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Home My WebLink AboutOB 1 TRAFFIC STUDY 11-16-81I~TE: TO: FROM: $ UB,J ECT: NOVE~ER10, 1981 OLD BUSINESS No. 1 11-16-81 Inter-Corn WILLIAM HUgE)N, CITY MANAGER BOB T,R~ENDEC/{ER, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WO~KS/CITY SYCAlt~)RE AVENUE/CARFAX AVENUE TRAFFIC STUDY REC~ATICN: That no additional action re~r~lng the intersection of Sycamore and CarfaxAve. be taken at this time by the Tustin City Council. In August of 1981, an investigation for a 4-way stop at Sycamore Avenue and Carfax Avenue was completed by staff. (Copy attached for infoz~tion. ) This study revealed that the intersection did not meet the U.S. Department of Tran~portation, State of California warrants for a 4-way stop control on the basis of accidents and vehicle volumes. On August 17, 1981, the City Council approved an action not to install a 4-way stop at the subject intersection because it did not meet the required warrants. On September 16, 1981, a school crossing guard study was conducted at the subject intersection. (Copy attached for info~m~tion.) This study revealed that the State of Californiawarrants had bccnmet. An adult crossing guard has since ~cn employed at the intersection. At their meeting of October 21, 1981, the City Council had staff to restudy the intersection with respect to visibility and overall traffic safety. Three areas w~re reviewed as follows: 1. Red zoning curb adjacent to 1212 Sycamore Ave. 2. Encouragement for traffic to use Walnut Avenue in lieu of Sycamore Avenue. 3. Restudy wai~ants for 4-way stop control of Sycamore/Carfax Staff b_~;~ made contact with Mr. William McGaughey, the resident and hc~eowner of 1212 Sycamore Avenue. Mr. McGaughey is very much opposed to the red zoning of the curb adjacent to his residence. There are four vehicles at that residence for use . by himself, his wife and four children. Any restrictive on-street parking would most likely cause him to utilize his front lawn area for parking. Encouragement for traffic to utilize Walnut Avenue in lieu of Sycamore Avenue was reviewed as requested. The traffic sluR1 at the intersection of N~sport and Walnut Avenue could be modified to provide for a separate left turn pb,~e for southbound N~port traffic to eastbound Walnut Avenue. The estin~ted cost for this modification and appropriate signing is $30,000.00. I do not believe this signal modification and signing would reduce the traffic counts on Syc,more Avenue. Motorists utilize Sycamore to eliminate the stretch of Red Hill Avenue SYCAMDRE AVENUE/CARFAX AVENUE TRAFFIC STUDY NOV]~IBER 10, 1981 PAGE 2 between Walnut Avenue and Syc, mnre Avenue, which is usually congested during the peak A~ and P~ hours. In addition to the c~mm~ter traffic utilizing Sycamore Avenue, the schools generate a gre~t deal of the vehicular traffic on that street. The warrants for the 4-~ay stop control ~ere re-evaluated after the start of school. It was found that the war~nts still were not satisfied at this intersection. A revie~ of the warrants are as follows: WA~T 1. Where traffic signals are war£~nted and the n~-~ is urgent, the four-way stop can be used as an interim measure until a traffic signal can be installed. An accident problem, as indicated by five or more reported accidents of a type susceptible of correction by a four-way stop installation in a 12 month period. Types of accidents susceptible of correction include right angle and left turn collisions. No No Minim~n volun~, warrant: The total vehicular vol,,~ entering the intersection frcm all apprcaches must average at least 500 vehicles per hour for any eight hours of an average day, and be The combined vehicular and pedestrian vob,ma, fr~n the minor street or highway must average 200 units per hour for the same eight hours with an average delay to minor street vehicular traffic of at least 30 seconds per vehicle during the nsaimum hour. Ce When the 85-percentile apprcach speed of the major street traffic exceeds 40 miles per hour, the minimum vehicular volume warrant is 70~ of the above requirements. Yes No Residents of the area have stated in recent meetings that Sycamore and Walnut Avenues are the busiest streets in the City. This is an invalid statement in that several other streets within the City carry many mere vehicles per day than either Sycamore or Walnut Avenues. Follc~ng is a recap of the most recent traffic counts on these streets: 1980 Walnut easterly of Newport ~ Walnut westerly of Red Hill 11,700 Sycamore easterly of Newport 9,500 Sycamore westerly of Red Hill 8,200 APRIL, 1981 AUGUST, 1981 13,383 13,688 13,068 12,129 9,884 - 8,349 - Warx~nt 3aand3bmust be satisfiedtogether. Warrant 3b is ouly satisfied for 1 hour, frem2:00 to 3:00 PM; therefore, the total warrant is not satisfied. No SYCAMORE AVENUE/CARFAX AVENUE TRAFFIC STUDY N~ER 10, 1981 PAGE 3 On November 4, 1981, staff received a letter of concern from ~lr. Paul Bonser, regarding this intersection and the safety of his family and hi--elf (A copy of this letter is attached for info~tion. ) DIRECTOR OF PUblIC ~ORKS/ CITY EN3INEER Attacb.