Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 11-01-11 special kenwood — reading text

f d r r figure 5. Topology of Crashes Occurring in Kenwood Neighborhood ItIt shouldshould bebe notednoted thatthat ifif thethe datadata werewere toto includeinclude yearyear 2010,2010, aa fatalfatal crashcrash waswas reportedreported toto havehave ncc:ncc: oredored onon thethe CountryCountry ClubClub Avenue.Avenue. Overspeeding Overspeeding waswas citedcited asas aa contributingcontributing factorfactor toto thethe accident.accident. PacketPacket Pg.Pg. 5151  C The most predominant type of collision was angle crashes ( 3). Other type of collisions reported were a vehicle backing into another vehicle: vehicle hitting a sign post or a tree; and rive other crash types which were not well defined in the CAR database. From the crash summary data, it can be surmised that (here does not seem to be a trend in any of the crash types but it should be noted that Country Club Avenue and Mooney Road accounted for 11 of 13 crashes that were reported in the neighborhood streets. A detailed and careful analysis of crashes up to the most recent year is recommended in light of the fact that a fatal crash was reported on Country Club Avenue in 2010. 7. DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS OF DATA ANALYSES The aggregate analysis of operational data shows that between 66 and 75 percent of traffic intending to connect between Lewis Turner Boulevard and Racetrack Road use Country Club Avenue as a short cut. As indicated earlier, Mooney Road is a winding road while Country Club Avenue is almost a straight shot between Lewis Turner Boulevard and Racetrack Road. Volume and speed analysis showed that these two tragic variables are too high for a residential neighborhood with size and character similar to that of the Country Club Avenue. In addition. Country Club Avenue is about half the length of Mooney Road but has almost the same number of accidents as Mooney Road probably because of its high traffic volume. The major thrust of any improvement strategy must be to reduce vehicular traffic on Country Club Avenue and to reduce the prevailing operating speeds of vehicles using Country Club Avenue at all times of the day. The current level of traffic volume on Country Club Avenue - that is, roughly 3, 000 vehicles per day which translates into 320 vehicles per peak hour is quite high and is bound to occasionally result into vehicle -to- vehicle conflicts or vehicle -to- pedestrian conflicts in view of the fact that sidewalk exists only on one side of the road. In addition, a portion of Country Club Avenue between Wedgewood Lane and Mooney Road SE is too straight, allowing drivers to pick up speed, i. e, over 10 miles per hour above the 25 MPH speed limit posted in both directions of Country Club Avenue. While it is clear that any traffic calming measure implemented on Country Club Avenue will divert traffic to Mooney Road, this outcome is considered desirable based on the fact that the property offsets on Mooney Road are wider than on Country Club Avenue and the roadway, i. e., Mooney Road, has sidewalks on both sides. Thus, pedestrians and cyclists on Mooney Road do not need to cross the road to access sidewalks. Mooney Road also has curb -and- gutter design which provides additional protection to sidewalk users from errant vehicles. Furthermore, the travel lanes on Mooney Road are wider by about 6 inches compared to those on Country Club Avenue. Consistent with the above philosophy of reducing traffic volume and speed on Country Club Avenue, a number of alternatives were considered as discussed in the following section. Each alternative was considered on its own merit and its ability to accomplish traffic volume and speed reduction was quantified based on the preponderance of evidence gathered from the review of traffic engineering literature. While the merit of each alternative is considered Packet Pg. 52  u separately, it should be noted that each alternative can be implemented in conjunction with another alternative. In other words, the alternatives are not mutually exclusive. 8. ALTERNATIVE IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES The following sections discuss the four alternative improvement strategies that were considered. All the alternatives were weighed by their ability to reduce traffic operational and safety difficulties on Country Club Avenue. The effectiveness of each alternative was graded as LOW, MODERATE, or HIGH based on information acquired from the literature. 8. 1 Alternative 1 — Install Signs Directing " Through Traffic" to SR 188 and SR 189 The State Route 188 and 189 signs to be installed along Mooney Road close to its intersection with Country Club Avenue are intended to direct through traffic to use Mooney Road as the major road connecting Racetrack Road ( SR 188) and Lewis Turner Boulevard ( SR 189). The two signs will be located prior to the Count Club Avenue intersections with Mooney Road as illustrated in Figure G. The two signs are estimated to cost approximately $ 1, 000 in material and labor costs. Given that the majority of road users in this area are regular commuters who already know the area, we estimate that the efftxaivemess of these signs in terms of diverting traffic from Country Club Avenue will be LOW. Packet Pg. 53  VT Lj 8. 