Could the third time be the charm for frustrated residents of Orchard Point?
At Monday night’s council committee meeting, council gave the green light to consider funding a new traffic study that might pave the way for long-sought traffic lights at the busy intersection of Orchard Point Road and Highway 12.
If the decision is ratified by council next week and ultimately approved during budget deliberations early next year, it would be the third such traffic study conducted there.
“I think folks will be pleased” council is “moving forward” with the study, said Ward 1 Coun. Ted Emond.
If the intersection fails again to meet the stringent requirements set out by Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation (MTO), Emond said other avenues will need to be considered.
He said if “evidence comes up short”, he would encourage his colleagues to “continue to petition the province on behalf of the residents.”
During studies in 2007 and 2016, the evidence same up short. Here’s why.
For traffic signals to be warranted and approved on a provincial highway, Book 12 of the Ontario Traffic Manual is used to evaluate the requirement based on four sets of justification criteria. These justifications are:
- Minimum Vehicle Volumes
- Delay to Cross Traffic
- Collision Experience
- Combination Experience
Lights would be warranted if one of three justifications were met to 100%, or if any two factors are met to 80%.
The 2016 MTO study included an eight-hour traffic count on August 10, 2016. The results indicated that vehicular volumes was only satisfied to 13%, and cross traffic delays was satisfied to 26%.
“This data indicated that signals are not warranted and communication was forwarded to the city to indicate signals would not be approved by the MTO,” said a staff report presented Monday night.
The report acknowledged “the issue of signalization at this intersection has been a concern for quite some time and has been debated by the MTO, city staff and affected property owners since at least 2005.”
However, the justification has never been satisfied to the MTO.
“Simply put, until a traffic analysis has been completed that demonstrates the requirement for a signalized intersection, the MTO will not approve the initiative,” says the report.
Emond said traffic studies can’t capture every element of traffic and issues.
He said this is “a situation where more than just a textbook needs to be reviewed to make a decision.”
As the report outlined, the MTO may base its decision on other circumstances. “It is important to note that warrants are guidelines and as such, engineering judgment may be used to support the installation of a traffic signal under special circumstances.”
Orillia Mayor Steve Clarke stressed there “are other considerations that can be made.” He suggested the next study consider peak traffic counts on a busy summer weekend.
Wesley Cyr, the city’s manager of engineering and transportation, said the Traffic Manual dictates when the counts are done, but said the goal would be to try to understand seasonal and weekend traffic loads.
“In order to substantiate timing for a signalized intersection at Orchard Point Road and Highway 12, empirical data representative of peak existing and projected future conditions is required,” said the report to council committee. “A coordinated traffic study will provide a recommendation for an appropriate plan to address the safety concerns at this intersection.”
The request for $55,000 to complete the study will be considered during 2019 budget deliberations.
