Council Minutes - Town of Cambridge

COUNCIL MINUTESTUESDAY 26 JUNE 2012The treatment (or treatments) selected for each location must address the safety problem in themost cost-effective manner. Some typical treatments for black spot intersections and blackspot sections are:-• Road realignment;• Signing and delineation improvement;• Installation of traffic signals – appropriate for right angle crashes;• Installation of pedestrian signals – appropriate for pedestrian crashes;• Improvement to existing signalised intersections – such as larger signal aspects or LEDsignal lamps;• Installation of splitter or traffic island;• Hazard removal and protection;• Installation/upgrading of street lighting – appropriate for pedestrian crashes at night;• Passing lanes at T intersections – appropriate for rear end crashes;• Speed control measures;• Improve sight lines.The intersection of Howtree Place and The Boulevard has been previously identified as havingsufficient recorded crashes to warrant intervention to improve both motorist and pedestriansafety. Although the 2012 CRASHtool disk has not yet been received from Main Roads WA, itis considered expedient to obtain early Council approval to prepare a submission for Black Spotfunding. This is necessary due to the high degree of investigation and preliminary design workrequired. The data contained on the 2011 CRASHtool disk has been used to formulate thepreliminary submission details. The submission can then be amended to include the mostrecent data when this becomes available.DETAILS:The current intersection operation is exhibiting poor performance during the AM peak for theeastbound right turn movement on The Boulevard and in the PM peak for the westboundthrough lanes on The Boulevard.The recorded crash data for the five years to December 2010 indicates as follows:-• There were 28 reported right turn through crashes for The Boulevard eastbound toHowtree Place southbound right turn. Utilising Main Roads WA Crash Analysis ReportingCentre indicates that removal of the existing right turn filter on this movement will providesignificant improvement;• The Crash Factor Matrix (included in the report attachment) for the 28 accidentsdemonstrate 19 as major, 8 requiring medical attention, 23 when the road was dry, 7between midday and 3pm and 11 between 3pm and 8pm.• The initial review considered the removal of the Right Turn Filter for eastbound traffic.This effectively prevents any eastbound vehicle turning right into Howtree Place andhaving the potential to have an accident with a westbound vehicle. Vehicles will only beable to turn right on a dedicated arrow at the signals. This improves intersection safetyby removing opportunities for right turn - through crashes but reduces efficiency as thetotal time available for right turns during each cycle is reduced. As a consequent rightturn average delay time increases as does the length of right turn queue. At thisintersection the existing right turn pocket is already of insufficient length to operatewithout impact to/from the abutting through lane. The SIDRA modelling has flagged thecurrent right turn lane length as insufficiently long to accurately predict operation.Although removal of the Right Turn Filter can increase safety, it cannot be recommendedon its own as eastbound traffic flow on The Boulevard will be affected and the length ofH:\CEO\GOV\COUNCIL MINUTES\12 MINUTES\JUNE 2012\C CR.DOCX 66