June 18, 1998

 To:Chairman and Members of Scarborough Community Council

 From:Gary Welsh, Director, Road and Traffic Services

 Subject:Zoning By-law Amendment Application Z97061, Juhan Holdings Inc.

5739, 5741, 5743 and 5745 Finch Avenue East

Re: Traffic Calming Measures on Baldoon Road, Scarborough Malvern

 Purpose:

 This report was prepared in response to the request of Scarborough Community Council for the Director of Road and Traffic Services to report on traffic calming measures that could be implemented on Baldoon Road.

 Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

 No financial implications have been identified to date.

 Recommendations:

 It is recommended that:

(1)physical traffic calming measures not be considered for Baldoon Road at this time; and

 (2)staff be directed to conduct up-to-date traffic counts and speed surveys for Baldoon Road, and submit a report to Scarborough Community Council in the fall of 1998 indicating appropriate mitigating measures, as required.

Council Reference/Background/History:

 At its meeting of May 27th, Scarborough Community Council considered the Zoning By-law Amendment Application captioned above, and deferred the Public Meeting under the Planning Act on this matter until the next Community Council meeting scheduled for June 24th at 2:00 p.m. Reasons for the deferral were: (i) for the Commissioner of Planning and Buildings, Scarborough, to hold a further community consultation meeting and report accordingly; and (ii) for the Director of Road and Traffic Services, Scarborough, to report on traffic calming measures that could be implemented on Baldoon Road.

 Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

 In discussions with staff of the Planning and Buildings Department, we understand that a community information meeting was held on June 9, 1998 at which time elements of the development application were reviewed and comments from the community residents were heard. Several of these comments related to area traffic concerns over transit buses, short-cutting traffic, parking and turning movements onto Finch Avenue.

 Baldoon Road is a very important access route for the residential community in this area. It functions as the only connecting link to Finch Avenue between Tapscott Road and Neilson Road, south of Finch Avenue. It connects with Crow Trail, which itself collects traffic from intersecting local streets and provides access for the community directly out to Tapscott Road and Neilson Road. Due to its connecting function in the area street network, Baldoon Road is also a vital route for emergency services (i.e., fire, ambulance, police) and operational services (i.e., garbage collection, snow clearing, road maintenance), and together with Crow Trail, Baldoon Road also serves as a primary transit spine for bus service in the community. The Finch East No. 39, Neilson No. 133 and Tapscott No. 134 bus routes all provide transit service into the community such that the combined average scheduled frequency of service is one bus every 2.5 minutes during weekday rush hours, and one bus every 4 to 5 minutes during off-peak times and weekends.

 Conclusions:

 Due to the characteristic function of Baldoon Road as an important transportation link for the residential community as described above, physical traffic calming measures/restrictions on Baldoon Road are not recommended at this time. Significant impacts on residential accessibility, emergency response, municipal operations, and transit services are likely to result. Traffic counts, speed surveys and supplementary field observations will be carried out in order to quantify the level of activity on Baldoon Road and determine whether changes to the current traffic and parking regulations are warranted. These results will then be conveyed to the Scarborough Community Councillors for information and/or concurrence with any suggested changes.

 Contact Name:

 Peter Noehammer

Senior Transportation Engineer

Road and Traffic Services, Works and Environment

Scarborough District

Telephone: 396-5670

Fax: 396-5681

e-mail: noehammer@city.scarborough.on.ca

Gary H. WelshMichael A. Price

DirectorCommissioner

Road and Traffic ServicesWorks and Environment

Works and EnvironmentScarborough District

Scarborough District