#03 Presentation and action on Milwaukee-Court two-way traffic conversion alternatives
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM
June 27, 2011
TO: City Council
FROM: Carl J. Weber P.E., Director of Public Works
SUBJECT: Report on Milwaukee Street/Court Street Two-Way Conversion
Reduced Scope Analysis
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council:
1. Make a determination whether two-way traffic provides a superior
environment for the Downtown.
2. If so determined, program the conversion so as to coordinate with future
resurfacing or reconstruction of the various segments of the streets.
City Manager’s Recommendation
The City Manager recommends approval of converting to two-way traffic in the
downtown in coordination with future reconstruction or resurfacing projects.
As noted in the communication, it is recommended that the conversion be
coordinated with future bridge reconstruction and street resurfacing of West
Milwaukee St.
Suggested Motion
I move to:
A. Retain the current one way pattern for Milwaukee and Court Streets
or:
B. Plan to convert Milwaukee Street from Main St to midblock between Locust
St. and the Five Points Intersection to two-way when the street is
programmed for resurfacing or reconstruction.
Request
The City Council reviewed the Milwaukee Street/Court Street Two-Way
Conversion Study on 12/1/10 and deferred action on the study pending review by
the Downtown Business Alliance. The DBA, upon reviewing the study and
completing a supplemental business and property owner survey, endorsed the
only the conversion of Milwaukee St. from Main St. to between Locust St and the
Five Points Intersection. Staff then retained Ayres and Associates to study the
traffic impact of this reduced scope alternative. That supplement study is now
complete.
Background
Subsequent to the conversion of Franklin and Jackson Streets through downtown
to two way traffic, the City hired Ayres and Associates to study Milwaukee and
Court Streets to evaluate the feasibility of converting those two streets to two way
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traffic as well. The final draft of the study was submitted to staff in August of 2010.
A summary was presented to the DDA Board on 8/9/10 with a request for review
and comment. The DDA referred the report to its Traffic and Parking Committee. A
summary was also presented to the Transportation Committee for informational
purposes on 8/11/10. The following is a text version of those summaries:
Milwaukee/Court Street Two-way Conversion Summary
Three alternatives were evaluated:
Alternative 1(Base scenario)
-Both Milwaukee and Court would be converted
from one-way to two-way commencing at Atwood Avenue on the east. Milwaukee
Street east of the Five-point intersection would be cul-de-saced, diverting traffic to
Centerway on the west end of the conversion. Cost $1,777,680.
Alternative 2-
Both Milwaukee and Court would be converted from one-way to
two-way from Atwood Avenue on the east to the Five-point intersection, on the
west with only westbound Milwaukee Street access remaining open to the Five-
points. Cost $1,415,900.
Alternative 2A-
Following the review of the costs associated with Alternative 2,
which required a costly reconstruction of the Five-points, Alternative 2 was
adjusted to allow Milwaukee to remain one way west of Laurel Avenue and Court
Street to remain one-way west of Academy Street. Cost $385,010.
Significant Findings of the Study
Daily traffic volumes on Court and Milwaukee will remain relatively similar to
existing volumes observed with the one-way system under all Alternatives.
Under the “base scenario” traffic signals would have to be installed at the
intersection of Academy and Centerway. Signals would not be required at
Academy Street under Alternative 2A.
The conversion of Milwaukee Street and Court Street to two-way streets
would only marginally affect on-street parking
Single unit trucks (less than 30 feet in length) could be accommodated with
the two way conversion of Milwaukee and Court with the removal of the
curb bump-out at the Milwaukee Street intersection with Main. However,
the Court Street and Milwaukee Street intersections with Main Street and
Parker Drive will not accommodate the turning radius of semi trailer trucks
under the two-way street operation without intersection improvements
including ROW acquisition.
Recommended improvements include:
Updating traffic signal timings and traffic control equipment at each
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traffic signalized intersection.
Updating signing and pavement markings to accommodate the new
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traffic movements.
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Installing traffic signals at the intersection of Centerway and
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Academy Street for the “Base” scenario.
DDA Survey
In January of this year the DDA undertook an opinion survey of business
and property owners along Milwaukee St. It was reasoned that a reduction
in the overall cost of the project was desirable and that Milwaukee St,
because of its greater walk-in business, would benefit more than Court St
from a conversion. On the west side of the river, 22 businesses supported
the conversion and 6 opposed it. East of the river, all 10 of those
expressing an opinion opposed the conversion.
DDA Endorsement
On January 11, 2011 the DDA board, after considering the Ayres Traffic
Study, the cost estimates and their opinion survey, voted to endorse the
conversion of West Milwaukee St from Main St. to between Locust St and
the Five Points Intersection. Their endorsement came with the
understanding that this alternative would need to be evaluated for traffic
impacts.
Supplemental Traffic Analysis
Ayres and Associates reran the traffic projection model and reevaluated the
impacted intersections for the limited conversion of only West Milwaukee St
and reported the following conclusion:
“Based on the projected traffic volume comparison it is concluded
that the change to two-way traffic operation between Main and
Academy (sic, actually between Main and Center) Streets has
negligible impact on downtown traffic volumes.”
Staff Conclusions
The initial and supplemental traffic studies have indicated that there is no
substantial impact on traffic volumes and intersection level of service by the
various conversion alternatives. Further, there was no measurable increase
or decrease in accidents on the Jackson/Franklin conversion after those
streets were converted to two-way traffic. To that end, the question of
whether or not to convert appears to be traffic neutral. It then becomes a
question of the cost of the conversion vs. the expected benefit of
reestablishing a more conventional traffic pattern for a central business
district as was recommended in the City of Janesville Downtown Vision and
Strategy.
Ayres has estimated the cost of conversion of West Milwaukee St. from
Main St. to between Locust St and the Five Points Intersection to be
$121,850. While this is significantly less than the other alternatives
previously considered, it’s still a significant expense during a time when the
City is undergoing unprecedented financial challenges.
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Should the City Council determine that it is appropriate to convert W.
Milwaukee St. to two-way traffic; it is recommended that the conversion be
coordinated with future bridge reconstruction and street resurfacing of West
Milwaukee St. This will allow for about $20,000 in savings for redundant
work items such as pavement marking and mobilization, allow for remaining
costs to be shared under any grant that may be obtained for the pavement
and bridge work and allow for the transition to take place at a time when
traffic is disrupted for street work.
cc: Eric Levitt, City Manager
Jacob J. Winzenz, Assistant City Manager/Dir. of Administrative Services
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