Safety and Operational Road Improvements for 1998.

The Urban Environment and Development Committee recommends the adoption of the following report (April 1, 1998) from the Interim Functional Lead, Transportation:

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to obtain Council authority to construct safety and operational road improvements at specific locations within the City of Toronto arterial road system and to advertise the required construction by-law.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

The Capital Budget for the City of Toronto, which includes this project, is scheduled to be approved by Council at its meeting on April 29, 1998. However, this report is scheduled to be submitted to Council at its meeting on May 13, 1998, after the budget has been approved. At that time, if approved, funding will be available in Capital Account C-TR-380, Safety and Operational Improvements, Capital Account C-TR-028, Humber/Gardiner Bridges, and the Scarborough Works and Environment-Public Building Services Division Capital Estimates for Fire Stations. The Treasurer has previously certified that financing can be provided under the updated Debt and Financial Obligation Limit approved by City Council.

Recommendations:

Subject to the approval of the Capital Works Program, it is recommended that the City of Toronto Council:

(1)authorize the construction of safety and operational road improvements described in this report, at an estimated cost of $500,000.00;

(2)approve the advertisement of the construction by-law for the safety and operational road improvements as described in this report;

(3)authorize the acquisition of lands shown as Part 1 on Sketch Z-39-5 and Part 1 on Sketch Z-45-23 for an amount not to exceed $18,000.00 and, where such negotiations are unsuccessful, authorize staff to make application for approval to expropriate and to serve and publish notice of such application pursuant to the Expropriations Act;

(4)subject to the completion of construction of modifications, rescind the existing regulation which prohibits southbound left turns at all times from Trethewey Drive to Yore Road;

(5)subject to the completion of construction of the lay-by, amend the existing regulation which prohibits stopping at all times on the south side of Lake Shore Boulevard West, between Stadium Road and a point 75 meters east thereof, to prohibit standing at all times in the vicinity of 633 Lake Shore Boulevard West;

(6)prohibit eastbound to westbound and westbound to eastbound AU@-turns at all times on Danforth Avenue at 3600 Danforth Avenue, subject to the completion of all road works associated with the break in the centre median;

(7)amend the appropriate City By-law(s) accordingly;

(8)authorize the introduction of any necessary Bills; and

(9)authorize to the appropriate City of Toronto officials to take any further action to give effect thereto.

Background:

The Department has an on-going program of minor intersection and road modifications, the purpose of which is to improve the safety and operational characteristics of various locations on the City of Toronto road system. Details of the proposed improvements to be undertaken in 1998 are provided in Table No. 1, in order of priority. These locations were selected through a priority setting exercise from a list of over 31 locations. The priority ranking is based on: (1) pedestrian/cyclist safety; (2) motorist safety; and (3) vehicular delay, including (a) transit and (b) general traffic.

1998 Safety and Operational Improvement Locations:

The 13 safety and operational improvement locations are as follows:

(1)Queen's Park Crescent south of Queen=s Park Circle-Construct traffic island to improve safety;

(2)Steeles Avenue East at Bestview Drive-Construct a pedestrian refuge island;

(3)Sheppard Avenue East, east of Kennedy Road-Construct a pedestrian refuge island;

(4)McCowan Road at Bridley Drive/Big Red Avenue-Construct a pedestrian refuge island;

(5)Eglinton Avenue West at Renforth Drive-Relocate a westbound TTC stop to channelling island at the intersection to improve bus safety;

(6)Trethewey Drive and Yore Road-Remove existing traffic island, realign the curbs and reorganize traffic movement to prevent neighbourhood traffic infiltration;

(7)Queen's Park, south of Bloor Street West-Extend existing bus bay for (in front of Royal Ontario Museum)disabled patrons;

(8)Lake Shore Boulevard West, east of Ellis Avenue-Construct a AU@-turn channel across the median to access beach parking;

(9)3600 Danforth Avenue, east of Wolcott Avenue-Construct a median break for fire station;

(10)Sheppard Avenue West at Laura Road-Construct a pedestrian refuge island;

(11)Bayview Avenue at Nesbitt Drive-Construct a northbound left-turn lane to resolve sight line problems;

(12)633 Lake Shore Boulevard West, east of Stadium Road-Construct drop off lay-by; and

(13)4698 Kingston Road, east of Beechgrove Drive-Construct an eastbound left-turn/"U"-turn lane.

It is proposed that the construction of these works will be undertaken in one contract. The tender for the contract will be called on April 30, 1998. Locations Nos. 1 to 11, are to be included in this contract. Approval is also sought at this time for two alternative locations (Locations Nos. 12 and 13), in the event that it is not possible to construct this year any of the first 11 locations due to unforeseen utility or individual site related problems. It should be noted that the works on Lake Shore Boulevard West, east of Ellis Avenue (Location No. 8) will be funded from the Humber/Gardiner Bridges Project and at 3600 Danforth Avenue, which is the construction of an access to a new fire station on Danforth Avenue (Location No. 9), will be the responsibility of the City of Toronto, Works and Environment, Public Building Services Division, Scarborough Civic Centre.

