September 1, 1998

To:Chairman and Members of Scarborough Community Council

From:Gary H. Welsh, Director, Transportation Services - District 4

Subject:Controlling Undesirable Traffic on Faulkland Road,

Ward 13 - Scarborough Bluffs

Purpose:

At its meeting of July 22, 1998, Scarborough Community Council referred a report dated July 16, 1998 from the Director of Road and Traffic Services, Scarborough, back to staff with the request for a further report on means of controlling undesirable traffic on Faulkland Road. The July 16th report was prepared in response to a request from Councillor Altobello and further to a direction from City Council, during its consideration of the proposed TTC bus facility at Comstock Road and Lebovic Avenue, that staff report on the process for closing Faulkland Road.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

No financial implications have been identified to date.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)Transportation Services staff be directed to conduct follow-up traffic counts on Faulkland Road, Leahurst Drive, Comstock Road and Lebovic Avenue in the Fall of 1998, and again later if required, to determine whether a traffic infiltration problem materializes with additional development in the Golden Mile Employment District,

(2)Through the Ward Councillors, Transportation Services staff provide technical assistance in developing a community-driven neighbourhood traffic management plan, which could include among other things:

-a traffic monitoring program

-traffic sign restrictions

-one-way street(s)

-traffic calming measures

all aimed at controlling undesirable traffic on Faulkland Road, as required,

Council Reference/Background/History:

Faulkland Road is a relatively short street extending between Comstock Road and Camrose Crescent, just east of Pharmacy Avenue. The northern portion of the street, between Comstock Road and Leahurst Drive, does not have any residential frontage and can be characterized as providing access for industrial properties in the Golden Mile Employment District. Most of the traffic from the industrial properties along Faulkland Road utilizes Comstock Road to go west towards the traffic signals at Pharmacy Avenue, or east towards the signals at Warden Avenue. In contrast, the southern portion of the street, between Leahurst Drive and Camrose Crescent, is part of the residential community with single family home frontages. Faulkland Road in the southern portion provides access for residences on the street, as well as streets connecting to it (e.g., Camrose Crescent). Locally generated residential traffic can use Leahurst Drive to get out the Pharmacy Avenue (unsignalized), or the northern portion of Faulkland Road to get to Comstock Road -- which as described has signalized connections with both Pharmacy and Warden Avenues.

At the request of Councillor Altobello, and further to the direction of City Council when it considered the proposed TTC bus garage facility at Comstock Road and Lebovic Avenue, Transportation Services staff prepared a report describing the process which would have to be undertaken to close Faulkland Road in accordance with the Municipal Act. That report was presented for the information of Scarborough Community Council at the July 22, 1998 meeting. Subsequently, Scarborough Community Council referred the report back to staff with a request to report further on means of controlling undesirable traffic on Faulkland Road.

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

Traffic volumes were measured recently on Faulkland Road and on Leahurst Drive in response to concerns expressed by area residents at a recent community meeting over traffic infiltration from the existing industrial uses on Comstock Road, and more significantly with additional commercial development in the Golden Mile Employment District. Since the following counts were taken at a time when Lebovic Avenue was not yet opened to traffic at Comstock Road, they are representative of traffic conditions "before" commercial re-development on the former GM van plant lands.

Traffic Volume Counts (Wed. June 17, 1998)

The foregoing traffic volumes reflect typical daily traffic levels found on urban local residential streets. The volumes on Faulkland Road near Comstock Road are higher than those found near Leahurst Drive because of the traffic entering/exiting the industrial driveways immediately south of Comstock Road.

As requested by the ward Councillor, Transportation Services staff prepared an information report for the July 22, 1998 Scarborough Community Council meeting which outlined the steps required to permanently close a municipal road to traffic, in this case Faulkland Road. Staff are of the opinion that a permanent road closure would be the most drastic measure to mitigate against traffic infiltration, and would create some negative impacts for residents in the community at the same time. The disbenefits of a permanent road closure can be summarized as follows:

• Local neighbourhood inconvenience (i.e., no access to Comstock Road traffic signals at Pharmacy Avenue or Warden Avenue, and no direct access to new development on Lebovic Avenue)
• Potential re-routing of traffic to other streets (e.g., Fairfax Crescent)
• Routing for garbage, snow and emergency vehicles
• Illegal dumping at dead-end roads

Alternatively, there are other means of controlling traffic infiltration, if required. These alternatives typically fall under one of the following categories:

-Traffic signs (e.g., turn restrictions, time of day restrictions)

-No entry (i.e., one-way)

-Traffic calming

Transportation Services staff could also initiate a monitoring program which would form the rationale for considering local area traffic management in the vicinity of Faulkland Drive.

Conclusions:

Recent traffic volume surveys conducted on Faulkland Road and Leahurst Drive indicate that the daily traffic flows on these streets currently fall within the typical range found in local residential situations. Notwithstanding the existing condition, the community and ward Councillors are concerned that future re-development on lands within the Golden Mile Employment District would increase the potential for neighbourhood traffic infiltration. Short of closing Faulkland Road to traffic permanently, which would include a number of neighbourhood disbenefits as well, undesirable traffic on Faulkland Road could be mitigated by considering other less impactive means such as: traffic sign restrictions, one-way traffic flow or potential traffic calming measures.

Through working with the ward Councillors, a neighbourhood traffic management plan should include community involvement. It should also be based on information collected through a monitoring program given anticipated changes to the road network and development levels in this area of Scarborough.

Contact Name:

Peter Noehammer

Senior Transportation Engineer

Transportation Services, District 4

tel:396-5670

fax:396-5681

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

Gary H. Welsh

Director

Transportation Services

Works and Emergency Services

District 4

PN:ca

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