~nts f septet Intet*-¢om I0: WILLIAM HUSTON, CITY MANAGER FROH: BOB L~DENDECKER, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC ~D~(S/CITY SUSJECT:SYCAMORE AV~rOE/CARFAX AVENTJE T~AFFIC STUDY ( IN~Om~ATION RE~ORT) This report is a suppl~rent to the original intersection study for a 4-way stop . sign installation and is directed to a warrant study for a sd~ool crossing guard and red curbing in the vicinity of the intersection. The Original intersection study (copy attached) reuat,,ended that stop signs cn east and westbound Sycamore A%~nue not be installed because the standard warrants for this intersection were not met. This previous study reu~-m,=nded that the intersection be studied for the employment of a crossing guard once the Fall school sess:lon had u~m~enced. The study for a crossing guard has been u~,~leted and it has been determined that the warrants for an adult crossing guard at an uncontrolled crossing have been met. Conversations with the Police Department reveal that a crossguard has already been employed at this intersection. Consequently, no action will be required with respect to the crossing guard except to confinm the e~ployment of s~. As indicated in the Traffic Engineer's report, red curb exists as follows: a. North side of Sycamore Avenue frcm Carfax Ave. to 60 ft. easterly. b. South side of Sycamore Avenue between Carfax Avenue and School Road. It is felt that this red zoning and the location of the crosswalk on the easterly side of the intersection provides adequate visibility for the crossing guard at this intersection. Another area of concern is the visibility of the motorists taking access to Sycamore Avenue frcm the south leg of Carfax Avenue. This visibility problem could be improved by red zoning the south side of Sycamore Ave. between Carfax Ave. and the driveway at 1212 Sycamore Ave. This red zoning would deprive the residents of all on-street parking in front of their hcme at 1212 Sycamore. Ho%~ver, this is a corner lot and parking would be available on Carfax Avenue adjacent to the residence. No action on this red zoning should be taken until staff has had the opportunityy tO discuss this matter with the affected hc~eowner and afford them the opportunity to provide their input. DIRECTOR OF PU~.IC ~RKS/ CITY ENGIN~.~ DATE: TO: FROH: SUBJECT: SEPTEMBER 23, 1981 Inter-Corn BOB T.RDENDECKER, DIRECi~R OF PUBLIC ~DI~{S/CITY f~GII~EER NORM HGWER TRAFFIC ENGINRRR SYCA~DRE AV~JE/~ AW~JE T~%FFIC STUDY As requested by the City Council, a sd9ool crossing guard study has been conducted at the intersection of Sycamore Avenue and Carfax Avenue on Sept. 16, 1981. As indicated in the following table, the State of California warrants for an adult crossing guard at an uncontrolled crossing have been m~t. These warrants require that 40 or more school pedestrians cross in each of two hours daily where the traffic volume exceeds 350 vehicles in the.same two hours. TIME C~ILDR~gCI~OSSING VEHIC~.W-g 7:00 - 8:00 AM 89 917 8:00 - 9:00 83 576 11:00 - 12:00 Noon 5 572 1:00 - 2:00 PM 12 506 2:00 - 3:00 175 558 3:00 - 4:00 48 749 There is existing red curbing on both sides of Sycamore to the east of the intersection. That on the north side is almost entirely weathered off and I have requested Maintenance to paint 60' on that side. db ,-6 SCHOOl. AREA PEDESTRIAN SAFETY Traffic Manual 8-197~J As noted in Section 10-03.4, an adequate crossing gap in approaching traffic should occur randomly at an average rate of at least once each minute during flae school crossing perigch. 