March 3, 1999
To:Urban Environment and Development Committee
From:General Manager, Transportation Services
Subject:Proposed Installation of Traffic Control Signals
Kingston Road and St. Augustine Seminary/Resthaven Cemetery Driveways
Scarborough Bluffs:Councillors Gerry Altobello and Brian Ashton
Purpose:
To obtain approval for the installation of traffic control signals at the intersection of Kingston
Road and the St. Augustine Seminary/Resthaven Cemetery driveways.
Funding Sources:
The funds associated with new traffic signal installations are contained in the Transportation
Services Division's Capital Program under Project No. C-TR031. Total funding in this
program is $1.6 million for 1999. The estimated cost of the installation of traffic control
signals at the intersection of Kingston Road and the St. Augustine Seminary/Resthaven
Cemetery driveways is $88,400.00.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1)traffic control signals be approved on Kingston Road at the St. Augustine Seminary/
Resthaven Cemetery driveways;
(2)coincident with the traffic control signal installation, northbound left turns be prohibited
at all times from the westerly driveway of the St. Theresa Shrine Elementary School at
No.2665 Kingston Road; and
(3)the appropriate by-law(s) be amended accordingly.
Background:
This location was investigated in response to a request from the St.Theresa Shrine
Elementary School at No. 2665 Kingston Road to examine traffic operations in the vicinity of
the school.
Discussion:
Kingston Road in this vicinity is a major six-lane arterial roadway with a concrete centre
median, a posted speed limit of 60 km/h and a two-way 24 hour traffic volume of
approximately 42,000 vehicles. The St. Augustine Seminary driveway is on the south side of
Kingston Road, approximately 400 metres west of Brimley Road, and is aligned with the
Resthaven Cemetery driveway on the north side, to form an intersection allowing full
movement access to both sites. St. Theresa Shrine Elementary School, Monsignor Fraser
College, Scarborough Foreign Mission Society, Cardinal Newman Secondary School and St.
Augustine Seminary are located south of Kingston Road between the St. Augustine Seminary
Driveway and Brimley Road.
(1) Pedestrian Crossover Warrant Study
A pedestrian crossover (PXO) warrant study revealed that 339 pedestrians, mostly students of
Cardinal Newman Secondary School, crossed Kingston Road at this location in an eight-hour
study period. Of these 339 pedestrians, 326 were delayed more than ten seconds before they
could complete their crossing. Based on this information, both pedestrian volume and
pedestrian delay warrants are 100 per cent satisfied.
We have evaluated the operational characteristics of a proposed PXO according to the
guidelines that were developed for the "Audit of Operational and Physical Suitability at
Pedestrian Crossovers in Toronto". The results are as follows:
Standards or Criteria to be met for Physical
Suitability of a PXO |
Met/
Not Met |
Comments |
Vehicle operating speed less than 60 km/h |
Not met |
85th percentile speed is 75 km/h |
Not more than four lanes wide |
Not met |
six lanes wide |
Traffic volume less than 35,000 vehicles
per day |
Not met |
42,000 vehicles per day |
No driveways or entrances nearby |
Not met |
driveways to St. Augustine Seminary and
Resthaven Cemetery |
No significant volume of turning
movements which interfere with the PXO |
Not met |
high volume of turns in the immediate area |
No visibility problems exist for either
pedestrians or vehicles |
Met |
no visibility problems |
No loading zones (including TTC) in the
immediate vicinity |
Not met |
eastbound TTC stop |
Not less than 215 metres to another PXO or
traffic control device |
Met |
traffic control signals are located 245 m to the
west at Chine Drive and 398 m to the east at
Brimley Road |
This location does not meet six of the criteria listed above, specifically the operating speed,
number of lanes, high volume of arterial traffic, presence of driveways, high volume of
turning vehicles and loading zone locations. In addition, we conducted a review of the
Toronto Police Service collision records for the five-year period ending December 31, 1997.
