AIt is recommended that:

(1) By-law No. 92-93, entitled ATo regulate traffic on roads in the Borough of East York@ be amended to remove the ANo Right Turn, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday to Friday@ restriction for eastbound motorists on Fleming Crescent at Donegall Drive; and

(2) the appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.@

Under this Resolution, the Council requested the Commissioner of Development Services to install a ANo Right Turn@ restriction from westbound Millwood Road onto northbound Donegall Drive, and a ANo Right Turn@ restriction from eastbound Fleming Crescent onto southbound Donegall Drive, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Council also requested the Commissioner of Development Services to report after monitoring the impacts of the ANo Right Turn@ restrictions at the aforementioned intersections after having been in operation for 6 weeks.

This time frame could not be attained since the regulatory By-law to implement the turn restrictions was adopted at the subsequent meeting of Borough Council on August 11, 1997. Traffic counts were conducted by staff in early September to ensure that >typical day= traffic volumes would be compared for a before and after study, instead of summer traffic counts that may be lower because of vacationing residents. When the traffic counts for the >before= study were completed, staff proceeded to install the signs for the turn restrictions in mid-September. Traffic counts for the >after= study were conducted in November 1997, to allow motorists to familiarize themselves with the new restrictions. This time frame did not allow staff the necessary time to compile the results and report to a meeting of Borough Council.

These results indicate that more motorists are using Bayview Avenue, and the remaining traffic is spread out more evenly among the local streets of Donegall Drive, MacNaughtan Road and Bessborough Drive. Approximately half of the traffic turning onto Donegall Drive (23 vehicles) was doing so when the restriction was in effect. This distribution of traffic volumes is illustrated in Appendix >A=.

The residents of Fleming Crescent experienced a more significant increase in traffic volumes than those on the aforementioned streets intersecting Millwood Road as a result of the introduction of the ANo Right Turn@ restriction for eastbound traffic on Fleming Crescent at Donegall Drive. Before the turn restriction, traffic volumes were evenly distributed with 89 vehicles (49%) proceeding east on Fleming Crescent and 80 vehicles (44%) turning right onto Donegall Drive during the a.m. peak period. Following the installation of the turn restrictions, volumes on Fleming Crescent increased to 143 vehicles (66%) proceeding east and volumes on Donegall Drive were reduced to 50 vehicles (23%). Eastbound left-turning volumes remained relatively unchanged after the turn restriction was implemented. The traffic volume distribution at this intersection is illustrated in Appendix >A=.

The westbound to northbound traffic movement is lower during the p.m. peak period than the a.m. peak period. Prior to the turn restriction from Millwood Road westbound to Donegall Drive northbound, 110 vehicles turned onto Bayview Avenue, 97 vehicles turned onto Donegall Drive, 28 vehicles turned onto MacNaughtan Road, and 12 vehicles turned onto Bessborough Drive. Following the installation of the peak periods westbound to northbound turn restriction at Donegall Drive, a majority of westbound traffic (214 vehicles) turned right at Bayview Avenue and traffic volumes were evenly distributed among the local streets where 36 vehicles turned onto Donegall Drive, 38 vehicles turned onto MacNaughtan Road and 15 vehicles turned onto Bessborough Drive. The traffic turning northbound onto Donegall Drive was doing so when the restriction was in effect. The traffic volume distribution is illustrated in Appendix >B=.

Traffic volumes on Fleming Crescent at Donegall Drive increased as a result of the eastbound turn restriction, similar to the a.m. peak period. Before the restrictions were introduced, traffic volumes were relatively equal where 139 vehicles (41%) proceeded east on Fleming Crescent and 154 vehicles (45%) turned right onto Donegall Drive southbound. After the turn restriction was installed, traffic proceeding east on Fleming Crescent increased to 251 vehicles (65%) proceeding east and right turning traffic decreased to 76 vehicles (20%). Eastbound left-turning traffic volumes were unchanged. The traffic volume distribution is illustrated in Appendix >B=.

The implementation of a ANo Right Turn, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday to Friday@ restriction for westbound traffic on Millwood Road at Donegall Drive has resulted in increased traffic volumes utilizing Bayview Avenue to turn northbound and a more equal traffic distribution on Donegall Drive, MacNaughtan Road and Bessborough Drive, during both the a.m. and p.m. peak periods. Traffic volumes have increased on MacNaughtan Road and on Bessborough Drive as a result of the turn restriction at Donegall Drive, however traffic on these streets is still relatively low . Our study revealed that the turn restrictions have redirected more traffic to Bayview Avenue than to MacNaughtan Road or Bessborough Drive. Therefore, it is recommended that this restriction remain in place.

Prior to the implementation of the ANo Right Turn, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday to Friday@ restriction for eastbound traffic on Fleming Crescent at Donegall Drive, traffic volume distributions were relatively equal on Fleming Crescent and on Donegall Drive. Since the restriction has been in place, traffic volumes have increased on Fleming Crescent. The study results indicate that motorists are now using Fleming Crescent east of Donegall Drive, instead of Donegall Drive, eliminating the equal traffic distribution that existed before the restriction was implemented. Therefore it is recommended that this restriction be removed.

Traffic studies conducted by this Department reveal that the ANo Right Turn, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., Monday to Friday@ restriction for westbound motorists on Millwood Road at Donegall Drive has substantially increased the westbound right-turning volume on Millwood Road at Bayview Avenue, and has only marginally increased traffic on MacNaughtan Road and Bessborough Drive while significantly reducing traffic on Donegall Drive. It is recommended that this restriction remain in place since the majority of traffic has been redirected to Bayview Avenue, an arterial road. Consideration should also be given to implementing a dedicated right-turn lane for westbound motorists on Millwood Road at Bayview Avenue, which could direct more traffic to turn right at Bayview Avenue. A similar turn restriction could be considered to reduce traffic travelling from Millwood Road onto MacNaughtan Road, although our study indicates that the increase in traffic utilizing MacNaughtan Road is not indicative of a traffic infiltration concern.

The ANo Right Turn, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday to Friday@ restriction for eastbound motorists on Fleming Crescent at Donegall Drive has eliminated the equal traffic distribution on Fleming Crescent and on Donegall Drive, and has significantly increased traffic volumes on Fleming Crescent. Since this restriction has only relocated the perceived traffic volume concern to another street, it is recommended that it be removed so that traffic volumes on each street will be balanced.