Submitted By
Ron Burke, Transportation Commission Chairperson Bill McKenna, Village Engineer
Reviewed By
A.M. Zayyad, Deputy Village Manager
Agenda Item Title
Title
A Motion to Concur with the Transportation Commission’s Recommendations for Traffic Calming at the Clarence Avenue and Adams Street Intersection
End
Overview
Overview
At the June 13, 2023 Transportation Commission (TC) meeting, the Commission reviewed a traffic calming petition for the intersection of Clarence Avenue and Adams Street to address vehicles speeding on Adams Street. The TC recommended installing high visibility crosswalk markings on the east and west legs of Adams Street, installing speed limit signs on Adams Street, moving existing “No Parking Here to Corner” signs to be consistent with Illinois Vehicle Code, deploying temporary radar speed feedback signs, and targeted enforcement.
End
Recommendation
Recommendation
Approve the Motion.
Background
On July 29, 2020 the Village of Oak Park received a petition to implement a traffic calming measure at the intersection of Clarence Avenue and Adams Street. Residents representing 58.73% of the street frontage for the Clarence Avenue and Adams Street intersection signed the petition. The petition was certified as a valid petition.
Reasons provided for the petition include: In response to an angle crash at this intersection in 2019, the residents expressed concern regarding speeds of traffic along Adams Street, given that there are no stop controls at Clarence Avenue.
See Attachment A for a copy of the letter of explanation. See Attachment B for copies of the written public testimony received by the Village for this petition. See Attachment C for the aerial image of the intersection.
The petition was reviewed by the Transportation Commission at its June 13, 2023 meeting. Staff gave a presentation on the issues including: background on the petition, history of the area, analysis of the collected traffic data, collision diagrams, and recommendations. Residents provided public testimony on the item. After hearing staff’s presentation and public testimony, the Transportation Commission deliberated on the item. Relevant pages from the June 13, 2023 Transportation Commission meeting minutes are included as Attachment G.
At the June 13, 2023 meeting, the Transportation Commission voted four to zero in favor of the following recommendation for the Clarence Avenue and Adams Street intersection:
1. Install high visibility crosswalk markings on the east and west legs of Adams Street
2. Install speed limit signs on Adams Street
3. Move existing “No Parking Here to Corner” signs to be consistent with Illinois Vehicle Code
4. Deploy temporary radar speed feedback signs
5. Targeted police enforcement intermittently based on traffic study results
Analysis Section
Traffic Study - Volume and Speed (Attachment D)
A 48-hour traffic volume count and speed study was conducted mid-block on the four legs of the intersection of Clarence Avenue and Adams Street on Wednesday, October 19, 2022 and Thursday, October 20, 2022 using tube counters. See Attachment D for a summary of the results of the study.
Reviewing the 48-hour volumes for the blocks studied; the two-way average daily traffic (ADT) for the four legs ranged between 344 vehicles and 830 vehicles. Volumes on Clarence Avenue and Adams Street are at or less than those on typical residential Oak Park streets, which range between 800 and 1,200 vehicles per day.
A review of the Adams Street speed data shows a greater than 60% compliance rate with the 25 miles per hour speed limit and that more than 90% of the vehicles are traveling less than 5 miles per hour over the speed limit. This suggests that a majority of the vehicles on Adams Street are operating close to the speed limit. This is likely because the proximity of the stop signs 300 feet to the east and west are moderating speeds near Clarence Avenue.
Speeds on Clarence Avenue are slightly higher with 58% and 42% vehicles exceeding the 25 mph limit on the north leg northbound and southbound respectively, while 24% northbound and 46% southbound vehicles are exceeding the 25 mph limit on the south leg. This is likely due to the longer distance to the nearest stop signs to the south at Jackson Boulevard and to the north at Madison Street.
Although the speed profiles on both Clarence Avenue and Adams Street are fairly typical for residential streets within Oak Park, there appears to be a slight speeding issue on the north leg, the southbound movement of the south leg, and the westbound movement on the east leg of the intersection.
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.
Traffic Study - Turning Movement Counts (Attachment E)
Turning movement data was collected on Wednesday, October 19, 2022 for 12-hours using a Miovision Scout Video camera system. Bicycle and pedestrian data was 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.
Crash History - Collision Diagrams (Attachment F)
In order to evaluate safety trends at the Clarence Avenue and Adams Street intersection, reported crash data was obtained from the IDOT Safety Portal and the Village of Oak Park from January 2018 through December 2022, a five-year period. This data shows that there was one intersection-related collision during the five-year period, which was an angle crash that occurred on February 27, 2019. Another was reported about 50 feet south of the intersection on April 12, 2022. This crash resulted in a rolled-over vehicle.
Crash rates describe the number of crashes in a given period as compared to the traffic volume (or exposure) to crashes. Crash rates 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. Comparing the crash rate to the critical crash rate can help determine if the intersection or roadway section has a higher probability of crashes occurring. The number of reported crashes that occurred over a five year period at the intersection of Clarence Avenue and Adams Street is two (2). The Average Daily Traffic (ADT) for the intersection of Clarence Avenue and Adams Street, as determined by the Villages’ 1997 area-wide traffic study, was 1,367 vehicles. Using this data, the crash rate for the Clarence Avenue and Adams Street intersection is 0.802 accidents per million entering vehicles (Acc/MEV).
This crash rate is below the critical crash rate calculated for the south section of the Village (from South Boulevard to I-290 Expressway between Harlem Avenue and Austin Boulevard) as determined in the area-wide traffic study of 1997 (1.029 Acc/MEV).
The intersection of Clarence Avenue and Adams Street seems to be operating safely and efficiently and does not warrant additional stop signs but temporary radar speed feedback signs and targeted enforcement intermittently based on traffic study results are recommended to reduce speeding.
Fiscal Impact
Staff estimates that it will cost less than $1,000 to install the speed limit signs and pavement markings. The FY23 budget includes funds for this work in account #1001-43740-761-560634 (Public Works - Street Services).
DEI Impact
N/A.
Alternatives
The alternative to this recommendation could be to delay action to gain additional information.
Previous Board Action
N/A.
Citizen Advisory Commission Action
At its June 13, 2023 meeting, the Transportation Commission recommended the following:
1. Install high visibility crosswalk markings on the east and west legs of Adams Street
2. Install speed limit signs on Adams Street
3. Move existing “No Parking Here to Corner” signs to be consistent with Illinois Vehicle Code
4. Deploy temporary radar speed feedback signs
5. Targeted police enforcement intermittently based on traffic study results
The motion passed four to zero.
Anticipated Future Actions/Commitments
None at this time.
Intergovernmental Cooperation Opportunities
N/A.