05-08-1995 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Request for Council Action Continued page 2 May 4, 1995 Closure of Old Beach Road related to left hand turns from 15 to Old Beach Road or from Old Beach Road to 19. From January to April 1995, during the period after Old Beach Road was closed, there were three (3) left mm accidents at the intersection of 15 and 19 and one (1) at the intersection of 15 and Old Beach Road. It is important to note that none of the three (3) accidents at 19 and 15 occurred during the msh-hour time period when traffic is the most congested. In fact, two (2) occurred on the weekend. The probable explanation for these is that the left mm arrow is not set to operate on the weekends. This will be addressed when the left mm sensor loops are installed this summer. Although the 1995 accident information is for a relatively short time period, it does show that the increased mming movements md traffic levels at the intersection of 19 and 15 during the msh-hour times has not resulted in accidents at that intersection. Traffic Engineering Concerns Although the accident information for recent years shows that left mming movements have not been a significant problcn , die accident potential and accident seriousness potential is greater at the non-signalizcd intersection. Even though there is a greater overall level of traffic at the 19 and 15 intersection, it is moving in a more controlled manner than at the unsignalized intersection. Traffic at the Old Beach Road inters) dons is moving more quickly and drivers are not expecting mms onto or off of the county road as they would at the signalized intersection. Engineering Improvements to the 19 and 15 Intersection Staff have worked with the City Engineer and the County Traffic Engineer to identify potential improvements to the 19 and 15 intersection to address the concerns raised by the members of the public regarding the safety of the intersection. Several improvements can be made quickly and at low cost. These are as follows: 1. Install the left mm sensor loops to provide the availability of Jhe left mni arrow to acconunodate a larger number of left mms and to be available at all times of the day and week. The highest number of accidents at the intersection have been related to left mms from north bound 19 to west bound 15. The left mm arrow directly addresses this problem. 2. Provide additional signage to slow down traffic using the free right mm from east bound 15 to south bound 19. This will improve the safety of the merging of the traffic mming left from 15 to south bound 19 and the free right mm traffic.