Eagle Nest Helmcken Road Report
A traffic operations review of the Helmcken Road corridor near the proposed Eagle Nest site, assessing congestion, collision data, and proposed mitigation measures.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 1 2.0 BACKGROUND .................................................................................................... 1 3.0 EXISTING CONDITIONS (2018)........................................................................... 2 3.1 Traffic Conditions.................................................................................................2 3.2 Collisions .............................................................................................................3 4.0 OTHER CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................ 3 4.1 McKenzie Road / Admirals Rd / Highway 1 Interchange ......................................4 4.2 BC Transit Plans..................................................................................................4 4.3 Victoria General Hospital Expansion....................................................................5 4.4 Cycling.................................................................................................................5 5.0 MITIGATION MEASURES.................................................................................... 5 5.1 Crosswalk Options and Impacts...........................................................................6 5.2 Pavement Markings .............................................................................................7 6.0 CONCLUSIONS.................................................................................................... 7
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Roadway Modification Queue Length Impacts Appendix B: Roadway Modifications Concept Plans Appendix C: Dedicated Right Turn Lane Concept Plan
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Five Year Collision Totals............................................................................................. 3 Table 2: Helmcken / Burnside Intersection Crosswalk Impacts .................................................. 6 Table 3: Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue Pedestrian Refuge ..................... 7
1.0 INTRODUCTION
WATT Consulting Group Ltd (WATT) has been retained by Invictus Commercial Development Corp (ICDC) to undertake a review of the Helmcken Road corridor near the Eagle Nest site between Burnside Road and Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue including the signalised intersections at Helmcken Road / Burnside Road and Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue. The review will consider the impact that reducing Helmcken Road southbound between Burnside Road and Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue has had on traffic operations and these intersections. The report will also review the available five year reported collision data for the corridor, potential traffic impacts to the Helmcken Road corridor near the site upon the completion of the McKenzie Road / Admirals Road / Highway 1 Interchange, any plans Victoria General Hospital has for expansion, future BC Transit plans and cycling. For clarity, the report orients Helmcken Road as a north-south road and Burnside Road as an east-west road.
Concept plans have also been developed for proposed roadway modifications to the Helmcken Road corridor between Burnside Road and Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue as well proposed modifications to the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue and Helmcken Road / Burnside Road intersections. The concept plans illustrate the proposed roadway modifications to Helmcken Road and Burnside Road that will reduce traffic congestion, delay and in turn, environmental impacts near the site. The concept plans are supported by Synchro and SimTraffic software analysis of the recommended roadway modifications including microsimulation videos of existing and future (2028) traffic operations on Helmcken Road and Burnside Road.
The report also considers the impacts that the proposed roadway modifications will have on the north crosswalk at the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue intersection as well as the east crosswalk at the Helmcken Road / Burnside Road intersection. The advantages and disadvantages of a potential pedestrian refuge area in the center median and a two-stage north / south crosswalk at the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue intersection are also discussed.
An assessment of the pavement markings at the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue intersection with the addition of a new southbound through lane on Helmcken Road was also undertaken and is detailed in the report.
2.0 BACKGROUND
According to the Transportation Association of Canada’s (TAC) characteristics of urban roads, Helmcken Road near the Eagle Nest site is considered a minor urban arterial road.¹ Minor urban arterial roads are primarily intended to facilitate the movement of high volumes of traffic and provide connections to collector roads, other arterial roads, and freeways. Minor urban arterial roads typically realize traffic volumes between 5,000 and 20,000 vehicles per day and limit access to adjacent private lands. Helmcken Road has a daily traffic volume of approximately 12,000 vehicles per day and provides direct access to a freeway (Highway 1) and other collector and arterial roads (Watkiss Way, Burnside Road, Interurban Road, Wilkinson Road, and West Saanich Road). As such, Helmcken Road is an important connection for View Royal and the region. This route provides access to educational facilities such as Camosun College and a key connection for those who conduct business and travel between the Western Communities and the Saanich Peninsula.
Between the fall of 2015 and the spring of 2016, Helmcken Road between Burnside Road and Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue underwent roadway modifications that included reducing southbound Helmcken Road from two lanes to one lane. The southbound lane reduction was based on a desire to calm southbound traffic between Watkiss Way and Burnside Road. However, its value as a traffic calming strategy is proving to be overly effective given the traffic congestion, delay and resulting environmental impacts that have resulted.
Shortly after the Helmcken Road modifications were made, construction of the McKenzie Road / Admirals Rd / Highway 1 Interchange began in September 2016. It is therefore assumed that some drivers may be choosing alternate routes, including Helmcken Road and / or Burnside Road, to avoid the construction impacts at McKenzie Road / Admirals Road / Highway 1.
