Traffic Meeting of May 3^rd

May 11^th, 2001

On Thursday May 3^rd, several members of the AWCA Executive met with Councillor Pickles and members of City Staff to discuss various traffic issues that have been raised within our community.  The meeting began with a follow-up of items that were raised during last October's General Meeting of the AWCA, and concluded with a discussion of the City's Safer Streets Traffic Management Strategy Report.

A list of the traffic issues raised & the city's recommendations is summarized below:

• Parking near intersections
  • Issue:
    • unsafe practice, as it obscures visibility of intersection
    • illegal within 10 metres of an interestion
  • Action:
    • city staff will speak to residents near affected intersections
    • city staff will consider posting a NO PARKING sign to mark the 10 metre distance from intersection if necessary
  
  
• Parking on curves on Pinegrove Avenue
  • Issue:
    • unsafe practice, as it affects line of site view of roadway
    • parking on roadways for more than 3 hours violates parking limit on city streets
  • Action:
    • city staff will send letters to vehicle owners requesting them to cease parking in these locations
    • by-law enforcement for 3 hour parking limit will be requested if necessary
  
  
• Bus stop location on Pinegrove Avenue
  • Issue:
    • bus stop locations on Pinegrove Avenue too frequent and incorrectly located
  • Action:
    • locations checked and found to be suitable
    • resident has been contacted in regards to this matter
  
  
• Posted speed limit signs missing on Oakburn Street
  • Issue:
    • several of the 40km/h regulatory signs are missing from Oakburn Street
  • Action:
    • the broken sign for south bound traffic will be replaced
    • a new sign will be added for north bound traffic near Waterford Gate
  
  
• Temporary road on Sandhurst Crescent
  • Issue:
    • a resident questioned logic of temporary road on eastern segment of Sandhurst Crescent
  • Action:
    • the temporary road was added until the land required to complete the development of the street becomes available
    • the temporary road is necessary to eliminate the long Cul De Sac on that segment of Sandhurst Crescent
    • a long Cul De Sac increases access time for emergency vehicles, and is not recommended
  
  
• Dumping of trash on Sandhurst Crescent
  • Issue:
    • a resident complained about dumping of trash on the private land adjacent to the temporary road on Sandhurst Crescent
  • Action:
    • a NO DUMPING sign will be posted on the subject property
    • letters to nearby residents will be sent out to notify them of the new sign & the potential for patrols from the by-law officer
  
  
• Transit connections to the City of Toronto
  • Issue:
    • several residents have requested a transit connection between the City of Pickering and Greater Toronto
  • Action:
    • city staff will investigate this possibility

The last topic of discussion was related to the Safer Streets Traffic Management Strategy Report.  This document is currently in it's first draft and is available for review by the public.

The report provides a general overview of the requirements for developing and maintaining a transportation system for the City of Pickering.   It outlines the various traffic control devices and enforcement and education methods that are available to ensure that the system operates within its design requirements. Finally, it provides a summary of the results from the City's pilot traffic calming projects.

After completion of the public comment phase, the City Staff will put together a second draft of the report for presentation to Council in September.  The final document will become a guideline of procedures for traffic planning.  This will include recommendations for implementation of traffic calming measures throughout the City of Pickering.

The AWCA is currently reviewing this report and will provide written comment to City staff by the end of June.