Overview
The City of Ottawa is conducting a Neighbourhood Traffic Calming Study along Maxime Street between Eugene Street and Cyrville Road 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 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:
- Maxime Street between Eugene Street and Ridgebrook Drive
- 4 speed humps. This section of the street is not an OC Transpo route.
- Maxime Street between Ridgebrook Drive and Cyrville Road
- 3 speed cushions. Speed cushions are being proposed along this section of the street because it is an OC Transpo route. Speed cushions allow large vehicles like buses and emergency response vehicles to straddle the cushions. No-parking signage is installed within 15m of the speed cushions so large vehicles can straddle the cushions properly.
- Maxime Street/Meadowbrook Road Intersection
- Corner tightenings (curb radii reductions) and accessibility improvements at all four corners.
- Maxime Street/Cyrville Road Intersection
- A corner tightening (curb-radii reduction) on the north-east corner.
Please view the proposed Maxime Street Concept Plan. [ PDF 3.1 MB ]
Final Recommendations and As We Heard It Report (October 2024 Update)
Introduction
Over the spring of 2024, an online survey was conducted to gather feedback about the traffic calming plan along Maxime Street. The deadline to complete the survey was May 17th, 2024. Since then, the results from the survey have been reviewed and analyzed. All the survey results are included in the As We Heard It (AWHI) Report (link provided below). Based on the results, the traffic calming plan for Maxime Street has been updated/finalized.
This October 2024 update includes the final recommended traffic calming plan for Maxime Street and the rationale for the recommended traffic calming measures.
Final Recommended Traffic Calming Plan
The final traffic calming plan for Maxime Street includes the following recommended roadway modifications:
- Maxime Street between Meadowbrook Road and Ridgebrook Drive
- 2 speed humps.
- Maxime Street between Ridgebrook Drive and Cyrville Road
- 3 speed cushions.
- Maxime Street/Meadowbrook Road Intersection
- Corner tightenings (curb radii reductions) and accessibility improvements at all four corners.
- Maxime Street/Cyrville Road Intersection
- A corner tightening (curb-radii reduction) on the north-east corner.
The two speed humps that were initially proposed along Maxime Street between Eugene Street and Meadowbrook Road are removed from the traffic calming plan based on feedback from residents and new speed data that was collected along this block.
View the final recommended traffic calming plan [ PDF 17.933 MB ].
Rationale for a Traffic Calming Study
Upon review of feedback that were received through the online survey, some residents wanted to know how Maxime Street qualified for a Neighbourhood Traffic Calming (NTC) Study. For a street to qualify for a NTC Study, it must meet certain criteria as per the NTC Study Process. The NTC Study Process.
Some of the criteria in the NTC Process include:
- The road classification - Must be a Local, Collector, or Village Mainstreet.
- Vehicle Operating Speeds - Must have an average speed of 45km/h or greater or an 85th percentile speed of 55km/h or greater.
- Road Reconstruction - Is there road reconstruction planned in the next 5 years?
- Significant Sensitive Land Use Presence - Must have two significant sensitive land uses present.
- Context Review – Is there potential for traffic calming to address concerns?
In 2020, residents voiced their concerns about speeding along Maxime Street. As a result, Maxime Street was screened to see if it meets the criteria for a NTC Study:
- Maxime Street is a local street.
- Maxime Street has an average speed of 45km/h.
- There is no road reconstruction planned for Maxime Street in the next 5 years.
- Maxime has two significant sensitive land uses present: it is within 250m walking distance from Des Pins Catholic Elementary School on Ridgebrook and 50%, or greater, adjacent property is occupied by residential lands.
- Traffic calming measures have the potential to reduce speeds along Maxime Street.
Based on this, Maxime Street was qualified for a local traffic calming study.
Rationale for Recommended Traffic Calming Measures and AWHI Report
One of the factors taken into consideration when finalizing recommended traffic calming plans is community feedback. View the AWHI Report [ PDF 321 KB ]which includes the recent online survey results.
Based on the survey results, the community is generally supportive of the recommended roadway modifications.
Some other common suggestions that the City received included; implement traffic lights or a roundabout at the intersection of Maxime Street and Cyrville Road; implement Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) cameras along Maxime Street; and implement traffic calming along Meadowbrook Road.
NTC has contacted the appropriate department about these suggestions. A review will be conducted to verify if traffic lights or a roundabout meet the warrant at the Maxime Street / Cyrville Road intersection.
About the possibility of adding ASE on Maxime Street, staff from ASE program indicated that Maxime Street is not eligible for automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras. ASE cameras are currently only installed in Community Safety Zones that have a school and / or park located on the street. Maxime Street does not have a school or a park located along it, therefore it is not eligible for ASE cameras. If there are any further questions about ASE, please contact 3-1-1.
Regarding residents’ feedback about speeding concerns along Meadowbrook Road; this road is classified as a major collector road. The council approved NTC program is reserved for local and minor collector streets within neighbourhoods, given that these are the types of roads where limited program resources can have a big impact. On major collectors and arterial roads, traffic calming solutions are complex, costly, and sometimes not appropriate. These kinds of roads are better served through larger projects that can completely redesign the whole corridor – such as through integrated road, water and sewer renewal projects or larger new infrastructure projects. The NTC program does not redesign/rebuild entire corridors but instead implement localized ‘spot retrofits’. Focusing the limited resources of the NTC program on neighbourhood streets where small changes can have a bigger impact and provides higher value.
Next Steps
This project will be funded through the NTC Program. The next step in the process is to undertake the detailed design (which typically requires one year) with the construction typically following the year after.
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 Maxime Street, which includes a combination of speed cushions, speed humps, and corner tightenings (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 (see Speed Humps section below), 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 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.
The photo below provides an example of speed cushions that are located along Knudson Drive in Kanata.
Speed Humps
Speed humps are defined as a raised section of the road that causes a vertical deflection of both the vehicle’s wheels and frame.
The benefits and disbenefits of speed humps are similar to those of speed cushions (see Speed Cushions section). Some of the differences between speed humps and speed cushions include:
- Speed humps have more of an impact on larger vehicles than speed cushions. Larger vehicles can ‘straddle’ the cushions but cannot avoid speed humps.
- Speed humps have fewer potential impacts to on-street parking than speed cushions.
The photo below provide an example of speed humps that are located along Kingsdale Avenue in Blossom Park.
Corner Tightenings (Curb-Radii Reductions)
Corner tightenings or curb-radii reductions involve modifications of intersection corners to implement tighter corners (smaller radii). The benefits of corner tightenings 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.