March 10, 1999

To:Chairman and Members of the Scarborough Community Council

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

Subject:Request for an All-Way Stop Control on Centennial Road at Conference Boulevard/Clemes Drive, Scarborough Highland Creek

Purpose:

To report on the results of the all-way stop control warrant studies conducted at the intersection of Centennial Road and Conference Boulevard/Clemes Drive.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Not Applicable.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that this report be received for information.

Council Reference/Background/History:

At the request of Councillor Moeser, Transportation Services is reporting the results of our investigation of an all-way stop control at the intersection of Centennial Road and Conference Boulevard/Clemes Drive.

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

The intersection of Centennial Road and Conference Boulevard/Clemes Drive is located in the residential community north of Lawrence Avenue, between Meadowvale Road and Port Union Road. All three of these roads are considered collector roads. St. Brendan Catholic School is located immediately north of this intersection and a pedestrian crossover (PXO) exists north of the school, approximately 200 metres north of Conference Boulevard/Clemes Drive.

Pedestrian Crossing Activity:

During the peak eight hours of normal weekday, approximately 148 pedestrians cross Centennial Road at Clemes Drive/Conference Boulevard. The age groups of the 148 pedestrians are listed in the following table:

Types of Pedestrians

Number of Pedestrians

Assisted Children	12
Unassisted Children	45
Youths / Adults	86
Senior Citizens	5
Physically Disabled	0

(Assisted Children are children crossing the road accompanied by a youth, an adult or a senior citizen)

A total of 53 crossing movements were recorded of school children crossing Centennial Road at this location on their way to and from St. Brendan Catholic School. The majority of pedestrians recorded crossing Centennial Road at this location during the eight hour study were students from Sir Oliver Mowat C.I. on Lawrence Avenue at Charlottetown Boulevard. Crossings take place at the aforementioned PXO, as well as at Clemes Drive/Conference Boulevard, without the assistance of a crossing guard. Staff did not observe any conflicts between pedestrians crossing Centennial Road and vehicular traffic.

Collision History:

A review of the collision history for the period from January 1, 1995 to May 31, 1998 reveals two collisions have occurred at the subject intersection during this period. Neither of these collisions involved pedestrians although both were considered traffic control signal preventable. This collision history is not indicative of a safety hazard.

All-Way Stop Control:

The justification for the installation of an all-way stop control is based on a technical warrant established by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), and adopted as the City Policy by the former Scarborough Council.

Traffic studies conducted on Wednesday, February 3, 1999 produced the following results which illustrate that the Warrant's requirements for a collector road are not satisfied:

Study Period	Total Approach Vehicle Volume	Vehicle Volume Split Major/Minor Roads	Vehicle/Pedestrian Volume From Minor Road
0700 - 0800	350	61/39	140
0800 - 0900*	546	59/41	242
1100 - 1200	263	67/33	92
1200 - 1300	292	64/36	113
1300 - 1400	206	69/31	67
1500 - 1600	393	66/34	150
1600 - 1700	354	69/31	113
1700 - 1800	416	77/23	96
MTO Requirements For Each Hour	$ 500	$ 70/30	$ 200

As illustrated in the above table, the minimum requirements are fulfilled in one hour (*) while the full warrant requires fulfillment of the minimum requirements in all eight hours.

In addition to the Warrant, the following outlines the main reasons why the installation of unwarranted all-way stop controls are not recommended:

(i)Most motorists are reasonable and prudent with no intention of maliciously violating traffic regulations. However, when an unreasonable restriction is imposed (such as an unwarranted all-way stop control) it can result in flagrant violations. In such cases, pedestrians may start to cross the road with a false sense of security, and conflict with a motorist approaching the stop sign without expecting to stop. This will obviously place the pedestrian at risk.

(ii)The aforementioned pedestrian hazard is more severe for children, who are more likely to misjudge approaching traffic.

(iii)Unwarranted stop signs often result in an increase in speeds by motorists who try to make up lost time for what they perceive as unnecessary delays.

(iv)The City has an obligation to provide services in an environmentally conscious manner. The installation of unwarranted stop controls not only undermines the Warrant but contributes to unnecessary fuel consumption and higher levels of noise and air pollution. These pollutants most specifically impact those residents in the immediate vicinity of the intersection.

Traffic Control Signals:

Study results were also applied to the Traffic Control Signal Warrant at this intersection. The justification for the installation of traffic control signals is based on a technical warrant established by the MTO. The analysis of this warrant is based on data compiled from an 8-hour traffic study. Traffic studies conducted on Wednesday, February 3, 1999 produced the following results which illustrate that the Warrant's requirements are not satisfied:

MTO - TCS Warrant	Compliance Level
Minimum Vehicular Volume	49%
Delay to Cross Traffic	34%

To warrant the installation of traffic control signals, compliance levels of 100% are required in one of the above categories or 80% in each.

In brief, these findings indicate that there is insufficient vehicular and pedestrian traffic crossing the intersection to satisfy the Warrant. The volumes at this intersection have decreased slightly from a previous study conducted on Wednesday, January 14, 1998.

Pedestrian Crossover:

Study results were also applied to the Pedestrian Crossover Warrant producing the following results: