TAMRMS#: B06
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Bylaw 4/2021 - Amendment to Traffic Bylaw 18/2005 - Second and Third Readings
Presented by: Dean Schick, Manager, Transportation Services
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RECOMMENDED MOTIONS
recommendation
1) That the non-statutory Public Hearing on Bylaw 04/2021 be closed.
2) That Bylaw 04/2021 be read a second time.
3) That Bylaw 04/2021 be read a third time.
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PURPOSE OF REPORT
The purpose of this report is to present amendments to the Traffic Bylaw 18/2005 that reflect recommended changes to posted speeds, school and playground zone time periods and dangerous goods routing information.
ALIGNMENT TO PRIORITIES IN COUNCIL’S STRATEGIC PLAN
1. Strategic Priority #3: Building a Transportation Network: Integrated transportation systems.
Complete the implementation of the approved Transportation Safety Plan programs and projects.
ALIGNMENT TO LEVELS OF SERVICE DELIVERY
N/A
ALIGNMENT TO COUNCIL DIRECTION OR MANDATORY STATUTORY PROVISION
On February 18, 2020, Council passed the following Motion(s):
CB-20-023
That the “Transportation Network Speed Limit Review” report, provided as an attachment to the February 10, 2020 agenda report entitled “Transportation Network Speed Study”, be received as information.
That $20,000 be approved from the Stabilization Fund to enable Administration to hire a consultant to conduct focus groups with residents to gather feedback on the Transportation Network Speed Limit Review recommendations and potential Traffic Bylaw amendment.
That Administration draft and present amendments of Traffic Bylaw 18/2005 to the Community Growth & Infrastructure Committee in June, for consideration of recommending First Reading and to set a non-statutory public hearing for the Traffic Bylaw update in July 2020.
On May 4, 2020, Council passed the following Motion(s):
AR-20-158
That a deadline extension for the following item be approved: Time Extension Request - Traffic Bylaw 18/2005 Amendments be extended to January 2021.
On January 25, 2021, Council passed the following Motion(s):
BL-21-004
That the “Public Consultation Report: City of St. Albert Traffic Network Speed Review” report, provided as an attachment to the January 18, 2021 Community Growth and Infrastructure Standing Committee agenda report entitled “Bylaw 18/2005 Traffic Bylaw Amendments”, be received as information.
That Bylaw 04/2021, being amendment 16 to the Traffic Bylaw 18/2005, be read a first time.
That a Non-Statutory Public Hearing to allow residents / stakeholders to be heard by Council with respect to proposed amending Bylaw 04/2021, be scheduled for February 16, 2021.
That subject to passage of Bylaw 4/2021, $230,000 be approved to implement pedestrian crossing improvements, field signage installation, and to carry out public messaging for these Traffic Bylaw amendments, funded from the Traffic Safety Reserve.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
As per the background and information in the January 18, 2021 CGISC Agenda Report (distributed to Council at first reading of Amending Bylaw 04/2021) Administration has conducted a formal detailed engineering review of posted speeds that resulted in recommendations of changes to posted speed limits. These recommendations were presented in a community resident survey. Feedback received during the public engagement has been used to inform on the final recommendations.
In addition, by way of follow up to the January 18, 2021 presentation at the Community Growth and Infrastructure Committee, Administration actioned Committee members’ requests for review and consideration of possible further amendments related to School Zone time periods. Administration sent email communications to the St. Albert School Boards (Catholic, Public, Francophone and also included Sturgeon School Division) identifying the work in progress of the Bylaw review, background speed reports and current School Zone setups with a request for comment and feedback on the topic of whether the current school zone times (8 am to 4 pm; school days) are felt to be appropriate and reflective of school site needs. Feedback was received from the Public, Catholic, and Sturgeon school divisions, with no response received from the Francophone school board. In light of that feedback and upon further review of the data on traffic volumes near school sites, Administration recommends an amendment at second reading of Bylaw 04/2021 as follows (NOTE: a member of Council would have to move this amendment after second reading of Bylaw 04/2021 is on the table):
MOVED that Bylaw 04/2021 be amended by striking out Section 6 and replacing it with the following:
6. Subsections 17(1) and 17(2) are repealed, and the following substituted for them:
17(1) A School Zone’s hours are from 07:30 to 16:00 on each day during which a nearby school is in session.
