Installation of Speed Humps - Albany Avenue

from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue (Midtown)

The Toronto Community Council recommends that a by-law in the form of the draft by-law be enacted, and that the necessary Bills be introduced in Council to give effect thereto.

The Toronto Community Council reports, for the information of Council, that pursuant to Clause 27 of Report 4 of the Toronto Community Council, titled "Examination of Feasibility of Installing Speed Humps - Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue (Midtown)", which was adopted without amendment by City Council at its meeting held on March 2, 3 and 4, 1999, notice with respect to the proposed enactment of the draft by-law was advertised in a daily newspaper on May 7, 11, 18 and 25, 1999, and the following addressed the Toronto Community Council:

On May 26, 1999:

-Mr. Sid Adilman; and

-Ms. Jane Jacobs.

On September 14, 1999:

- Mr. Niels Petersen.

 The Toronto Community Council submits the following Draft By-law from the City Solicitor:

Authority:Toronto Community Council Report No. 4 , Clause No. 27, as adopted by Council on March 2, 3 and 4, 1999

Enacted by Council:

CITY OF TORONTO

Bill No.

BY-LAW No.

To further amend former City of Toronto By-law No. 602-89, being "A By-law To authorize the construction, widening, narrowing, alteration and repair of sidewalks, pavements and curbs at various locations", respecting the alteration of Albany Avenue by the installation of speed humps from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue.

WHEREAS notice of a proposed By-law regarding the proposed alteration was published in a daily newspaper on , , and , 1999 and interested persons were given an opportunity to be heard at a public meeting held on , 1999 and it is appropriate to amend the by-law to permit the alteration.

The Council of the City of Toronto HEREBY ENACTS as follows:

1.Former City of Toronto By-law No. 602-89, being "A By-law To authorize the construction, widening, narrowing, alteration and repair of sidewalks, pavements and curbs at various locations", is amended:

(1)by inserting in Columns 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, respectively, of Schedule "B-4" (Pavement Alteration/Repair) the following:

(Column 1 Street)	(Column 2 Side/Corner)	(Column 3 Alteration/ Repair)	(Column 4 From)	(Column 5 To)	(Column 6 Drawing No./Date)
Albany Avenue		Alteration consisting of the installation of speed humps	Bloor Street West	Barton Avenue	421F-5274 dated October 1998

ENACTED AND PASSED this day of , A.D. 1999.

   Mayor City Clerk

 The Toronto Community Council also submits the following Clause 27 of Toronto Community Council Report No. 4, titled "Examination of Feasibility of Installing Speed Humps - Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue (Midtown)", which was adopted by City Council at its meeting held on March 2, 3 and 4, 1999:

(City Council on March 2, 3 and 4, 1999, adopted this Clause, without amendment.)

The Toronto Community Council recommends that:

(1)approval be given to alter sections of the roadway on Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue for traffic calming purposes as described below, with implementation subject to the favourable results of polling of the affected residents pursuant to the policy related to speed hump installation as adopted by the former City of Toronto Council:

"The construction of speed humps on ALBANY AVENUE, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue, generally as shown on the attached print of Drawing No. 421F-5274, dated October 1998";

(2)the speed limit be reduced from forty kilometres per hour to thirty kilometres per hour on Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue, coincident with the implementation of the traffic calming measures; and

(3) the appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take whatever action is necessary to implement the foregoing, including the introduction in Council of any Bills that might be required.

The Toronto Community Council submits the following report (February 1, 1999) from the Director of Transportation Services, District 1, Works and Emergency Services:

Purpose:

To report on a request to consider the installation of speed humps on Albany Avenue between Bloor Street West and Barton Avenue.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Should Council decide to pursue the installation of speed humps on the subject section of Albany Avenue, the estimated cost would be $6,600.00. Funds in this amount are accommodated in the Transportation Services Division's 1999 Capital Budget request.

Recommendation:

That this report be received for information.

Comments:

At the request of Midtown Councillors John Adams and Ila Bossons, on behalf of area residents, staff undertook an investigation on Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue, to determine if the implementation of speed humps would be an appropriate traffic calming measure on this section or roadway.

Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue operates one-way northbound with a pavement width of 6.7 metres and a speed limit of 40 kilometres per hour. Staff recently conducted twenty-four hour speed and volume surveys over a six day period from November 27 to December 2, 1998 inclusive.

The subject section of Albany Avenue carries an average daily volume of approximately 1,050 vehicles (volumes ranged from 973 to 1,182 vehicles). These volumes marginally satisfy the minimum requirement of 1,000 vehicles per day necessary for further consideration to implement speed humps.

In terms of vehicular speed, the above studies have revealed that the average daily speed on this section of Albany Avenue was 31.6 kilometres per hour and the average operating speed (the speed at which 85 percent of the traffic volume operates at or below) was 43 kilometres per hour. Incidents of excessive speeding (vehicles travelling in excess of 55 kilometres per hour) represented less than two percent of the average daily traffic volume. It should also be noted that the above data is consistent, if not somewhat lower than previous data that was obtained on the same section of Albany Avenue in April/May of 1997, following the reversal of the one-way traffic operation on the section between Barton Avenue and Wells Street.

As requested by the Councillors and interested residents, staff prepared a plan consisting of three speed humps with spacings that range from 70 to 90 metres, as illustrated on the attached print of Drawing No. 421F-5274, dated October 1998. It is not anticipated that this plan would impact on existing on-street parking spaces, garbage collection, street cleaning or winter operations.

Implementation of this proposal, in conjunction with other speed hump installations and current investigations on sections of Barton Avenue, Howland Avenue and Brunswick Avenue, could result in increased response times for emergency vehicles into the local residential community. Accordingly, copies of the above plan, if approved, will be circulated to emergency services agencies for comment.

In the event that Council wishes to proceed with the installation of speed humps on Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue, then the following recommendations would have to be approved:

(1) That approval be given to alter sections of the roadway on Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue for traffic calming purposes as described below, with implementation subject to the favourable results of polling of the affected residents pursuant to the policy related to speed hump installation as adopted by the former City of Toronto Council:

"The construction of speed humps on Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue, generally as shown on the attached print of Drawing No. 421F-5274, dated October 1998";

(2) That the speed limit be reduced from forty kilometres per hour to thirty kilometres per hour on Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue, coincident with the implementation of the traffic calming measures; and

(3) That the appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take whatever action is necessary to implement the foregoing, including the introduction in Council of any Bills that might be required.

The terms of the Speed Hump Policy require that a formal poll be conducted of all adults (18 years and older) of households directly abutting the affected section of street and also households on side streets whose only access is from the street under consideration for speed humps, of which 60 percent of those responding should be in favour of the proposed implementation.

Further, the changes to Albany Avenue as described above would constitute an alteration to the public highway pursuant to the provisions of the Municipal Act. The intent of Council to enact a by-law to authorize any physical changes resulting in the alteration of the pavement configuration must be advertised and subsequently be subject to a public hearing. The project would be pre-approved in accordance with Schedule "A" of the Class Environmental Assessment for Municipal Road Projects.

Conclusions:

In evaluating the section of Albany Avenue from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue for the installation of speed humps, it has been determined that although such a course of action is technically feasible, the guidelines for installation are only marginally met. In addition, as the incidence of excessive speeding represents less than 2 percent (approximately 13 vehicles per day) of the daily traffic volume, the overall impact that speed humps would have on this street would be minor, compared to a number of other locations where excessive speeding constitutes a much greater percentage of the total daily traffic volume.

Contact Name and Telephone Number:

Colin Booth, Senior Traffic Investigator, 392-7771

The Toronto Community Council reports, for the information of Council, having also had before it during consideration of the foregoing matter, the following communications, and a copy thereof is on file in the office of the City Clerk:

-February 11, 1999) from Mr. Niels Petersen;

-(July 15, 1998) addressed to Councillors Adams and Bosson from Mr. Niels Petersen and Ms. Wendy Martin; and

-(February 14, 1999) from Mr. Niels Petersen.

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The Toronto Community Council also submits the following report (September 13, 1999) from the Director, Transportation Services, District 1, Works and Emergency Services:

Purpose:

To report the results of a re-poll of residents regarding the installation of speed humps on Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Not applicable.

Recommendation:

That this report be received for information.

