Advisory Committee Member Inquiry/Motion Form Demande de renseignements d’un membre des Comités consultatifs/Formulaire de motion
From/Exp.: Richard Eade, Chair, Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee (PTAC)	Date: 23 March 2012	File/Dossier : PTAC – 03-15
To/Dest. : Nadia Duffield, Coordinator, Strategic Initiatives, Infrastructure Services Department cc: Councillor Fleury, Ward 12 Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services & Community Sustainability Members, Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee
Subject/Objet : Inquiry PTAC-03-15 - PTAC March 15, 2012 - Inquiry from the Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee (PTAC)
Inquiry/Demande de renseignements : At the PTAC meeting of March 15 2012, Chair R. Eade submitted the following written inquiry: Given that there are few vehicles turning left from east-bound Rideau Street to north-bound Nelson, that there are other ways into the neighbourhood for cars, that there are high pedestrian counts through the intersection and along both Rideau and Nelson, and that right turns and straight-through access onto north-bound Nelson would remain. Would Staff please explain why it is not recommending the removal of both left-turn lanes from Rideau onto Nelson and the banning of left turns from east-bound Rideau onto north-bound Nelson during the peak traffic periods?
Response/Réponse

Left turning traffic volumes from eastbound Rideau Street to northbound Nelson Street are in the order of 100 vehicles per hour over the normal 8 hour count periods on weekdays. As a result, when combined with other conflicting movements and delays through the intersection, warrants for the inclusion of a left turn lane are met.

The notion that “right turns and straight-through access onto north-bound Nelson would remain” as stated in the inquiry does not offer a safe alternative to replace the left turn movement, especially when considering that Nelson Street south of Rideau Street is a short cul-de-sac, approximately 50 m in length.  Unless an alternate route sign is put in place that informs motorists that in order to access northbound Nelson Street they will have to turn right and perform a U-turn in the cul-de-sac, motorists will not know to make this movement. This creates further problems with regards to increased signage on an already highly-signed street. This can cause confusion for those travelling along Rideau Street approaching Nelson Street. An additional constraint is that this movement would impact the Community Health Centre located next to the cul-de-sac on south-bound Nelson Street. Many seniors use this Center with pick up and drop off by Para Transpo. Allowing straight-through access via the cul-de-sac will add between 70 and 130 cars per hour into the area.

A warrant analysis regarding the need for the turn lanes was documented by the projects’ consultant (Delcan) in a technical memo. The analysis indicated that auxiliary eastbound/westbound left turn lanes are warranted according to industry standard practices (MTO) and included recommended turn lane storage lengths. Staff have conducted further analysis and agree with this conclusion. It can also be noted that without an eastbound left turn lane, the risk of queue spillbacks to upstream intersections, such as King Edward and Rideau, Cumberland and Rideau, Waller and Rideau, Besserer and Waller, Waller, Transitway and Mackenzie King Bridge is very high,  causing intersection blockages, delaying transit services  and degrading pedestrian safety.  Staff analysis of conditions without a left turn lane indicate that queue lengths on eastbound Rideau Street will exceed the space available between King Edward Avenue and Nelson Street. Removal of the warranted left turn lanes will increase pedestrian and vehicle conflict and weaving manoeuvres at the intersection of Rideau Street and Nelson Street, thereby reducing safety for all users of the intersections, including pedestrians.

With respect to the suggestion of banning the eastbound left turn during the afternoon peak, this can be expected to increase the eastbound left turns at Rideau and Cobourg and shift these vehicles onto local streets. This would increase vehicle infiltration into local neighbourhoods and could result in associated potential speeding and increased pedestrian and vehicle conflicts, adding to the Community’s existing traffic concerns on these streets.

Further analysis was completed with respect to potential impacts to OC Transpo service should the turn lanes be removed. Such removal would result in encroachment of cars by-passing left turning vehicles by using the bus lanes at the intersection. This would introduce a delay or variability to buses in this corridor that would create the requirement to add time to schedules to accommodate such delay or variability. This action increases operating costs and customer travel times, both of which would create a deteriorated situation from the transit service currently provided.  The change in road design would affect transit in both peak and off-peak times of the day. Adding one minute to the schedules for all of the bus routes which operate on this section of Rideau Street would cost approximately $134,000 per year (Monday-Friday only; Saturday and Sunday costs have not been calculated). The erosion of the value of the transit lane would be even worse if the curb lane were designated at this intersection as a general purpose lane.

As a result of the above the Public Works and the Infrastructure Services Departments do not support the removal of the left turn lanes on Rideau Street at Nelson Street.