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1. PEDESTRIAN
CROSSWALK AT THE INTERSECTION OF KING EDWARD AVENUE AND CATHCART STREET TRAVERSE PÉDESTRE À L’INTERSECTION DE
L’AVENUE KING EDWARD ET DE LA RUE CATHCART |
That Council approve:
1. That a pedestrian operated traffic signal
be installed at the intersection of King Edward Avenue and Cathcart Street, and
that funds be allocated from the King Edward Capital Project.
2.
That
the following recommendation be referred to staff for cost estimates: That during the actual
construction process, which has reduced the number of lanes on King Edward from
6 to 4, a feasibility study be undertaken to estimate the impact of permanently
reducing the Avenue to four lanes.
Que le Conseil approuve :
1. qu’un feu de circulation déclenché
par les piétons soit installé à l’intersection de l’avenue King Edward et
de la rue Cathcart et que les fonds qui y seront alloués proviennent du
Projet d’immobilisations de l’avenue King Edward;
2. que la recommandation suivante soit
renvoyée au personnel en vue de l’estimation des coûts :
que durant les travaux mêmes
d’installation, qui obligent de réduire le nombre de voies sur l’avenue King
Edward de six à quatre, une étude de faisabilité soit entreprise afin d’estimer
l’incidence d’une réduction permanente de l’avenue à quatre voies.
Documentation
1.
Transportation
Committee report (ACS2007-CCS-TRC-0002).
2.
Extract of Draft Minutes
7, Transportation Committee meeting of 16 May 2007.
Report
to/Rapport au :
Transportation
Committee
Comité
de Transport
and
Council/et au Conseil
Submitted
by/Soumis par :
Councillor/le conseiller Georges Bédard
Ward 12 Rideau-Vanier/Quartier 12,
Rideau-Vanier
Contact Person/Personne-ressource :
Councillor/conseiller Georges Bédard
(613)
580-2482, georges.bedard@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
Pedestrian Crosswalk at the Intersection of King Edward Avenue and Cathcart Street |
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OBJET : |
TRAVERSE PÉDESTRE À L’INTERSECTION DE L’AVENUE KING
EDWARD ET DE LA RUE CATHCART |
REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
That the
Transportation Committee recommend Council approve:
1.
That a pedestrian crosswalk be
installed at the intersection of King Edward Avenue and Cathcart Street.
2.
That during the actual
construction process, which has reduced the number of lanes on King Edward from
6 to 4, a feasibility study be undertaken to estimate the impact of permanently
reducing the Avenue to four lanes.
Que le Comité des transports
recommande au Conseil d’approuver :
1.
Qu’une
traverse pédestre soit installé à l’intersection de l’avenue King Edward et de
la rue Cathcart.
2.
Qu’une
étude soit tenue afin d’observer la possibilité de réduire le nombre de voies
de 6 à 4.
All residents of Bruyère, Cathcart, Bolton, Boteler, Parent, Cumberland and Dalhousie Streets, located on the west side of King Edward and North of St. Andrew have no direct pedestrian access to the east side of King Edward, the closest access is the crosswalk at the intersection of St. Andrew and King Edward.
For many years now, residents of the community located at the west of King Edward have requested the installation of a crosswalk north of St. Andrew Street. This as recently resurfaced with the ongoing renewal of the King Edward Avenue project.
In July 26, 2006, an RTS was initiated in order for staff to evaluate the possibility of adding a pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection. On November 24th. 2006, reply was given to the request:
“For an IPS installation, the warrant system considers (i) the number and type (children, seniors, etc.) of pedestrians crossing the street, (ii) the traffic volume on the roadway, and (iii) the time that pedestrians must wait (i.e. are delayed) for an appropriate gap in traffic on the roadway before starting to cross the street. An eight-hour (07:30-09:30, 11:30-14:00, 14:30-18:00) pedestrian survey was undertaken on King Edward Ave. between Boteler St. and Bruyère St. on Wednesday 22 November 2006. During the highest six hours of the survey, 49 pedestrians (10 youth and 39 adults) were observed crossing King Edward Ave. Of these, 18 pedestrians waited 10 seconds or less before crossing the roadway. Our analysis of this data shows that the conditions at this location meet 31% of the warrant for the installation of a pedestrian signal. As the warrant conditions are not achieved, (100% required) we cannot recommend the installation of a pedestrian signal at this location at this time”
Although staff response was not in favour of adding the crosswalk at the said intersection, it clearly demonstrated two major issues:
1. Pedestrians and Cyclists are (rightfully) fearful of the consequences of crossing the Avenue without any lights
2. Those who do cross the Avenue illegally subject themselves and automobilists to grave dangers
The results of the staff monitoring also proved to be amputated; they were conducted on a November day. The amount of pedestrians and cyclists flowing through King Edward in order to reach the Ottawa River Park and the Lowertown East Community is drastically down during this late – fall period. Also construction on the renewal project was already underway, which is another factor reducing the number of pedestrians and cyclists using the Avenue.
