AGENDA #8
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Report on Coolidge Street/South Columbia Street Intersection
DATE: May 7, 2001
RESUBMITTED: May 21, 2001
RESUBMITTED: June 11, 2001
The following information was requested by the Council pursuant to its receipt of report on a petition to close Coolidge Street at South Columbia Street. We recommend taking no action at this time.
If the Council wishes to take action on this petition, adoption of Ordinance “A” would restrict traffic to westbound only on the segment of Coolidge Street. Alternatively, adoption of the attached resolution and Ordinance “B” would close Coolidge Street at its intersection with South Columbia Street.
At its May 8, 2000 business meeting the Council received a report responding to a petition from Mr. Joe Capowski, 404 Coolidge Street, requesting that the easternmost end of Coolidge Street be closed to motorized vehicle traffic. A copy of our May report is attached for reference.
We mailed a survey to the surrounding neighborhood regarding the requested closure, and determined that there was not neighborhood consensus to close Coolidge Street, as requested by the petitioner nor, alternatively, to restrict traffic flow to westbound only. We recommended that the Council take no action on the closure request at that time.
Subsequently, the Council asked that we resurvey the neighborhood with a revised questionnaire to determine more clearly whether or not there was consensus about changing traffic operations at the east end of Coolidge Street.
We redesigned the survey questionnaire to include first and second choices for three possible alternatives:
· Close the east end of Coolidge Street.
· Make Coolidge Street one-way westbound between South Columbia Street and Old Pittsboro Road.
· Leave conditions as they are now.
A copy of the questionnaire is attached for reference. It was mailed in late March 2001 to 150 property owners in the area of the requested street closure.
INTERSECTION SAFETY – Traffic accident records do not indicate a particular safety problem at the Coolidge Street/South Columbia Street intersection. However, the combination of limited sight distance and high traffic volumes on South Columbia Street at certain times of day creates some difficulty for drivers exiting from Coolidge Street onto South Columbia Street.
Left turns from Coolidge Street onto South Columbia Street have been prohibited since 1987. This eliminates some of the potential for conflict at this location. Also, there are alternative points of ingress and egress which area residents can use (instead of Coolidge Street) when traveling to and from their neighborhoods. The alternatives include Old Pittsboro Road, Valentine Lane, and Westwood Drive. Please refer to the attached map.
SOUTH COLUMBIA STREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT – The proposed improvements on South Columbia Street are in the planning stage. The schedule currently calls for right-of-way acquisitions to begin in 2003 and construction to begin in 2005.
We do not know at this time what specific changes will be necessary at the South Columbia Street/Coolidge Street intersection. Our preliminary discussions with the State suggest that minor grade and alignment changes will be proposed, in conjunction with a turn-storage lane on South Columbia Street for northbound traffic waiting to turn onto Coolidge Street.
We believe that the South Columbia Street improvement project currently being planned by the State will improve ingress and egress conditions for Coolidge Street drivers at the South Columbia Street intersection. We expect these improvements to include a turn-storage lane on South Columbia Street at the Coolidge Street intersection, along with minor grade and alignment changes and selective trimming of overgrown vegetation, which would improve sight lines throughout the project corridor.
Mr. Capowski correctly notes that road widening for a turn lane would impact adjacent properties; and that a turn lane would not be necessary if Coolidge Street were closed as requested in the petition. We commented on this turn-lane issue in the first and second neighborhood opinion polls.
PROVISIONS OF SERVICES - We requested comments from Town providers of both routine and emergency services including Police, Fire, Public Works, Transit, and Recycling. We also contacted the school system regarding the petition request. All providers responded that services would not be significantly affected by either closure or one-way restrictions on Coolidge Street.
NEIGHBORHOOD SURVEY RESULTS - Of the 150 questionnaires mailed out to area properties, 58 were returned, with responses representing 80 properties. Some returned questionnaires were from individuals or investors with multiple property ownership in the survey area. We tallied the responses based on both the number of questionnaire forms returned and on the number of properties represented. For example, one questionnaire form was returned indicating that the noted response was for fifteen (15) properties within the survey area, all under a single ownership.
