March 11, 1999

To:Chairman and Members of the Scarborough Community Council

From:Gary Welsh, Director, Transportation Services, Works and Emergency Services, District 4

Subject:Request for a 40 Kilometre Per Hour Speed Limit on McCowan Road, north of Kingston Road, Scarborough Bluffs

Purpose:

To investigate the need for a 40 kilometre per hour speed limit on McCowan Road, from Kingston Road to Halbert Place.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

The $600.00 (approximate) funds associated with the installation of the speed limit signs is available in the Transportation Services 1999 budget estimates, Account No. 100-TP10226.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)the 60 kilometre per hour speed limit identified in Appendix 1 of this report be rescinded;

(2)the 60 kilometre per hour speed limit identified in Appendix 2 of this report be adopted; and

(3)the appropriate by-law be amended accordingly.

Council Reference/Background/History:

Transportation Services received a 26 signature petition requesting a reduction in the speed limit from 60 kilometres per hour to 40 kilometres per hour on McCowan Road, between Kingston Road and Halbert Place. The concern of petitioners is for the safety of people using Cliffcrest United Church, Cliffcrest Community Centre and H.A. Halbert Junior Public School, all of which are located on the east side of McCowan Road between Kingston Road and Halbert Place. Twenty-four (24) of the petitioners live on McCowan Road, immediately north of Kingston Road, while two of the petitioners represent H.A. Halbert Junior Public School and Cliffcrest Community Centre.

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

In order to assess the appropriateness of the speed limit in question, we reviewed the existing conditions, examined the collision history and conducted speed studies on McCowan Road, north of Kingston Road.

Existing Conditions:

McCowan Road, north of Kingston Road, is posted with a 60 kilometre per hour speed limit. The road immediately south of Kingston Road, Cathedral Bluffs, is posted with a 40 kilometre per hour speed limit. Although these roads are contiguous north and south of Kingston Road, they differ significantly in that McCowan Road is an arterial road with a four lane cross-section, while Cathedral Bluffs is a collector road with a two lane cross-section. H.A. Halbert Junior Public School is located at Halbert Place and a pedestrian crossover provides crossing assistance across McCowan Road at this location. Appropriate School Area signs are posted in advance of this area. Vehicles are often observed parking on the east side of McCowan Road in front of Cliffcrest Community Centre and Cliffcrest United Church.

Speed Studies:

Automatic 24-hour speed studies were conducted on Wednesday, December 2, 1998 on McCowan Road, south of Horfield Avenue. These results revealed that most motorists travelled at speeds close to the 60 kilometre per hour speed limit. Study results are as follows:

Direction	1 - 50 Km/h	51 - 60 Km/h	61 -70 Km/h	71 - 74 Km/h	> 74 Km/h	Total Vehicles
Northbound	767	1629	918	98	50	3462
Southbound	641	1518	1011	142	76	3388
Total	1408	3147	1929	240	126	6850

Speed Comparison:

The table below compares studies we have conducted over the last few years at other similar arterial roads.

Note:The comparisons shown in the above table are based on 50th and 85th percentile speeds recorded on the respective roadways. The 85th percentile is the speed at or below which the majority of motorists feel comfortable travelling on a given section of roadway, taking into consideration traffic volumes and surrounding conditions. The 50th percentile divides the speed at which half the motorists are travelling above and below.

Our McCowan Road study results reveal that the volumes on this section of street are significantly lower than the other arterial roads that we investigated. The speeds recorded were also lower than the other streets that we investigated.

As shown in the comparison table, slightly slower speeds can occur when a speed limit is lowered below the speed at which the majority of reasonable motorists feel comfortable travelling, and in the absence of concentrated police speed enforcement.

Collision History:

A three year, five month review of the collision history, from January 1, 1995 to May 31, 1998, on the section of McCowan Road between Kingston Road and Horfield Avenue, revealed four reported collisions. None of these collisions involved motorists speeding and no collision pattern was established.

Other Factors:

Other factors are taken into consideration when determining if the existing speed limit is appropriate. The characteristics of the area south of Halbert Place differ from the conditions north of Halbert Place. A daycare centre is located in the Cliffcrest Community Centre, H.A. Halbert Junior Public School is located north of this daycare centre at Halbert Place and a pedestrian crossover assists pedestrians crossing in this area. Cliffcrest United Church is on the same parcel of land as the daycare centre. These facilities not only generate parking but also child crossing activity in the area.

To the north of Halbert Place, residential homes have direct frontage on to McCowan Road, however, no specific generator of pedestrians, specifically children exists.

The speed limit south of Kingston Road, on Cathedral Bluffs, is 40 kilometres per hour and immediately north of Kingston Road the speed limit changes to 60 kilometres per hour. Because the roadway characteristics differ significantly between Cathedral Bluffs and McCowan Road, a 40 kilometre per hour speed limit is not appropriate on McCowan Road. However, a transition speed between 60 kilometres per hour and 40 kilometres per hour would be appropriate to reflect the residential and institutional land uses in this area. Therefore, staff recommend that the speed limit on McCowan Road, between Kingston Road and Halbert Place, be reduced to 50 kilometres per hour.

Conclusions:

Staff are recommending that a 50 kilometre per hour speed limit be installed on McCowan Road from Kingston Road to Halbert Place to reflect the area and roadway operating characteristics and to provide a transition to and from the 40 kilometre per hour speed limit south of Kingston Road.

Contact Name:

Bruce Clayton

Supervisor, Traffic Investigations, Works and Emergency Services

Telephone: 396-7844

Fax: 396-5681

E-mail: clayton@city.scarborough.on.ca

Gary H. Welsh

Director

Transportation Services

Works and Emergency Services

District 4

BDC:ca

Appendix 1

"60 Kilometre per hour Speed Limit"

Regulation to be Rescinded

HighwayFromTo

McCowan EglintonKingston

RoadAvenueRoad

Appendix 2

"60 Kilometre per hour Speed Limit"

Regulation to be Enacted

HighwayFromTo

McCowan Halbert Eglinton

RoadPlaceAvenue