The following is supporting documentation for the recommendation:
“Transportation
and Transit Committee Extract from Wednesday, 17 July 2002 Minutes (#28)
Moved by E.
Arnold
That the four
lane option for King Edward Avenue be reviewed for the feasibility of
implementation when each of the:
a. Transportation Master Plan;
b. The Rapid Transit Expansion
Study;
c. The East End Interprovincial
Bridge Study; and
d. The implementation of CN-CP
proposal to twin freight lines between Ottawa and Toronto to carry inter-city
truck traffic
are brought forward to Transportation and Transit Committee.
CARRIED”
DISCUSSION
Recommendation 1
The suggestion of implementing a
pedestrian crosswalk at this intersection follows accordingly to the City of
Ottawa’s official plan, section 1.8, Lowertown Street Environment:
“Secure, inviting, pedestrian
corridors (…), creating a sense of cohesiveness with neighbouring areas. In
particular, efforts will focus on improving pedestrian safety and access across
King Edward Avenue, thus reuniting the Lowertown community, along with
significant enhancement of the street and reforestation along the boulevard”
And further, in section 1.8.3:
g.
Gateways and Distinctive Streets
City Council shall ensure the revitalization and enhancement of
gateways and distinctive streets in Lowertown; in particular, Council shall
ensure that:
King Edward Avenue
i.
King
Edward Avenue is developed as a boulevard and major gateway into the Central
Area, with prominent streetscaping, secure and visible pedestrian crossings and
strong visual links to Ottawa City Hall;
By adding this crosswalk, bicycling and walking would again be promoted to the citizens of the City, advertising at the same our great bike lanes all over the community. Also, a crosswalk would add to the overall safety of the avenue, by serving as a traffic calming measure on a corridor that sees many speed excesses.
Another viewpoint expressed by the community is the lack of interaction between the west and east sides of Lowertown since the building of the 6 lane arterial. Being separated by a heavily used boulevard does not create good community energy. By linking once more the community, by means of a pedestrian crosswalk, we create a corridor of activity beneficial for the community. The more access point between to the sides, the better it will be to strengthen the sense of community.
Finally, a new pedestrian link to the Bordeleau Park on the east side of King Edward would increase parks and recreation space to the residents of Lowertown west that presently suffers from a lack of parks.
Recommendation 2
Transportation Committee approved, on July 17th, 2002 a motion supporting the idea of studying the option of reducing King Edward Avenue from 6 to 4 lanes. The King Edward Avenue Task Force, Action Sandy Hill, the Rideau Street BIA, and a majority of the councillors also supported this motion.
As of January 2006, no report has been brought forward to Committee regarding this issue. With the forced reduction of King Edward Avenue to 4 lanes during construction, it would be the ideal time to carry out the study.
CONSULTATION
Recommendation
1
During the process that lead to the approval
of the King Edward Avenue Renewal, many public consultations where held. One of the demands expressed by many
citizens was the wish to have a crosswalk at King Edward and Cathcart. Results of these consultations have clearly
shown that Pedestrian Mobility & Safety was one of the most
important aspects of the King Edward Renewal project. Here are examples of raised issues:
a)
It is difficult to cross at lights
b)
Access to Rideau River is difficult
c)
Make roadway pedestrian / cyclist friendly.
The King Edward Avenue Renewal Planning and
Environmental Study Report, published in 2002, has opened the door for this option as well. Page 8 of section 9 (Assessment of the
Preferred design) stated that there was “Potential for a signalized
pedestrian crossing north of St. Patrick at Cathcart”.
Comments from the Public Works & Services
Department
Following receipt of the draft version of this report,
authored by Councillor Bédard and circulated for staff comment, detailed
analysis was undertaken to ensure that if the proposed pedestrian signal were
installed at King Edward and Cathcart, it would operate safely. That analysis revealed that this location is
not suitable for a pedestrian signal as the new alignment of King Edward north
of that point, does not provide sufficient sight distance for operators of
large southbound trucks with conventional braking systems, to see, react and
stop in time to avoid collisions with queued vehicles, backed up from the
Cathcart intersection.
