Naskapi Drive Traffic Calming Measures

Project description

The City of Ottawa is undertaking the design and construction work for traffic calming and pedestrian improvement measures along Naskapi Drive. The project’s objective is to implement road safety modifications to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists in the community.

The project includes:

• Implementation of three speed humps along Naskapi Drive: two between Ogilvie Road and Marquis Avenue (east), and one between Ludgate Court and Marquis Avenue (west).
• Implementation of a raised pedestrian crossing on the west leg of the Naskapi Drive and Rothwell Drive intersection.
• Implementation of a raised pedestrian crossing on the east leg of the Naskapi Drive and Marquis Avenue (west) intersection.
• Implementation of intersection narrowing by installing a bulb-out on the southwest corner of the Naskapi Drive and Rothwell Drive intersection, as well as upgrading the southeast corner with Tactile Walking Surface Indicators (TWSI).
• Realign the pathway located on the north side of the Naskapi Drive and Marquis Avenue (west) intersection, to connect it to the crosswalk on the east leg of the intersection.

Illustrations of the traffic calming plan can be found below under the Recommended traffic calming plan tab.

Project timing

Design: completed May 2024
Construction start: July/August 2024
Construction completion: October 2024

Project budget

Approved project funds to date are $1.65 million.

Public engagement

Over the spring of 2021, an initial online survey was conducted to gather feedback on traffic issues and to ensure that there was a reasonable level of community support to initiate a traffic calming study along Naskapi. Since then, the feedback has been reviewed and analyzed.

In addition, a second online survey was conducted over the summer of 2022 to gather feedback about the recommended traffic calming plan along Naskapi Drive. The deadline to complete the survey was July 15, 2022. Since then, the results from the survey have been reviewed and analyzed. Based on the results and further technical analysis, the recommended traffic calming plan for Naskapi Drive has been updated and finalized. The survey results indicate that the community is generally supportive of the recommended roadway modifications with a few concerns.

Accessibility

Accessibility is an important consideration for the City of Ottawa. The City makes every effort to provide access through and around construction sites. If you require a disability-related accommodation, please contact the project team. Accessible formats and communication supports are available, upon request.

Safety

The City of Ottawa is committed to safety in and around project sites. The project team continues to work closely with the industry and to comply with recommendations provided by municipal, provincial and federal health officials, as well as the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.

For any emergency outside normal working hours, please call the City at 3-1-1.
For general project information, please contact the City’s Project Manager.
For construction related questions or concerns, please contact the Contractor Representative.

City Project Manager
Larry Mckellop, P.Eng.
Senior Engineer, Infrastructure Projects
100 Constellation Drive, Ottawa, ON K2G 6J8
Tel.: 613-894-0374

Contract Administrator
Andrew Iamello, C.E.T., rcca
Jp2g Consultants Inc.
Tel:  613-795-3740

Contractor Representative
Eric Courchaine
Brenning Construction (1986) Ltd.
Tel.: 613-884-5092

Beginning in late July to early August, the City of Ottawa will start the implementation of traffic calming measures in your neighbourhood.

What: The City of Ottawa will be implementing traffic calming measures along Naskapi Drive. The work entails the implementation of speed humps, raised pedestrian crossings as well as the implementation of intersection narrowing at the southwest corner at the intersection of Naskapi Drive and Rothwell Drive.

Why: The measures will facilitate traffic calming along the roadway, enabling safety for all roadway users.

When: Construction is expected to begin by late July to early August and will be completed by October 2024.

Where: The works will be along Naskapi Drive, between Ogilvie Road and Rothwell Drive.

Who: The City of Ottawa has retained the contractor, Brenning Construction (1986) Ltd., to complete the work.

Traffic management

A minimum of one lane in each direction will be available during non-work hours.

During working hours, a minimum of one lane per direction will be maintained. When this is not feasible, one lane will be provided with flag persons to direct traffic though the construction zone.

Construction disruptions

The Contractor will take every precaution to minimize interruptions to the everyday life of your family and/or operation of your business, but, as you can appreciate, there may be some inconvenience during the course of the work, such as traffic delays, noise and dust. You may also feel vibrations due to heavy equipment operations. Vibrations from construction activities are quite common and rarely cause any problems. We would like to thank you for your patience and co-operation. For construction activity hours of work, the City of Ottawa follows provincial requirements and the City’s Noise By-law (2017-255).

Over the spring of 2021, an initial online survey was conducted to gather feedback on traffic issues and to ensure that there was a reasonable level of community support to initiate a traffic calming study along Naskapi Drive. Since then, the feedback has been reviewed and analyzed.

A total of 93 people responded to the initial online survey. Here are some key findings:

• 75 per cent of respondents indicated that they support a traffic study that could lead to localized street changes on Naskapi Drive.
• The two main concerns along Naskapi Drive are:
  • Speeding – 46 per cent of respondents indicated that speeding is a concern
  • School Safety – 45 per cent of respondents indicated that school safety is a concern
• 72 per cent of respondents indicated that they support any/some of the traffic calming measures as shown below
  • Speed Humps/Speed Tables
  • Raised Crosswalks
  • Intersection Narrowing
  • Mid-block Narrowing
  • Curb-Radii Reduction
  • Medians
• The most common feedback from the survey included:
  • There is a speeding issue along Naskapi Drive
  • The speed limit on Naskapi Drive should be reduced
  • Vehicles do not stop at stop signs
  • Intersection of Naskapi Drive at Rothwell Drive has visibility issues
  • There is a lack of crosswalks/safe places to cross the street
  • There are concerns for children’s safety especially near the school
  • There are visibility issues at the intersection of Ogilvie Drive at Naskapi Drive
  • Vehicles parking in no parking zones
  • There is lack of parking.