Background:

City Council, at its meeting of March 2, 3 and 4, 1999, adopted Clause 27 in Toronto Community Council Report No. 4, and in doing so, approved the alterations of the pavement on the section of Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue, subject to the favourable results of polling of the affected residents, pursuant to the former City of Toronto policy relating to speed hump installation.

This section of Albany Avenue was advertised in a local newspaper on four consecutive weeks in May 1999, and the draft by-law was scheduled to be considered by Toronto Community Council at its meeting of May 26, 1999.

Toronto Community Council, at its meeting of May 26, 1999, in considering my report (May 25, 1999) entitled "Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue, Speed hump poll results (Midtown)" and having heard deputations from area residents, adjourned the public meeting held pursuant to the Municipal Act to be reconvened on September 14, 1999 and further, requested that the area be repolled and that more information respecting the proposal be contained in the ballot.

Comments:

The former City of Toronto's Speed Hump Policy (adopted by Council at its meeting of August 21, 1997) requires that a poll of adult residents (18 years of age or older) be conducted on streets being considered for speed hump installations and that at least 60% of the valid responses to the poll endorse the speed hump proposal. As noted in my May 25, 1999 report, the results of the poll undertaken during April/May, 1999, on the subject section of Albany Avenue, indicated that 36 percent of the eligible voters responded to the poll and of those, 87 percent supported the installation of speed humps.

In preparation for the distribution of the second poll and to ensure that the information contained therein was satisfactory, a copy of the revised sample Ballot Form, Drawing No. 421F-5274 and the Speed Hump Information Sheet were forwarded to Midtown Councillors John Adams and Ila Bossons and their requested revisions to the polling package were made. Transportation Services' staff hand-delivered the ballots (a total of 294) to affected Albany Avenue residents during the first week in August. The closing date of the poll (September 10, 1999) was clearly noted on the ballots.

The results of the second poll undertaken on Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue, showed that 38.8 percent (114 ballots) of the eligible voters responded to the poll and of these, 90 (84.1 percent) supported speed humps, 16 (15.9 percent) opposed the plan. A total of 8 of the returned ballots were invalid. As can be seen, the results of the second poll are quite similar to the results of the first poll.

As indicated above, the criteria for the installation of speed humps as set out in the Speed Hump Policy has been satisfied on Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue.

Contact Name and Telephone Number:

Colin Booth, Senior Traffic Investigator, (416) 392-7771

The Toronto Community Council also submits the following report (May 25, 1999) from the Director, Transportation Services, Works and Emergency Services:

Purpose:

To report the results of a poll of residents regarding the installation of speed humps on Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Not applicable.

Recommendation:

That this report be received for information.

Background:

City Council at its meeting of March 2, 3 and 4, 1999, adopted Clause 27 in Toronto Community Council Report No. 4, and in doing so, approved the alterations of the pavement on the section of Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue, subject to the favourable results of polling of the affected residents, pursuant to the former City of Toronto policy relating to speed hump installation.

This section of Albany Avenue was advertised in a local newspaper on four consecutive weeks in May 1999 and the draft by-law is scheduled to be considered by Toronto Community Council at its meeting on May 26 and 27, 1999.

Comments:

The former City of Toronto's Speed Hump Policy (adopted by Council at its meeting of August 21, 1997) requires that a poll of adult residents (18 years of age or older) be conducted on streets being considered for speed hump installations and that at least 60% of the valid responses to the poll endorse the speed hump proposal.

The results of the poll undertaken on Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue showed that 36% of the eligible voters responded to the poll and of these, 89 (87%) supported speed humps, 13 (13%) opposed the plan. A total of 8 (7%) ballots were invalid.

As indicated above, the criteria for the installation of speed humps as set out in the Speed Hump Policy has been satisfied on Albany Avenue, from Bloor Street West to Barton Avenue.

Contact Name and Telephone Number:

Colin Booth, Senior Traffic Investigator, 392-7711

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The Toronto Community Council reports, for the information of Council, having also had before it during consideration of the foregoing matter, the following communications, and a copy thereof is on file in the office of the City Clerk:

-Petition with 16 signature in opposition from Albany Avenue Residents; and

-(June 3, 1999) from the City Clerk, Toronto Community Council, forwarding the actions of the Toronto Community Council at its meeting held on May 26 and 27, 1999.