That finding was immediately conveyed to and discussed
with Councillor Bédard by phone. In
light of that finding, he asked that staff attend the annual general meeting of
the Lowertown West Community Association on March 19, 2007, to provide that
information and to respond to related questions.
At that meeting, a construction drawing was used to
illustrate the changes currently underway to the road and sidewalk network at
the north end of King Edward. Those
changes will provide direct sidewalk connections from both sides of King Edward
in the vicinity of Cathcart Street, to destinations and areas to the north such
as Sussex Drive, Minto Bridges, the former Ottawa City Hall, the Lester B.
Pearson Building and the parklands adjacent to the Rideau River.
The need for direct pedestrian access to those
destinations – replacing the current need for pedestrians on the west side of
King Edward to first cross that roadway to access the sidewalk on the east side
before proceeding north - was a key design consideration on which the
re-alignment of King Edward between Sussex Drive and Boteler Street was
premised. That objective could only be
met by grade separating King Edward Avenue from the northbound and southbound
ramps to/from the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge.
It was then explained that if a pedestrian signal were
installed at Cathcart Street, the width of the east-west crossing of King
Edward Avenue would be 32 metres and the corresponding duration of the red
indication facing north-south traffic would be 30 seconds. The duration of red indication is based upon
a “walking speed” of 1.07 metres per second for seniors and children. During that 30 second red interval,
pedestrians would be provided with a 7 second “walk” indication (to leave the
curb and start their crossing) followed by a 17 second “flashing don’t walk”
and a 6 second “solid don’t walk” indication (to complete their crossing).
The geometry of the southbound approach to that
intersection and more specifically, to the ramp that carries inter-provincial
traffic from the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge to King Edward Avenue, was then
discussed. That ramp consists of a west
to east segment, a right-hand curve that connects that segment with King Edward
Avenue and, the most northerly two blocks of King Edward Avenue between Boteler
Street and Cathcart Street. It was
stressed that each of those southbound ramp segments that connect the
Macdonald-Cartier Bridge to the intersection of King Edward and Cathcart, is
only two-lanes wide.
During weekday morning rush hours, that two-lane
southbound ramp typically carries 3,000 vehicles per hour, 5 % of which are
heavy trucks. Computer modelling using
Synchronic Analysis, shows that queues would quickly develop over 30 second red
intervals and extend from the Cathcart into or beyond the curve - depending on
the exact percentage of trucks.
The apex of that curve is some 250 metres from
Cathcart and while drivers of most automobiles approaching the curve would have
ample opportunity to see, react and stop safely in time to avoid collisions
with vehicles stopped at the end of that queue, operators of heavy trucks would
not be able to do so. This is because
the stopping distance requirement for cars and light trucks travelling at 50
km/h under wet conditions is 60-65 metres, whereas the stopping requirement for
heavy trucks with conventional braking systems under similar conditions is
85-110 metres.
This is not a safety issue with the existing signal at
King Edward Avenue and St. Andrew Street, two blocks or 160 m south of Cathcart
Street, as King Edward Avenue widens to three lanes at Cathcart and its storage
capacity between St. Andrew and the curve is adequate to safely accommodate
queued traffic from that signal.
A member of the audience suggested that because trucks
are much higher than cars, operators of those vehicles should be able to see
hazards much further ahead and that this should compensate for their stopping
distance requirements. Staff responded
that while this would certainly be a consideration in many situations, it
cannot be applied in this instance because of the curve, the visibility
obstruction created by a large building on the southwest corner at Boteler
Street (that restricts the view across the inside of the curve) and, the
concrete barrier walls that line both sides of the ramp in the area of its
grade separation above the King Edward (southbound) roadway from Sussex
Drive. Sight distance standards are
based on the need for approaching drivers, regardless of the type of vehicle
they are operating, to see the taillights of stopped passenger vehicles at a
height of 38 cm (or 18”) above the road surface. The barrier walls are 110 cm (or 44”) high.
Another suggestion was that in conjunction with the
proposed installation of a pedestrian signal at Cathcart Street, flashing
beacons could be installed upstream of the curve to forewarn drivers that the
signal at Cathcart had been activated.
Again, it was agreed that ordinarily, that would be a viable
option. However, in this instance,
upstream flashers are already in place to forewarn drivers of the curve ahead
and the need to reduce their speed to safely negotiate it. As those beacons will still be required when
construction of the re-aligned southbound ramp is complete, this is not an
acceptable solution. Flashing beacon
installation must conform to provisions set out in Ontario Traffic Manual and
two sets of beacons cannot be installed in such close proximity to one
another.
