3. grenfell crescent traffic restrictions

restrictions imposées à la circulation sur le croissant grenfell

committee recommendations as amended

1. That Council approve that a right hand turn prohibition from Woodroffe Avenue to Grenfell Crescent between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. Monday to Friday (school buses and bicycles exempted) be instituted.

2. That staff be directed to devise a method to streamline the consideration of simple traffic calming measures not requiring EA studies such as turn restrictions.

Recommandations modifiées du comité

1. Que le Conseil approuve d’instaurer une interdiction visant à empêcher les véhicules circulant sur l’avenue Woodroffe (à l’exception des autobus scolaires et des vélos) de tourner à droite sur le croissant Grenfell entre 7 h et 9 h, du lundi au vendredi.

2. Que l’on demande au personnel d’élaborer une méthode pour simplifier l’examen des mesures simples de modération de la circulation qui ne nécessitent pas une étude d’évaluation environnementale, telles que l’interdiction d’effectuer un virage.

Documentation

1. Councillor Hunter report dated 14 October 2008 (ACS2008-CCS-TRC-0023).

2. Extract of Draft Minute, 5 November 2008.

Report to/Rapport au :

Transportation Committee

Comité des transports

and Council / et au Conseil

14 October 2008 / le 14 octobre 2008

Submitted by/Soumis par : Councillor Gord Hunter

Contact / Personne-ressource : Councillor G. Hunter

(613) 580-2479, Gord.Hunter@ottawa.ca

Knoxdale-Merivale (9)

Ref N°: ACS2008-CCS-TRC-0023

SUBJECT:	grenfell crescent traffic restrictions

OBJET :	Restrictions imposÉes À la circulation sur le croissant Grenfell

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

That Transportation Committee recommend to Council that a right hand turn prohibition from Woodroffe Avenue to Grenfell Crescent between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. Monday to Friday (school buses and bicycles exempted) be instituted.

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité des transports recommande au Conseil d’instaurer une interdiction visant à empêcher les véhicules circulant sur l’avenue Woodroffe (à l’exception des autobus scolaires et des vélos) de tourner à droite sur le croissant Grenfell entre 7 h et 9 h, du lundi au vendredi.

BACKGROUND

Grenfell Glen is a relatively small subdivision in the central part of the former Nepean. It is bounded on three sides by the NCC Greenbelt and the third by the CN rail line from Ottawa to Smith Falls. Developed in the early 1960’s the vast majority of properties are on private wells and septic systems. The roads were built to the ‘rural cross-section’ standard. That means the roads are narrow and have no sidewalks. As was typical of the time in this type of development there was no storm sewer system installed, rather surface drainage was accomplished by a series of roadside ditches, thus further narrowing the perceived width of the street. In the intervening years a number of ditches have been filled in, replaced with perforated drainage pipes and lawns have been extended to the street edge.

Grenfell Crescent running from Woodroffe Avenue in the west to Slack Road in the north-east is the sole collector street for the neighbourhood of about 125 homes. At the east end of Grenfell there is a concentration of businesses.

Recently there has been a tremendous increase in the number of cars and trucks using Grenfell Crescent at all times of day but particularly during the AM and PM peak hours. The vast majority of the new traffic travels west to east from Woodroffe in the morning and reverses direction in the afternoon. Traffic studies have counted up to 300 east bound vehicles in the AM peak hours in a community with less than half that many houses.

Compounding the problem for the residents is that much of the traffic ignores the posted speed limit and does not stop at the two multi-way stop locations along Grenfell at Pratt and Beth. Pedestrians, those waiting for OCTranspo and school buses feel at risk while travelling along Grenfell.

The community has asked the City to look at solutions to the cut-through traffic problem. As the Transportation Committee knows, Area Traffic Management studies are costly and time consuming. The community does not want to use up valuable City resources with a full traffic study. The issue is well documented. Part of the solution is simple. Residents feel the AM peak problem can be solved by instituting a Right Turn Restriction from Woodroffe north-bound to Grenfell Crescent during the morning peak traffic hours with an exception for buses and bicycles. The prohibited traffic would be able to travel west to east on the same Slack Road mentioned above, a few hundred meters to the north or Fallowfield Road, 1 km to the south.

