General Road and Highway Discussion - Printable Version +- Waterloo Region Connected (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com) +-- Forum: Waterloo Region Works (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=14) +--- Forum: Transportation and Infrastructure (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=25) +--- Thread: General Road and Highway Discussion (/showthread.php?tid=335) Pages:
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RE: General Road and Highway Discussion - Bytor - 05-23-2024 (05-23-2024, 03:14 PM)bravado Wrote: They announced at the Franklin roundabout meeting last month that the new standard for crossings are 12m away from the circle vs 6m today. Not just longer trips but, but greater risk of being hit by a car, and by a car going faster, with it double the distance away. RE: General Road and Highway Discussion - danbrotherston - 05-23-2024 (05-23-2024, 03:14 PM)bravado Wrote: They announced at the Franklin roundabout meeting last month that the new standard for crossings are 12m away from the circle vs 6m today. Lol...they're also wrong...like they'll explain the 12 meter standard using all the right statements--that there needs to be enough room for a vehicle to stop outside the circle to not block traffic, but to wait for people crossing--and while we all like to joke about oversized SUVs...even the largest vehicles in Canada are not 12 meters long. Ahh...sometimes I miss going to those meeting...it was fun to have to care about technical details... RE: General Road and Highway Discussion - danbrotherston - 05-23-2024 (05-23-2024, 03:31 PM)Bytor Wrote:(05-22-2024, 04:09 PM)Acitta Wrote: Ottawa Street in Kitchener to undergo $10M worth of construction upgrades Nah...it's fine...the region has finally seen the light and been willing to give pedestrians and cyclists *checks notes* some paint. RE: General Road and Highway Discussion - the_conestoga_guy - 05-24-2024 Finally tracked down the construction drawings: https://icreate7.esolutionsgroup.ca/11111028_RegionofWaterloo/en/living-here/resources/Documents/Future-Construction/DC_05796_Drawings.pdf Some extra things that weren't mentioned earlier:
RE: General Road and Highway Discussion - KevinL - 05-24-2024 That's a huge PDF, my laptop struggled with it a bit. Interesting to see how bus stops will shift with the changes at both the F-H and Westmount intersections. Also some property takings and other adjustments. RE: General Road and Highway Discussion - timc - 05-24-2024 (05-23-2024, 02:13 PM)Bjays93 Wrote: It's all the more frustrating because the answer is so simple, just move the pedestrian crossings slightly away from the intersections and maybe add some flashing pedestrian crossing signs and all is well, but no, that's far too much work to figure out. I don't think there is one answer to the roundabout dilemma. But tightening the angles for vehicles would be the one that I would be looking at. The roundabouts we have are designed to keep vehicles moving as quickly as possible, which creates extra danger for pedestrians. Moving the crossings back gives drivers exiting the roundabout more acceleration room before they hit the crossing. RE: General Road and Highway Discussion - ac3r - 05-24-2024 The ideal solution would be to just make pedestrian tunnels underneath them, rather than try to alter the roundabout design. That would allow traffic to continue at relatively useful speed whilst protecting pedestrians. Alas, that would cost money and we don't like to spend that if we don't have to. RE: General Road and Highway Discussion - danbrotherston - 05-25-2024 (05-24-2024, 03:31 PM)timc Wrote:(05-23-2024, 02:13 PM)Bjays93 Wrote: It's all the more frustrating because the answer is so simple, just move the pedestrian crossings slightly away from the intersections and maybe add some flashing pedestrian crossing signs and all is well, but no, that's far too much work to figure out. Indeed, in fact this "simple" answer is very anti-pedestrian, although I'm sure that's not what Bjays93 intended. Moving the crosswalks further out from the roundabout makes it more dangerous for pedestrians because drivers are moving faster, it is also more inconvenient because now you must walk further, and also increases the chances that pedestrians won't cross at the crossing. There isn't one answer, in the Netherlands, even on relatively major arterial roads (yes even four lane roads) most roundabouts have level crossings but they have a large number of design features that make the VASTLY safer than the roundabouts in Canada. However all of these features amount to prioritising safety over the smooth flowing of cars. I wrote about it in detail here: https://thecutstack.substack.com/p/roundabouts-are-bad-but-they-dont What I learned when this roundabout was discussed was that roundabouts are a useful tool for traffic planners because they increase the traffic flow in their traffic models. They are easy to sell for traffic engineers because they can improve safety, but it is VERY MUCH a non-goal for the engineers involved. Now yes, some Dutch roundabouts have overpasses, but this is not really the norm. And at least in the city I'm in, more common is to actually use vehicle underpasses so that some or much of the traffic can bypass the circle. At least two major roundabouts here have the straight through movement for the arterial road bypassed in a tunnel. But I think this comes back to the Dutch engineering practice of unrolling things... RE: General Road and Highway Discussion - Thenewsroom99 - 05-26-2024 (05-23-2024, 02:57 AM)danbrotherston Wrote:I live in the area of Westmount and Ottawa and a lot of neighbours around me are very upset about the roundabout. For the most part, everyone agrees that Ottawa from Westmount to Fischer-Hallman is in rough shape and needs to be rebuilt. But, given how dense the area is with pedestrians and people who are relying on cycling and transit to get around, it really does feel like the Region once again prioritized vehicles and traffic throughput over the safety of everyone else.