ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Standing Committee for Traffic and Transportation

FROM:

General Manager of Engineering Services

SUBJECT:

East First Avenue Traffic Impact Mitigation

 

 

RECOMMENDATION

CONSIDERATION

COUNCIL POLICY

The Transportation Plan defines East First Avenue as a primary arterial, but it is not a truck route west of Rupert Street. The Plan also calls for consideration of roadside traffic mitigation for severely impacted areas.

On May 27, 1997, Council approved a number of recommendations from the Urban Noise Task Force. Two that are directly applicable to East First Avenue are as follows:

SUMMARY

The noise attenuation study offers some measures that will reduce average noise on East First Avenue. The repaving will reduce tire noise and intersection rattling. Revised fence guidelines may reduce overall noise in yards and homes. A homeowner guide book for noise-attenuating house improvements may also allow for the reduction of traffic noise in older houses. Increased speed enforcement should alleviate some peak noise events. Planting street trees will reduce the visual impacts of traffic for adjacent homes.

Roadway and signal changes are planned at Boundary and First Avenue to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

Some residents along the street still feel that the impacts of traffic on their livability cannot be adequately addressed until their curb-side parking is restored by narrowing the center median between Nanaimo and Rupert Streets. Given the high costs, change in aesthetics and apparent difference of opinion among local residents, this option is not recommended. Instead, staff offer for consideration that parking lay-bys, set into the existing curb line, could be installed in a few test locations. Since residents have indicated some resistance to this concept, they would be built in blocks showing the strongest surveyed support (and with at least a majority of support) for the project.

Other residents feel that the impacts of traffic on their livability cannot be adequately addressed until First Avenue is reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction, with the surplus demand being diverted to other new or existing streets. This also is a costly and controversial solution that only serves to relocate the problem to other neighbourhoods. The Major Roads Agreement identifies East First Avenue as a major road of regional significance, and its capacity cannot be reduced without TransLink authorization.

Staff recommend that, given the constraints of needing to maintain a functioning arterial street, the suggested noise attenuation improvements will improve the livability for residents of East First Avenue.

PURPOSE

This report describes the First Avenue Noise Attenuation consulting study and its conclusions. It also recommends a number of measures to reduce the impacts of traffic on residents along East First Avenue.

In addition, this report seeks approval for intersection geometry and signal improvements to improve safety at the intersection of Boundary Road and 1st Avenue.

BACKGROUND

On September 15, 1998, Council considered a report that described a number of resident concerns about traffic impacts on East First Avenue. The report made recommendations about improving truck route signage, reducing bus volumes, increasing transit use during downtown events, increasing traffic enforcement and using photo radar on East First Avenue. Council also instructed staff to engage an acoustical consultant to evaluate alternatives for a noise attenuation pilot project for this neighbourhood.

The Noise Attenuation Study

The study was intended to provide the general background and site-specific analysis for a noise-reduction pilot project on East First Avenue between Clark Drive and Rupert Street. After calling for proposals, the City retained BKL Consultants Ltd. to conduct the study.

The consultant considered several potential noise-reducing measures that could be implemented along East First Avenue. The measures that were analysed included:

· changing the vehicle mix (i.e. trucks/buses versus cars)
· lowering the traffic speed limit, or improving speed enforcement
· installing or allowing larger fences around front yards
· building a fence along the centre median
· adding parking lanes by shifting traffic lanes into the median (i.e. reducing width of median to accommodate curb-side parking and two lanes of traffic each way)
· installing curbside noise barriers
· using low noise pavement
· improving sound insulation in houses.

The noise-reduction predictions for the measures listed above are given in Table 1.
The average person would barely notice a decrease of less than 3 dBA. A decrease of 6 dBA would be a clearly noticeable improvement and a decrease of 10 dBA would be perceived as roughly half as loud.

 

Average Predicted Noise Reduction
(dBA)

Noise Mitigation Option

At 1.5 m Above
Ground Level

At 3 m Above
Ground Level

Total Elimination of Trucks and Buses

0.9 dBA

0.8 dBA

Speed Reduction from of 10 km/h

1.7

1.5

1.2m (4 ft) high Property Line Fences (max. height allowable under current bylaws)

3.9

0.4

2.1m (7 ft) high Property Line Fences (well-above the max. height allowable under current bylaws)

8.5

4.5

1.5m (5 ft) high Fences on central medians

0.5

0.4

0.8m-high Curbside Barriers (outer curbs only)

3.3

1.9

0.8m-high curbside Barriers (outer+centre of median)

4

2.8

Addition of Parking Lanes (if centre median reduced to allow additional paved lane)

1.7

1.3

Low noise Pavement (average of 2.5 dBA assumed, based on literature search)

2.5

2.5

Improved Sound Insulation in Houses

Upto 14 dBA depending on existing and new window types

Upto 14 dBA depending on existing and new window types

Table 1: Summary of Predicted Benefits from Alternative Noise Mitigation Options

The consultants' report is available for review in the City Clerk's office.