During this period, there were no collisions involving pedestrians.
Given the foregoing prevailing conditions, a pedestrian crossover cannot be expected to
perform in a satisfactory fashion at this location. Accordingly, traffic control signals would
provide the best form of crossing control and are recommended for this location.
(2) Turning Movement Study
Access to St. Theresa Shrine Elementary School is provided by two driveways located 32
metres and 105 metres east of the St. Augustine Seminary driveway and are designed to
provide right-in and right-out turning movements. Due to the safety concerns raised by the
school regarding turning movements made at the westerly driveway, a turning movement
count was conducted during the morning and afternoon peak hours. See Appendix A.
(a) Westbound to Eastbound "U" Turns
The count revealed that, during the peak two hours, a total of 46 motorists entered the
westerly driveway by making a westbound to eastbound "U" turn at the St.Augustine
Seminary/Resthaven Cemetery median break, followed by a sharp right turn. Due to the high
volume of eastbound traffic on Kingston Road this maneuver poses a safety hazard at the
present time.
The following three options were considered to address this problem: (i)implementing a "U" turn prohibition;
(ii) widening the median break to allow westbound left turns directly into the school
driveway; and
(iii) installing a protected westbound left-turn signal.
Option (i) would reduce the hazard, however, westbound motorists who are destined for the
school would be inconvenienced because they would be required to turn around at Chine
Drive and travel eastbound back to the school. Therefore, a high level of disobedience could
be predicted. Option (ii) would allow left turns into the school driveway but would result in a
signalized intersection with five legs. Given that the school driveway is 32 metres offset from
the St.Augustine Seminary/Resthaven Cemetery driveways, this option would result in
numerous vehicle conflicts and hazards. Option (iii) would allow all westbound turns on
Kingston Road to be made free from conflict with any other vehicle or pedestrian movements.
Therefore, in order to provide optimal safety at the proposed traffic control signals, option
(iii), installing a protected left-turn signal is the best alternative.
(b) Northbound to Westbound Left Turns
The count also revealed that, during the peak two hours, a total of 20 motorists exited the
westerly driveway by making a northbound to westbound left turn. Motorists making this
movement traveled westbound in the eastbound lanes on Kingston Road until they reached the
median break, then they entered the westbound lanes. This maneuver poses a safety hazard.
The following options were considered to address this problem:
(i) widening the median break to allow northbound left turns to be made directly from the
westerly school driveway;
(ii) creating a new median break to allow northbound left turns to be made from the easterly
school driveway; and
(iii) implementing a left-turn prohibition at the school driveway.
Option (i) was not considered further due to the concerns associated with operating a
signalized intersection with five legs as discussed in section (2) (a) of this report. Option (ii)
would allow motorists the ability to turn left from the school, however, this maneuver also
requires motorists to cross three eastbound lanes at an uncontrolled location. The potential for
left-turn conflicts and collisions would increase at the new median break. Therefore, in order
to provide optimal safety and reinforce the "right-in" design at the westerly school driveway,
option (iii), implementing a northbound left-turn prohibition is the best alternative and is
recommended.
Motorists leaving the school who wish to travel westbound on Kingston Road are encouraged
to travel eastbound to Brimley Road, northbound to St. Clair Avenue East, eastbound back to
Kingston Road and then continue westbound. Although this route may seem inconvenient, the
safety benefits outweigh the inconvenience.
Both Ward Councillors' offices have indicated their support for the recommendations
outlined in this report.
Conclusions:
The installation of a PXO is warranted on Kingston Road at the St. Augustine
Seminary/Resthaven Cemetery driveways. However, because this location fails to meet the
"environmental standards" for the installation of a PXO, traffic control signals will provide for
a safer crossing environment and should be installed at this location.
Contact Name and Telephone Number:
Peter K. Hillier
Manager, Traffic Operations, District 4, (416) 396-7148
David C. Kaufman
General Manager, Transportation Services
Barry H. Gutteridge
Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services
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