¹ TAC Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads, Chapter 2
3.0 EXISTING CONDITIONS (2018)
3.1 TRAFFIC CONDITIONS
Existing traffic conditions on Helmcken Road and at the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue and Helmcken Road / Burnside Rd intersections were recently reviewed as part of the 2018 Eagle Nest Traffic Impact Assessment. Worst case conditions were reported during the PM peak hour and indicate southbound queues extend along Helmcken Road from Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue too far beyond Burnside Road which are considered indicative of excessively failing conditions at the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue traffic signal. Similarly, westbound traffic at Helmcken Road / Burnside Road experiences significant queuing and a failing level of service during the PM Peak hour. Due to congestion on Helmcken Road and the single westbound lane on Burnside Road, westbound left turning drivers on Burnside Road have limited storage on Helmcken Road to complete their movement and results in congestion and delays for all westbound traffic on Burnside Road. A SimTraffic microsimulation of existing traffic conditions at the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue and Helmcken Road / Burnside Road intersections was created to capture current traffic queuing during the PM peak hour. The results of the initial microsimulations did not accurately reflect the queue lengths observed in the field. Therefore, the model was calibrated using a 13% increase of southbound and westbound left turn traffic volumes at the Helmcken Road / Burnside Road intersection to account for latent traffic demand. Latent traffic demand is traffic demand that exists on the roadway, but is suppressed due to network capacity constraints and not counted as it cannot make it through/past a specific point in the network. Once additional capacity is added to the network, the demand that had been latent materializes as actual usage.² For demonstration purposes, Appendix A provides the existing observed southbound and westbound traffic queue lengths during the PM peak hour on Helmcken Road and Burnside Road respectively.
² Taken from the web https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_demand
3.2 COLLISIONS
A review of collision statistics from ICBC’s website (between 2013 and 2017 inclusive) was undertaken for the key intersections of Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor and Helmcken Road / Burnside Road. As per Table 1, available total reported collision statistics are provided for the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue and Helmcken Road / Burnside Rd intersections.
TABLE 1: FIVE YEAR COLLISION TOTALS
| Year | Number of Collisions Helmcken / Watkiss Way / Chancellor | Number of Collisions Helmcken / Burnside |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 3 | 9 |
| 2014 | 5 | 13 |
| 2015 | 7 | 8 |
| 2016 | 17 | 5 |
| 2017 | 21 | 26 |
The collision data indicates that the total collisions at the Helmcken Road intersections have been increasing since 2016. The data shows that the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue intersection’s 2017 total collisions are three times what they were in 2015. It is also clear that total collisions in 2017 at the Helmcken Road / Burnside Rd intersection are five times higher than in 2016 and double this intersection’s previous highest number of yearly collisions (2013). Since 2016 when the roadway modifications on Helmcken Road were completed, the total annual collisions at the two Helmcken Road intersections increased from an average of 15 (2013-2015) to 47 in 2017. This represents a significant increase in annual collisions. However, this is only one year of data and, given the limitations of the available data, the cause of these collisions is unknown. To better understand the change in the number of annual collisions, additional collision data details would be required through a request by the Town to ICBC.
4.0 OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
The Helmcken Road corridor near the site has realized significant changes in the last four years including the addition of the Eagle Creek development, modifications to the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue intersection, and the loss of the second southbound lane. While these changes have had a significant impact on traffic operations, other factors need to be reviewed including ongoing construction projects, future area development, and access to alternate modes.
4.1 MCKENZIE ROAD / ADMIRALS RD / HIGHWAY 1 INTERCHANGE
The ongoing Interchange project at the McKenzie Road / Admirals Road / Highway 1 intersection may be impacting traffic on the surrounding road network. Construction impacts on Highway 1 and McKenzie Avenue may be diverting traffic to Burnside Road and Wilkinson/Helmcken to avoid the congestion and delay that has been created from the construction and changing intersection road network.
According to available traffic count data collected in April 2012, before construction of the McKenzie Road / Admirals Road / Highway 1 Interchange, the two way total PM peak hour volumes on Helmcken Rd between Burnside Road and Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue were approximately 1,840 vehicles per hour. Since interchange construction began, PM peak hour traffic count volumes (2017 and 2018 data) for this same segment of Helmcken Road are approximately 10% and 15% lower respectively than in 2012. This reduction in traffic may be due to the southbound lanes being reduced from two lanes to one lane and the resulting queuing that is inhibiting traffic from traveling through this segment of the Helmcken Road corridor. As extensive queuing occurs, there is an accumulation of demand (vehicles) wanting to travel this segment, but are unable to reach it due to congestion. This in turn can lead to a stretching of the peak periods as it takes longer for vehicles to travel through the network. Once the interchange project is completed, change in traffic patterns on the regional road networks is unknown, but there is a potential that traffic may be reduced on the Helmcken Road corridor. However, the impact of this reduced traffic volume, if any, may not be sufficient to reduce the current congestion and delays.
4.2 BC TRANSIT PLANS
The Victoria Regional Transit Plan has developed nine focused Local Area Transit Plans. The Esquimalt and View Royal Local Area Transit Plan is intended to outline interim improvements for transit service and infrastructure over the next seven to fifteen years. At the time this report was written, the Esquimalt and View Royal Local Area Transit Plan was in the early planning stages having completed the first of two public consultations in September 2018. The second public consultation is planned for spring 2019 with proposed neighbourhood service and infrastructure improvement priorities being brought to the Victoria Transit Commission for adoption sometime in the fall of 2019. The neighbourhood service and infrastructure improvements would then be integrated into BC Transit’s Annual Transit Plans and three year Service and Financial Strategies.³ Until the Esquimalt and View Royal Local Area Transit Plan process is complete, changes to transit on Helmcken Road near the site, if any, are not known. Additional service frequency and routes can help to provide minor changes in traffic volumes; however, this reduction would be relatively small.
³ BC Transit website https://bctransit.com/victoria/transit-future/local-area-transit-plans/project-updates/esquimalt-view-royal
4.3 VICTORIA GENERAL HOSPITAL EXPANSION
Island Health currently has no plans to expand Victoria General Hospital (VGH) according to its six year Capital Plans. It is possible that beyond six years, VGH expansion may be considered, but Island Health staff commented they cannot speculate on any potential plans beyond six years.⁴
⁴ Phone conversation with Rob Gunther, VIHA Planning staff member on December 17, 2018.
4.4 CYCLING
Available cycling data for Helmcken Road between Burnside Road and Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue from April 2012, Sept 2017 and March 2018 was also reviewed for this report. During the PM peak hour, cyclist volumes were 15 per hour in 2012, 4 per hour in 2017 and only 1 per hour in 2018. While this data may not be indicative of a trend, it does suggest that in the PM peak hour, cyclist volumes on this segment of Helmcken Road are relatively low and do not translate to reduced vehicle volumes on the corridor.
5.0 MITIGATION MEASURES
To improve capacity and alleviate traffic congestion and delay on Helmcken Road, an additional 100m long southbound through lane between Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue and Burnside Road is recommended. The concept design in Appendix B illustrates the proposed southbound through lane which would require the following roadway modifications:
- removal of the existing curb extension on the southwest corner of the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue intersection to accommodate an additional southbound receiving lane
- adjustment of the center median to realign the existing southbound left turn lane
- removal of the yellow gore pavement markings to accommodate the new southbound through lane and other pavement marking revisions
A concept design was also developed for the east leg of the Helmcken Road / Burnside Road intersection to provide a new 70m long westbound left turn lane on Burnside Road. The westbound left turn lane would require limited road widening within the road right-of-way, preferably on the north side of Burnside Road and may require relocation of up to two hydro poles.
Should these concept designs be implemented, the impacts to traffic are expected to significantly reduce southbound traffic queues and driver delay at the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue intersection and in turn, at Helmcken Road / Burnside Road. In addition, westbound through, left turn and right turn queues lengths and driver delay at the Helmcken Road / Burnside Road intersection are expected to improve significantly from current conditions during the PM peak hour. The estimated PM Peak hour post roadway modification queue lengths on southbound Helmcken Road and westbound Burnside Road are illustrated in Appendix A. SimTraffic microsimulation of future traffic conditions (2028) at the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue and Helmcken Road / Burnside Road intersections (including development traffic) was also developed and captures anticipated queuing during the PM peak hour with the proposed roadway modifications. These proposed roadway modifications may also help alleviate the notable increase in annual collisions since 2016.
To improve access to the Eagle Creek development and Watkiss Way, another concept design has been developed which includes the additional 100m sound bound through lane and a new dedicated southbound right turn lane on Helmcken Road. As per the concept drawing in Appendix C, the proposed southbound right turn lane develops approximately 30 meters east of the access to the Eagle Creek development. It is expected that a dedicated southbound right turn lane on Helmcken Road would require considerable road and roadside modifications including:
- narrowing the center median and median landscaping
- relocation of up to two street lights on the north side of Helmcken Road
- relocation of one fire hydrant on the north side of Helmcken Road
- rebuilding of 80m of sidewalk on the north side of Helmcken Road
- narrowing the boulevard on the north side of Helmcken Road
- adjustment to the Eagle Creek access island
- adjustment to the island on the northeast corner of the Helmcken Road/ Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue
- pavement marking revisions
5.1 CROSSWALK OPTIONS AND IMPACTS
The proposed westbound left turn lane on Burnside Road at Helmcken Road will have minor impacts to the east crosswalk, but will reduce delays and queuing in the adjacent through / right turn lane, the pros and coms of which are shown in Table 2.