The consultant recommended that the most effective measures (within existing bylaw capabilities) to reduce the average amount of traffic noise would be to install low curb-side barriers, to pave the street with low-noise pavement and to provide homeowners with accurate information about how to insulate their homes and property from noise. The analysis also indicated that if tall fences were allowed in front yards, they would substantially reduce noise for residents.

Public Comments

This information was presented to local residents at an open house in the neighbourhood. Twelve hundred notices were hand delivered to homes within one block of East First Avenue between Clark Drive and Boundary Road. About 50 residents and property owners attended the open house.

Generally, the meeting attendees did not support most of the noise-reducing proposals. They felt that although the average noise levels may be reduced by noise attenuating devices, the most intrusive noises would not be affected. That is, the sirens, noisy motorcycles, bouncing trucks and rumbling buses that punctuate the background traffic noise would still be very intrusive.

The meeting participants generally felt that First Avenue should no longer be required to carry so many cars and that an alternate connection to Highway 1 should be built on some other arterial street (or in the Grandview Cut).

Although most people at the meeting felt that intermittent loud street noises were most annoying, many said that quiet pavement (and, in fact, new pavement of any kind) would be helpful to reduce traffic background noise. Other suggestions about parking, street design, traffic enforcement, buses and land-use planning were expressed. The minutes from this meeting and a summary of the opinion survey results are included in Appendix A. Some of these issues are also addressed in the following sections of this report.

DISCUSSION

Staff have tried to balance the technical predictions of noise reduction with the public comments on livability, to suggest the best use of City funds for this arterial (and potentially other busy streets in the City as well). Based on the consultants' work and the public feedback, staff recommend the following actions be taken to reduce the impacts of traffic on residents along East First Avenue:

1. Create a Homeowner's Traffic Noise Reduction Guide: Research, publish and distribute a guide that provides useful and accurate information about how to insulate their homes and yards from traffic noise. There are many misconceptions associated with noise control and there are many vendors and tradesmen that are quite willing to offer their "opinions" as to what should be done to reduce noise. A similar situation existed in the past with respect to thermal insulation of houses.

2. Repave East First Avenue: There are funds already allocated to pave East First Avenue from Nanaimo Street to Boundary Road this coming construction season. Repaving the road would reduce tire and vehicle noise from the existing rough surface. The City has tried test sections of special open-graded pavement that has proven to reduce traffic noise in rural European testing. Residents did report a reduction in noise. Because there are technical problems with the durability of this type of pavement in an urban setting, it is recommended that this paving proceed, using the most open-graded "Super Pave" pavement mix, which is a structurally durable pavement that should reduce traffic noise more than regular, low-void pavement mixes. In addition, paving of intersection should reduce "bouncing" noises. This work can be done within the existing paving budget (approx. $900,000). In addition, $3,000 is recommended for measuring noise levels after the new pavement is installed, to quantify the noise reduction achieved through repaving. The remaining section of East First Avenue, between Clark Drive and Nanaimo Street is planned for repaving in the next two years.

3. Investigate Fencing Opportunities on Some Arterial Streets: Another option that offers substantial noise benefits is to allow residents to install taller fences around front yards. This would require a change to the current bylaw, which restricts fence heights in front yards to 1.2 m (4 ft.). To be effective, fences would have to be continuous around the front of the property or properties that were seeking to attenuate traffic noise. Gaps in the fence for driveway entrances would severely reduce the amount of noise that it can block. Tall fences would also reduce "good eyes on the street" that are linked to personal safety.

4. Plant Additional Street Trees and Bushes: Although landscaping does not reduce traffic noise, it does reduce the visual impact of traffic for adjacent residents and this option was suggested repeatedly during the public meeting.

5. Increase Speed Enforcement: Photo radar is being used in the 2500 block of East First Avenue. This should reduce some of the peak noise events that residents find so annoying.

6. Slot Grind Major Intersections: Streets crews will be grinding off the ruts and ridges on First Avenue at Victoria Street to reduce the excessive rattling noises from vehicles as they pass over this rough intersection. This can be funded through annual maintenance accounts.