Complete survey results are provided in an As We Heard It Report [ PDF 629 KB ]

Based on the results and further technical analysis, a potential traffic calming plan was developed and can be viewed at Traffic Calming Plan-Naskapi Drive [ PDF 2.040 MB ]. The concept plan includes several recommended traffic calming measures/geometric modifications at locations described below:

Rothwell Drive/ Naskapi Drive intersection

• Narrowing the southwest corner and constructing pedestrian refuge areas as required. The purpose of narrowing is to better align the intersection and to provide a safe space for pedestrians to wait before they cross the street.
• A raised crosswalk on the west leg of the intersection and a painted crosswalk on the south leg of the intersection. The purpose of the raised crosswalk is to help slow down vehicles through this intersection and to better highlight the presence of pedestrians crossing.
• Relocate stop controls/bars. There is currently a stop control in the middle of this intersection (heading westbound). Many residents commented that drivers do not stop at this location. Relocating the stop control should encourage drivers to make a complete stop.

Naskapi Drive just east of Ludgate Court

• One speed hump near the elementary school. The purpose of the speed hump is to encourage drivers to slow down near the school.

Naskapi Drive/Marquis Avenue (west) intersection

• Raised crosswalk on the east leg of the intersection and a landing pad on the north side. The raised crosswalk should help slow down vehicles through this intersection and provide a safe space for pedestrians to cross.
• Realign existing pathway located on the north to connect it to designated crossing.

Naskapi Drive between Marquis Avenue (west) and Ogilvie Road

• Three speed humps to help reduce speed along this section of the street.

Recommended traffic calming measures – potential impacts

There are many benefits to implementing traffic calming measures along a street including reduced vehicular speeds and increased safety for all road users. The following section will provide an overview of the potential benefits and disbenefits of the recommended traffic calming measures along Naskapi Drive, which includes a combination of speed humps, raised cross walks and an intersection narrowing.

Speed humps

Four speed humps are proposed along Naskapi Drive between Ogilvie Road to Ludgate Court.

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 image below provides an example of a typical speed hump.

The benefits of speed humps include reduced vehicular speeds and that they are self-enforcing. Some disbenefits include that it may affect emergency response time, could create noise and vibrations, and may cause discomfort to some drivers and passengers at high travel speeds.

Raised crossings

Raised crossings are proposed at two intersections i) Naskapi Drive at Rothwell Drive (west leg) and ii) Naskapi Drive at Marquis Avenue West (east leg).

Raised crossings are defined as a controlled pedestrian crosswalk at an intersection or mid-block constructed at a higher elevation than the adjacent roadway. The image below provides an example of a raised crossing. The raised portion of the crossing can be built using concrete or asphalt.

The benefits of a raised crossing are like those of speed humps with some additional advantages such as it reinforces drivers to stop at stop-controlled intersection, improves drivers yielding to pedestrians by increasing visibility & emphasizing their priority and increases pedestrian comfort. The potential disbenefits are like those of speed humps.

Intersection narrowing

An intersection narrowing is proposed at the southwest corner of Naskapi Drive/Rothwell Drive intersection

Intersection narrowings (also called bulb outs) are horizontal intrusions of curbs into roadways resulting in narrowing section of road surface area/travel lane. The image below provides an example of an intersection narrowing.

The benefits of such measure are that it reduces crossing distance for pedestrians, improves visibility and helps reduce speed. The disbenefit is that large vehicles may need to cross adjacent travel lanes to negotiate turns at intersections.

Other concerns

Through the initial public consultation in the spring of 2021, some residents voiced their concerns about visibility, on-street parking, and a need of an additional safe crossing along Naskapi Drive. The three main areas of concern included:

Concern #1 – Visibility issue at intersection at Naskapi Drive at Ogilvie Road

The posted speed limit on Ogilvie Road is 50km/hr. Based on speed survey conducted in 2017, the operating speed within this section of Ogilvie Road is 63km/hr. According to Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads, for this operating speed; the required Stopping Sight Distance is 90 m. Stopping Sight Distance is the distance traveled while the vehicle driver perceives a situation requiring a stop, realizes that stopping is necessary, applies the brake, and comes to a stop and the requirement is based upon operating speed of the roadway.

A site visit was conducted on May 31st, 2022 to identify available stopping sight distance at this intersection. The review indicated that sightline is adequate as it meets the minimum criteria of 90 m visibility from a point where vehicles are stopped at Naskapi Drive to turn left or right to Ogilvie Road.

Concern #2 – Need of additional parking along Naskapi Drive

Currently, parking is restricted on both the north and south side of Naskapi Drive between Beaconwood Drive East and Beaconwood Drive West. If there is enough support confirmed through the online survey, we can consider changing parking regulations from ‘No Parking’ to ‘2-hour parking’ from the north side within this section of Naskapi Dr.

Concern #3- Need for a pedestrian crossing on Naskapi Drive between Beaconwood Drive East and Beaconwood Drive West

A site visit is planned this summer to identify if this section of Naskapi Drive meets warrant for pedestrian crossing. The warrant result is expected to be available by Fall 2022. If the location is found to be warranted, we can consider adding a pedestrian crossover (PXO). Pedestrian crossovers (PXO) are designated areas that allow pedestrians to safely cross streets where vehicles must yield to pedestrians when crossing. For more information about PXO: please visit Pedestrian Crossovers.