AGENDA #5c
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Response to a Petition Requesting Information on the State’s Investigations and Findings at Three Pedestrian Crash Locations
DATE: May 22, 2006
PURPOSE
The following report responds to a petition from a Council Member requesting additional information regarding the State’s investigations and findings at three pedestrian crash locations in Chapel Hill.
On February 20, 2006, the State and Town staff met and discussed the pedestrian accidents that occurred in January at the following locations:
Fordham Boulevard and Manning Drive
West Franklin Street between Kenan Street and Roberson Street
US 15/501 and Bennett Road/Arlen Park Drive
Please see area maps provided in Attachment 1.
Town staff performed preliminary investigations at the above locations immediately after the accidents. Because all of the accidents occurred on State roads, more detailed investigations were subsequently performed by the State’s Regional Traffic Safety Engineer.
The State completed its investigation of the accident locations in April, and provided a letter to the Town (Attachment 2) that discussed the conclusions and recommendations resulting from its investigation. The Town Manager distributed a copy of the State’s letter to the Town Council. A Council Member petitioned at April 24 meeting and the Council referred the petition to the Manager to contact the State and request the following information:
1) Detailed pedestrian and crash data for the accident at the intersection of Fordham Boulevard and Manning Drive and at the intersection of US 15-501 South and Bennett Road.
2) Response to previous Town requests for the installation of pedestrian amenities at the intersection of Fordham Boulevard and Old Mason Farm Road.
3) Response to previous Town requests for installation of a signalized mid-block crosswalk on West Franklin Street between Kenan Street and Roberson Street.
Pedestrian Counts and Crash Data at Two Intersections
The State provided the Town with 16-hour pedestrian counts and accident history for the:
Fordham Boulevard and Manning Drive Intersection; and the<
US 15/501 and Bennett Road Intersection
The State’s investigation concluded that the pedestrian counts and crash data do not meet warrants set forth in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) for pedestrian signals at either of the above locations. (Please see Attachment 3.) Counts and crash data compiled by the State are available for review in the Town Engineering Department.
We concur with the State that the normal pedestrian counts at the US 15-501/Bennett Road intersection do not meet the necessary warrants for installation of pedestrian amenities. However, the State did not count detailed pedestrian activity at the intersection of Fordham Boulevard and Manning Drive when the University was hosting a special event such as a basketball game. We believe that it is important to see the extent to which pedestrian activity increases in response to special events at the intersection. Therefore, we will conduct a detailed 16-hour pedestrian count during a University special event this fall and we will share our findings with the State to determine if the additional data is significant with regard to the warrants for installation of pedestrian amenities at the Fordham Boulevard/Manning Drive intersection.
State and Town staff concur that both intersections would benefit from the installation of overhead street lighting, and Town staff are in the process of developing plans to have such lighting installed.
Pedestrian Amenities at the Intersection of Fordham Boulevard and Old Mason Farm Road
The State sent us the attached e-mail response (Attachment 4) stating that pedestrian amenities are not being recommended at the intersection of Fordham Boulevard and Old Mason Farm Road. The State agreed to reconsider the installation of pedestrian amenities at this intersection upon review of information and findings to be compiled by the Council-appointed work group and consultants that will study this intersection and the Manning Drive intersection.
Signalized Mid-block Crosswalk on West Franklin Street Between Kenan Street and Roberson Street
The State approved the installation of a signalized mid-block crosswalk at this location with conditions as stated in the letter which is provided in Attachment 5.
CONCLUSION
We will report to the Council in the fall with further information and recommendations regarding these accident locations, and safety improvements at other locations, based on findings of the Council-appointed Fordham Boulevard Safety Work Group and recommendations of our consultant studying the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard corridor and other locations around Town.
ATTACHMENTS
