Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic

FROM:

General Manager of Engineering Services

SUBJECT:

East First Avenue - Traffic Review

 

RECOMMENDATION

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:

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to recommend a number of measures that will reduce the negative impacts of traffic (ie. noise, pollution, and vibration) on residents adjacent to East First Avenue. The resident group also wishes to have parking added to East First Avenue.

INTRODUCTION

This report deals with East First Avenue between Clark Drive and Highway 1. This section has two lanes in each direction, with no on-street parking and a large centre median for about one half of its length.

First Avenue is an important arterial connection between Vancouver and Burnaby, and Highway 1. It is not a truck route west of Rupert Street, so vehicles with three or more axles and a weight greater than 4500 kg are restricted from using it as a through route. In 1978, Greyhound Canada requested an exception to the by-law so that their 3-axle buses could have a direct route from Highway 1 to their depot in the Downtown. To accommodate Greyhound's request, East First Avenue was designated a Vancouver Transit Route by Council. This change also allowed B.C. Transit buses to operate on East First Avenue, which they use to transport empty buses, not to pick-up or drop-off passengers.
Recently, By-law Number 2849 (the Street and Traffic By-law) was changed to provide a distinction between BC Transit buses and other buses. However, since Greyhound was previously given explicit permission to use East First Avenue, there is now some ambiguity as to whether or not 3-axle buses can still use it as a through route, although they have continued to do so.

In 1968, parking was removed between 7am and 6pm on the south side of First Avenue from Clark to Highway 1. In 1976 it was removed on the north side. The changes to parking since 1968 are outlined below. The parking is now restricted full time because of high vehicle volumes that exist for most of the day. Some of the key dates of events that are relative to East First Avenue are as follows:

-1968 - parking prohibited 7am to 6pm on the south side
-1969 - traffic signal installed at Boundary and East First
-1976 - parking prohibited 7am to 6pm on the north side
-1978 - buses permitted
-1981 - section from Boundary to Rupert made into a truck route
-1983 - parking prohibited full time from Clark to Nanaimo, on the south side
-1983 - stadium moved downtown
-1986 - parking prohibited full time on both sides
-1995 - arena moved downtown

The daily vehicle volume on East First Avenue ranges from 42,000 at Woodland to approximately 57,000 at Windermere. This is a higher number of vehicles than most other east/west streets in the City, although other arterial streets, such as Hastings and Broadway, also carry buses and trucks. Large vehicles have more impact on congestion and noise.

Overall, traffic volumes on First Avenue are growing at a rate similar to other streets in the City over the past ten years (see Figure 1), and somewhat more slowly than population growth. Over the past five years, there has been very little change in day-time traffic but there have been changes due to major entertainment events in the Downtown, which occur primarily in the evenings. Some event traffic has been shifted from streets near the Pacific Coliseum to streets such as East First Avenue, which serve the Downtown. The traffic from events causes significant fluctuations in daily traffic volumes (See Figure 2).

DISCUSSION

East First Avenue represents an opportunity to implement measures that are proposed in the City's Transportation Plan. This is a busy street, and a long established arterial whose classification was confirmed by the Plan. In addition, it is proposed that East First Avenue be included in the Regional Major Road Network. It meets the criteria of carrying regionallybased travel (volumes greater than 700 vehicles per hour) linking the downtown core to municipalities east of Vancouver. The Major Road Network proposal will be brought to Council later this Fall for confirmation (see Appendix D).

First Avenue is also situated adjacent to residential land uses. This raises issues of noise, intrusion and other conflicts.

Residents along East First Avenue have raised concerns about the level of traffic on their street and the impacts that result. They have complained about noise and requested that parking be reinstated (except during the rush hours) to reduce traffic and provide better access to homes. Staff met with the resident group on a number of occasions to talk about the role and treatment of East First Avenue. Initial discussions also dealt with improvements in the neighbourhood around Clinton Park, the subject of a separate report. Residents have worked with City staff to develop a list of mitigation measures to be considered. A list of issues and measures discussed is shown in Appendix B. Some of the key issues are discussed below:

Buses

Although East First Avenue is designated as a transit route, there is no transit service. Instead, BC Transit uses East First Avenue to transport approximately 81 empty buses, on weekdays (mainly between its major operating centre - on Kitchener near Boundary Road -and Downtown). On weekends, the number of buses drops to 30 on Saturdays and 16 on Sundays. These buses are noticed by residents who have asked that an alternative route be used. East First Avenue is used by transit because it is the quickest route, and provides the most reliable and economical alternative. However, these buses affect residents without providing any direct benefits. The periods that residents are most affected are during early mornings and late evenings, when they are more likely to be at home and noises are more intrusive. During these periods, congestion is less and travel time savings on East First Avenue are less.

City Staff have met with BC Transit staff to discuss the possibility of re-routing buses to other corridors. BC Transit have agreed to reroute their buses during early mornings, late evenings, and weekends. This will result in approximately 20 fewer transit buses each weekday and removal of all buses on weekends. Since alternative routes are congested at other times, BC Transit wishes to continue using East First Avenue during these congested periods. Transit staff have noted that switching to other routes would decrease service reliability and increase operating costs. Staff support the BC Transit position to re-route buses except for congested periods.

Other buses that use East First Avenue are private buses such as Greyhound, which total approximately 50 to 100 per day. Since most of these buses have 3 axles, they are legally defined as trucks and would not normally be permitted on East First Avenue, because it is not a truck route. However, Council's 1978 designation was given to allow Greyhound to use East First Avenue. The noise from these diesel buses has impacts on residents and it is recommended that all 3-axle buses be restricted from East First Avenue. These buses are proposed to re-route to Grandview/Broadway or Hastings Street, which are generally more commercial in nature.

Trucks

Currently, some heavy trucks are using East First Avenue illegally (approximately 100 trucks per day use East First Avenue), and these infractions are a source of ongoing concern to residents. To address this concern, additional signs have been placed to direct trucks to the appropriate routes, and the Police have been asked to step-up enforcement. More signs are recommended to make it obvious that East First Avenue is not a truck route west of Rupert Street. In particular, the Ministry of Transportation and Highways has been asked to place a sign on Highway 1 that directs trucks to use an alternative route to access the downtown.

Traffic Speeds

Studies have been done to measure the speed of traffic, and they have found that speeding is more frequent in the off-peak times when congestion is lower. Residents have requested that East First Avenue be considered a higher priority for enforcement. Any reduction in speeding should increase safety. The Police are aware of residents' concerns and have enforced speeds on East First Avenue. The Provincial Government was asked to consider photo radar but found that East First Avenue is not suitable because the photo-radar van needs to be placed in a visible area, but not in a moving lane. However, the Province is looking into new technologies such as a pole-mounted radar program which could be considered in situations where a van can not be used.

Traffic Volumes

East First Avenue has been operating essentially at capacity for some time, so increases in peak traffic are no longer observed. The traffic counts have shown little fluctuation over the past few years. In fact, afternoon-peak volumes appear to have declined since 1989, as shown in Figure 2. However, with stadium, arena, and Ford theatre events in the Downtown, there has been increased travel demand at event times. Some of these trips are served now with transit, and particularly Sky-Train. More could be done to encourage transit use, such as including bus passes with all tickets to major events. This has been discussed with BC Transit and it is recommended that the City encourage BC Transit to pursue this concept. It would meet the City objective of encouraging a travel mode alternative to the automobile, and a mode shift would reduce the impacts along streets such as East First Avenue.

Parking

Parking is restricted full-time on East First Avenue to handle traffic volumes and reduce the spill-over onto local streets. A single lane of traffic on East First Avenue safely carries approximately 1000 vehicles per hour (vph). Traffic volumes on East First Avenue exceeds this level from around 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., which requires two moving lanes in each direction. When events occur at BC Place or GM Place, traffic levels remain high (above 1000 vph) after game time, and until midnight. Although the volumes are lower on the weekends, traffic can still exceed 1000 vph from approximately 8 a.m. until midnight. Taking away a lane to provide parking during any of these busy periods would increase congestion and accidents, and would lead to shortcutting on local residential streets. Providing parking during the late night/early morning was considered but is not recommended since it would not provide significant benefits to residents, and could cause a safety problem.

In summary, the Transportation Plan recognizes East First Avenue as a primary arterial, and conditions do require two moving lanes. Therefore, it is recommended that the existing parking restrictions be retained. Allowing parking, even outside peak hours, would increase accidents, and encourage shortcutting through neighbourhoods. Comparisons to other streets which allow parking, such as Grandview or Hastings, need to recognize that those streets have additional lanes to allow the parking. If residents wish to park on the street, it would be possible to pursue construction of protected parking bays (by widening the median section), without increasing street capacity.

Pedestrian Facilities

Pedestrian signals are spaced along East First Avenue so that the longest spacing between signals is three blocks. In total, there are five pedestrian and six combined signals between Clark Drive and Rupert Street. The most recent pedestrian/cyclist signal was installed at Lakewood and First in 1997. As a result, all intersections are within one block of a signalized crossing opportunity. In addition, the median allows pedestrians to cross one direction at a time, which improves safety at the non-signalized locations.

In response to requests from residents to improve wheelchair accessibility, 29 wheelchair ramps have been installed in the past two years.

Noise

Noise caused by traffic is one of the main concerns of residents. The noise level on East First Avenue was measured at 73 decibels, which is 3 decibels higher than the Vancouver Health Board's suggested daytime maximum. A number of measures to reduce noise have been discussed, and these are shown in Appendix C.

The Transportation Plan calls for mitigation of affected areas, and the Urban Noise Task Force report calls for a pilot project for noise reduction. Some of the measures available include quieter pavement, an acoustic fence, a berm, building materials, and landscaping material. The City funding of building material modifications on private property is not recommended because of the cost and the difficult precedent for other major arterials in the City. Similarly, the use of acoustic fences and berms would only have very limited applications, e.g., streets with medians, for the same reasons. It is important to not raise expectations of residents beyond those which the City is prepared to undertake on First Avenue or other arterial streets.

Special pavement to reduce noise has been tried in Europe, and a trial was approved by City Council, on May 27, 1997, as part of the Urban Noise Task Force Report.

A section of Knight Street has recently been repaved and quiet pavement was used from 37th Avenue to 39th Avenue. The effects of this pavement on noise levels are being monitored, and will be reported to Council soon. East First Avenue could also be used as a test case.
Residents have expressed interest in the noise mitigation proposals. Potentially, a pilot project could cost approximately $50,000 to $75,000; more study and cost estimates are needed so that options can be reported to Council. It is recommended that a consultant be hired to help with this study.

High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes

HOV lanes are being constructed on Highway 1 from the Cape Horn Interchange to the Grandview Highway off-ramp. Since the extra lane terminates east of Boundary and the off-ramp to Grandview Highway is not being widened, there is no new capacity entering Vancouver. Furthermore, origin-destination information developed by the HOV study process indicates that relatively few HOV's are destined into Vancouver, and virtually none on the First Avenue Corridor. Therefore, the HOV project is not expected to result in traffic increases on East First Avenue.

FUNDING AND TIMING

Funding for signage directing trucks away from East First Avenue is available in existing signing accounts. Funding of $10,000 for hiring a consultant to evaluate noise mitigation measures is available in Streets Basic Unappropriated Account Number 13/32/9801/999 -Local Area and Other Improvements.

Recommendations C through G involve either sign changes or communication with other agencies, departments or private companies. These recommendations can be carried out within three months. The study of noise mitigation measures (Recommendations A and B) is also expected to take three months. These results and estimated costs will then be reported to Council. The time for implementation of noise mitigation measures will depend on the complexity of the measure chosen. If quieter pavement is chosen, it could be done as part of a special repaving program in 1999.

RESIDENTS' COMMENTS

The residents' group has been given a draft copy of the report and has been offered the opportunity to provide written comments, which will be attached to this report (APPENDIX E).

CONCLUSION

Staff have worked with the residents to evaluate measures to reduce noise and impacts. Some measures have already been completed, including signage, enforcement, reduction of BC Transit buses, and addition of curb ramps. A pilot project is recommended for mitigation of noise impacts along East First Avenue. It is proposed that a consultant be hired to help evaluate various measures to determine which would be most effective. The goal would be to reduce daytime noise levels to 70 decibels or lower (a reduction of at least 3 decibels), which is the Health Board's daytime guideline. The results of this study and a proposed pilot project will be reported to Council.

There are a number of other changes which can be done in a short time-frame and will lead to a reduction in the number of large vehicles using East First Avenue, such as relocation of buses and more enforcement of illegal trucks. These changes are recommended and will have some effect on truck and bus operators, but should reduce noise, vibration and other impacts experienced by residents. The institution of parking is not recommended.

NOTE FROM CLERK: ELECTRONIC COPIES OF FIGURES 1 AND 2, AND APPENDICES A THROUGH D ARE NOT AVAILABLE AND ARE ON FILE IN THE OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK

APPENDIX E

August 25, 1998
Residents Comments

The residents of First Avenue and the surrounding neighbourhood have been speaking with engineering and planning staff and Council since 1995 about the increasingly unlivable situation on First Avenue due to mounting traffic volumes.

From the beginning, we have been asking for three things to take place immediately:

Re-instate parking on First Avenue with the exception of Monday to Friday rush hour periods from 7-9 am, and 3-6 p.m.
Remove all buses.
Remove illegal 3 axle trucks.

Unfortunately, this report and its recommendations do not effectively do any of the above.

Engineering staff has chosen not to support our first priority - reinstating parking on First Avenue. It is our view that parking is permitted on other busy arterial streets, for example, West 12th Avenue, and residents are allowed to make their own choice about whether to park there. Weaving in and out of the parking lane will always occur: it cannot be prevented. Furthermore, we feel it is unreasonable to reject this measure without even trying it. It is not unreasonable to provide residents of First Avenue with the same basic rights and privileges that all other residents of the city enjoy, while at the same time recognizing that First Avenue is an arterial street. We urge Council to do what is fair. Please also be aware that the reason Photo Radar cannot be used on First Avenue is because there is no parking lane for the van. Re-instating parking on First Avenue would have the added benefit of allowing police to enforce the speed limit, something that is possible on all other city streets.

We propose that Council endorse the following recommendation:

THAT staff re-instate parking on First Avenue with the exception of Monday to Friday rush hour periods from 7-9 a.m, and 3-6 p.m.

To the extent that recommendations C to G contained in this report address the second two issues, illegal buses and trucks, we applaud them. However, we are concerned that the actions directed towards illegal trucks will not be effective. We are looking for effective solutions, not just actions. For this reason, we propose that Council endorse the following additional recommendation:

THAT staff and residents monitor the effects of these measures and report back to Council on their effectiveness in 6 months.

In addition to the above three objectives, we support the recommendations A and B concerning the pilot project. We would be pleased to work with suitable consultants hired by engineering and planning staff to develop some further projects to help mitigate the impacts of high traffic volumes on our neighbourhood quality of life.

In addition, we note that the date for the opening of the new HOV lanes on the TransCanada Highway is fast approaching. MOTH promised residents that there would be no traffic impacts on First Avenue (with no analysis to support this statement). The City's engineering department makes the same claim in this report, again with no analysis to support it. We are seeking a commitment from the City to evaluate the effects of this project on First Avenue residents. We propose that Council also endorse the following recommendation:

THAT engineering staff takes traffic count data on First Avenue on a monthly basis, for 6 months prior to the opening of the HOV lanes and for 1 year following to determine, what, if any, increased traffic volumes result. The results of this monitoring to be reported to Council and First Avenue residents.

While we encourage these first small steps towards recognition of the costs borne by residents of arterial streets and the need for improved quality of life in our neighbourhood, we recognize, and hope Council does too, that a lot of work remains to be done.

The residents would also like to see a schedule for implementation of these recommendations.

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