Report
to/Rapport au :
Comité des transports
1 April 2009 / le 1 avril 2009
Steve
Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint
City
Operations/Opérations municipales
Contact Person/Personne ressource:
John
Manconi, General Manager/directeur générale, Public Works/Travaux publics
613-580-2424
extension 21110, John.Manconi@ottawa.ca
SUBJECT:
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OBJET :
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EXAMEN DE SÉCURITÉ EN SERVICE DE
LA PROMENADE DE L’AÉROPORT
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REPORT
RECOMMENDATION
That Transportation Committee recommend that Council approve the implementation of the recommendations outlined in the report.
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité des transports recommande au
Conseil d’approuver ce qui suit que le personnel finalise la mise en œuvre des
recommandations définies dans le présent rapport.
BACKGROUND
The Airport Parkway has been identified by the City of Ottawa as having a number of ongoing safety and operational concerns relating to its unique design and the growing traffic demands placed on this roadway. This prompted the City to retain a consultant to undertake an In-Service Road Safety Review of the Airport Parkway between the George Dunbar Bridge and the Ottawa International Airport.
The Airport Parkway is a two lane, undivided limited access road with access provided to a number of connecting roads via a set of interchanges. It has a rural road cross-section and a posted speed limit of 80 km/h. At the south end of the study corridor, the Airport Parkway leads directly to the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport. The Ottawa Airport generates a significant amount of traffic on the Airport Parkway, specifically traffic associated with business and recreational travellers, courier trucks, taxis, and airport shuttles/limousines. Heavy trucks are not permitted on the Airport Parkway.
Collision data within the study area from August 1, 2000 to August 31, 2006 was examined as part of the study. During that period, a total of 284 collisions were reported on the Airport Parkway and on the connecting ramps, three of which were fatal. Collisions were clustered at the Hunt Club Road interchange and the Brookfield Road / Heron Road / Riverside Drive interchange, while the “mid-block” areas (those areas between the interchanges) had relatively few collisions.
Field observations indicated significant congestion in the northbound direction, immediately north of the Hunt Club Road interchange during the morning peak traffic period. In the afternoon peak period, congestion occurred in the southbound direction where the roadway narrows from two lanes to one, just south of Brookfield Road.
DISCUSSION
As part of the in-service review, both a field investigation and office review were undertaken, from which the following problem statement was developed:
“Delineation, signs, and pavement markings on the Airport Parkway and the connecting ramps are not adequately serving the unique needs of unfamiliar drivers”.
The following recommendations were identified by the report as being effective to address these problems:
· Improve delineation and assist unfamiliar drivers with way-finding by:
Ø
Rationalizing of direction/information
signing
Ø Rationalizing of warning signs and delineation/markings at ramps
Ø Improving night time delineation
Ø Improving sight lines;
The following Table 1 indicates the treatments that were considered as being beneficial in preventing collisions. The table also includes the expected reduction in the type(s) of collisions associated with each treatment.
Table 1 – Summary of
Treatments
The Department is in the process of
rationalizing the guide signing and warning signs at ramps.
The
report indicates that the following speed change lanes/tapers require upgrading
to current standards:
· Alert / Upland / Lester Northbound on-ramp;
· Hunt Club Road Northbound on-ramp;
· Walkley Road Northbound off-ramp;
· Brookfield Road Northbound off-ramp.
The report also indicates that illumination
would significantly improve driver workload at night, and in limited visibility
conditions may reduce related collisions by 10 to 40 per cent. In December 2008 a portion of the Airport
Parkway, between Brookfield Road and Hunt Club Road, was illuminated.
The 2009
Capital Budget approved $500,000 to complete the illumination from Hunt Club
Road to the Airport. A high level, precursory,
one-year before and after collision history review for this improvement was
conducted and the analysis of the collisions data indicated that there had been
a reduction in nighttime collisions. A
further in-depth analysis will be conducted in 2013 as part of the five-year
collision analysis to assess the implementation plan.
City Strategic Direction
The actions
recommended in the report are consistent with the City of Ottawa’s strategic
directions for 2007 to 2010, specifically:
Transportation Master Plan
The principles of the Ottawa 20/20
Transportation Master Plan (TMP), Section 9.4 Road Safety are also reflected in
the safety strategies recommended in this report.
CONSULTATION
No public consultation was undertaken as part of this study as In-Service Safety Reviews are technical in nature, and are intended to improve deficiencies on existing roadways.
The Ward Councillors have been briefed on the findings
of the Road Safety Audit and are aware of the implementation plan and report.
The Ward Councillor for River Ward has supported a number of initiatives that have been implemented in the past few years to address safety issues along the Airport Parkway. These initiatives include the installation of streetlights from the Brookfield Road ramp to the Hunt Club Road ramp; championing public awareness campaigns directed at aggressive drivers and increased Police enforcement.
LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
There are no legal/risk management implications to implementing the report recommendations.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The cost to implement the recommended
treatments is estimated at being $100,000. Funding
is available from the capital account 904544, 2008 Safety Improvement
Program.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 - Study Area – Airport Parkway
DISPOSITION
Public Works staff is in the process of
implementing the recommendations identified in this report. The following work will be included in the
work plan for the next two years:
§ Rationalize guide signing and warning signs at ramps by the end of 2009;
§ Undertake a preliminary design to extend speed change lane/taper lengths in 2009;
§ Undertake construction of the extended lane/taper lengths in 2010; and
§
Conduct a new
five-year collision analysis to assess the results of the implementation plan
by 2013.
Document 1 – Study Area
