April 15, 1999

To:Toronto Community Council

From:Andrew Koropeski, Director, Transportation Services District 1

Subject:Bay Street and Cumberland Street - Non-concurrence with the proposed installation of traffic control signals (Midtown)

Purpose:

To respond to a request from the Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area to install traffic control signals at the intersection of Bay Street and Cumberland Street.

Recommendation:

It is recommended that this report be received for information.

Comments:

At the request of Midtown Councillors John Adams and Ila Bossons, on behalf of the Bloor-Yorkville B.I.A., Transportation Services staff have reviewed the intersection of Bay Street and Cumberland to determine the feasibility of installing traffic control signals.

Bay Street in the vicinity of Cumberland Street is a four-lane arterial roadway with northbound and southbound bicycle lanes north of Cumberland Street, the Bay Street Urban Clearway south of Cumberland Street and a daily two-way traffic volume of approximately 25,000 vehicles. The west leg of Cumberland Street, from Avenue Road to Bay Street, operates one-way eastbound and the east leg of Cumberland Street operates two-way from Bay Street to a point 61 metres east of Bay Street and then one-way eastbound from that point to Yonge Street. Cumberland Street at Bay Street is controlled with "Stop" signs.

On the eastbound approach, through and left-turn movements are prohibited at all times, while only right turns are permitted. Further, this section of Cumberland Street has been physically narrowed to channelize traffic so as to encourage right turns only. These modifications were installed in 1993/1994 due, in part to safety concerns, and as part of the follow up to the Yorkville Area Transportation Study which was conducted in the area in consultation with area residents and businesses which sought to develop ways of reducing transient traffic within the Yorkville area.

The adjacent intersections to Cumberland Street on Bay Street are both controlled by traffic controls signals and are located approximately 100 metres to the south at Bloor Street West and approximately 100 metres to the north at Yorkville Avenue. In accordance with the warrants, established by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation for the installation of traffic control signals, the minimum recommended spacing between adjacent traffic control devices is 215 metres. This is the minimum distance at which drivers can detect a control device or a hazard in a cluttered environment, recognize it, and perform the required action safely. Based on the sub-standard spacing, the installation of traffic control signals at the intersection of Bay Street and Cumberland Street would compromise the safety of both pedestrians and motorists. I note for your Council's information that a pedestrian tunnel is provided under Bay Street (as part of the Bay Station of the Bloor-Danforth Subway Line), just south of Cumberland Street, which accommodates safe pedestrian crossings of Bay Street.

Although the minimum distance rule has been occasionally violated in the downtown area, the spacing between signals in this case would severely hamper the signal operation at all three intersections on Bay Street. This would result in significant delays to motorists and public transit on Bay Street, increased congestion and driver frustration.

Currently, there are some locations where signals have been installed close to each other. Two examples are the mid-block pedestrian traffic control signals on Yonge Street, north of Shuter Street and on Queen Street West, between Yonge Street and Bay Street (between the Eaton Centre and Hudson's Bay store). Because these signals only serve pedestrians and not side-street vehicular traffic, a number of mitigating measures have been adopted to control vehicle queue lengths and their movements. However, at Bay Street and Cumberland Street it would be impossible to control north-south vehicle queues due to the vehicles entering Bay Street from Cumberland Street.

Furthermore, installation of traffic control signals and the rescission of eastbound through and left-turn prohibitions, as well as the reconstruction of the intersection to remove the right-turn channelization noted above (which would constitute as a highway alteration under the provisions of the Municipal Act), would most-likely result in increased transient traffic turning onto on Cumberland Street from Avenue Road as it would become considerably easier for traffic to cross Bay Street. This would be counterproductive to the goal established by the Yorkville Area Transportation Study which was to reduce transient traffic on Cumberland Street.

To this end, both Councillors Adams and Bossons, as well as the Bloor-Yorkville B.I.A. have requested Transportation Services to look into the feasibility of rescinding the southbound left turn prohibitions on Avenue Road at Davenport Road and Bloor Street West with the goal of diverting transient traffic from using Cumberland Street as a route to points east on Bloor Street West (Cumberland Street is the only street off Avenue Road between Roxborough Street West to the north and Wellesley Street to the south where southbound left turns can currently be legally made). Staff will be reporting on this request under separate cover. Should the traffic control signals be approved at the subject location, they will serve as a magnet to transient traffic, increasing traffic volumes and congestion on Cumberland Street.

The above-noted intersection channelization on Cumberland Street, immediately west of Bay Street, when originally approved, was subject to public advertising and the hearing of deputations by the former City of Toronto City Services Committee, prior to its approval by the former City of Toronto Council and that there was broad public support for this matter at that time. A similar process would have to be followed at this time to remove the channelization, i.e. a public advertising campaign and the hearing of public deputations before your Council. In addition, it is estimated that the cost of this project (for both the installation of signals and the intersection reconstruction) is in the order of $150,000 to $160,000, for which funds would have to be provided.

Finally, because of the existing turning controls noted above, it is not possible to apply the numerical traffic warrants governing the installation of traffic control signals as firstly, all eastbound Cumberland Street traffic is required to execute right turns only and secondly, the only westbound traffic approaching Bay Street originates from the Cumberland Street Toronto Parking Authority parking garage and these volumes are currently not sufficient to generate the kind of traffic volumes needed to consider traffic signal installation.

In conclusion, the installation of traffic control signals at the intersection of Bay Street and Cumberland Street is not advisable.

Contact Name and Telephone Number:

Danny Budimirovic, P.Eng.

Traffic Engineer, District 1 - Central Area

416-392-5209

Director.

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