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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 4.02 InstallStpSgnLancaster (2)CITY OF DUBLIN AGENDA STATEMENT City Council Meeting Date: March 9, 1992 SUBJECT: Stop Sign Installation - Lancaster Road at Ann Arbor Way Report by Public Works Director Lee Thompson EXHIBITS ATTACHED: RECOMMENDATION: 1) Resolution 2) Agenda Statement from February 24th meeting ~/~l~Adopt resolution FINANCIAL STATEMENT: Cost of the stop sign and crosswalk installation is estimated at $1,000. This cost will be paid from the Street Maintenance 'Operating Budget. DESCRIPTION: At the February 24, 1992, meeting, the City Council conducted a public hearing and approved installation of stop signs and a crosswalk on Lancaster Road at the intersection of Ann Arbor Way. The City's Munici~a~6~e requires that stop signs be approved by resolution; therefore, a draft resolution is attached as Exhibit 1. Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the resolution in accordance with the determination made at the February 24th meeting. a: (corres) \mar\aEs cs Eop RESOLUTION NO. -92 A RESOLUTION OF THE GITY COUNGIL OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN APPROVING INSTALLATION OF STOP SIGNS ON LANCASTER ROAD AT THE INTERSEGTION OF ANN ARBOR WAY The City Council of the City of Dublin hereby resolves as follows: Section 1: Pursuant to City of Dublin Municipal Code Section 6.04.070, and in the interest of public safety, stop signs shall be erected on Lancaster Road at the intersection of Ann Arbor Way. Section 2: Said stop sign location shall be added to Section 6.16.010 of the City of Dublin Traffic Code. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 9th day of March, 1992. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk a: (corres) mar\resosgop CITY OF DUBLIN AGENDA STATEMENT City Council Meeting Date: February 24, 1992 SUBJECT: Public Hearing: Request for Stop Sign and Crosswalk Installation on Lancaster Road at Ann Arbor Way Report by'Public Works Director Lee Thompson EXHIBITS ATTACHED: 1) 2) 3) Letter from Mrs. Rose Deming and Petition Report from TJKM Location Map RECOMMENDATION: 1) 2) 4) 5) Open public hearing Receive Staff presentation and public comment Question Staff and the public Close public hearing and deliberate Deny request on the basis that stop signs and a crosswalk in this location are unwarranted and would create a false sense of security for pedestrians FINANCIAL STATEMENT: No cost to the City if request is denied. The cost of a stop sign installation, including Stop Ahead signing and marking, and a crosswalk would be approximately $1,000. DESCRIPTION: In November of 1991, Staff received a letter and petition from Mrs. Rose Deming requesting that the City consider installing stop signs and a crosswalk on Lancaster Road at the intersection of Ann Arbor Way. There is an existing stop sign on the north (Ann Arbor) leg of the intersection. The reasons indicated in Mrs. Deming's letter are (1) reduction of speed and (2) to provide a safe crossing for children going to school. The Traffic Safety Committee subsequently studied the intersection, and Mrs. Deming was advised that Staff recommended against the stop sign installation. Mrs. Deming has requested that the City Council review her request and Staff's findings, which are as follows. Lancaster Road is a neighborhood street which parallels Amador Valley Boulevard and forms a straight line between York Drive and Penn Drive. York and Penn are collector streets which form a loop around the Wells/Cronin School sites and enter Amador Valley Boulevard. Ann Arbor Way forms a "T" intersection with Amador Valley Boulevard at its north end and with Lancaster Road at its south end. There are presently school (yellow) crosswalks across Lancaster Road at both Penn Drive and York Drive, and there are single-approach stop signs for traffic entering York and Penn from Lancaster Road. There are crosswalks across Amador Valley Boulevard at both Penn Drive and York Drive, and also at Burton Street. The Burton Street intersection is controlled by three-way stop signs and has an adult crossing guard during the hours that children are going to or coming home from school. It was intended that children going to school utilize the existing crosswalks. Mrs. Deming's letter states that the crosswalks at York and Penn Drives are not convenient for some children and that they tend to cross the street at any location along Lancaster. Staff requested that TJKM, the City's traffic engineering consultant, prepare a report concerning this request. TJKM's report is summarized as follows: Volume Warrants The highest 8-hour vehicular volume entering the intersection was a total of 264 vehicles. As indicated on the attached warrants, the minimum volume warrant is 300 vehicles per hour for the highest 8 hour period. Therefore, the vehicular volume (average 33 per hour) at this intersection falls far short of this warrant. TJKM's ITEM NO. COPIES TO: volume warrant, which the City has used for stop sign studies in the past, is lower than the State warrant of 500 vehicles per hour. Pedestrian counts were conducted during the times of day that children would be walking to school. During the morning count, 8 pedestrians and 3 bicyclists crossed Lancaster Drive southbound at Ann Arbor. There were no pedestrians or bicyclists crossing in other directions. During the afternoon count, no pedestrians or bicyclists crossed in any direction. It should be noted that the afternoon count was based on the time of day that children would be leaving Frederiksen School rather than Wells School, as TJKM focused on the safety of younger children. TJKM's report states that the school departures are spread over a wider range of time than the morning arrivals, which would tend to reduce the number of pedestrians per hour. Accident Warrants There have been no reported accidents at this intersection since Staff began maintaining its accident map in 1984. The accident warrant is five or more accidents per year of a type correctable by stop signs. Therefore, the accident warrant is not met. Visibility Lancaster Road is a level street with clear visibility in both directions for well over the warrant of 160 feet. Speed A speed survey reveals an 85th percentile speed of 22 mph westbound and 26 mph eastbound. Overall, 90% of the vehicles recorded were traveling under 25 mph. one of the 341 vehicles recorded was traveling over 30 (and less than 35) mph. Only Conclusion Based on the criteria listed above, Staff feels that the intersection of Lancaster Road and Ann Arbor Way does not meet the warrants for multi-way stop sign installations. The intention behind installation of stop signs is to assign right- of-way at intersections and to reduce the number of accidents. Stop signs are not an effective means of speed control. While the speed of vehicles may be reduced at the intersection itself, motorists tend to speed up between stop signs; therefore, speeding would not be alleviated. When stop signs are installed in locations where there is little cross traffic, drivers tend to come to rolling stops or to ignore the stop signs completely. A pedestrian or bicyclist, particularly a child, may feel falsely secure crossing the street at a stop intersection when, in fact, an oncoming vehicle may not come to a stop. Additionally, drivers who develop the habit of ignoring unwarranted stop signs may also ignore stop signs that are warranted. Most drivers are law-abiding and have no intention of violating traffic regulations; however, when an unwarranted restriction is imposed, it may result in unintentional violations. Stop signs also add to the pollution problem by increasing the amount of gasoline used by cars in starting and stopping rapidly. Regarding the matter of the crosswalk, pedestrians also tend to feel safe in a crosswalk and may step out into the street in front of oncoming traffic. Conversely, pedestrians tend to look for cars more carefully when the "protection" of the crosswalk is not there. In this case, crosswalks exist within a block or two of the Lancaster/Ann Arbor intersection, and Staff recommends that children walking to either Frederiksen or Wells School utilize the existing crosswalks. Staff recommends that the City Council conduct a public hearing, deliberate, and deny the request for stop signs and a crosswalk on Lancaster Road at Ann Arbor Way. a:(corres)\feb\agststop Page 2