August 24, 1998

To:Chairman and Members of Scarborough Community Council

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

Subject:Official Plan Amendment Application P97020

Zoning By-law Amendment Application Z97052,

70 Guildwood Parkway, Ward 13 - Scarborough Bluffs

Transportation Access to and Impact on Guildwood Parkway

Purpose:

Scarborough Community Council requested that the Director of Road and Traffic Services, Scarborough, prepare a report on transportation issues (i.e., access to and impact on Guildwood Parkway) in the area of the development application captioned above. This report has been prepared for the information of Scarborough Community Council in response to the foregoing request.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

No financial implications have been identified to date.

Recommendations:

It is recommended:

(1)That the information contained in this report with regard to transportation issues on Guildwood Parkway in the vicinity of Rowatson Road be provided to Scarborough Community Council during consideration of the proposed development application at 70 Guildwood Parkway,

(2)With respect to the specific suggestion of a potential median opening on Guildwood Parkway, immediately west of Rowatson Road to facilitate left turn movements at the proposed development site, that it not be permitted due to operational safety concerns, and

(3)That Transportation Services staff be directed to conduct additional traffic counts at the intersection of Guildwood Parkway and Rowatson Road during the Fall of 1998, and again, following occupancy of the proposed residential development, and submit a report to Scarborough Community Council regarding appropriate mitigating measures, as required.

Council Reference/Background/History:

This report responds to transportation issues regarding access to and impacts on Guildwood Parkway resulting from a proposed 15-unit residential townhouse development at 70 Guildwood Parkway. Residents attending a Community Information Meeting on April 21, 1998 were concerned about the following transportation matters:

1. Traffic problems currently encountered at the Guildwood Parkway/Rowatson Road intersection and entrance to the plaza,
2. Pavement markings on Guildwood Parkway,
3. Widening Guildwood Parkway,
4. Vehicular access to the proposed townhouse development, and
5. Adequate parking for residents and visitors of the proposed development.

These matters, and in particular the first item, was reiterated by Mr. John V. Langley at the Scarborough Community Council statutory public meeting on July 22, 1998 for this application.

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

Traffic Volumes on Guildwood Parkway

A review of historic traffic counts taken on Guildwood Parkway, west of Livingston Road is summarized in Table 1. As indicated in Table 1, daily and rush hour traffic volumes on Guildwood Parkway have remained relatively stable between 1995 and 1997, and in comparison to volumes measured during 1991 and 1993, the most current traffic counts indicate a modest reduction on this section of roadway.

Traffic Generated by Development Proposal

According to industry reference sources (i.e., Trip Generation manual from the Institute of Transportation Engineers, 5th edition), based on surveys of similar existing developments in North America the proposed 15-unit residential townhouse development would likely generate in the order of 50 vehicle trips per day. In addition, the number of vehicle trips generated by this development during either the morning or afternoon rush hour would be between 5 and 10 trips -- only about two-thirds of which (i.e., 4-7 vehicles) would be oriented in the peak direction, (i.e., westbound in the morning, or eastbound in the afternoon) on Guildwood Parkway.

Based on a comparison with existing traffic volumes found on Guildwood Parkway in this vicinity, it would appear that the proposed development would constitute less than 1 percent of the traffic flows on a peak hour or daily basis. Indeed, the number of vehicle trips forecast for the proposed development is much less than the fluctuation (i.e., reduction) in bi-annual traffic counts observed on this roadway.

Table 1

Traffic Volumes on Guildwood Parkway, west of Livingston Road: 1991 to 1997

Access to the Townhouse Development

The proposed access driveways are located on Rowatson Road (serving 7 of the 15 units) and on Guildwood Parkway (serving the remaining 8 units). Due to the constrained configuration of the site, the two access points are not connected internally on-site. The Guildwood Parkway access will be confined to a right-in/right-out operation.

