Submitted By
Ron Burke, Transportation Commission Chairperson Bill McKenna, Village Engineer
Reviewed By
Ahmad M. Zayyad, Deputy Village Manager / Interim Director of Development Customer Services
Agenda Item Title
Title
A Motion to Concur with the Transportation Commission’s Recommendations for Traffic Calming at the 400 block of Berkshire Street and 400 block of Greenfield Street
End
Overview
Overview
At the July 11, 2023 Transportation Commission (TC) meeting, the TC reviewed a traffic calming petition for the 400 block of Berkshire Street and 400 block of Greenfield Street. On Berkshire Street, the TC recommended installing pavement markings to stripe the parking lane on the south side of Berkshire and installing a paint and post neckdown midblock. On Greenfield Street, the TC recommended installing a paint and post neckdown just east of Rossell Avenue.
End
Recommendation
Recommendation
Adopt the Motion.
Background
On September 24, 2020 and June 7, 2021, the Village of Oak Park received petitions to implement traffic calming measures at the 400 block of Berkshire Street and the 400 block of Greenfield Street respectively. Residents representing 81.32% of the street frontage for the 400 block of Berkshire Street signed the petition and the petition was certified as a valid petition. Residents representing 54.43% of the street frontage for the 400 block of Greenfield Street signed the petition and the petition was certified as a valid petition.
Reasons provided for the petition include: The residents expressed concern regarding speeds of traffic along both the 400 block of Berkshire Street and the 400 block of Greenfield Street.
See Attachment A for a copy of both letters of explanation. See Attachment B for copies of the written public testimony received by the Village for these petitions. See Attachment C for the aerial image of the 400 block of Berkshire Street and the 400 block of Greenfield Street.
The petitions were reviewed by the Transportation Commission at its July 11, 2023 meeting. Staff gave a presentation of the issues, including: background on the petition, history of the area, analysis of the collected traffic data, collision diagrams, and staff recommendations. Residents provided public testimony on the items. After hearing staff’s presentation and public testimony, the Transportation Commission deliberated on the items. Relevant pages from the July 11, 2023 Transportation Commission meeting minutes are included as Attachment H.
At its July 11, 2023 meeting, the Transportation Commission voted four to zero in favor of the following recommendation:
400 block of Berkshire Street -
1. Install a parking lane line pavement marking eight feet from the curb on the south side of Berkshire Street, between Elmwood Avenue and Ridgeland Avenue; and
2. Install a paint and post neckdown lining up with the sidewalk leading into the Taylor Park picnic area
400 block of Greenfield Street -
1. Install a paint and post neckdown on Greenfield Street at a location as determined by staff. [Location is Greenfield Street just east of Rossell Avenue.]
Pending Village Board approval, pavement markings will be installed as part of the 23-2 Resurfacing of Various Streets project and Public Works staff will purchase and install the delineator posts. A future Amendment to the Contract with R.W. Dunteman for Project 23-2, Resurfacing of Various Streets may be required to fund these additional costs.
Although not part of this agenda item, previously approved bicycle boulevard treatments, including enhanced crosswalks, bicycle pavement markings, and bump-outs will be installed at the intersection of Berkshire Street and Elmwood Avenue at the west end of the block, which will also help calm and slow traffic and improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety. These improvements were already approved by the Village Board at its July 5, 2023 meeting and are being constructed as part of the 23-2 Resurfacing of Various Streets project this fall.
The paint and post neckdowns recommended on Berkshire Street and on Greenfield Street would be planned to be made permanent with concrete curb extensions when these streets are next planned for street resurfacing.
Analysis Section
Traffic Study - Volume and Speed (Attachment D)
A 24-hour traffic volume count and speed study was conducted mid-block along the 400 blocks of Berkshire Street, Lenox Street, and Greenfield Street on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 using tube counters. See Attachment D for a summary of the results of the study.
Reviewing the 24-hour volumes for the blocks studied; volumes on Greenfield Street, approximately 500 to 700 vehicles per day, are lower than those on a typical Oak Park residential street, which range between 800 and 1,200 vehicles per day. Lenox Street is a very low volume street with only around 150 vehicles per day. With a volume of about 1,000 vehicles per day, Berkshire Street vehicle volume is typical of Oak Park residential streets.
