Fort Walton Beach Resolution — 2025-11 Approving FDOT Traffic Improvements on Beal Parkway — reading text

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT THREE TRAFFIC OPERATIONS DISTRICTWIDE TRAFFIC OPERATIONS STUDIES TASK WORK ORDER NO. 7 CONTRACT NO: CA152 FDOT FINANCIAL ID NO: 220898-3-32-03 STUDY TYPE 1 – UNSIGNALIZED INTERSECTION STATE ROAD 189 (BEAL PARKWAY) AT FIRST STREET COUNTY: OKALOOSA SECTION: 57110 MILEPOST: 0.083 PREPARED BY: FLORIDA TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING, INC. (FTE) 171 STATE HWY. 83 NORTH, SUITE A202 DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, FLORIDA 32433 PHILLIP KURTH, PE PTOE SENIOR TRAFFIC ENGINEER FL PE NO. 72434 8/30/2022 Location Map and Topography N SR 189 (Beal Pkwy.) at First St. Section No. 57110, Okaloosa County August 30, 2022 Executive Summary The following is a synopsis of the conclusions and recommendations of the Traffic Operational Study performed for State Road 189 (Beal Parkway) at First Street located in Okaloosa County. Conclusions: There were thirty-five (35) documented crashes reported by the CARS System as well as Signal Four Analytics within the last five (5) years. Nine ( 9) of the documented crashes ( 26%) resulted in injury where one or more people required transportation to a medical facility. There was one ( 1) bicycle incident which occurred as the cyclist was crossing State Road 189 ( Beal Parkway) and the motorist was making a left-turn movement from First Street. There were twenty-eight ( 28) right-angle crashes which accounted for 80% of the total collisions and 20% of the total injuries. One (1) of the right-angle crashes occurred at a driveway connection south of the intersection and the remainder occurred at the intersection. According to the crash narratives, all of the side street vehicles stopped at the STOP sign before proceeding into the intersection. Six (6) of the right-angle collisions were reported as “ Good Samaritan” crashes. In the last five (5) years, the number of reported crashes at the subject intersection was greater than the statistical average of similar roadway facilities in District 3. Results from the delay analysis indicate that no excessive delay is being experienced at this time. According to the FDOT Generalized Tables, this segment of State Road 189 (Beal Parkway) is operating at a LOS C in both the AM and PM peak periods. MUTCD Warrant 1B (80% Eight-Hour Vehicular Volume), Warrant 2 (Four- Hour Vehicular Volume) and Warrant 7 (Crash Experience) was met with 100% right-turns added due to intersection geometry. According to the NCHRP Report 457 guidelines, a full-length right-turn lane is not justified for neither the northbound or southbound approaches given the existing stop-controlled condition or traffic volumes. According to the NCHRP Report 457 guidelines, no additional side street lanes on First Street are justified given the existing stop-controlled condition. Per the SimTraffic Analysis, the storage capacity of all the existing / effective turn lanes at the intersection of State Road 189 (Beal Parkway) and First Street exceeds the current vehicular demand in both the AM and PM peak periods. A site visit was conducted on 6/7/2022. It was observed that southbound vehicles on State Road 189 Beal Parkway) can spillback from State Road 30 ( US 98) through the First Street intersection ( see Exhibit 2 on the Page 11). This spillback situation creates a transient sight distance issue when “ Good Samaritans” allow eastbound vehicles from First Street to enter the subject intersection even when there is a northbound conflict. There are no projects listed on the FDOT 5-Year Work Program which would include the subject intersection. Recommendations: It is recommended that the Department should construct a traffic signal at the intersection of State Road 189 (Beal Parkway) and First Street operating with 6-phases with the northbound and southbound left- turn movements of State Road 189 ( Beal Parkway) regulated by Protected / Permissive Phasing with Flashing Yellow Arrows (FYA). Concurrent with the aforementioned signalization, The Department should re-stripe the northbound approach of State Road 189 (Beal Parkway) at First Street to provide a 145-foot dedicated left-turn lane. Page 3 of 24 SR 189 (Beal Pkwy.) at First St. Section No. 57110, Okaloosa County August 30, 2022 Introduction This traffic engineering study was conducted to analyze the operation of the intersection of State Road 189 Beal Parkway) at First Street, located in Okaloosa County, and to determine if any operational improvements are needed at this location. The traffic data collected for the analysis consisted of ten ( 10) hour turning movement counts, fifteen-minute