17(2) A Playground Zone’s hours are daily from 08:00 to 20:00 from April 1 of the year to October 31 of the same year
The proposed change of School Zone start time from the current 08:00 on school days to 07:30 on school days does not correspond to any direct request by any School Division, but rather represents a compromise position between requests that are not consistent with each other. The exact wording of responses received from the Public, Catholic and Sturgeon School Divisions are set out in the “Stakeholder Communications and Engagement” section of this report.
The remaining recommendations for consideration of 2nd and 3rd reading are consistent with the previously presented reports and backgrounds and are summarized as the following:
1) Reduce neighbourhood roadways to 40 km/h. Neighbourhood roadways being all collector and local roads in the City (not arterial roadways).
2) Establish a Time of Day for Playground Zones Daily 8 am - 8 pm, from April 1 to October 31
3) Increase the following arterial roadway segments to 60 km/h:
a. Bellerose Dr: Evergreen Dr to N Limit
b. Sir Winston Churchill Ave: Levasseur Rd to Riel Dr
c. Dawson Rd: Giroux Rd to McKenney Ave
d. Sturgeon Rd: Beacon Cres (S) to Boudreau Rd
e. Sir Winston Churchill Ave: Poirier Ave to N Limit
f. Poirier Ave: Sir Winston Churchill Ave to Campbell Rd
4) Increase the following arterial roadway segment to 70km/h
a. Meadowview Dr from RR 260 to the west limit.
5) Remove the following short 30 km/h sections of roadway
a. Cunningham Rd: South of Sycamore to Stanley Dr
b. Sturgeon Road: Burns St to Bishop St
c. Mission Ave: South of Malmo Ave to North of St Vital Ave
d. Meadowview Dr; west of RR tracks
e. Grosvenor Blvd: Gaylord Pl to south of Grenfell Ave
f. Grenfell Ave: Gatewood Ave to Greenwhich Cres
6) Update Dangerous Goods Routing information, as relevant to “Time Designated” routes and requested Bylaw changes from Alberta Transportation.
7) Integrate existing School Bus Guidelines into the Traffic Bylaw that formally identify required permitting from the City prior to school bus routing on local roadways.
8) Document “clean up” of previously deleted references to special event banners on the pedestrian overpass (on St. Albert Trail).
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT
Within scope of work of the original engineering review (2019), comparable municipalities were contacted to find out relative information on triggers and processes followed for performing speed reviews, current practice and speed settings, and any planned changes or influence on speeds. Fourteen (14) Canadian municipalities were contacted and an online survey performed to capture current state and practices - with all information of responses within the report.
*Update - Administration has also reached out to municipalities that have enacted reduced speeds to gather information on operational impacts, public opinion or any other “offerings” of feedback that may be provided to St. Albert with experience and results of reducing neighbourhood speeds. At the time of writing this report; feedback had not been received.
Results of the engineering review and preliminary recommendations were shared through an internal stakeholder workshop in November 2019 and with a follow up survey of the City with representatives from various departments including: Transit, Municipal Enforcement, RCMP, Public Works, Strategic Services / Communication, Parks and Recreation and Engineering. Feedback received from internal stakeholders is captured within the report with the exception of an update related to Transit operational considerations, identified in the “Program or Service” Impact section.
Administration completed a public engagement and survey on proposed changes to city speed limits. Although anticipated for completion in early 2020, the engagement was impacted and delayed by Covid-19 and completed in September / October 2020. A consulting firm, Politikos Research, was acquired to support the City in the development of engagement materials and host engagement activities, including receiving, compiling and reporting on results of feedback received. Methods of engagement included:
- Website developed with all background information on the Speed Study and recommendations, inclusive of an explanatory video and FAQ
o This website had a total of 3,862 visitors from September 7 to October 15.
- Two (2) surveys:
o Online survey (held from September 7 to October 2)
o Postcard mail out
- Virtual Town Hall meeting (September 16, 2020): open to all public
- Virtual Focus Group meeting (September 23, 2020): open to invited guests of representation from Committees such as - Community Services Advisory Committee, Policing Committee, Seniors Advisory Committee, Youth Advisory Committee and Environmental Advisory Committee
In total, the online survey was completed 3,016 times and there were 5,281 postcard surveys returned. The full “Public Consultation Report: City of St. Albert Traffic Network Speed Review” is provided as an attachment to this report.