Property Requirements:

To accommodate a future improvement, small pieces of property need to be acquired at this time at the following locations in order to proceed with construction in 1999:

(a)Location No. 14 - O'Connor Drive at Curity Avenue: a 15 square metre triangular parcel of land is required to be purchased to create space for a curb realignment at the northwest corner of this intersection. The proposed improvement is to prevent right-turning trucks from encroaching into oncoming traffic or mounting the curb. It is illustrated as Part 1 on Sketch Z-39-5.

(b)Location No. 15 - O'Connor Drive at Don Mills Road: a 25 square metre triangular parcel of land needs to be acquired at the northeast corner of this intersection. The land allows for a large radius to prevent right-turning trucks from encroaching into oncoming traffic or mounting the curb. It is illustrated as Part 1 on Sketch Z-45-23.

Required Work:

In order to construct these modifications some of the following work will have to be undertaken at each location:

(a)removal of concrete curbs, gutters, sidewalks and medians;

(b)construction of concrete curbs, gutters, sidewalks and medians;

(c)construction of concrete road base and asphalt pavement;

(d)removal and reconstruction of catch basins and connections;

(e)construction of concrete pedestrian refuge islands;

(f)relocation of underground traffic signal ducts, handwells and pole bases;

(g)alteration of traffic control devices; and

(h)utility relocation.

The attached plans show the modifications, while Table No. 1 gives an explanation of the rationale for each improvement.

Scope of Work at Bayview Avenue and Nesbitt Drive (Location No. 11):

By way of background, the proposed improvements to the Bayview Avenue/Nesbitt Drive intersection are in response to concerns raised by members of the public with respect to safety at this intersection.

On September 24 and 25, 1997, Metropolitan Council adopted, as amended, Clause No. 8 of Report No. 19 of The Planning and Transportation Committee, which outlined possible solutions for addressing the public's concerns about the visibility of northbound left-turning vehicles. In addition, the Commissioner of Transportation was requested to include the northbound left-turn lane at Bayview Avenue/Nesbitt Drive in the 1998 Capital Works Program.

The improvements at this intersection are proposed to be implemented in three phases: The first phase, which was completed in the fall of 1997, was the installation of advance warning signs/flashing lights to improve the visibility of the existing traffic control signals on Bayview Avenue from both the northbound and southbound approaches to the intersection. The second phase planned this year, is the installation of a northbound left turn lane. The third phase involves regrading of the intersection to achieve a 50 kilometre per hour stopping sight distance. This work is planned to coincide with the next scheduled resurfacing for this section of Bayview Avenue, currently programmed for 2003.

Traffic By-law Amendments:

At the following locations existing traffic by-laws are required to be amended upon the completion of proposed modifications:

(i)Trethewey Drive/Yore Road (Location No. 6):

Currently southbound left turns are prohibited at this intersection, which causes traffic infiltration affecting safety in the Greenhill Community. In order to alleviate this problem, the former City of York requested that this prohibition be removed which, in turn, requires the removal of the northbound channelized right turn and the existing island.

(ii)No. 3600 Danforth Avenue, east of Wolcott Avenue (Location No. 9):

A break in the existing concrete centre median on Danforth Avenue is required to provide access/egress for emergency vehicles to a new Fire Hall. In order to prevent potentially hazardous turning movements, "U"-turns should be prohibited at all times at this location.

(ii)Lake Shore Boulevard West, east of Stadium Road (Location No. 12):

In order to permit a drop off lay-by at this location the existing regulation, which prohibits stopping at all times, must be amended.

Accommodation of Pedestrians and Cyclists:

All of the proposed improvements have been developed using current departmental standards for pedestrians and cyclists, which provides for bicycle-friendly curb lanes, reduced corner radii where feasible and wider sidewalks. However, in certain cases trade-offs had to be made with respect to the space allocated to each road user.

Specifically, pedestrian refuge islands are proposed at four locations (Locations Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 10) where pedestrians are experiencing difficulty crossing the road, but where pedestrian crossovers are not warranted. These refuge islands have been placed either within existing painted centre medians or left turn lane areas. Accordingly, existing lane widths will remain the same with no provision for extra width for cycling needs.

Conclusions:

The road modifications outlined in this report are proposed to address safety and operational problems at various locations on the City of Toronto road system. The estimated construction cost of the 1998 Safety and Operational Program is $500,000.00, which has been included in the 1998 Capital Budget Estimates. Two locations are funded from the Scarborough Works and Environment-Public Building Services Division and the Humber/Gardiner Bridges Project.

Contact Name and Telephone Number:

Ms. K. P. Llewellyn-Thomas, Manager, Project Planning and Design, 392-8590, Fax - 392-4426.

(A copy of Table No. 1, the location plans and the sketches, which were appended to the foregoing report, has been forwarded to all Members of Council with the agenda of the April 20, 1998 meeting of the Urban Environment and Development Committee, and a copy thereof is also on file in the office of the City Clerk.)