STORMONT ROAD TRAFFIC CALMING UPDATE Staff Report

STORMONT ROAD TRAFFIC CALMING UPDATE

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the Committee recommend to Council that staff proceed with installing a quick build chicane on Stormont Road as part of Capital Project N-081.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to respond to Council’s direction to staff from the February 15, 2023 Committee of the Whole Budget Meeting:

Stormont Road Traffic Calming (N-081) - additional details to be provided on other potential options.

TIME CRITICAL:

This project is not time critical. Carryover of the budget to 2024 may be needed if the works are not completed by year end.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Should Council wish to proceed with additional traffic calming measures on Stormont Road, staff recommend a semi-permanent “quick build” chicane, consisting of no post barrier(s) and warning signage similar to the barrier design identified in the City of Vancouver’s Slow Streets initiative. Doing so would be flexible, inexpensive, while still being robust enough to last many years.

This treatment will provide traffic calming measures as indicated in the Town’s Traffic Calming Policy, while also providing unimpeded access by emergency service vehicles when necessary.

BACKGROUND:

Per Non-Core Project N-081 of the Town’s 2023-2027 Financial Plan (attached), additional traffic calming measures on Stormont Road were requested by Council, stemming from past requests by the neighbourhood to install additional speed humps within the roadway.

As there currently exists two speed humps on Stormont Road, staff expressed the following primary concerns with adding an additional speed hump along this roadway:

1. An additional speed hump would create a total of three (3) speed humps within this 240m roadway. This amounts to speed humps being approximately 60m-90m apart. The Town’s Traffic Calming Policy #5200-016 (the “Traffic Calming Policy) states that speed humps should be placed no further than 300 feet apart (91m) to be effective. An additional speed hump would further decrease the spacing to 30m-45m apart: one third to one half the effective distance stipulated in the Traffic Calming Policy and thus precedent setting for similar requests on other Town roadways.
2. Per Project Summary N-081, all instances of speeds on Stormont Road were below 50km/hr, based on several traffic count periods. Installing additional traffic calming measures on roadways that do not exceed the speed thresholds identified in the Traffic Calming Policy would be precedent setting for similar requests on other Town roadways.
3. Upon consultation with the Fire Department, the installation of a third speed hump on Stormont Road creates an extraordinary nuisance that could result in an increase in emergency response times in and around the neighbourhood.

Figure 1: Existing Traffic Calming Measures on Stormont Road

As a result of the above, Council directed staff to seek alternatives to speed humps, as recommended in Project Summary N-081.

DISCUSSION:

Per the Traffic Calming Policy, there are several Stage 2 traffic calming measures that (1) do not provide a physical barrier for emergency services, and (2) slow vehicles down during normal operations. Such measures relevant to Stormont Road include:

• Curb extensions, chokers and chicanes – a method of narrowing the road (often to single lane at the choke point);
• Median barriers and mid-block raised medians – a method to create a narrower travel way;
• One-way streets; and
• No through streets.

Staff commentary on these measures are as follows:

• Chicanes are best suited for Stormont Road and have been confirmed through a retained Transportation Engineering Consultant. Chicanes can foster active transportation by reducing vehicle speeds, especially at the interface point (one vehicle must stop for the other before continuing along the roadway).
• The roadway is currently too narrow to safely facilitate medians.
• One-way streets or no through streets were not supported by Council at the April 7, 2015 regular Council meeting. The measures could significantly impact accessibility to View Royal Elementary School and emergency services.

The Town’s recent Active Transportation Network Plan (2023) introduced the concept of “quick build active transportation infrastructure” – facilitates that flexible and inexpensive, allowing for adjustments to be made after implementation. Quick build infrastructure is often treated as a pilot project to gauge community interest and use – however, many of these instances can remain as permanent structures.

Staff recommend the installation of a semi-permanent quick build chicane: a structure that is still flexible and inexpensive, while also having the strength and weight to reduce damage and stand for many years.

An example treatment is presented in the attached Figure 1 by Watt Consulting: precast concrete planters complete with requisite warning signage attached. However, staff recommend using a treatment similar to the City of Vancouver’s barrier design for narrow streets as part of its ongoing Slow Streets initiative¹:

Figure 2: Excerpt of a Slow Street Barrier Design for Narrow Streets (City of Vancouver Slow Streets)

The above figure is an example of the barrier design, and for the purposes of creating a chicane, the no post barriers could only be needed on one side of the road. This treatment has also been confirmed to be a usable treatment.

If two sections of Stormont Road receive the chicane treatment, then the location of the no post barriers could be alternated. Staff would assess suitable locations based on reasonableness, safety, location of driveways, on-street parking, and other hazards that may be present.

SUSTAINABILITY/CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS:

By installing chicanes in a meaningful manner, vehicle speeds, especially at times of higher volume, would be reduced and can result in fostering more active transportation routes within the neighbourhood. In the case of Stormont Road, this roadway is a route towards View Royal Elementary School and the E&N Rail Trail at Glenairlie Drive.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:

This project is currently funded as indicated by Project Summary N-081.

ALTERNATIVES:

Council may seek other alternatives, or no traffic calming treatment at all.

CONCLUSION:

This report responded to Council’s direction to seek potential options to apply Stage 2 traffic calming measures to Stormont Road. Stormont Road already has two speed humps – therefore, options were evaluated based on effectiveness, appropriateness, and benefits to emergency services.

As a result, should Council wish to proceed with additional traffic calming measures on Stormont Road, staff recommended a semi-permanent “quick build” chicane, consisting of no post barrier(s) and warning signage similar to the barrier design identified in the City of Vancouver’s Slow Streets initiative. Doing so would be flexible, inexpensive, while still being robust enough to last many years.

CONCURRENCE:

REVIEWED BY:

ATTACHMENTS:

1. Project Summary N-081 Stormont Road Traffic Calming
2. Stormont Road Traffic Calming (Watt Consulting)

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¹ Slow Streets Vancouver, Step Three, Review and Research (2022). City of Vancouver. https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/slow-streets-review-and-refresh-report.pdf