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Home My WebLink About2012-04-02; Traffic Safety Commission; ; Investigate the need to establish an ALL-WAY STOP at the intersection of Adams Street and Highland Drive-, CITY OF CARLSBAD TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION STAFF REPORT COMMISSION MEETING OF: April 2, 2012 LOCATION: INITIATED BY: Intersection of Adams Street and Highland Drive Robert Lindquist ITEM NO. 6B REQUESTED ACTION: Investigate the need to establish an ALL-WAY STOP at the intersection of Adams Street and Highland Drive. BACKGROUND: The subject intersection is located in the northwest quadrant of the city overlooking Agua Hedionda Lagoon (see Exhibit I). Due to the geometric configuration of the intersection and the hillside characteristics of the streets, sight distance from Highland Drive is limited, making access to and from Adams Street difficult for drivers. DATA: Adams Street and Highland Drive are unclassified in the Circulation Element of the General Plan. Adams Street has hillside street characteristics with a curvilinear alignment that follows the hillside topography overlooking Agua Hedionda Lagoon. This segment of Adams Street has no curbs, gutters, or sidewalks, with street lighting typically limited to intersections only. Adams Street has a typical width of approximately 26 feet with a single travel Jane in each direction, separated by a painted double yellow centerline. The limited roadway width and hillside topography typically do not allow for on-street parking on this segment of Adams Street. Highland Drive intersects Adams Street at a skewed angle on the inside of a horizontal curve, which limits sight visibility from Highland Drive looking to the left on Adams Street. Highland Drive is currently controlled by a STOP sign at Adams Street and has no curb, gutter or sidewalks. Street lighting is typically limited to intersections only. This portion of Highland Drive has a typical width of approximately 26 feet with a single travel lane in each direction separated by a double yellow centerline stripe. As part of this request, staff conducted an analysis to establish an ALL-WAY STOP at the subject intersection. The analysis is based on Section 2B.07 of the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) which specifies the consideration of minimum traffic volumes, accident history, vehicle/pedestrian conflicts, sight distance restrictions and other criteria to determine whether or not an ALL-WAY STOP is justified at a particular location. A 24-hour approach count was conducted on November 15, 2011, the results of which are shown on Table I. Page I r CITY OF CARLSBAD TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION STAFF REPORT COMMISSION MEETING OF: ( continued) April 2, 2012 ITEM NO. 6B. Table 1: 24-Hour Traffic Count Summary at Adams Street and Highland Drive Adams Street Hi2hland Drive Total Time Northbound Southbound Subtotal N/A Westbound Subtotal Volume 0000-0100 2 6 8 I I 9 0100-0200 0 1 I 0 0 1 0200-0300 0 0 0 0 0 0 0300-0400 3 0 3 1 I 4 0400-0500 2 0 2 I I 3 0500-0600 3 5 g. 0 0 8 0600-0700 17 13 30 4 4 34 0700-0800 27 24 51 5 5 56 0800-0900 23 28 51 5 5 56 0900-1000 22 22 44 4 4 48 1000-1100 16 20 36 4 4 40 1100-1200 15 23 38 2 2 40 1200-1300 15 37 52 9 9 61 1300-1400 23 30 53 2 2 55 1400-1500 24 59 83 4 4 87 1500-1600 27 49 76 8 8 84 1600-1700 28 59 87 6 6 93 1700-1800 12 59 71 4 4 75 1800-1900 11 36 47 2 2 49 1900-2000 4 28 32 5 5 37 2000-2100 6 15 21 2 2 23 2100-2200 4 17 21 3 3 24 2200-2300 2 11 13 0 0 13 2300-2400 1 7 8 0 0 8 Totals 287 549 836 72 72 908 In the past five years, there have been no reported collisions at the subject intersection. Based on traffic volumes and collision history, the intersection of Adams Street and Highland Drive did not meet the California MUTCD criteria for ALL-WAY STOP installation. Staff also conducted field measurements of the existing sight distance conditions at the subject intersection. The posted speed limit on this portion of Adams Street is 25 miles per hour and the minimum stopping sight distance required for 25 miles per hour is 150 feet. The results of the sight distance evaluation conducted by staff are shown in Table 2 and consider the minimum stopping sight distance requirements for 25 miles per hour. Table 2: Sight Distance Evaluation at Adams Street and Highland Drive Location Measured Si2ht Distance Minimum SSD for 25 MPH Meets SSD for 2S MPH? Looking to the North 284' 150' Yes Looking to the South 141' 150' NO Page2 CITY OF CARLSBAD TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION STAFF REPORT COMMISSION MEETING OF: ( continued) April 2, 2012 ITEMNO.6B Figures I and 2 are photographs that show the sight distance conditions from Highland Drive looking to the north and south, respectively. Figure 1: Sight distance from Highland Drive looking to the north Figure 2: Sight distance from Highland Drive looking to the south Page 3 CITY OF CARLSBAD TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION STAFF REPORT COMMISSION MEETING OF: ( continued) April 2, 2012 ITEMNO.68 Section 28.07 of the California MUTCD allows consideration of an ALL-WAY STOP at "locations where a road user, after stopping, cannot see conflicting traffic and is not able to reasonably safely negotiate the intersection unless the conflicting cross traffic is also required to stop. " RECOMMENDATION: Based on the findings contained in this report, the Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee recommends the installation of an ALL-WAY STOP at the intersection of Adams Street and Highland Drive. NECESSARY CITY COUNCIL ACTION: The City Council must adopt an ordinance to establish the STOP control as recommended. Page4 Proposed ALL-WAY STOP at Adams Street and Highland Drive Exhibit 1