Traffic will continue flowing on Cedar Street in Townsite, despite a petition by residents to either install speed bumps or designate a portion as a no through way.
Residents sent in the petition to the City of Powell River in June 2011. A majority of councillors voted at a recent council meeting to deny the residents’ request.
Frank D’Angio, acting manager of engineering services, reported on the issue at a December committee-of-the-whole meeting. He explained the petition was sent in during the closure of the intersection of Cedar and Aspen Avenue for the construction of the Townsite water pump station.
Staff installed the city’s new traffic counter at the intersection for two weeks in November 2012, D’Angio said. He reported that over a seven-day period, there were 579 vehicles. The maximum speed recorded was 48.6 kilometres an hour (km/h), the minimum speed was 10 km/h and the average recorded speed was 28.7 km/h.
Staff also set up the traffic counter at a few other locations where there are issues with traffic and speeding, D’Angio said. On Cranberry Street by Lindsay Park, he pointed out, in a one-week period, there were 6,500 vehicles counted. “The highest speed through that park was 121 kilometres an hour, twice,” he said. “In lower Westview, the traffic counter counted 4,600 vehicles in a week. By Drake Street, it was 5,300 vehicles in a week.”
There are two concerns about closing Cedar, D’Angio said. The first is the obstruction to emergency services. If the road were closed, Cedar would become a dead-end street without a proper turn out. “Emergency vehicles will not have as easy an access to get to the residents at the upper part of Cedar Street,” he said. “It adds a little bit of time on to their response.”
Also, if the street were closed, it would force all the current traffic to adjacent roads, such as the lane between Oak Street and Cedar, D’Angio added. “The existing geometry really gives you an effective traffic calming situation,” he said. There is a change in the width of the road at the intersection, plus an almost 90-degree turn, both of which slow vehicles.
Staff recommended that council deny the petition request.
When the motion came to council, Councillor Myrna Leishman voted in opposition to it. She pointed out that the concerns about emergency vehicles could be addressed by having a gate across the narrow section of the road, which could be opened with a key. “I’ve talked to some of the residents and they don’t feel that traffic would go down the lane,” she said. “They did have a large petition when this first came about a year go, but unfortunately we never received that petition.”
Councillor Debbie Dee said she agreed with not closing the street. “I would like this to be part of the traffic study that is currently underway,” she said. “There are a lot of other ways we can calm traffic besides closing the street.”
A traffic calming report by staff is expected to be ready for council’s consideration in the near future.