(05-22-2024, 09:40 PM)dtkvictim Wrote: Coming from downtown. But I forgot, with the Avalon Pl bridge going in it will make the Laurentian trail accessible without going through any of the roundabouts or on busy roads. The original traffic study (if one was done, I can't find the results) would be from 2018/2019 when the project was first proposed and the PCC was held. https://icreate7.esolutionsgroup.ca/11111028_RegionofWaterloo/en/living-here/resources/Documents/Future-Construction/DC_05796_InfoPackage.pdf Did the Project Team consider improvements to the existing signalized intersection of Ottawa Street and Westmount Road? Why was a roundabout selected instead? The existing signalized intersection is a significant traffic bottleneck with severe levels of congestion and queues at various times of day. The Project Team considered several signalized intersection improvement concepts, ranging from minor geometric improvements to major expansions. A traffic analysis of various alternatives indicated that even with a major expansion of the intersection, the underlying system bottlenecks would prevent any meaningful improvement in the performance of the intersection. Additionally, pedestrian crossing distances and transfer distances for GRT users would increase substantially. In contrast, a detailed traffic analysis indicated that the intersection performance could be increased substantially through implementation of a two-lane roundabout. If the data is 5+ years old, I'd say that a lot has changed since then. I also reached out to Jason, the Project Manager for the project and asked if enhanced safety features would be introduced at Ottawa/Westmount given the number of pedestrians in the area, two busy plazas, two schools, etc. My email was forwarded to someone on the Engineering team who sent me a standard, boilerplate response and did not address my questions: Currently there are plans to install flashing lights at four existing roundabout crossings, which may help pedestrians cross, but studies will have to be undertaken on their effectiveness before they are implemented at all crossings. The Highway Traffic Act (HTA) will also be have to be updated Provincially before things can be finalized. Please note that the Region has installed Level 2 Pedestrian Crossovers, Type D, which constitute regulatory signs and pavement markings, at all roundabouts on both the approach and leaving legs at all roundabouts within the Region. Motorists are required by law to stop for pedestrians when they are crossing the roundabout. If motorists are not stopping at a location, please contact the Waterloo Regional Police Service to consider enforcement of the signs via the following link: https://www.wrps.on.ca/en/services-reporting/online-reporting-.aspx I've reached out to my local Regional Counsellors but I doubt anything will change. RE: General Road and Highway Discussion - ac3r - 05-26-2024 The suggestion to call the police to suggest they enforce the law is ridiculous. Just design better roads. RE: General Road and Highway Discussion - SammyOES - 05-26-2024 (05-26-2024, 03:09 PM)ac3r Wrote: The suggestion to call the police to suggest they enforce the law is ridiculous. Just design better roads. Yeah, that’s just plain ridiculous. The police will straight up tell Council that they can’t stop things like local speeding, running stop signs, etc. because they’d need to park a full time police officer at every location to have any hope of actually making a difference. RE: General Road and Highway Discussion - the_conestoga_guy - 05-27-2024 New project up on the EngageWR website: https://www.engagewr.ca/victoria-street-modifications "The Region of Waterloo is looking to make modifications to Victoria Street in Kitchener near the future Kitchener Central Transit Hub." "This project is focused on Victoria Street North (Regional Road 55) from King Street West (Regional Road 15) to Weber Street West (Regional Road 8)." Their preferred design alternative is illustrated on slide 47: https://ehq-production-canada.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/068a2ece9f40bb3a36774dbd3968caa411bb5506/original/1716813219/315637487640b76c9260f820647ba83b_FINAL_-_PCC_%28With_Text%29_Presentation_-_Victoria_Street_Modifications_%28King_Street_West_to_Weber_Street_West%29_-_2024-04-20.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4KKNQAKIOR7VAOP4%2F20240527%2Fca-central-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20240527T194107Z&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=e989e0aedcb4e2f7175a291b2973b7cc82a5fdc244566ca2ee2b0c5f6afb4534 RE: General Road and Highway Discussion - the_conestoga_guy - 05-27-2024 (05-27-2024, 03:55 PM)the_conestoga_guy Wrote: New project up on the EngageWR website: One small thing I noticed from their proposed design is that it omits the driveway entrance to the proposed parking lot (present homeless encampment) at the corner of Weber. It was originally shown in the latest available drawings of the transit hub. https://ehq-production-canada.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/cba3a7167dabde82289fd70c7c02bc3d86adfeeb/original/1680203929/5167c3f509b3b25a79814768420c1fd6_KVTH_-_Project_Update_Drawing_Package_March_2023.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4KKNQAKIOR7VAOP4%2F20240527%2Fca-central-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20240527T202037Z&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=b44e8f15f45bd33db2fe105b693b5b9d4316aff8ad7716e21399f5bc2b0ee5e6 I assume that the Region's recent acquisition of the neighbouring property has allowed them to either redesign the parking lot, or to abandon the lot idea completely. RE: General Road and Highway Discussion - Bytor - 05-27-2024 (05-23-2024, 02:13 PM)Bjays93 Wrote: It's all the more frustrating because the answer is so simple, just move the pedestrian crossings slightly away from the intersections The solution is to move the crosswalks farther away so the vehicles are either removing faster after leaving the roundabout or have yet to slow down as much on approach, so the driver is less able to spot a a pedestrian in the crosswalk and then hits them with that much more force, increasing the chance of serious injury or death, which hits 50% at 50km/h? How is that the simple answer?!? RE: General Road and Highway Discussion - bravado - 05-27-2024 Hell might be freezing over but Doug Craig wants another pedestrian bridge across the Grand and it's a solid idea: https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/regional-councillor-craig-calling-for-another-pedestrian-bridge-over-grand-river-in-cambridge/article_3148aa3a-8c47-59d6-8b77-232a42f20a22.html Quote:A second pedestrian crossing over the Grand River is being considered for Cambridge, with safety concerns associated with the CN train bridge behind Galt Collegiate Institute at the forefront. |