Admin Order 58-99-05 - Laserfiche WebLink

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There was one reported accident on Stewart Road in the five year period from January 1, 1993 through December 31, 1997. The probability of accidents will decrease with the reduction in traffic volume and a likely reduction in vehicle speeds. Closing a street can have negative safety impacts, including: 1) an increase in emergency vehicle response time; 2) the barricade could be hit by a motorist; and 3) the increased traffic at other intersections could increase the probability of accidents at those intersections if capacity is significantly affected. In the case of the Stewart Road closure, the anticipated effects on safety are slight, as 1) the closure was reviewed and approved by the Fire Marshall; 2) the barricade and all associated signing and marking, is in compliance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Device (MUTCD) standards; and 3) as mentioned under Intersection Capacity, the traffic diverted to the 11 th & Bailey Hill and the 11 th & Bertelsen intersections will have only minor impacts on the capacity of each intersection. (2) Traffic investigations: . 24-hour traffic volume counts were taken in September 1995. These showed pre- closure traffic volumes of 1,564 vehicles per day (vpd) east of Bertelsen Road and 1,359 vpd west of Bailey Hill Road. Six-hour manual counts done during the April 1998 Origin and Destination Study suggest somewhat lower volumes of 1,200 vpd east of Bertelsen and 820 vpd west of Bailey Hill. Traffic volumes with the street closed were 180 vpd at Bailey Hill Road and 970 vpd at Bertelsen Road. . An Origin and Destination Study, done for six hours on April 14, 1998, showed that over 60% of the Stewart Road traffic at the Bailey Hill Road end is through traffic. Most of these motorists would not be inconvenienced by a closure as their trip length would be the same if they used 11th Avenue. As discussed in (a)(I), above, it is estimated that the closure results in 4.5 extra vehicle-hours of travel time per weekday. . Vehicle Speeds: Included in almost all citizen requests have been complaints of vehicles speeding on the unimproved section of Stewart Road. The problem is actually one of a perception of speeding rather than actual speeding. A speed study conducted in 1993 showed an average speed of23 miles per hour, which is lower than most residential streets and is about what was expected, given the road's condition. However, it is the road's condition which gives the impression that vehicles are speeding; vehicles traveling on the rough surface create more noise and raise dust, creating the perception of higher speeds. . Accidents: Stewart Road does not have an accident problem, as there was only one accident for the five period from January 1, 1993 through December 31, Administrative Order 58-99-05, Findings