Hornsby Shire Council |
Attachment to Report No. WK46/11 Page 0 |
MEMBER
FOR HORNSBY – Mr Matt Kean MP
MEMBER
FOR KU-RING-GAI – Mr Barry O’ Farrell MP
HORNSBY
POLICE – Snr Const Debbie Birmingham
ROADS
AND TRAFFIC AUTHORITY – Mrs Divna Cvetojevic
COUNCILLOR BRUCE MILLS – Council’s
representative
EXECUTIVE MANAGER,
WORKS – For your information
NSW
FIRE SERVICE – For your information
NSW AMBULANCE SERVICE – For your information
SHORELINK
BUS SERVICE – For your information
Road:
Location: Intersection
with
File Ref: F2004/09775 LTC
No: 27 /2011
Electorate: Hornsby
/ Ku-ring-gai UBD Ref: 153M3
Subject: Traffic
Safety Improvements
Date
of Circulation: 14 July 2011
______________________________________________________________________
REFERRAL OF TRAFFIC MATTER FOR COMMENT OR
OBJECTION, IF ANY
________________________________________________________________________
SUMMARY
This report details
the traffic implications of safety improvements recommended by Council at the intersection
of
SUBJECT
Traffic and Road
Safety Branch has identified the intersection of
There have been 20 crashes
recorded at this site in a five year period between July 2003 and June 2008. Ten
of the crashes resulted in injuries, qualifying the site as a Blackspot in
accordance with Auslink National Blackspot criteria. A proposal for a median
closure was developed in 2010. The Federal Office of Road Safety offered
Council 100% funding for a median island treatment under the National Blackspot
programme. The proposed median closure was advertised in August 2010 attracting
a significant number of objections including a detailed traffic report on
behalf of the retailers. The retailer’s traffic report recommended signposting
timed turn bans as an alternative solution. On 24 November 2010, Council
resolved not to progress LTC item No: 33/2010 in its current form using a
median strip solution.
LTC 27/2011 – Edgeworth
David Avenue Hornsby Page 2
A revised proposal
for timed turn bans at the intersection was developed based on the retailer’s
traffic report and advertised in March 2011. Once again, significant numbers of
objections were received from the retailers. Council at its meeting of 27/04/11
resolved (via a motion of urgency MOU2/11)
that:
1. Local
Traffic Committee Item for proposed ‘No Right Turn’ signs not proceed
in its current form.
2. A report be
prepared for consideration by the Local Traffic Committee that proposes a
solution that improves road safety and reduces the impacts on local businesses,
by including the following:
a) Removal of the tree and relocation of the power
pole on the northern side of the intersection which obscure visibility.
b) The left turn only on
c) The
intersection to have ‘Do not queue across intersection’ marked at least 10
metres both sides of the intersection to allow for safer turning movements.
TRAFFIC IMPLICATIONS
a) Removal of the tree and relocation of the
power pole on the northern side of the intersection which obscure visibility.
It has been reported
by the retailers that the tree and power pole located along
b) The left turn only on Balmoral Street be
“painted only” to allow heavy vehicle movements
The proposal for
timed turn bans advertised in April 2011 included regulatory signage and
painted delineation lines with no physical restrictions at the intersection.
Heavy vehicles would be allowed to turn left out of
LTC 27/2011 – Edgeworth
David Avenue Hornsby Page
3
c) The
intersection to have ‘Do not queue across intersection’ marked at least 10
metres both sides of the intersection to allow for safer turning movements.
Monitoring of the
intersection shows that queuing across
CONCLUSION
Traffic and Road Safety Branch
concludes that:
· Relocation of the power pole and removal of the tree would only partially address 4 out of the 20 crashes at the intersection (3% of all crashes).
· There are no regulatory means of excepting heavy vehicles from a turn ban restriction in New South Wales. The ‘All traffic must turn left’ signs in Balmoral Street are necessary to stop cross intersection movements, which contribute to 6 out of 20 crashes.
· ‘Keep Clear’ marking on the northern carriageway of Edgeworth Avenue can be provided to improve access to and from Balmoral Street during the morning peak.