1Q-07.4 Special Conditions A School Safety Patrol shall not be assigned where inadequate stopping sight d~tance prevails, unless flashing yellow beacons are installed for operation during School Crossing hours. Adult Crossing Guard 10-08 lO-08.1 General Adult Crossing Guards are a supplemental tech- nique and not a traffic control device. They may be assigned (CVC ~15) at designated school crossings, -- to assist elementary school pedestrians at specified hours when going to or from school. The following suggested policy for their assignment applies only to crossings serving elementary school pedestrians on the "Suggested Route to School." An Adult Crossing Guard should be cons/tiered when: -- 1. Special problems exist which make it necessary to assist elementary school pedestrians in cross- lng the street, such as at an unusnally complicat- ed intersection with frequent turning mbve- ments and high vehicular speeds; or 2. A change in the school crossing location is immi- nent but prevailing conditions require school -- crossing supervision for a limited time and it is int'easible to install another form of control for a temporary per/od. -- 10-4~L2 Warrants for Adult Crossing Guards Adult Crossing Guards normally are assigned where official supervision of elementary school __ pedestrians is desirable while they cross a public highway on the "Suggested Route to School", and at least 40 elementary school pedestrians for each o£ any two hours daily use the crossing while going to or from school. Adult crossing g.~rds may be war- ranted under the following conditions: 1. At uncontrolled crossings where there is no al- ternate control/ed crossing w/thin 600 feet; and a. In urban areas where the vehicular traffic volume exceeds 350 in each o~ ,nv two dally hours durh~; which 40 or more school uede- strians cross while going to or from school; or b. In rural areas where the vehicular traffic vol- ume exceeds 300 iv, each of any two daily hours during which 30 or more school pede- sm cross while going to or from school. Whenever the cr/tical approach speed ex- ceeds 40 mph, the warrants for rural areas should be applied. 2. At stop sign controlled crossings: a. Where the vehicu!ax traf-fic vohwne on undi- vided high~vays of four or more lanes exeeecls 500 per hour during any period when the school pedestrians are going to or from school. 3. At traffic sign~--ecntrolled crossings: a. Where the number of vehicular txtrning movements '&rough the school crosswalk ex- ceeds 300 per hour while school pedestrians are going to or £rom school. b. Where there are circumstances not nor- really present at a ~gnalized intersection, such as crosswalks more than 80 feet long with no intermediate refuge, or an abhor- marly high proportion of large commercial vehicles. Pedestrian Separation St~ructures eliminate vehic- ulax-pedestrian conflicts but are necessarily limited to selected locat/ons where the safety benefits dearly b~l~uce the public investment. Separation structures are supplemental techniques £or providing school - ,destrian safety and are not traffic control devices. 10.,.09.2 Wan, onf~ Pedestrian Separation Structures should be consid- Pedestrian Separation Structures General ered where the follovAng conditions are fulfilled. 1. The prevailing conditions that require a school pedestrian crossing must he sufficiently nent to justifT the separation structure; and Z The location must be on the "Suggested Route to School" at an uncontrolled intersection or midblock location along a freeway, expressway or major after/al street where the width, traffic speed and volume make it undesirable for pede- strlans to cross; and ln er-Com 1 1 FROH: S USJ ECT: INgT.TrIGATICN FOR 4-~AY STOP AT SYCAMD~E AVE~JE AND CARFAX AV~JE P~CCH~TICN: The intersection of Syc~or~ Avenue and Carfax Avenue does not meet the standard warrants for 4-way stc~ installations and it is re=~,u,=nded that stop controls on Sycamors Avenue not be installed. It is re=~,u,~-nded that the intersection be studied for school crossing guard type of control when school is in session. Syc~Dre Avenue is presently classed as a secondary arterial, although it is presently de,loped in this area to a 40' paved width. Carfax Avenue has a pa%~d width of 36'. The developmmnt in the area is presently residential with multiple family d~llings on the north side of Sycs~Dre and single family on the south. There are elementary schools on both sides of Sycsmore to the east and ther~ is a school crosswa/k at the east side of the intersection.. At present, Ca=fax is stupped at Sycamore. A proposal has been made to stop Sycamore A~nue at Carfax A~nue, which will create a 4-way stop intersection. ANALI"SI S: A traffic study of the intersection has indicated, on the basis of accidents and vehicle volumes, that the intersection cannot ~et the warrants for 4-way sto~ c~-~trol. This intersection was annexed into the City on Dec. 26, 1980 and since that time Engineering records indicate there have been three accidents, none of which would haw been corrected by 4-way stop control. Visibility of the intersection is good with no unusual obstacles and no accidents that would indicate a visibility problem. Vehicular volumes alone do not warrant 4-way stop control during any hour of the day. The addition of the school pedestrian may warrant it during two