7. Intersection Safety Camera at Rupert Street: An intersection safety camera has been installed at First Avenue and Rupert Street to monitor vehicles running red lights. This should also reduce noise from revving engines, and may reduce speeds as well.

8. Remove Transit Buses from East First Avenue: Residents along East First Avenue have expressed concerns about the noise caused by buses.  To address their concerns, City Council approved the following motion on September 15, 1998:

Prior to any discussion with B.C. Transit in 1998, there were 81 buses that used East 1st Avenue on weekdays, 30 buses on Saturdays, and 16 buses on Sundays. After discussions with City staff, B.C. Transit reduced the number of buses to 58 on weekdays and zero buses on weekends. After the Council meeting of September 1998, the Coast Mountain Bus Company further reduced the number of buses on weekdays to 17. These buses do not carry passengers along East First Avenue; they travel empty (dead-head) along E. 1st Avenue after the rush-hour peak is over.  Coast Mountain Bus Company estimates that to re-route the buses off East First Avenue would take an extra 557 service hours each year, which would cost $29,000 per year.

It is recommend that staff thank the Coast Mountain Bus Company for voluntarily removing so many buses from First Avenue, and that the company be requested to further review the matter to see if they can remove the last 17 buses from East First Avenue.

OPTIONS TO PROVIDE CURB-SIDE PARKING

Many residents living on East First Avenue have expressed an interest in restoring curbside parking in front of their homes. In 1998 Council did not support a request from some residents to reduce the moving lanes of traffic to one in each direction to allow curb-side parking along East First Avenue. Subsequently, staff have evaluated two other options, as shown in Figure 1.

Narrow Centre Median to Install Parking

A number of residents on First Avenue proposed narrowing the First Avenue centre median to allow two travel lanes and a parking lane in each direction between Rupert and Nanaimo Streets. This would provide residents with curbside parking, and provide a marginal improvement in visual and noise impacts for residents living on the corridor.


Figure 1 - On-Street Parking Options

A preliminary investigation of this option was conducted. The traffic capacity and operations on First Avenue would be unchanged.

The noise consultant considered the noise impacts of adding curb-side parking for adjacent homes, and found that it would not make a noticeable difference to residents.

The proposed narrowing of the median, from 12m to 5m, would affect a large number of existing pine, birch and dogwood trees. A Park Board assessment indicates that of the 103 trees on the median: 25 would experience minor disfigurement, but would likely survive; 35 would experience significant disfigurement, and possible mortality; and 17 would have to be removed. The lost trees could be replaced. However, the narrower median and close-by traffic lanes would not allow large maturing conifers to be introduced. Smaller deciduous trees could be replanted, in which case there would be significantly less greenery (especially in winter) than at present.

A preliminary cost estimate of this proposal is $3.2 million assuming that the existing Hydro overhead distributor lines on the median would be under grounded. The cost could be reduced to about $2.2 million if the overhead lines were relocated to the centre of the new median rather than under grounded; however, additional trees would have to be topped or removed in order to provide safe clearances from the wires. Park Board staff estimate that the additional value of the mature trees that will be lost or damaged is about $500,000.

There has been no formal public process to consider reducing the median to install parking. The proposal was originally received in the form of a petition signed by residents of about half of the houses on both sides of this section of First Avenue. At the last neighborhood meeting, there were opinions expressed supporting and refuting the proposal. If this item were to be considered further, a local and City wide public process regarding the use of the median public space should be conducted.

Staff do not recommend this option due to its high cost, potentially divisive impact on the neighbourhood, and loss of green space.

Create Parking Lay-bys in Existing Curb Boulevard Area

An alternative idea to allow parking is to introduce small parking bays into the existing curb line in front of residents' homes. This would require removing the existing sidewalks and replacing them with new sidewalks closer to the property line. The existing street lights would remain in place, and as many street trees as possible would be saved. The length and number of parking bays per block would depend on property owner support. The essential advantage of this design is that it could be implemented in limited areas where there is support, and not elsewhere.  Conversely, the previous option is an 'all-or-nothing' choice.

Staff are also pursuing the possibility that these bays could use a porous surface. This would allow water to drain through into the ground, so that runoff would not be increased. A final determination on this possibility would have to follow detailed design.

Parking Alternative for Consideration

Staff met with several property owners who strongly support restoring on-street parking on First Avenue, and suggested this parking bay idea as a solution. These residents rejected the parking bays in favour of the centre median narrowing, since it would keep the parked and moving cars further away from their homes.