Following the January 18, 2021 presentation to the Committee, Administration reached out to St. Albert School Boards to obtain feedback on current school zone time periods and any requests or considerations for amendments. Email communication was sent on January 26, 2021 and feedback was received from the Public and Catholic School Boards, summarized as:
1) Catholic School Board - Impact of approximately 11 school sites
a. “To ensure that the School Zones cover all students as they walk to and from school or are boarding buses, we suggest an effective start time of 7:00 a.m.
b. This would allow those students who walk to several of our schools to have the safety benefit of reduced speeds when they are walking to the school for a 7:53a.m. - 8:00 a.m. start.
c. The current 4:00 p.m. end time is a little close for students at one of our sites which has the latest dismissal time of 3:40 p.m. with buses departing at 3:50 p.m. Although the current time of 4:00 works, we would certainly support the proposed 8:00 end time if School Zones are re-designated as Playground Zones.”
2) Public School Board: - Impact of approximately 13 school sites
a. “Not all the schools have taken the opportunity to reply but to date no school has raised a concern nor suggested an alternative. Conversely the schools that have replied agreed “...the current school zone times (8 am to 4 pm; school days) are felt to be appropriate and reflective of school site needs...”.”
3) Sturgeon School Board: - Impact of 1 school site
a. “We were able to get to connect with Sturgeon Heights regarding the school zone times. The school has no concerns with the current time zone being from 8am to 4pm. These times seem to be appropriate to meet the needs of our school location.”
Based upon the above feedback and in consideration of traffic data captured in vicinity to school sites, Administration has recommended an update to the Bylaw to reflect a School Zone Time from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm on days that a nearby school is in session.
IMPLICATIONS OF RECOMMENDATION(S)
Financial:
The proposed recommendations of Bylaw amendments would result in the following estimated costs, approved by Council on January 25, 2021 contingent upon Bylaw 24/2021 being passed:
• Pedestrian crossing improvements: $150,000
• Speed sign changes (field - order and install): $60,000
• Playground zone sign changes: $5,000
• Public notification / messaging: $15,000
• Total estimated funds to implement recommendations = $230,000
The above costs of implementation are proposed to be funded through the Traffic Safety Reserve which at the end of November, 2020 had a remaining balance of $230,000.
Legal / Risk:
Although not mandated for implementation, application of the Canadian Guidelines for Establishing Posted Speed Limits provides a transparent methodology using industry practice for consistent evaluation that accounts for risk factors and results in appropriate recommendations for posted speeds to minimize liability and risk.
As per Section 17 of the Dangerous Goods Transportation and Handling Act, a DG Route Bylaw implemented by the local authority and approved by the Minister will cease to have force 5 years after its commencement, or after the effective date of a renewal of approval. Alberta Transportation will now require existing municipal DG Route Bylaws be current with Alberta Transportation’s guidelines before the approval will be renewed.
Program or Service:
Any influence to travel times can significantly influence Transit services; however, on January 20, 2020, Council approved motion CB-20-011; “That Administration implement the transit service level revisions, effective September 2020, as presented at the January 13, 2020 Community Growth & Infrastructure Standing Committee meeting.”
The results of this motion and approved service level change allow Transit to accommodate the recommended Traffic Bylaw amendments, with no operational costs associated.
Organizational:
It is anticipated that, subject to Bylaw amendment approval, field implementation of all posted speed changes would require 3 - 4 months with existing resources used and assuming other continued activities / sign work would occur during this period. No additional resources are being requested for the performance of this work.
ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED
If Council does not wish to support the recommendation(s), the following alternatives could be considered:
Alternative 1. Council may receive the information and report package and direct Administration to not draft any further reporting or recommendations to amend the Traffic Bylaw as related to the Transportation Network Speed Study report. If this alternative is chosen, Bylaw 4/2021 would be amended to remove proposed changes aligned to posted speeds, and only propose changes relevant to Dangerous Goods Routing, and document “clean up”. Administration would amend the Bylaw for a future Council presentation and re-consideration for 1st reading of the updated amendments.
Alternative 2. Council may receive the information and report package and direct Administration to draft specific amendments only, with clear direction of requested amendments, to the Traffic Bylaw as related to the Transportation Network Speed Study report. No Proposed wording as direction would have to be made specific. Administration would amend the Bylaw for a Council presentation and consideration for 1st reading.
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Report Date: February 16, 2021
Author: Dean Schick
Department: Engineering Services
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer: Kerry Hilts
Chief Administrative Officer: Kevin Scoble