hours of the day on school days. The intersection should be studied for a school crossing guard when the schools are in ssssion. It should be noted that a stop installation on Sycamore Avenue will increase noise in the area and probably increase rear end type of accidents. TRAF~C IA~GIN~,~ INTERSECTION VOLUMES SIXTH STREET AND "B" STREET' SYCAMORE CARFAX EAST WEST NORTH SOUTH INTERSECTION £IME BOUND BOUND TOTAL BOUND BOUND TOTAL TOTAL 12:00- 1:00 AM 41 38 79 4 5 9 88 -- 1:00- 2:00 25 20 45 9 6 15 60 2:00- 3:00 13 6 19 5 2 7 26 3:00- 4:00 8 5 13 I 2 3 16 -- 4:00- 5:00 11 6 17 2 1 3 20 5:00- 6:00 83 28 111 8 7 15 126 6:00- 7:00 398 120 518 35 29 64 582 _ 7:00- 8:00 633 284 917 28 37 65 982 8:00- 9:00 304 272 576 34 20 54 630 9:00-10:00 164 220 384 24 25 49 433 10:00-11:00 160 198 358 16 27 43 401 --11:00-12:00'PM 224 248 472 18 21 39 5'11 12:00- 1:00 294 301 595 23 30 53 648 1:00- 2:00 263 243 506 24 17 41 547 2:00- 3:00 218 340 558 28 18 46 604 3:00- 4:00 232 517 749 25 38 63 812 4:00- 5:00 250 634 884 24 30 54 938 ~ 90- 6:00 295 571 866 28 25 53 919 ~ .00-.7:00 219 260 479 30 30 60 539 7:00- 8:00 174 182 356 39 29 68 424 8:00- 9:00 156 119 275 31 25 56 331 -- 9:00-10:00 107 94 201 24 7 31 232 10:00-11:00 74 75 149 15 15 30 179 11:00-12:00 65 59 124 14 8 22 146 --TOTALS 4,411 4,840 9,251 489 454 943 10,194 This intersection does not meet the volume warrants for four-way stop _..control during any hour of the day. /~EGEND- SYMBOLS ..oving Vehicle --Backing Vehicle ut of Control arked Vehicle Pedestrian --ixed Object on-Injury Injury matal ,ayligh= LOCATZON: TYPE Right Angle Rear End Left Turn Sideswipe Pedestrian Other N ACCIDENT SUMMARY DAY NIGHT TOTAL Fatal Inj. P.D. Fatal Inj. P.D. Fatal Inj. P.D. STANDARD WARRANTS FOR 4-WAY STOP CONTROL IN USE BY: U.S. Department of Transportation State of California Any of the following conditions may warrant a four-way stop sign installation: Where traffic signals are warranted and the need is urgent, the four-way stop. can be used as an interim measure until a traffic signal can be installed. An accident problem, as indicated by five or more reported accidents of a type susceptible of correction by a four-way stop installation in a 12-month period. Types of accidents susceptible of correction include right angle and left turn collisions. 3. Minimum volume warrant: me The total vehicular volume entering the intersection from all approaches must average at least 500 vehicles per hour f_or any eight hours of an average day, and The combined vehicular and pedestrian volume from the minor street or highway must average at least 200 units per hour for the same eight hours with an average delay to minor street vehicular traffic of at least 30 seconds per vehicle during the maximum hour. c. When the 85-percentile approach speed of the major street traffic exceeds 40 miles per hour, the minimum vehicular volume warrant is 70 percent of the above requirements. At a "T" intersection (3-way) a minimum vehicular volume of 75 percent may be used. (Total vehicular volume of 375, minor street volume of. ~50.) ~,zember 4, 1981 Mr. Paul Bonser 1151 Mear Lane Tustin, CA 92680 Dear Mr. Bc~ser: We are in receipt of your letter of concern regarding the Sycamore Ave. and Carfax ~ Ave. intersection, and wish to inform you that our staff is currently investigating this intersection. At the present time, we are awaiting input frcm the resident of 1212 S.E. Sycamore Ave. As soon as we have u~,%~leted our investigation of the intersection we will be responding additionally to your letter. If there are any additional questi~s ~0u may have in the interim, please at any time. (Tel. 544-8890, ext. 280.) very t~uly y~rs, DIRECTCR C~ PUBLIC CIT~ ENGINEER City Center 300 Centennial Way Tustin, California 92680 (714) 544-8890 NOV. 2, 1981 NOV3 1981 c~ ~ TO Mayer of Tustln Tustin City Council, RECEIVED ! 81 TUSTIN PUBLIC WORKS DEPT. aY ~ cc; John Sldal Att. B-e s~l~ Regards Paul R. Bonser 1151 Meat Lane Tustin, Calif. 92680 responsiable. Dear Sirs, Please be advised that I live in the city of Tustin at the above mentioned address. When my family or myself leave our house ,Ne have to drive out Carfax Drive to Sycamore Ave. Dying to m~ke a left hand turn on Sycamore to travel north is very dangerous as the people living next to the Carfax and Sycamore intersection park there cars right next to the corner. It is impossiab~e to see any traffic comeing from the north and we have almost been hit several times. I therefore request that you do something about this as soon as possiable. If in the event any of my family or I are in a accident at this corner I will hold you and the city of Tustin Legally