However, there may be more support for this proposal from other residents. Staff recommend that $150,000 be approved to test this design somewhere between Nanaimo and Rupert Street. Notifications and surveys could be sent to home owners in this stretch to see if any of the blocks want to be part of this pilot project. This level of funding could install several small bays or a few longer ones on one or two block faces.

BOUNDARY AND 1ST AVENUE INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS

A traffic safety review was conducted recently at the intersection of Boundary Road and 1st Avenue by a consultant retained by the City of Vancouver and ICBC. As a result, roadway and signal changes are planned in order to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

The most significant proposed improvement is an intersection geometry change. At present, as illustrated in Figure 2, the westbound travel lanes in the west and east legs of the intersection do not line up because of the large centre median on the west leg. Consequently, westbound motorists must make a relatively sudden direction change in the intersection. As well, the travel path for motorists turning left from southbound to eastbound conflicts with the path of motorists turning left from northbound to westbound. This creates undesirable maneuvering in the intersection and motorists' vision of oncoming traffic can be complicated.

4Ø13
Ø


Figure 2 - Existing Alignment on Boundary at First

Figure 3 - Proposed alignment on Boundary at First

To deal with these concerns it is proposed to narrow the west leg departure, as shown in Figure 3. In addition, signal changes would be introduced including pedestrian-actuated signal indications and left turn arrows for eastbound-to-northbound and northbound-to-westbound left turns.

This project is consistent with the City Transportation Plan The roadway change would not increase the number of traffic lanes or capacity. The traffic signal changes would produce a net decrease in intersection capacity, although the left turn capacity for some movements would increase. The main benefit of the project is safety. The changes would provide a more standard and less confusing intersection geometry, reduce the north crosswalk pedestrian walking distance, improve the sight distance for oncoming vehicles, and increase the visibility of the signals. A total of 115 collisions were reported at the intersection of Boundary Road at First Avenue between January 1, 1992 and December 31, 1996. The consultant's study indicates the proposed project could reduce collisions by 20 to 25%.

The project is intended for construction this year as part of the project to re-pave 1st Avenue in this sector. The total cost for the work is estimated to be $275,000. Applications for cost sharing have been made to TransLink and ICBC, who are expected to pay up to 50% of the cost. Burnaby is expected to match the City of Vancouver's contribution. City Funds are available for this project in the 2001 Streets Basic Capital Budget.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

TIMING

The guidebook could be completed during 2001 subject to staff availability; repaving is planned for the summer of 2001; tree planting will be done in the spring of 2001. Staff expect to report back on the landscape consultant's fence analysis in June, 2001. Subject to Council approval, the parking lay-bys could be built in the fall of 2001, depending on neighbourhood response to the concept.

CONCLUSION

The noise attenuation study offers some measures that will reduce average noise on East First Avenue. The repaving will reduce tire noise and intersection rattling. Revised fence guidelines may reduce overall noise in yards and homes. A homeowner guide book for noise-attenuating house improvements may also allow for the reduction of traffic noise in older houses. Increased speed enforcement should alleviate some peak noise events. Planting street trees will reduce the visual impacts of traffic for adjacent homes.

Some residents along the street still feel that the impacts of traffic on their livability cannot be adequately addressed until their curb-side parking is restored by narrowing the center median between Nanaimo and Rupert Streets. Given the high costs, change in aesthetics and apparent difference of opinion among local residents, this option is not recommended. Instead, staff offer for consideration that parking lay-bys, set into the existing curb line, could be installed in a few test locations. Since residents have indicated some resistance to this concept, they would be built in blocks showing the strongest surveyed support (and with at least a majority of support) for the project.

Other residents feel that the impacts of traffic on their livability cannot be adequately addressed until First Avenue is reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction, with the surplus demand being diverted to other new or existing streets. This also is a costly and controversial solution that only serves to relocate the problem to other neighbourhoods. The Major Roads Agreement identifies East First Avenue as a major road of regional significance, and its capacity cannot be reduced without TransLink authorization.

Staff recommends that, given the constraints of needing to maintain a functioning arterial street, the suggested noise attenuation improvements will improve the liveability for residents of East First Avenue.

- - - - -

APPENDIX A

First Avenue Noise Attenuation Study
Neighbourhood Open House

Thursday, June 29th, 2000, 7:30 to 9:00 pm
At Maquinna Elementary School

Minutes

Attendance:

1200 meeting invitations were distributed by hand, 7 to 9 days before the meeting date. Properties north of Second Avenue and south of Graveley were included in the notification. Forty-five residents and property owners attended the open house.

Meeting Summary:

Although the gathering was intended to be an open house with informal and personal discussions of the Noise Attenuation Study, this proved to be impractical for the size of the audience. Shortly after 7:30 pm, the gathering formed into a more traditional meeting.

