Eagle Nest Helmcken Road Report (Excerpts)
A portion of a traffic impact report discussing existing congestion at Helmcken Road intersections and proposing roadway capacity improvements.
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.