Review work completed to date:
- 2 public consultation sessions organized by Councillor Kavanagh’s office
- 4 additional site observations by Road Safety staff
- Issues have been identified and countermeasures are currently being considered
Summary of issues/concerns identified:
| Concern Identified | Notes |
| Various components the intersection do not meet existing AODA standards | Accessibility standards will be updated where possible through the redesign of the intersection. Residents will have the opportunity to comment on accessibility features of recommended design once presented through public consultation. |
| Resident stated that the slope on the southeast corner was a concern due to his wheelchair potentially rolling forward | To be reviewed as part of the redesign. |
| Pedestrian conspicuity | A work order has been submitted to have ladder-style crosswalks painted on the east and west legs (across Carling Avenue) in Spring 2020. |
| Concerns expressed regarding pedestrian crossing time | As of November 6th 2019 the signal timings at the intersection of Carling and Edgeworth have been recalculated for a 0.9m/s walk speed (note: at the public meeting I had stated that this is what it was timed for based on a quick calculation that I did just prior to the meeting, however I was incorrect about the actual timing.) This means that when the pedestrian pushes the pedestrian push button to cross in the north-south direction, they will receive a 28s “walk”, a 16s “flashing don’t walk”, followed by a 6.6s “don’t walk” display (amber+all red). This is about 51s of total walk time before the green display comes up for east-west carling. |
| Request for pedestrian advance phase (leading pedestrian interval) | A 7s leading pedestrian interval has been implemented as of November 6th 2019. |
| Interest expressed in having a pedestrian crossing installed on Carling Avenue somewhere between Edgeworth and Woodroffe (west) | An eight-hour (07:30-10:00, 11:30-14:00, 14:30-17:30) pedestrian survey was undertaken on at this location on July 2, 2019. During the highest six hours of the survey, 17 pedestrians (0 children, 2 youth, 13 adults, 2 seniors and 0 physically impaired persons) were observed crossing Carling at this location. Of these, 8 pedestrians waited 10 seconds or less before proceeding to cross the roadway, 9 pedestrians waited for 11-30 seconds and 0 pedestrians waited for longer than 30 seconds. As such, our analysis of this data shows that the conditions at this location meet 9% of the warrant for the installation of a pedestrian signal. A pedestrian crossing will therefore not be considered as part of this project |
| Petition – fence/median/barrier on Carling east of Edgeworth | Collision history indicates 1 collision from 2009-2018 (10 year time frame) involving a pedestrian on the roadway of Carling Avenue between Edgeworth and Woodland (collision involved a pedestrian chasing another pedestrian). A very high level costing was completed for this request and it was determined that a fence of this length would cost well over $60K. Given the available budget for this project, it is not recommended that a fence be pursued as part of this project. |
| Petition – No U-turn at Edgeworth, westbound direction | Staff have reviewed this request and do not recommend that a U-turn ban be implemented (including consideration for particular times of day) for the following reasons: A traffic count conducted May 10th 2017 indicates that 584 westbound U-turns were conducted in an 8hr period (7:00-10:00, 11:30-13:30, 15:00-16:00) Observations indicate that the U-turn demand comes both from motorists destined to the south side of Carling Avenue (Edgeworth to Woodroffe) and from motorists originating from the north side of Carling Avenue and the neighbourhood to the north of Carling Avenue (Edgeworth to Woodroffe). Westbound motorists destined to the buildings on the south side of Carling Avenue do not have an alternate U-turn location as there are restrictions or geometric constraints at a number of intersections west of Edgeworth Avenue. As this is the case, many of these motorists may choose to disobey a U-turn restriction if implemented, or may choose to divert to neighbourhood streets such as Georgina Drive and Edgeworth Avenue in order to reach their destinations. Westbound motorists originating from the north side of Carling Avenue similarly do not have an alternate U-turn location, therefore these motorists would need to find an alternate method to proceed eastbound on Carling Avenue. These motorists may choose to disobey the U-turn restriction if implemented, or may divert to neighbourhood streets either north or south of Carling Avenue (mainly Lawn Avenue or Georgina Dr and Edgeworth Avenue). Placing a restriction on such a large number of vehicles may be detrimental to neighbourhood streets, for the reasons noted above. We do not have any evidence indicating that westbound U-turns are producing a safety issues (geometry allows for U-turns, only 1 collisions recorded in the past 3 years involved a westbound U-turning vehicle, sightlines are available for U-turns to be made safely, etc). |