The results of the recent neighborhood survey are distributed as follows:
|
|
Close Street |
One-way Street |
Do Nothing |
No Preference |
|
First Choice |
17 |
22 (44)* |
19 |
0 |
|
Second Choice |
7 |
20 |
12 (15)* |
19 (38)* |
*The numbers in parentheses reflect the addition of multiple responses from individuals and investors that own several properties within the survey area.
As in our previous survey completed last year, the results are distributed across all of the alternatives. The petition request to close the east end of Coolidge Street is the first choice of 29% of the respondents. 33% of the respondents favor leaving conditions as they are now on Coolidge Street. The one-way alternative is the first choice of 38% of the respondents; or 55% of the property parcels represented.
Of the alternatives presented, it appears that the one-way option is most preferable to survey respondents and property owners in the area. However, the distribution of responses across all of the alternatives (both first and second choices) suggests to us that none of the alternatives would be universally acceptable to the surrounding neighborhood. Unless at least 75-80% consensus is reached regarding petition requests, we generally do not support them without extenuating circumstances (such as public safety) being clearly involved.
In this case, we also note that alternative routes are available to avoid using the east end of Coolidge Street if so desired by some drivers. We share the concerns of some survey respondents that restricting traffic movements on Coolidge Street could create problems at other locations as a result of the diverted traffic.
Because of the lack of strong neighborhood consensus for a specific action, because alternative traffic routes exist, and because improvements are expected as part of the future State project, we suggest that the Council take no action at this time regarding the petition to close the east end of Coolidge Street.
That the Council take no action at this time regarding closure or traffic restrictions on Coolidge Street.
If the Council wishes to take action on this petition, adoption of the attached Ordinance “A” would restrict traffic to westbound only on the segment of Coolidge Street adjacent to South Columbia Street. Alternatively, adoption of the attached resolution and Ordinance “B” would close Coolidge Street at its intersection with South Columbia Street.
1. Map (p. 7).
2. Survey Questionnaire (p. 8).
3. May 8, 2000 agenda item 5b (p. 11).
ORDINANCE “A”
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 21-10 AND 21-13 OF THE TOWN CODE OF ORDINANCES REGARDING ONE-WAY STREETS AND RIGHT-OF-WAY AND STOP REGULATIONS (2001-06-11/O-2a)
BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill as follows:
Section 1. Section 21-10 of the Town Code “One-way Streets.” is hereby amended by inserting the following:
Section 2. Section 21-13 (a) of the Town Code “Right-of-way and stop regulations.” is hereby amended by deleting the following:
“Through Streets Stop Streets
Columbia Street Coolidge
Street”
Section 3. This ordinance shall become effective upon adoption.
This the 11th day of June, 2001.
A RESOLUTION CLOSING COOLIDGE STREET AT ITS INTERSECTION WITH SOUTH COLUMBIA STREET (2001-06-11/R-15)
WHEREAS, the Town Council has received a petition requesting that Coolidge Street be closed at its intersection with South Columbia Street; and
WHEREAS, the Council has received a report which discusses the petition request and the results of a neighborhood survey regarding the requested closure of Coolidge Street; and
WHEREAS, the Council has determined that the requested closure of Coolidge Street is reasonable and desirable;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that Coolidge Street be closed to vehicular traffic at its intersection with South Columbia Street.
This the 11th day of June, 2001.
ORDINANCE “B”
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 21 OF THE TOWN CODE OF ORDINANCES REGARDING RIGHT-OF-WAY AND STOP REGULATIONS (2001-06-11/O-2b)
BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill as follows:
Section 1. Section 21-13 (a) of the Town Code “Right-of-way and stop regulations” is hereby amended by deleting the following:
“Through Streets Stop Streets
Columbia Street Coolidge
Street”
Section 2. This ordinance shall become effective upon adoption.
This the 11th day of June, 2001.