A review of the Berkshire Street speed data shows a compliance rate of close to 50% with the 25-mph speed limit and that the 85th percentile speed is 30 mph. The 85th percentile speed is the speed at which 85% of all drivers are traveling at or below. This metric is commonly used to measure the speed of traffic relative to the speed limit. Given that the 85th percentile speed on Berkshire Street is 5 mph higher than the speed limit, it appears that there is a speeding issue.
A higher percentage of drivers may be exceeding the 20-mph park zone limit on Berkshire Street. However, there is no way to correlate vehicle speeds at any given time with the presence of children in the park, which is when the lower 20 mph limit is in effect. Higher speeds on Berkshire compared to other streets in the study area are likely due to the lower amount of “friction” that drivers encounter as they traverse the street, as there is a limited number of parked vehicles on the south side of the street. Also, there is a slight downgrade heading east towards Ridgeland Avenue. However, this may not have a large influence on speeds because 85th percentile speeds are similar for eastbound and westbound traffic and because the grade is most pronounced approaching the Ridgeland stop sign at which point drivers have already begun to slow down.
Speeds on Lenox Street are low. The 85th percentile speed is 24 mph.
Greenfield Street operates at low speeds west of Rossell Avenue due to the stop control presence at Elmwood Avenue. The 85th percentile speeds are lower than 25 mph, west of Rossell Avenue. The other two segments of Greenfield Street have greater than 60% compliance to the posted speed limit. More than 92% of the vehicles are traveling less than 5 mph over the speed limit west of Ridgeland Avenue. Greenfield Street between Edmer Avenue and Rossell Avenue has an 85th percentile speed of 29 mph. This block likely has the highest speeds since it is further away from the stop signs at Elmwood Avenue and at Ridgeland Avenue.
The speed profile on Greenfield Street is fairly typical for residential streets in Oak Park. On the other hand, Berkshire Street appears to have a speeding issue, especially when considering it is within a Park Zone, which should be addressed to increase compliance.
Additionally, as is the case on almost all streets locally, regionally, and even nationally, there is a small percentage (1% to 2%) of drivers that blatantly disregard the law and drive faster than 10 miles per hour over the speed limit on both the 400 blocks of Berkshire Street and Greenfield Street.
Traffic Study - Turning Movement Counts (Attachment E)
Turning movement data was collected at the intersections of Berkshire Street/Elmwood Avenue and Berkshire Street/Ridgeland Avenue on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 for 6-hours using a Miovision Scout Video camera system. Bicycle and pedestrian data were gathered in addition to the vehicular turning movement volumes. The traffic data was collected on a weekday with typical traffic patterns and while school was in session. See Attachment E for a summary of the results.
Crash History - Collision Diagrams (Attachment F)
In order to evaluate safety trends on the 400 blocks of Berkshire Street and Greenfield Street, reported crash data was obtained from the IDOT Safety Portal and the Village of Oak Park for a five-year period, from January 2018 through December 2022. This data shows that there were four mid-block collisions along the 400 block of Berkshire Street during the five-year period. Additionally, crashes at the adjacent intersections were also evaluated. There was a total of twelve crashes at Berkshire Street and Ridgeland Avenue and a total of two crashes at the intersection of Berkshire Street and Elmwood Avenue.
There were no mid-block collisions along the 400 block of Greenfield Street. There were no crashes at Greenfield Street and Elmwood Avenue and six crashes at the intersection of Greenfield Street and Ridgeland Avenue.
Crash rates describe the number of crashes in a given period as compared to the traffic volume. These are calculated by dividing the total number of crashes at a given roadway section or intersection over a specified time period (typically three to five years) by a measure of exposure, which for this study is the traffic volume. Comparing the current crash rate to the critical crash rate can help determine how an intersection or roadway section is performing from a safety perspective.