| Petition – No U-turn at Edgeworth, eastbound direction | Staff have reviewed this request and do not recommend that a ban be implemented for the following reasons: A traffic count conducted May 10th 2017 indicates that 24 eastbound U-turns were conducted in an 8hr period (7:00-10:00, 11:30-13:30, 15:00-16:00) An eastbound U-turn prohibition at this intersection would have negative affects on the apartment buildings at 2400 Carling Avenue and 810 Edgeworth Avenue. Although there is an alternate exit for 810 Edgeworth Avenue (onto Edgeworth Ave), there is no alternate option for motorists who wish to proceed west on Carling from 2400 Carling Avenue. These motorists may choose to disobey the U-turn restriction if implemented, or may choose to turn onto Edgeworth Avenue and conduct U-turns midblock on Edgeworth (north or south of Carling Avenue). Alternatively, motorists exiting the driveway at 2400 Carling Avenue may choose to illegally proceed westbound directly from the 2400 Carling Avenue driveway (at the Transitway signal). We do not have any evidence indicating that eastbound U-turns are producing a safety issues (geometry allows for U-turns, only 1 collisions recorded in the past 3 years involved a westbound U-turning vehicle, sightlines are available for U-turns to be made safely, etc). In summary, the anticipated potential actions of drivers with an eastbound U-turn in place is expected to be more detrimental to pedestrian safety than is the existing U-turn movements. |
| Concerns expressed regarding sightlines of pedestrians on the northwest corner | A sightline review will be conducted in the coming months. |
| Suggestion that pedestrian warning sign on Edgeworth may be in the wrong location. | We have reviewed the location of the northbound “pedestrians ahead” warning sign with “elderly persons” tab and according to OTM Book 6 (warning signs) this sign is placed in the correct location (the sign is placed in advance of the seniors residence in order to allow motorists to see and mentally process the sign, then adjust their speeds/expectations. |
| Request for 40km/h speed limit in the school zone | Not all school zones are signed with a 40km/h speed limit. School speed zones are established through by-law at City Council. School zones can be requested by the Ward Councilllor and a warrant procedure is done to see if the area qualifies for a reduced speed during bell times. The Province is currently reviewing the regulations around school zones so we are holding off on implementing new zones until this is completed. |
| Concerns expressed regarding red light running and a request for red light camera. | The City of Ottawa’s red-light camera program selects intersections to receive red-light cameras based on a warrant system and feasibility of installing red-light cameras. As noted during the first public meeting, the warrants are based on the number of angle collisions in the past 5 years (in order to ensure that funding is allocated to intersections where a red-light camera may best help to improve road safety throughout the City). For the intersection of Carling at Edgeworth, only 1 angle collision occurred from 2014-2018 (inclusive). This intersection does not meet warrants for a red light camera. |
Petition details:
Petition received with 198 signatures (petition wording and format not created by City staff):
We, concerned citizens in close proximity to, and, who frequent the intersection of: Carling Avenue and Edgeworth Avenue, wish to have a fence/median/barrier installed on Carling Avenue on the traffic island dividing: Carling Avenue East and Carling Avenue West as well as, a “No U-turn” sign, installed at above mentioned intersection; particularly, on Carling Avenue: traveling East/West.
Decision on the 3 items described in the petition (fence, westbound U-turn prohibition, eastbound U-turn prohibition) are outlined in the table above.
Next steps:
- In the coming months, the Road Safety Unit will be hiring a consultant to review potential design options including options which may realign or shorten some crosswalk lengths. They are also considering whether this work can be accomplished in-house.
- We will touch base with you once we have a recommended design for your comment on the design.
- After we present the recommended design to yourself, we will post the design on the City’s website and will seek additional public input on the design.
