As part of a comprehensive evaluation of traffic along Murray Lane, north/northwest of the 3-way stop at Murray Lane & Holly Tree Gap extending to the City limits just beyond Johnson Chapel Road W. and Dahlia Drive, staff engaged our consulting traffic engineer, Greg Judy with Neel-Schaffer. Mr. Judy was asked to specifically study three issues as follows:
- The 3-way stop intersection at Murray Lane and Holly Tree Gap;
- The potential for a Mid-Block Pedestrian Crossing of Murray Lane near Highland Road;
- The speed limit along Murray Lane in this corridor.
The request for consideration of a mid-block crossing came from the Highland View Subdivision HOA. Such a crossing is in keeping with the City's 2030 Plan, which desires to provide safe and efficient pedestrian features within one mile of a school. A sidewalk leading to Scales Elementary School exists on the east side of Murray Lane across from the Highland View neighborhood entrance at Highland Road. However, to access this sidewalk, parents and students must traverse the Highland View entrance which has no pedestrian facilities and then must attempt to cross Murray Lane to access the sidewalk. While staff has had concerns regarding the safety of such a crossing primarily due to the layout of the Highland View entrance road and decorative features, we agreed to ask Mr. Judy for his assessment and recommendation.
In reviewing this potential mid-block crossing addition, Mr. Judy studied the most effective options given the existing geometry and facilities. The attached report identified three separate scenarios which were considered;
- Scenario 1A. North side of intersection at Highland Road;
- Scenario 1B. South side of intersection at Highland Road; and,
- Scenario 2. North side of intersection at Waterford Drive.
Each of these scenarios included a warrant review analysis which fully considered the minimum pedestrian volume threshold, induced pedestrian demand, minimum vehicular volume for installation of crossings, maximum vehicular volume for installation of crossings, posted speed warrant, nearest controlled crossing, visibility warrant, illumination warrant, and an accessibility warrant. Ultimately the report does not identify any notable preference in one location over another. However, it did provide some advantages and disadvantages for each scenario. For any scenario, there is some small impact to the HOA's landscaping and irrigation at the entrance and they have accepted responsibility for any modification to those features at their expense.
City staff in consultation with Mr. Judy and members of the Highland View HOA Board have agreed that Scenario 1B will provide the most benefit for pedestrian access at a relatively reasonable expense. According to the the City's Mid-Block Crossing Policy, the City Commission shall approve the construction of any Mid-Block Pedestrian Crossing where the expense to construct exceeds $10,000. In this case, we estimate the overall aggregate expense for construction of an ADA corner ramp, a striped cross walk, and the installation of solar powered pedestrian level rapid flashing warning lights to be approximately $13,000. A general location map is attached to further illustrate the preferred location.
Before a mid-block crossing can be installed, the speed limit along this segment of Murray Lane must also be studied. The City's Mid-Block Crossing Policy states that crossings will only be considered on roads where the speed limit is 40 mph or less. The current speed limit on this segment of Murray Lane is 45 mph. Therefore, as part of his study, Mr. Judy assessed current vehicle speeds and the roadway conditions along this segment to provide a recommendation regarding the appropriate speed limit.
Mr. Judy's report summarizes that, "Speed data indicate that motorists often exceed the speed limit within the study area, specifically in the westbound direction. We feel that these speeds are undesirable for this section of Murray Lane because of the access it provides to Scales Elementary, the related 15 mph school speed zone, multiple surrounding residential subdivisions and private residences. Although existing roadway geometric characteristics support higher travel speeds, frequent driveway access points, the residential nature of the area and the presence of Scales Elementary suggest that a lower posted speed limit may be considered appropriate. Based on these findings and the interest in implementing a marked pedestrian crossing on Murray Lane, we suggest that city officials consider implementing a posted speed limit of 40 mph along Murray Lane effective from Holly Tree Gap Road to north of Scales Elementary School (Johnson Chapel Rd W)."
Therefore, based on Mr. Judy's report and findings and the City's Mid-Block Crossing Policy, staff recommends a reduction in the posted speed limit from 45 to 40 miles per hour for the section of Murray Lane from the 3-way stop at Holly Tree Gap heading north/northwest to the City limits and the installation of a mid-block pedestrian crossing on Murray Lane at Highland Road.
Note that Mr. Judy's report on the third item studied, the three-way stop intersection at Murray Lane and Holly Tree Gap, will be presented and discussed separately with the City Commission.
Please direct any questions to the Public Works Director. |