TABLE 2: HELMCKEN / BURNSIDE INTERSECTION CROSSWALK IMPACTS
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Reduced westbound through / right turn queueing | • Increased east side crosswalk distance (~2.5m) which requires a slight increase in the pedestrian clearance time |
| • Reduced westbound through / right turn driver delay | • Increased pedestrian exposure (2 – 3 secs) |
| • Reduced environmental impacts | • Construction costs of westbound left turn lane |
| • Potential relocation of up to two hydro poles |
The addition of the proposed second southbound through lane at the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue intersection will not impact the existing north crosswalk. However, the existing southbound left turn lane will need to be realigned requiring modifications to the center median. The modifications to the center median present an opportunity to provide median refuge for pedestrians between the northbound and southbound lanes, the pros and cons of which are identified in Table 3.
TABLE 3: HELMCKEN ROAD / WATKISS WAY / CHANCELLOR AVENUE PEDESTRIAN REFUGE
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Two stage crosswalks reduce pedestrian exposure improving pedestrian safety | • Construction costs |
| • Reduced pedestrian clearance time if treated as a two stage crossing | • May increase non-compliance amongst pedestrians wanting to cross Helmcken |
| • Additional north / south green time through reduction pedestrian clearance time for north crosswalk | • Two stage pedestrian crossings are not common in to Greater Victoria and may be unfamiliar to pedestrians |
| • Reduced north / south congestion and driver delay | • May increase complaints by able-bodied pedestrians who may have to wait longer overall to cross Helmcken |
| • Reduced crossing distance required to be crossed at one time may be beneficial for those with mobility challenges |
The concept designs in Appendix B illustrate a preferred modified crosswalk at Helmcken Road / Burnside Road as well as median pedestrian refuge at the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue intersection.
5.2 PAVEMENT MARKINGS
In British Columbia, the Manual of Standard Traffic Control Signs and Pavement Markings suggests that guiding lines should be used at intersections with dual left turn lanes, but it does not speak to their use for other purposes. A regional survey of the use of guiding lines at intersections finds that intersections generally include guiding lines where dual left turn lanes are provided and are also installed at intersections that provide more than two through lanes (Vernon Avenue / Saanich Road and Blanchard Street / Saanich Road). The existing dual left turn lane guiding lines at the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue intersection are appropriate and should remain with the addition of the proposed southbound through lane. However, new guiding lines should not be installed to delineate the path of southbound through lanes given the visibility of the southbound receiving lanes is not reduced due to significant offset or skewed geometry at the intersection.
6.0 CONCLUSIONS
Helmcken Road near the Eagle Nest site is considered an urban arterial road providing direct access to Highway 1. As such, it functions to facilitate the efficient movement of high volumes of traffic and forms and an important connection in the overall Victoria region road network. This segment of Helmcken also provides direct access for two developments on the north side of Helmcken Road and single family homes on the south side.
Existing conditions on Helmcken Road near the site, especially during PM peak travel times, indicate that the Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue and Helmcken Road / Burnside Road intersections experience excessive southbound and westbound queuing and delays respectively. It is well documented that traffic congestion has negative impacts on both the economy and on the quality of people’s lives that must contend with it. Deliveries don’t arrive on time and road users experience delay and stress while simultaneously contributing to environmental pollution idling on congested roads.
A review of collisions on Helmcken Road between Burnside Road and Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue indicate a significant increase in collisions since the southbound lane reduction in 2016. This increase in collisions requires review of detail ICBC collision reports, request for which should be made by the Town in order to determine causation.
The potential impacts that ongoing construction and access to alternate modes were found to be negligible. Therefore, in order to reduce delays and queues, additional roadway capacity is required. Additional capacity should include a new 100m southbound through lane (second lane) at Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue and a new westbound left turn lane at Burnside Road / Helmcken Road. These two improvements will provide significant additional capacity on Helmcken Road reducing southbound queue lengths, road user delay and pollution with minimal impact to existing infrastructure. These modifications will also significantly reduce queue lengths and delay for westbound traffic on Burnside Road. Furthermore, the proposed modifications to the center median on Helmcken Road at Watkiss Way / Chancellor Avenue provides an opportunity to install a pedestrian median refuge area and two stage crossing. This crossing will improve pedestrian safety and can further reduce vehicle congestion and delay on Helmcken Road.