The number of reported crashes that occurred over a five-year period at Berkshire Street and Ridgeland Avenue is twelve. The Average Daily Traffic (ADT) for the intersection of Berkshire Street and Ridgeland Avenue as determined by the Villages’ 1997 area-wide traffic study was 9,835 vehicles. Using this data, the crash rate for the Berkshire Street and Ridgeland Avenue intersection is 0.668 accidents per million entering vehicles (Acc/MEV). This crash rate is below the critical crash rate calculated for the north section of the Village (from Augusta Street to North Avenue between Harlem Avenue and Austin Boulevard) as determined in the area-wide traffic study of 1997 (0.686 Acc/MEV).
The number of reported crashes that occurred over a five-year period at Berkshire Street and Elmwood Avenue is two. The Average Daily Traffic (ADT) for the intersection of Berkshire Street and Elmwood Avenue as determined by the Villages’ 1997 area-wide traffic study was 2,459 vehicles. Using this data, the crash rate for the Berkshire Street and Elmwood Avenue intersection is 0.446 accidents per million entering vehicles (Acc/MEV). This crash rate is below the critical crash rate calculated for the north section of the Village (from Augusta Street to North Avenue between Harlem Avenue and Austin Boulevard) as determined in the area-wide traffic study of 1997 (0.686 Acc/MEV).
The number of reported crashes that occurred over a five-year period at Greenfield Street and Ridgeland Avenue is six. The Average Daily Traffic (ADT) for the intersection of Greenfield Street and Ridgeland Avenue, as determined by the Village’s 1997 area-wide traffic study, was 9,436 vehicles. Using this data, the crash rate for the Greenfield Street and Ridgeland Avenue intersection is 0.348 accidents per million entering vehicles (Acc/MEV). This crash rate is below the critical crash rate calculated for the north section of the Village (from Augusta Street to North Avenue between Harlem Avenue and Austin Boulevard) as determined in the area-wide traffic study of 1997 (0.686 Acc/MEV).
Fiscal Impact
Staff estimates that it will cost $15,000 to install the pavement marking lane line and bump outs using paint and post treatments.
Pending the Village Board’s approval of the motion, staff recommends including this work as part of the ongoing 23-2 Resurfacing of Various Streets Project in order to construct the improvements in late 2023. There are available funds from savings from other projects in the FY23 Capital Improvement Fund Budget in account # 3095-43780-101-570951 (Public Works - Engineering, Local Street Construction) which would be used to fund this change order for the street resurfacing project for this work.
Public Works staff will purchase and install the delineator posts included as part of the proposed traffic calming improvements. Funding for these materials exists in the FY23 General Fund Budget in account # 1001-43770-761-560634 (Public Works - Street Services).
DEI Impact
Youth, people with limited mobility, and cyclists are especially at risk. Additionally, for those who may want to walk or bike more may be deterred by hazardous traffic conditions. Which also has an impact on the Village’s Climate Ready goals. Increasing the safety of this intersection promotes the health and well being of the community of Oak Park.
Alternatives
The Village Board can delay action to gain additional information.
Previous Board Action
N/A.
Citizen Advisory Commission Action
At its July 11, 2023 meeting, the Transportation Commission recommended the following:
400 block of Berkshire Street -
1. Install a parking lane line pavement marking eight feet from the curb on the south side of Berkshire Street between Elmwood Avenue and Ridgeland Avenue
2. Install a paint and post neckdown lining up with the sidewalk leading into Taylor Park picnic area
400 block of Greenfield Street -
1. Install a paint and post neckdown on Greenfield Street at a location as determined by staff. [Location is Greenfield Street just east of Rossell Avenue.]
The motion passed four to zero.
Anticipated Future Actions/Commitments
Pending Village Board approval, staff recommends including this work as part of the ongoing 23-2 Resurfacing of Various Streets Project in order to construct the improvements in late 2023. A future Amendment to the Contract with R.W. Dunteman for Project 23-2, Resurfacing of Various Streets may be required to fund these additional costs.
The paint and post neckdowns on Berkshire and on Greenfield Street would be planned to be made permanent with concrete curb extensions when these streets are next planned for street resurfacing.
Intergovernmental Cooperation Opportunities
N/A.