Another suggestion was that speed humps be installed
to physically limit the approach speed of vehicles, thereby ensuring that
trucks could stop in time to assure safe operation of the proposed pedestrian
signal. Many in the audience openly
disagreed with that notion, noting that the resultant noise from large trucks
decelerating in advance of and in traversing the speed hump, especially overnight,
would not be an acceptable trade-off.
The discussion then focused on traffic and pedestrian
conditions at the intersection of King Edward and Cathcart. As noted by Councillor Bédard in the report,
conditions based on a survey completed last November only satisfied 31% of the
Council-approved installation warrants for a pedestrian signal and no seniors
or children crossed at that point.
Staff therefore asked why, exactly, people wish to cross at Cathcart
when there are no major pedestrian-trip generators immediately east or west of
that point. The answer was that people
want to cross the road for a variety of reasons, including their desire to
directly access the park and recreational areas alongside the Rideau River.
Staff therefore indicated that because the timing of
the November survey is a point of contention, it would certainly be repeated
following construction, once everything returns to normal. Further, it was stressed that like many
other locations, this site could be monitored on a regular (annual) basis. If conditions change over time and are found
to meet the warrants, then action must be taken to protect those
pedestrians. This can only be done in
two ways, either by separating the conflicting vehicle and pedestrian streams
through time, or, by separating those streams through distance. The former is done through traffic signals
that alternate the right-of-way between the opposing streams and the latter is
done through physical separation using a pedestrian overpass or tunnel. In this instance, because a pedestrian signal
is not an option, a grade-separated crossing would have to be devised.
As a final note, attendees at the meeting expressed
frustration and felt misled, as they had been informed through the
Environmental Assessment Study process that underground ducting would be
installed at this site during construction to facilitate the installation of a
pedestrian signal when required. This
implied to them that such an installation was technically possible. Staff conceded that this was understandable
as it clearly states in two areas of the report entitled “King Edward Renewal”
approved by Council in 2003 (Ref: ACS2002-TUP-INF-0016) that the recommended
design provides for:
“the
installation of underground traffic plant at the King Edward/Cathcart
intersection to accommodate possible future pedestrian-activated traffic
signals at this location if/when warranted, or determined appropriate.”
However,
staff also pointed out that in fairness to those involved in that study, this
is a very complex environment. A combination
of the geometry of the southbound ramp, the height of its barrier walls, the
makeup of the traffic using it, visibility conditions on the inside of the
curve, the pedestrian crossing time requirements, the vehicle storage capacity
of the King Edward north of Cathcart, the need to retain advance warning
flashers at the curve, and a number of other factors, ultimately led to
dismissing what appeared to be a standard and straightforward solution during
the conceptual and function planning stages of this project. There was no deliberate attempt to mislead
anyone and at the end of the detailed design process, public safety cannot be
compromised and staff analysis simply “is what it is”. A pedestrian signal simply will not operate
safely at King Edward and Cathcart.
Recommendation 2
The idea of studying the option of reducing
King Edward from 6 to 4 lanes was previously approved by Transportation
Committee in 2002.
Comments
from the Public Works & Services Department:
This motion was addressed in The Planning and Environmental
Study Report for the King Edward Avenue Renewal project, dated September 2002,
which evaluated different roadway cross-section options. The conclusion of this evaluation was that a
six-lane cross-section is recommended, primarily due to considerations of
traffic congestion, until measures are in place to significantly reduce traffic
volumes on King Edward Avenue, and particularly the volume of truck
traffic. Possible measures to reduce
traffic volumes are discussed in the report, and include construction of a new
inter-provincial bridge. The 6-lane roadway, has been designed to be reduced to
4 lanes if traffic is significantly reduced in the future.
It is
recommended that a study of traffic operations on King Edward Avenue be conducted
following implementation of the measures to reduce traffic volumes as described
in the Planning and Environmental Study Report, to determine whether a
reduction to four lanes is recommended at that time.
The
installation of the underground ductwork for the pedestrian crossing at this
location is part of the larger contract for King Edward Avenue Renewal-Phase 2,
which is presently under construction.
This should reduce the overall cost of the installation of pedestrian
signals and allow for the installation of above ground plant at any time in the
future without further inconvenience to vehicular traffic on King Edward
Avenue.
There is no
funding identified in the 2007 Capital Budget for the requested Intersection Pedestrian Signal installation at the intersection of King Edward Avenue and Cathcart
Street or the requested studies.