STAFF REPORT
February 24,2000
To: Works Committee
From: Commissioner, Works and Emergency services
Subject:Jane Street North of Bloor Street West - Traffic Concerns in the Vicinity of St. Pius X Catholic Schoo
York-Humber, High Park)l
Purpose:
To report the findings of a staff review of traffic concerns on Jane Street in the vicinity of St. Pius X Catholic School,
Premises No. 17 Jane Street, and more specifically to implement a 40km/h speed limit.
Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
Funds to undertake the necessary sign installation on Jane Street between Bloor Street West and Colbeck Street, in the
estimated amount of $300.00, are available in the Transportation Services Division 2000 Operating Budget interim
appropriations.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1)the speed limit be reduced from 50km/h to 40 km/h along Jane Street between Bloor Street West and Colbeck Street;
and
(2)the appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.
Comments:
St. Pius X School is located at No. 71 Jane Street. The school property limits begin 112 meters north of Bloor Street West
and extend to Weatherall Street. Jane Street is a minor arterial road operating two-way in a north/south direction. The
unposted legal speed limit is 50 km/h. There currently is a pedestrian crossover located on Jane Street at Folkes Street at
the entrance to St. Pius X School. This pedestrian crossover is staffed with an adult guard to assist children crossing Jane
Street.
Radar speed studies, conducted in the vicinity of the school and pedestrian crossover indicate that the average speed of
motorists is 46 km/h and 52 km/h in the northbound and southbound directions, respectively. The 85th percentile operating
speed ( the speed at or below which 85 percent of motorists travel) is 52 km/h and 57 km/h in the northbound and
southbound directions, respectively. These results do not indicate a general pattern of excessive speeding for an arterial
roadway.
A review of Toronto Police Service collision records over a five-year period ending December 31, 1999 disclosed that a
total of twenty-six mid-block collisions had occurred along Jane Street from Bloor Street to Folkes Avenue. Two separate
collisions involving pedestrians, were reviewed more closely and it was determined that these pedestrians were
jay-walking. No charges were laid against the motorists.
With the presence of the school and the pedestrian crossover, a 40 km/h speed limit would be appropriate on the section of
Jane Street adjacent to the school. Normally, on an arterial road where a school area justifies a reduced speed limit, a
School Speed Zone is established. A School Speed Zone, by definition, reduces the speed limit to 40 km/h only during 8:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on school days for a distance of 150 metres in either direction of the school property. In the case of St.
Pius X School, the flashing amber lights needed to identify a School Speed Zone would conflict with the traffic control
signals at the nearby intersection of Jane Street and Bloor Street and the flashing beacons at the pedestrian crossover on
Jane Street at Folkes Street, just north of the school. Accordingly, a basic 40 km/h speed limit for Jane Street between
Bloor Street West and Colbeck Street is the preferred treatment.
Conclusion:
Reduction of the speed limit to 40 km/h on Jane Street between Bloor Street West and Colbeck Street should provide a
safer environment in front of St. Pius X School and at the pedestrian crossover on Jane Street at Folkes Street.
Contact:
Jacqueline White, P. Eng.
Manager, Traffic Operations, District 1
397-5021
392-5804 (fax)
jwhite@toronto.ca
David C. Kaufman
General Manager, Transportation Services
Barry H. Gutteridge
Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services
NS/bm
Jane Street - St. Puis X.doc