Representatives of the community have submitted a petition containing 100 names in support of restrictive traffic measures, representing the positive support of over 90% of the homes in the community for this motion. In addition, on October 2^nd a community action group conducted a ‘no cut-through traffic day’. The event was well covered by two of three English language television stations, CBC Radio, and The Citizen. Plenty of video evidence of motorists speeding and failing to stop at stop signs was collected.

It is recommended that the following motion be approved.

Whereas the rapid growth in South Nepean has lead to an increase in traffic on the north-south arterial roads in Nepean including Woodroffe Avenue, and;

Whereas the increase in traffic on Woodroffe Avenue has lead to an increase in the amount of morning northbound vehicles turning right on to Grenfell Crescent and in to the Grenfell Glen Community to take a perceived shortcut to Merivale Road, and;

Whereas this traffic is largely disregarding the posted 40 km/hr speed limit despite stepped up police traffic enforcement, and;

Whereas a traffic count this summer by the Transportation Department identified that the problem was bad enough to warrant a traffic calming study, and;

Whereas the residents of Grenfell Glen do not want a traffic calming study and have signed a petition asking that simply that a right turn prohibition from Woodroffe to Grenfell during the AM peak period (7am to 9am) be instituted, and;

Whereas in Nepean peak hour right turn prohibitions have been successful in curbing cut-through traffic at several locations including Woodroffe at Norice.

Therefore be it resolved that the Transportation Committee recommend to Council that a right turn prohibition from Woodroffe to Grenfell during the AM peak period be instituted.

CONSULTATION

This request comes from members of the community. This report has been circulated to and been approved by members of an ad hoc Grenfell Crescent Action Committee.

Traffic and Parking Operations Branch

Staff had received a request for undertaking an area traffic management study for the Grenfell Glen Area. This request has passed the initial screening for consideration as an area traffic management study, and we have been collecting traffic data for prioritization purposes, as we currently have over 40 study requests on our waiting list.

Traffic volume data, collected in May of this year, found 900 vehicles per day using Grenfell Crescent, just east of Woodroffe Avenue. During the morning peak hour there were 125 vehicles traveling eastbound and 35 westbound. We are currently undertaking through traffic surveys, for both the morning and afternoon peak periods, and anticipate having these results available by the end of October.

Prohibiting northbound right-turns from Woodroffe Avenue to Grenfell Crescent would seem to be a logical way of reducing eastbound traffic activity, if this were considered appropriate, however, without undertaking a study we are unable to comment on the full implications of this, or on the level of public support. Of note, concerns have been raised in the past about the need to ensure broad public consultation in area traffic management studies, including not only community residents, but all who currently use the street.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Funds are available within the Traffic and Parking Operations Sign Maintenance Operating Budget for the installation of a right hand turn prohibition sign, the estimated cost for the installation is $200.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Document 1 – Location Map

Document 2 - A petition from the community supporting the restriction is available (held on file).

DISPOSITION

City staff to respond to the direction of Committee and Council.

DOCUMENT 1

GRENFELL CRESCENT TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS

Restrictions imposÉes À la circulation sur le croissant Grenfell

ACS2008-CCS-TRC-0023 knoxdale-merivale (9)

The Committee received a letter dated 3 November 2008 from the Glens Community Association in support of Councillor Hunter’s recommendation.

The Chair advised of an amendment Councillor Hunter wanted the Committee to consider. Councillor Leadman agreed to put the Motion forward on his behalf.

Darlene Hale and Bob Gilmore, residents declined their opportunity to speak when they learned of the amendment being put forward.

CARRIED

Moved by C. Leadman

Whereas not all requests for area traffic management are equally complex or require complex solutions;

And whereas experience is showing that the so-called smaller items are never rising to the front of the queue;

And whereas the smaller items often require only simple solutions;

Therefore be it resolved that staff be directed to devise a method to streamline the consideration of simple traffic calming measures not requiring EA studies such as turn restrictions.

CARRIED