approved a review of alternative measures on Rodick Road to address the speeding concerns.

 

 

 

 

DISCUSSION:

 

In response to Council’s direction on May 15, 2006, the Engineering Department reviewed the following alternative measures on Rodick Road to address the speeding and operational concerns.

 

 

A) Rodick Road and Macrill Road - Traffic Control Signal Not Warranted

To improve traffic operational safety and efficiency at the intersection of Rodick Road and Macrill Road and also along the school frontage, the Engineering Department had conducted a signal warrant analysis in January 2007.

 

The Provincial warrant criteria for (1) minimum vehicular volume and (2) delay to the cross traffic warrants were only 40% met, hence a signal is not warranted at the intersection of Rodick Road and Macrill Road. A signal would be justified if (1) a minimum vehicular volume warrant and (2) delay to cross traffic warrant are met simultaneously by a minimum of 80%.

 

B) Rodick Road and Macrill Road  - Modern Roundabout

A modern roundabout at the intersection of Rodick Road and Macrill Road and a lane reconfiguration along Rodick Road, between Rachel Crescent and Calvert Road was also reviewed. 

 

Due to the various concerns surrounding the high school, the Engineering Department reviewed the feasibility of a roundabout at the intersection of Rodick Road and Macrill Road, including road geometry, traffic capacity and construction cost. An engineering consultant peer reviewed the staff analysis and has confirmed that a roundabout at the intersection of Rodick Road and Macrill Road is feasible. See attachment ‘B’ for the roundabout preliminary design layout.

 

The general benefits of a roundabout are as per the following points:

  • Increased Safety: Roundabouts are the safest type of at grade intersections given that right-angle type collisions are eliminated.
  • Pedestrian Friendly: Crossing distances are relatively short, and traffic speeds are lower than at traditional intersections.
  • Reduced Delay: Delays and queues are usually less than stop sign or traffic signal controlled intersections since vehicles rarely stop at roundabouts.
  • Environmental Benefits: With reduced delay, roundabouts lessen noise, air pollution and fuel consumption.
  • Traffic Signal:  A roundabout is a suitable alternative to a traffic signal in most cases.
  • Roundabouts provide more opportunities to improve aesthetics.

 

 

 

Benefits of a roundabout specific to the intersection of Rodick Road and Macrill are as follows:

  • Increased safety for students when crossing the intersection since the road width will be shorter.
  • Reduced number of potential conflicts for motorists.
  • Increased safety and efficiency for northbound left turning motorists destined to the high school since motorists will use the roundabout as a turning point.

 

Roundabouts have been successfully implemented in more recent Markham developments such as Angus Glen East Village and Cornell South. Other municipalities, such as the Regional Municipality and City of Waterloo have adopted the use of roundabouts where appropriate design guidelines/standards can be met.

 

C) Rodick Road, Rachel Crescent to Calvert Road - Lane Reconfiguration

Because of the recommended roundabout at the intersection of Rodick Road and Macrill Road, the north and south approach lanes will require a lane reconfiguration from four to two lanes. The north and south limits of this lane configuration has been set at Rachel Crescent and Calvert Road, respectively.

 

In addition to the need for a lane reconfiguration for the roundabout, this change will improve traffic operational safety and efficiency concerns fronting both the high school and residential frontages.

 

The lane reconfiguration can be accomplished by modifying the existing pavement markings without significant road reconstruction. The recommended lane reconfiguration consists of two travel lanes and a combination of centre two way left turn lanes and/or parking lanes and bike lanes. See Attachment ‘C’ for details.

 

These options will be reviewed with the local councillor, school and residents through a community meeting. As the number of lanes and the lanes widths will be reduce, it is expected that motorist will decrease their speed while negotiating through the modified section of road and roundabout.

 

Construction Costs for a Roundabout (Options ‘A’ and ‘B’)

The preliminary estimate for the installation of a roundabout at the intersection of Rodick Road and Macrill Road is approximately $180,000. A more accurate cost estimate will be available upon completion of detailed design.

 

Fall 2008 - Public Consultation and Next Steps

Pending Council’s endorsement, the Engineering Department along with the local councillor will proceed by holding a community meeting that will include the residents of Rodick Road, the high school officials and parent council. The Engineering Department will seek support for a roundabout and lane reconfiguration. Public consultation is planned for September 2008, following school summer break.

 

Pending community support, the Engineering Department will retain an engineering consultant in November 2008 to proceed with a detailed design and tender in accordance with the purchasing by-law. The Engineering Department will also report back with a Staff Award Report in April 2009 for the construction of a roundabout in July/August 2009. Construction of the roundabout has been tentatively scheduled for July/August 2009 given that vehicle volume will be lower during this period and that the surrounding schools will be on summer break. Therefore, it is expected that this will minimize disruption to the community.

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE: (external link)

Funding for the installation of the roundabout and associated works, totalling approximately $180,000, will be through the Safe Streets Program, account # 083-5350-7660-005 project #7660 with a current balance of $683,563. The current balance includes traffic calming commitments on other streets in Markham.

 

 

 

 

 

 

RECOMMENDED BY:  

 

 

________________________                            ________________________

Alan Brown, C.E.T.                                              Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P

Director of Engineering                             Commissioner, Development Services

 

 

ATTACHMENTS:

Attachment A - Location Map

Attachment B – Roundabout Concept Plan

Attachment C – Lane Reconfiguration Options