delay samples, vehicular speed characteristics and the latest five (5) years of crash reports. The ten (10) hour turning movements were taken from 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, and from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Of these ten (10) hours, 8:15 – 9:15 AM was determined to be the morning peak hour; and 3:15 – 4:15 PM was determined to be the evening peak hour. Various traffic engineering tools were used to evaluate this intersection. The data contained herein was evaluated using the following analytical tools and traffic engineering resources: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) Handbook, 2009 Edition with Revisions May 2012 2010 Highway Capacity Manual FDOT Quality / Level of Service Handbook Un-Signalized Intersection Delay Study NCHRP Report 457 SYNCHRO 8 / SimTraffic Site Characteristics State Road 189 (Beal Parkway) at First Street is an un-signalized urban intersection consisting of unrestricted movements north and south on this segment of State Road 189 ( Beal Parkway). At this location, State Road 189 (Beal Parkway) is a four-lane divided urban minor arterial with a posted speed limit of 35 mph. There is a continuous two-way left-turn lane ( TWLTL) on the northbound approach creating an effective dedicated left- turn lane. There is a dedicated left-turn lane on the southbound approach which connects to a continuous two- way left-turn lane (TWLTL). There are pedestrian crosswalks on the eastbound and westbound approach of the intersection. State Road 189 ( Beal Parkway) is an Access Class 6 Roadway with minimum signal spacing of 1,320 feet (0.25 mile). The nearest traffic signal to the south is approximately 0.07 miles away located at State Road 30 ( US 98) and to the north is approximately 0.49 miles away located at Hollywood Boulevard. The subject intersection does not meet the traffic signal spacing requirements of Florida Administrative Code FAC) Chapter 14-97 State Highway System Access Management Classification System and Standards. The eastbound and westbound approaches of First Street are two-lane undivided roadways regulated by STOP signs and STOP bars. The posted speed limit west of the intersection is 25 mph, and there is no posted speed limit east of the intersection. Both the eastbound and westbound approach consists of a single shared left/thru/right-turn lane. Site Analysis A spot speed study along State Road 189 ( Beal Parkway) was conducted at this location. Many speed characteristics were collected, measured, and computed for this study, such as the posted speed limit, eighty- fifth percentile speed, average speed, percent exceeding, and the highest speed obtained during the study. This data is presented in Table 1 on the following page. Page 4 of 24 SR 189 (Beal Pkwy.) at First St. Section No. 57110, Okaloosa County August 30, 2022 TABLE 1 SPEED DATA Speed Northbound Southbound Field Posted Speed Limit – 35 MPH 85 PERCENTILE ( MPH) 41.1 41.2 AVERAGE ( MPH) 36.8 36.8 Speed Study was conducted on SR 189 (Beal Pkwy.) at HIGH ( MPH) 49 51 First St. PERCENT EXCEEDING (%) 59.41% 60.40% Historical crash information for the years 2017 through December 31, 2021 was obtained from the FDOT Safety Office through the CARS System as well as Signal Four Analytics for the un-signalized intersection of State Road 189 (Beal Parkway) at First Street. Table 2 is a summary of the documented crash data: TABLE 2 COLLISION TYPE Loss of Pedestrian Year AngleLeft Turn Rear End Right Side Swipe Head-On Other Control Bike 2017 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2018 1 1 0 0 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2019 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2020 1 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2021 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 4 1 28 1 0 0 1 0 TOTAL COLLISIONS 35 InjuryProperty Damage Only 26 9 Nine (9) of the thirty-five (35) documented crashes ( 26%) resulted in injury where one or more people required transportation to a medical facility. There was one ( 1) bicycle incident which occurred as the cyclist was crossing State Road 189 ( Beal Parkway) and the motorist was making a left-turn movement from First Street. Neither party were cited at the time of the crash. There were twenty-eight (28) right-angle crashes which accounted for 80% of the total collisions and 20% of the total injuries. One (1) of the right-angle crashes occurred at a driveway connection south of the intersection and the remainder occurred at the intersection. It was denoted in all of the crashes that the side street vehicles stopped at the STOP sign before proceeding into the intersection. According to the crash narratives, six (6) of the