City representative Sheri Reed, P.Eng., opened the meeting by describing some background leading to the study, and introduced the noise attenuation consultant, Doug Kennedy, P.Eng. of BKL Consultants Ltd. Rod Malkin of the City's Transportation Division was also at the meeting to answer questions about general transportation issues. A summary of the Noise Attenuation Study and its findings are attached for information.

There was a lively debate about livability, noise, parking, speeds, trucks, land-use-planning and transportation policies. Comments from the residents included the following:

· Do not build more elements that encourage traffic on First Avenue, like the left-turn-bays at Clark and First Avenue.

· Some Translink buses are still using First Avenue and should be removed.

· The most intrusive traffic noises are short and sharp....like sirens, passing trucks and buses, and individual speeding vehicles.

· The City must increase enforcement of the existing traffic laws, especially speed limits and truck restrictions.

· Photo radar should be used, and could be installed in the median area around First and Kamloops or at an intersection between Clark and Commercial.

· Single-occupant vehicles should be charged a toll to exit Highway 1, at First Avenue or Grandview.

· Install more traffic lights and photo radar to slow down cars.

· Surrounding local streets need traffic calming measures to slow down speeding vehicles, e.g. on Second Avenue opposite Garden Park.

· A study of health effects should be done, studying diseases and other health problems afflicting residents adjacent to busy arterial streets.

· Police drinking-driving road blocks need to address shortcutting and unsafe driving on surrounding local streets when they put up a road block on Fist Avenue. They should also take turns setting up on different blocks, as this is an intrusive process for adjacent residents.

· Land-use planning in the centre of Vancouver (for example the Finning site) continues to draw more vehicles from the suburbs, right down First Avenue. This should stop.

· Parking should be reinstated along First Avenue. There was some debate about how this best would be achieved.....cut into the central median and move the traffic over? Many people were opposed to this idea. In general, people supported the idea of parking in the curb lane, and reducing the number of moving lanes of traffic to just one.

· Trucks rattle loudly as they travel over the pavement ruts at Nanaimo and First Avenue. Smoothing out this pavement would reduce noise significantly.

· Close the First Avenue access to Highway 1.....this neighbourhood has endured the traffic too long. It should go to other arterials, like Hastings Street or the Grandview Cut.

· The City should pay funds to First Avenue property owners to compensate them for their decrease in home values caused by the increasing traffic.

· The City's policy of "no more highways" should be revoked.... and a new roadway should be built in the Grandview Cut.

· Greyhound buses cause the whole house to shake..... they should be removed from the road.

· Traffic Circles on First Avenue would slow traffic.

· A system of one-way coulplets to access the highway could be tried..... eastbound on either First Avenue or Grandview, and westbound on the other.

· Don't invest in information brochures for homeowners to insulate their homes from sound, as this puts the problem and solutions back on the residents. Traffic noise is the City's problem and the City should fix it by reducing the traffic.

· Don't install high fences, curb barriers or other noise barriers, as they would make the neighbourhood look like a highway, and would be ugly.

· The City should increase significantly the fines for trucks using First Avenue illegally......otherwise these fines are just the "cost of doing business" for trucking companies

By the end of the meeting, it was clear that many of the noise-reducing proposals were not supported by the attendees. The participants generally agreed that First Avenue should no longer be required to carry so many cars and that an alternate connection to Highway 1 should be built on some other arterial street. Most people felt that quiet pavement (and, in fact, new pavement of any kind) would be helpful to reduce traffic noise.

All attendees were invited to submit their opinions in writing on the attached survey form (please do not send in another form if you have already filled one in). Attendees will also receive the draft report and notification of the Council Meeting in the fall which will address the issues raised in this neighbourhood meeting.

Summary of East First Avenue Traffic Noise Survey

1

What are your two top priorities for reducing noise on your property?
· Front Yard
· Back Yard
· Main floor of Home
· Second Floor of Home

76126

2

Which one of the following measures do you think the City should test in a pilot project to reduce traffic noise in your neighbourhood?
· 4 foot noise fences built by City along front property line
· 7 foot noise fences built by City along front property line
· 2.5 foot tall curb-side barriers built City
· Low noise pavement
· Guidebook describing effective noise attenuation for your home

260

3

Additional Comments or Requests?
· Reduce Traffic on East First Avenue
· Enforce speed Limits
· Reduce Trucks and Buses
· Replace Curb-side Parking on East First Avenue
· Don't Narrow Median for Parking

1e+06

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