A
summary of differed treatments is provided below:
Treatment |
Cost |
Crash Reduction |
Comments |
|
$85,000 |
100% |
Self enforcing, limits access. Auslink funded |
Posted turn bans |
$4,000 |
60% |
Requires Police enforcement, reduced impact on access. RTA funded. |
Relocation of PP and removal of tree |
$65,000 (TBC) |
3% |
Significant cost, very low crash reduction. No impact on access.
Council Funded. |
Keep Clear |
$1,000 |
0% |
Improves access, no crash reduction, RTA funded. |
FORMAL MEETING
Local Traffic Committee representatives met in Function Room 1, ground floor Council Chambers, 296 Pacific Highway, Hornsby, at 3:15pm Friday 1 June 2011 to make a recommendation.
PRESENT
Councillor Bruce Mills Council representative
Mr Barry O’Farrell MP Member for Ku-Ring-Gai
Mr Matt Kean MP Member for Hornsby
Snr Constable Debbie Birmingham Hornsby Police
Ms Divna Cvetnojevic Roads and Traffic Authority
Mr Carl Mella Roads and Traffic Authority
Mr Lawrence Nagy Chair
Mr Radek Zarzycki Snr Traffic Engineer HSC
LTC 27/2011 – Edgeworth
David Avenue Hornsby Page
4
7 representatives of the business community also attended the meeting, to address the Committee with their views in relation to the proposal.
Mr Terry Georgas
Mr Dominic Morandin
Mr Michael Burke
Ms Kerrie Simpson
Mr Trevor Simpson
Mr Phil Austerberry
Mr Ian Ezzy
The business representatives unanimously objected to any action which would restrict turns at the intersection due to the possible adverse impact on their business. The speakers reiterated comments provided during the written public consultation regarding sight distance at the intersection, heavy vehicle access, queuing across Balmoral Road, pedestrian access and veracity of the crash data. Councillor Mills and both Local members supported the public comments generally.
Ian Ezzy presented the Committee with his assessment of the issues and proposed solutions involving hedge trimming, a marked pedestrian foot crossing, seagull marking, removal of trees on both sides of Edgeworth David Avenue and traffic signal sequencing.
Mr O’Farrell
advised that the
RECOMMENDATION THAT
1. The tree on the north western corner be
removed and the hedge trimmed back to Council’s road boundary. Unanimous.
2. The
RTA be requested to investigate an extension of the 40 km/h School Zone in
Edgeworth David Avenue from near Palmerston Road to west of Balmoral Road. Unanimous.
3. The
RTA be requested to provide “It is illegal to queue across intersections”
facility in Edgeworth David Avenue at Balmoral Road. Unanimous.
4. The full time ‘No Right Turn’ restriction proposal as shown on attached plans LTCCP 24/2011 be provided. (Not supported by Councillor Mills, the Member for Hornsby and the Member for Ku-ring-gai. The RTA representative presented a report on the crash data, prompting Council on the types of crashes and injury rates at this location. The RTA raised concerns regarding the previous proposal, which only included ‘No Right Turn’ restrictions from Edgeworth David Ave during the PM peak (3PM-7PM, Mon-Fri), as it only addressed 64% of these right turn crashes. The RTA representative requested the minute’s record that while the RTA does not object to these recommendations, they are concerned that the original proposal, involving a physical median that addressed all right turn crashes, was not endorsed by Hornsby Council and Black Spot Funding was returned unspent.
Note – Councillor Mills requested recommendation 4 be referred to Council for a decision. A report will be prepared for the Ordinary Meeting of Wednesday 20 July 2011.
LTC 27/2011 – Edgeworth
David Avenue Hornsby Page 5
Note
for voting Local Traffic Committee members.
Under the RTA’s “Delegation of Functions to
Regulate Traffic” (operation of local traffic committees) you are required to
comment or indicate your acceptance or objection to the recommendation of this
report. Your response must be submitted in writing within 14 days of the date
of this notice. Please send your response via return email for the item, or
email trafficbranch@hornsby.nsw.gov.au
or fax 9847 6559. For further information please contact Council's Senior
Traffic Engineer Mr Radek Zarzycki on 9847 6616. Upon of receipt of your
comments the matter will be referred to Council for action.
________________________________________________________________________
Chairman
Date __________