University Park Drive and Arcola Avenue Intersection (16-DU-14)

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Department:	Office of the City Clerk	Sponsors:
Category:	Administration Report

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CONCLUSION

The intersection of University Park Drive and Arcola Avenue has been optimized for traffic flow with respect to signal timing and pedestrian movements for current traffic conditions. The Administration will be undertaking a functional study in 2017 to further explore design options which will address the traffic concerns in this area.

BACKGROUND

At the June 27, 2016 meeting of City Council, the following motion was made:

“Administration conduct a traffic study to identify options to address traffic congestion at University Drive and Arcola Avenue and return by end of August with a recommended solution.”

Administration conducted a review of the intersection and can confirm that the intersection had improvements for signal timing completed previously. It was found that further alteration of the traffic signals would not result in any significant traffic improvements. Traffic conditions along the corridor will only be significantly improved with infrastructure investments.

DISCUSSION

Arcola Avenue between the intersection of Ring Road and University Park Drive is one of the busiest sections of roadway in the city with approximately 45,000 vehicles per day. In response to the public and Council concerns, Administration had conducted major traffic signal timing improvements over the last five years. These modifications improved traffic flow along the Arcola Avenue corridor. This work included removing pedestrian movements across Arcola Avenue on the west side of University Park Drive with the goal of providing more capacity for left turns. The Administration’s analysis at the time of the traffic signal improvements acknowledged that a major contribution to congestion at the intersection of University Park Drive and Arcola Avenue was due to the bottleneck caused by Arcola Avenue and Ring Road bridge.

There are currently two major projects identified in the draft Transportation Master Plan for future improvements directly along this portion of Arcola Avenue. These projects include:

· Intersection Improvements at Arcola Avenue and University Park Drive; and

· Assiniboine Avenue and Ring Road Northbound on Ramp

The timing of these upgrades is approximately 2024, however, there will be opportunity to stage the construction to allow for earlier improvements. Furthermore, the planned Prince of Wales Drive extension to Wascana Parkway will indirectly improve the conditions along Arcola Avenue as this will provide an alternate route for drivers going into downtown from the east end of Regina.

The Administration also explored high-level options to reduce wait times eastbound from the Ring Road off-ramp onto Arcola Avenue. An option that would have to be further explored is the addition of a third lane eastbound on Arcola Avenue to the University Park Drive intersection. This would enable drivers to bypass the queue of vehicles waiting to turn left onto the bridge over Ring Road. A high-level look at the future Arcola Avenue and University Park Drive intersection also indicated that the inclusion of dual eastbound left turn movements would provide for an improved level of service. Administration has plans to further investigate these options in a functional study planned for 2017.

In addition, the Administration conducted a high-level review of the intersection of Ring Road and Assiniboine Avenue to determine if it is possible to add new access ramps to increase traffic flow at this overpass. The analysis indicated that a new ramp from Assiniboine Avenue northbound onto Ring Road can be accommodated within the existing area with some modifications. However, a new ramp for southbound traffic on Ring Road to eastbound on Assiniboine Avenue is currently not feasible due to the need to widen the existing overpass at Assiniboine Avenue to accommodate two-way traffic. This option will require further cost benefit analysis in the 2017 functional study.

The timing of all future work is directly related to the funding available from Servicing Agreement Fees. As indicated previously, a functional study is planned for 2017 which will explore improvements along Arcola Avenue from College Avenue to Prince of Wales Drive. This study will help to inform the scope of future improvements and related timing of recommended improvements.

RECOMMENDATION IMPLICATIONS

Financial Implications