As indicated in the foregoing section, about 4-7 vehicles would be generated during rush hours in the peak direction by this site, and these would be split more or less evenly between the two driveways given the number of units served. For example, this implies that about 2-3 vehicles would leave the driveway on Guildwood Parkway during a typical morning rush hour and head west towards Kingston Road. Correspondingly, during a typical afternoon rush hour, about 2-3 vehicles would wish to make the return movement from eastbound Guildwood Parkway into the same driveway; however, a long-standing landscaped centre median in this location prevents this movement from being made directly. Motorists could alternatively travel to the Rowatson Road intersection, make a U-turn and enter the access driveway from the westbound direction, or more probably these residents would quickly discover that it may be more convenient for them to enter the community from Kingston Road eastbound via the ramp to Livingston Road rather than Guildwood Parkway. The latter route involves easy right-turn movements without having to negotiate the steep grades on Guildwood Parkway and the left/U-turn movements at the Rowatson Road intersection.

In response to a suggestion for a median opening at the location of the driveway on Guildwood Parkway to facilitate this foregoing left turn movement into the site from the eastbound direction, Transportation Services staff are of the opinion that this would create a serious safety concern for traffic operations on Guildwood Parkway. The median presently has mature trees which would have to be removed at the driveway itself and for some considerable distance westward to accommodate the taper and left turn lane itself, and furthermore the remaining median trees along the road would obstruct sight lines between motorists using the opening and those travelling along Guildwood Parkway. For these reasons, consideration of a median opening is not recommended, especially given the low number of vehicles forecast to use the opening.

Guildwood Parkway/Rowatson Road Intersection Traffic

Detailed turning movement counts at the intersection of Guildwood Parkway and Rowatson Road are not available at the time of writing of this report. Transportation Services staff will conduct field surveys at this intersection (including traffic counts) during September 1998 after the summer vacation period, once school has started in order to determine the number of turning vehicles in/out of Rowatson Road as well as the shopping plaza.

Collision History

A review of the collision history at the intersection of Guildwood Parkway and Rowatson Road reveals no reported collisions during the last five-year period for which we have police reports (i.e., January 1, 1992 to December 31, 1996). We are endeavouring to obtain the 1997 and 1998 accident reports from the Police Department to determine whether there have been any accidents during the more recent time period.

Parking

Plans for the proposed townhouse development indicate an intention to provide an attached garage with each unit as well as a parking space in front of each garage; therefore, two parking spaces are provided for each unit. This amount of parking meets the City's guidelines for the Scarborough district and is considered adequate to service this site.

Pavement Marking

The pavement markings on Guildwood Parkway are repainted annually. At the time of Community Information Meeting in April, the 1998 pavement marking program had not yet begun; however, the program has now been completed which should address the stated concerns.

Conclusions:

Based on the foregoing assessment of the number of vehicular trips generated by the proposed 15-unit residential townhouse development, in the context of current and past traffic flows on Guildwood Parkway, the development would have minimal impact on traffic patterns in its vicinity.

Transportation Services staff recommends against opening the existing landscaped centre median on Guildwood Parkway in order that left turns into the development be permitted in advance of Rowatson Road. It does not appear that the demand for this movement into the site would create operational problems given the very low number of motorists wishing to make this turn (i.e., 2-3 vehicles during a typical afternoon rush hour), and given the other opportunities for access to the community in general and the site driveway in particular (i.e., use of Livingston Road off-ramp from Kingston Road, or U-turns at Guildwood Parkway/Rowatson Road).

Transportation Services staff will conduct additional traffic counts at the intersection of Guildwood Parkway and Rowatson Road during September 1998 and again following occupancy of the proposed residential development to determine whether any operational problems exist or develop at this intersection following occupancy of the proposed development. A report would be prepared and submitted to Scarborough Community Council following these studies regarding appropriate mitigating measures, as required.

Contact Name:

Peter Noehammer

Senior Transportation Engineer

Transportation Services, District 4

telephone:396-5670

fax:396-5681

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

Gary H. Welsh

Director

Transportation Services

District 4

PN:ca

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