SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 2
VTC AGENDA
SEPTEMBER 14, 1995
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: August 16, 1995
File No. 634 077
TO: Vancouver Traffic Commission
FROM: General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT: Arbutus Street and 1st Avenue - Traffic Circle
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT a permanent traffic circle be installed at Arbutus and
1st Avenue, with funding of $6,400 from Streets Basic
Capital Unappropriated Account Number 13/32/9801/999 - Other
Improvements.
B. THAT neighbourhood residents be requested to adopt circle
landscaping and the Streets annual operating budget be
increased by $100 to fund maintenance. In absence of this,
the Streets annual operating budget be increased by $500 to
fund maintenance.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council has a long standing policy of protecting neighbourhoods from
intrusion of non-local traffic.
On January 12, 1995, Council approved that property owners be given
the option of installing traffic circles on local streets where
appropriate through the local improvement petition process with 100%
property-owner funding, and that the Streets Operating Budget be
increased by $500 annually for the maintenance of each circle.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to present the results of a public
opinion survey regarding the proposed Arbutus Street and 1st Avenue
traffic circle, and to recommend proceeding with installation of a
traffic circle.
BACKGROUND
In October 1994, residents forwarded a petition to Engineering
Services asking that the area be reviewed for the installation of
traffic calming measures, such as traffic circles.
On March 13, 1995, Vancouver Traffic Commission received a report for
information regarding Engineering Services intent to conduct a ballot
to determine support for installation of a traffic circle at Arbutus
Street and 1st Avenue.
In May 1995, a neighbourhood public opinion survey was circu-lated to
residents.
DISCUSSION
Residents in the area of 1st and Arbutus are concerned about traffic
through their neighbourhood. To help calm traffic along this local
residential street a permanent traffic circle is proposed at Arbutus
Street and 1st Avenue.
On Arbutus between 4th Avenue and Cornwall Avenue four-way stops exist
at York, 2nd and 3rd Avenues. There are stop signs on 1st Avenue at
Arbutus and traffic signals on Arbutus at 4th and Cornwall Avenues
(see Figure 1).
Traffic on Arbutus is quite high and is heavier during the spring and
summer months. Vehicle volumes on Arbutus are 4,780 and 3,727 per day
in late spring and winter respectively. Studies also show that some
drivers use Arbutus as a through route, travelling along Arbutus
(south of 4th Avenue) to eastbound Cornwall (towards Burrard Bridge).
Given these high volumes, installation of a traffic circle at 1st and
Arbutus would be justified. Four-way stop signs were also considered
since this type of control is used at York, 2nd and 3rd Avenues.
However, a traffic circle will cause less noise in the neighbourhood
than stop signs, and would emphasize that Arbutus is a residential
street.
In almost all cases within the City, traffic circle installa-tions
have been very popular. For this reason and since traffic circles do
not cause a large disruption in traffic patterns, it is recommended
that the traffic circles be made permanent. This would be consistent
with Council's decision of February 2, 1995, that to save time and
money and to supply better service to the public, traffic circles
could be installed on a perma-nent basis with landscaping, where
appropriate.
Public Opinion Survey
Residents living within one block of the proposed traffic circle were
surveyed with the following results:
Surveys Distributed 342
Surveyed Returned 99 (29% return rate)
In Favour of Traffic Circle 74 (75%)
Opposed to Traffic Circle 23 (24%)
Unsure 2 ( 2%)
A 29% response rate is typical for surveys such as this. The results
also show that a strong majority (75% of respondents) favour the
installation of the traffic circle. The survey area is relatively
small; however, it is in agreement with Council's July 18, 1995
decision defining survey areas for local traffic circles. For
installation of traffic calming on busier streets, such as a collector
street, a much larger survey area would be appropriate. Because this
is a local residential street only the immediate area was surveyed
regarding the traffic circle (see Figure 1).
From the surveys returned the most common comment in favour of the
traffic circle is that it will slow down traffic. The most common
concern is a preference for 4-way stops. In almost all cases it was
expressed that some type of traffic calming measure is needed.
A sample of the ballot delivered to residents and a summary of their
comments is included as Appendix A.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The traffic circle is estimated to cost $6,400 and can be funded from
the Streets Basic Capital Unappropriated Account Number 13/32/9801/999
- Other Improvements.
It should be noted that on January 12, 1995, Council approved that
property owners be responsible for funding the installa-tion of
traffic circles in most cases. However, in this case discussions with
residents began before the new policy so owners have not been asked to
fund the traffic circle.
Future maintenance of the traffic circle including landscaping will
need to be funded through a $500 increase in the streets annual
operating budget. However, residents will be asked to adopt the
landscaping of the circle, which would lower the costs to
approximately $100 per year.
CONCLUSION
It is recommended that a permanent traffic circle be installed at the
intersection of Arbutus Street and 1st Avenue. Traffic conditions
justify this measure, and of the neighbourhood residents who
participated in the survey a strong majority (75%) were in favour of
implementing the traffic circle.
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