2 Alternative 2 — Install Radar Speed Feedback Sign on Country Club Avenue The radar speed feedback signs are finding increasing use across the United States, particularly in school zones. The assembly is designed to give drivers a feedback of their speed in comparison with the prevailing speed limit, and hopefully the driver will slow down to a safe speed. Because law enforcement officers cannot be expected to constantly monitor vehicle speeds at a particular location, the radar speed feedback sign serve to supplement regular enforcement of speed limits alerting drivers to specific driving behavior. Figure 7 shows how a radar speed feedback sign installed on Country Club Avenue would look like. A permanent installation of a radar speed feedback sign is advisable since most studies show that drivers revert back to old behavior, i. e., speeding, once a sign installed on temporary basis is removed. Most studies reported in literature were on temporary installation. While the temporary installed signs seemed to be effective particularly in reducing the percentage of drivers exceeding the speed limit, there was insufficient literature on the effectiveness of permanent installation of these signs. It can safely be said that these signs will be effective during peak hours and when K -12 school is in session but long term efficacy during off p- eak hours might be questionable. Therefore we rate the likely effectiveness of the installation of these signs as MODERATE. The cost associated with the installation, excluding annual maintenance costs, is around $ 4, 000 per sign for a total of $8, 000 for two signs, one in each direction. Packet Pg. 54  3. 1. d 8. 3 Alternative 3 — Install Chicanes on Country Club Avenue This alternative calls for installing chicanes? on Country Avenue in the tangent section between Wedgewood Lane and Mooney Road SE as illustrated in Figure 8. The purpose of the chicanes is to negatively influence traffic sped by forcing drivers to slow down due to one -lane geometry and S -curve shape of the resulting travel way. Because of the reduction in speed forced by roadway geometry, it is envisioned that some drivers who use Country Club Avenue as a short cut in order to save time will Lind other alternatives thus resulting in the reduction in traffic volume on this road as well. Numerous studies conducted around the United States have found chicanes, if properly installed, are effective in reducing both traffic speed and traffic volumes on residential streets. Based on the synthesis of the results of these studies, we are estimating that traffic volume on Country Club Avenue will be reduced by about 50 percent and the operating speed will change appreciably because the straight portion of Country Club Avenue will physically be turned into an S - curved section forcing remaining vehicles to slow down. We therefore rate the predicted effectiveness of this alternative as HIGH. The cost to install the chicanes is estimated at 20, 000. x Chicane it a form oftmt£ c calming measure which narrows a street to form S- shaped curves using prolmdmna"i islands. xx Packet Pg. 55  2 The implementation of this alternative should be accompanied by removing all lane markings — i. e., the yellow centerline pavement striping and the white edge markings — throughout Country Club Avenue. In addition, the right turn radius leading into County Club Avenue from Mooncy Road NE should be reduced and the pavement in the area reclaimed by landscaping as illustrated in Appendix Figure D -1. The idea is to make Country Club Avenue look like a residential street and drive like a residential street. 8. 4 Alternative 4— Install Speed Tables on Country Club Avenue Implementation of this alternative will involve installing speed tables in the tangent section of Country Club Avenue between Wedgewood Lane and Mooney Road SE as illustrated in Figure 9. In the United States, most local agencies implement speed tables with a height of 3 to 4 inches and a travel length of 22 feet Speed tables generally consist of 10 font plateau with G toot approaches on either side that can be straight, parabolic or sinusoidal in profile. m0N the reduction of operating speeds depends on the spacing of the speed tables. To achieve a reduction of operating speed on Country Club Avenue to around 25 mph, a spacing of 200 to 250 feet is recommended. This will result in approximately 12 to 15 speed tables along this stretch of Country Club Avenue. Studies of long term performance of speed tables around the United Status have round that properly designed speed tables are effective in reducing average speed by as much as 30 percent. Similarly, reduction in volume has also been documemed particularly when the speed tables were installed in areas where parallel routes exist for affected vehicles to divert to. The predicted effectiveness of speed tables in reducing speed and