Overview
The City of Ottawa is conducting a Neighbourhood Traffic Calming (NTC) Study along Earl Mulligan Drive between Mountshannon Drive and Woodroffe Avenue in response to traffic concerns raised by residents. The main concern noted along this street is speeding.
This study focuses on key locations within the means of the Neighbourhood Traffic Calming (NTC) Program. Traffic calming is the combination of mainly physical measures that reduce the negative effects of motor vehicle use, alter driver behaviour, and improve conditions for non-motorized street users. Additional information on traffic calming can be found online.
Proposed concept plan
Based on traffic data, a proposed concept plan has been developed.
This plan includes:
- Earl Mulligan Drive between Mountshannon Drive and Woodroffe Avenue
- 3 speed cushions. Speed cushions are being proposed along Earl Mulligan Drive because it is an OC Transpo route. Speed cushions allow large vehicles like buses and emergency response vehicles to straddle the cushions.
- The intersections of Earl Mulligan Drive and Woodpark Way, Woodgate Way, Shandon Avenue, and Long Gate Court
- Corner tightening (curb-radii reductions) and accessibility improvements on the east and west corners
- The intersection of Earl Mulligan Drive and Mountshannon Drive
- Corner tightening (curb-radii reductions) and accessibility improvements on the north and south corners
- Painted crosswalk on the south leg and accessibility improvements across from the proposed crosswalk
- Slightly relocate the north leg painted crosswalk and accessibility improvements across from the crosswalk
- Earl Mulligan Drive between Mountshannon Drive and Woodpark Way
- Painted edgelines
- Woodpark Way between Earl Mulligan Drive and Armagh Way
- Sidewalk on the west side
Please click the following link to view the proposed concept plan:
Additional information about the proposed traffic calming measures
There are many benefits to implementing traffic calming measures along a street including reduced vehicular speeds and increased pedestrian safety. The following section will provide an overview of the potential traffic calming options along Earl Mulligan Drive, which includes a combination of speed cushions and corner tightening (curb-radii reductions).
Speed cushions
Speed cushions are a type of vertical traffic calming measure which cause a vertical upward movement of the vehicles that are traversing over them. They are raised areas, similar to speed humps, but not covering the entire width of the road. They are designed to allow large vehicles to ‘straddle’ the cushions, resulting in less impacts to emergency and transit vehicle operations. Smaller vehicles are vertically deflected which generally results in lowered vehicles speeds as motorists slow to avoid unpleasant sensations when traversing them. The photos below provide an example of speed cushions that are located along Knudson Drive in Kanata:
The benefits of speed cushions include reduced vehicular speeds, they are self-enforcing, and they impact larger vehicles less than other vertical measures. Potential disbenefits include that they may affect emergency response times (but less than other vertical measures), could create noise and vibrations, may result in a loss of some on-street parking (adjacent to the speed cushions), require additional winter maintenance due to the gaps in between the cushions, and may cause discomfort to some drivers and passengers at high travel speeds.
Corner tightening (curb-radii reductions)
Corner tightening or curb-radii reductions involve modifications of intersection corners to implement tighter corners (smaller radii). The benefits of corner tightening include reducing speeds of right-turning vehicles and shortening crossing distances. The disbenefits include larger vehicles may need to cross into adjacent travel lanes and there’s the potential for larger vehicles to mount the curbside space.