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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAdmin Order 58-96-01 $B- Cf~. of Administrative Order of the Traffic Engineer of the City of Eugene, Oregon Establishing Two-Way Traffic on Jefferson Street between 1st Avenue and 6th Avenue The Traffic Engineer of the City of Eugene finds that: A. The Eugene Code provides that the City Manager or the manager's designee shall exercise specific traffic duties by administrative action, including: the implementation of ordinances, resolutions, and motions of the Council and his or her own orders by installing traffic control devices; designating the direction of traffic flow, establishing, maintaining, removing or altering all traffic control areas and traffic control devices including traffic control signals, signs, and pavement markings, and areas where drivers of vehicles shall not make left turns; B. The Whiteaker Plan was adopted on August 3, 1994 by Ordinance 19978. The Transportation Element of the plan addresses traffic circulation and through traffic in the neighborhood through the policies and implementation strategies. . Policy Number 5: "Maintain and improve the operation of the street system to facilitate circulation within the neighborhood." . Implementation Strategy 5.2: "Change Jefferson Street between 6th Avenue and 1st Avenue to two-way operation." . Policy Number 6: "Encourage through truck traffic within the Whiteaker neighborhood to use designated truck routes and discourage the use of residential streets." C. 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue are designated truck routes. D. City staffhas evaluated traffic conditions in the area and determined that two-way traffic operation on Jefferson Street will improve the efficient use of the Jefferson Street by the public, benefit the use of abutting property, and increase access to the area by emergency vehicles. E. On December 28, 1995 the Public Utility Commission of Oregon issued Order No. 95-1394. This order approved the alteration of the railroad-highway grade crossing at Jefferson Street and the Southern Pacific Lines, Valley Main Line, Siding, and Spur tracks to accommodate two-way operation on Jefferson Street. NOW, THEREFORE, Based on the above findings, and pursuant to the authority contained in Eugene Code 5.040, the Traffic Engineer of the City of Eugene orders that: 1. Jefferson Street between 1st Avenue and 6th Avenue shall be a two-way street. 2. Trucks entering Jefferson Street from the northerly driveway of625 W 4th Avenue (Grain Millers, Inc.) shall turn right. Dated this p~)lJ" Day of January, 1996 Administrative Order Number 58-96-01 Administrative Order of the Traffic Engineer of the City of Eugene, Oregon Establishing Two-Way Traffic on Jefferson Street between 1st Avenue and 6th Avenue Criteria for Administrative Action The administrative action of the Traffic Engineer of the City of Eugene, Oregon, establishing two- way traffic on Jefferson Street between 1 st Avenue and 6th Avenue is based on the following criteria: (a) Traffic engineering principles and traffic investigations: . Roadway and intersection capacity: two-way operation will not cause capacity problems on the roadway or at any of the intersections. . Safety: In the six years from 1989 through 1994, there were 26 reported accidents on Jefferson Street between 1st Avenue and 6th Avenue. Fifteen of the accidents occurred at 6th Avenue. The two-way operation may result in a slight increase in traffic accidents, as it requires motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians to observe traffic coming from two directions. Traffic conditions and accidents will be monitored to determine if any changes are necessary to increase the safety of the two-way street. . Transit: Two-way operation will increase possible transit options. . Traffic signs, markings and signals: Motorists will be informed of changes with appropriate signing. Signs, markings and signals will be added, removed, or modified as needed to comply with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. . Intersection Control: Stop controls will be installed for northbound Jefferson Street at 5th Avenue, making it a four-way stop. A Stop control will be installed for northbound Jefferson Street at 1st Avenue, making it a two-way stop. . Railroad crossing: Southern Pacific will move the crossing gate at the northeast corner of the crossing to the southeast corner. . Roadway lighting: The street light pole on the west side of Jefferson Street south of the railroad tracks will be moved to the east side of the street, to provide room for the relocation of the driveway from Grain Millers, Inc. . Access control: Trucks entering Jefferson Street from the north driveway of625 W 4th Avenue (Grain Millers, Inc.) will be required to make a right turn. . Speed zoning: No changes will be made to the existing Speed 30 zone. . Environmental effects: Two-way operation will have negligible environmental effects. (b) Standards, limitations, and rules promulgated by the Oregon Transportation Commission or the Oregon Public Utility Commission. . Oregon Public Utility Commission Order No. 95-1394 (December 28, 1995) approved the alteration of the railroad-highway grade crossing to allow for two-way operation. (c) Other recognized traffic control standards. . Signing and markings will comply with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and ODOT's Sign Policy and Guidelines for the State Highway System. (d) The city's adopted transportation-related plans and policies. . The Whiteaker Plan advocates changing Jefferson Street to two-way operation (Transportation Element, Implementation Strategy 5.2) . Jefferson Street between 1st Avenue and 5th Avenue is shown as having on-street bike lanes in the Eugene Bikeways Master Plan. The two existing southbound bike lanes will be changed to one northbound and one southbound bike lane when the street is made two-way. (e) Existing state and local laws regulating use of public ways. . Provisions of the 1993-94 Oregon Vehicle Code will apply when Jefferson Street is operating as a two-way street. (f) The efficient use of the public way by the public. . Two-way operation will allow the public to use Jefferson Street more efficiently by reducing travel distances for some trips. (g) The use of abutting property. . Businesses and residences on the west side of Jefferson Street will have improved access to their property. Access to Washington-Jefferson park, on the east side of Jefferson Street, will also be improved. (h) The intensity of use of the street by vehicles and pedestrians. . The existing ADT is 2,200 . No bicycle or pedestrian counts have been done. Two-way operation will result in changes in traffic patterns, but ADT will remain about the same, as Washington Street will also become a two-way street. The creation of a northbound bike lane will result in increased bicycle use. Pedestrian volumes, both crossing and walking parallel to the street, won't be affected by the two-way traffic pattern. (i) The physical condition and characteristics of the street and abutting property. . Jefferson Street is a 34 foot wide asphalt street. The one-way configuration of two southbound travel lanes and two southbound bike lanes will be changed to one travel lane and one bike lane in each direction. Parking issues are addressed in (n), below. . W ashington-J efferson Park abuts Jefferson on the east side between 1 st Avenue and 6th Avenue. The property on the west side is a mix of apartments and industrial businesses. G) Emergencies. . Two-way operation will provide more flexibility for routing of emergency vehicles. Response times will stay the same in most cases, but will decrease in certain instances. (k) The public health, safety, and welfare. . The two-way operation will promote the public health, safety, and welfare, as it facilitates emergency vehicle access. . The two-way operation may result in a slight increase in traffic accidents, as it requires motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians to observe traffic coming from two directions. . An owner ofa Jefferson Street company has stated that the two-way operation will result in more business for her firm. (1) Special events of community interest including parades and public gatherings. . Organizers of events held in Washington-Jefferson Park ocasionally request a partial closure of Jefferson Street. These half-street closures are easily accommodated on a one-way street. Two-way operation will make a half- street closure more difficult, as it will require both a lane closure and a detour plan. (m) Construction within or adjacent to the street. . Two-way operation will complicate traffic control plans around construction sites in the street. Construction adjacent to the street may be facilitated, as construction vehicles could approach the site from either direction. (n) Establishing conditions upon the use of parking. . Except for two parking bays on the east side of the street, parking is prohibited on Jefferson Street between 1st Avenue and 5th Avenue. Parking is permitted on the west side of Jefferson Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue. There will be no changes to parking facilities, other than to reverse the direction of permitted parking in the parking bays.