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Office
of Transportation Memorandum
August 6, 2003 To: Honorable
Mayor and
Members of the City Council From:
Weldon
Rucker, City Manager TRAFFIC
FLOW STUDIES-AFTER OPERATION OF THE NEW TRAFFIC SIGNALS ON TELEGRAPH
AVENUE STATUS As
the City Council will recall, there was significant debate within the
adjoining neighborhoods, and at Berkeley City Council meetings, about the
potential design, operation and impacts of two new traffic signals on
Telegraph Avenue at Stuart Street and at Russell Street. City
Council supported the proposed design and operation of the traffic signals
put forward by the Office of Transportation, after considerable public
consultations. At the same time, Council also formalized a promise
made by staff to conduct follow-up traffic studies to measure the impacts
of these traffic signals six to nine months after their activation. Traffic studies were conducted in the spring, prior to the end of the UCB Spring semester, and the key results are attached. In the opinion of staff, the impacts of these signals have been minimal and the benefits of their operation have significantly outweighed any disbenefits. For instance, traffic diversion onto Stuart Street, east of Telegraph, has resulted in an increase of 38 westbound vehicles and 54 eastbound vehicles in the morning peak hour. In the afternoon peak hour, on the same section of Stuart, the westbound flow actually decreased by 38 vehicles, while eastbound increased by 34. Concerns had also been raised about the possible impacts of the traffic signals on vehicle speeds on the side streets. The “before” and “after” speed profiles on Stuart Street west of Telegraph are almost identical, while generally traffic volumes decreased on this same block. Another interesting impact of the traffic signals on Telegraph at Russell is the potential increase in pedestrian crossing activity at Russell. Even though the “before” pedestrian volume is only anecdotal, staff had observed minimal pedestrian activity across Telegraph when conducting other studies and observations at this intersection. After signal installation at Russell, the combined pedestrian crossing volumes for both the morning and afternoon peaks are similar to the pedestrian crossing volumes at Stuart. Some pedestrians who used to cross at Stuart or at Ashby could now be crossing at Russell, if it is a more direct or convenient route. As City Council may also recall, for safety reasons, staff instituted permanent northbound and southbound “right turn only” at all times on Benvenue at Ashby. This safety measure has proven to be beneficial, but could have redirected northbound and southbound approach volumes onto Hillegass at Ashby. As one would predict, there has been a minimal or modest increase on Hillegass approaching Ashby. During the morning peak hour, the southbound approach is about the same, an increase of three vehicles per hour, but the northbound approach increased by 38 vehicles in the hour. In the afternoon peak hour, the southbound approach increased by 43 vehicles in the hour, and northbound increased by six. The single biggest increase in traffic volumes in the area seems to be southbound Hillegass, south of Ashby. An increase of 72 vehicles was recorded in the afternoon peak hour. This is likely partially attributable to the southbound “right turn only” on Benvenue at Ashby. Some motorists wishing to continue south may be turning right onto Ashby and then left onto Hillegass. Based upon the results of these “before” and “after” comparisons, the Office of Transportation is of the opinion that the current traffic controls should continue to operate as they are currently designed and configured. Because of Caltrans processes, competing priorities and staff vacancies in Traffic Engineering, there are other initiatives associated with the Willard/LeConte traffic management plan which are proceeding very slowly: upgrades to the Telegraph at Derby traffic signals; Santa Rosa lights on Ashby at Benvenue and at Regent; and potential special signals on Ashby at Hillegass. On the positive side, designs are moving forward for the Council-approved five new permanent traffic circles in the LeConte neighborhood. Detailed designs should be available for distribution to the immediate neighbors in the next month, and staff have been directed to process a construction contract as expeditiously as possible. We will be distributing this update to a variety of interests, including members of the Transportation Commission, neighborhood associations and key contacts (including the BDRS), and a variety of internal departmental contacts. It will be sent to you electronically as well for ease of distribution. It will also be posted on the City’s website, on the Transportation pages. If you have comments or questions about this memorandum, please contact Peter Hillier, Assistant City Manager for Transportation by e-mail at phillier@ci.berkeley.ca.us, or by phone at (510) 981-7010.
For more information regarding City of Berkeley transportation policies and programs, please contact us at (510) 981-7010 or via email at transportation@ci.berkeley.ca.us. |
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