Campbell-Grant Traffic Management Report for Water Street in the Campbell-Grant Neightborhood
Purpose
The purpose of this report is to analyze the existing traffic pattern in the southern portion of the Campbell-Grant Neighborhood, bounded by Copper Street, Grant Road, Campbell Avenue, and Tucson Boulevard. This analysis will investigate the volume and speed of vehicles traveling in the neighborhood.
Background
On June 28, 1994, the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program staff met with representatives from the Campbell-Grant Neighborhood and discussed the concerns and requests of the property owners and residents. At the meeting, complaints were made regarding cut-through traffic and speeding on Water Street and Copper Street, and a request was made to close Water Street at Wilson to prevent cut through traffic. On November 2, 1994, counters were placed on Copper Street and Water Street between Norris Avenue and Wilson Avenue for speed and volume counts. Counters were also placed on Norris, Olsen, and Plumer Avenue between Spring Street and Grant Road for volume counts only. All vehicle speeds were excessive on Copper Street and Water Street between Campbell Avenue and Tucson Boulevard for both eastbound and westbound traffic. A traffic circle was recommended on Plumer Avenue at Water Street and on Plumer Avenue at Copper Street to help reduce the speed of vehicles and also to enhance the beautification of the neighborhood. In January, 1995, two speed humps were installed on Water Street and two speed humps were installed on Copper Street between Campbell Avenue and Tucson Boulevard, north of Grant Road. In June, 1995, a traffic circle was installed on Water Street at Plumer Avenue. In March, 1996, a follow-up traffic study was requested to determine how the installation of the speed humps and the traffic circle had affected the speed and volume of traffic. Overall, the speed and volume of traffic was significantly reduced by the placement of the mitigation.
In November, 2003, the residents of Water Street in the Campbell-Grant Neighborhood submitted a petition, requesting a follow-up traffic study expressing concern about the volume and speed of traffic in their neighborhood.
Data Analysis
Average Daily Traffic (ADT) counts were taken in various locations to determine the average speed and volume of traffic on Water Street. The results of the data collected for Campbell-Grant Neighborhood are on the attached map and tables.
Traffic volume should not exceed 1,000 vehicles per day on any neighborhood residential street. Traffic volumes on neighborhood streets should be consistent with the density of residential development that is served by a particular neighborhood street. As a general guideline, traffic volumes on neighborhood streets (total for both directions) should not exceed.
- Local Street, low density - 1,000 vehicles per day, or 75 vehicles per hour.
- Local Street, high density - 2,000 vehicles per day or 150 vehicles per hour.
- Collector Street - 8,000 vehicles per day, or 800 vehicles per hour.
Vehicle speeds on neighborhood streets generally should be:
- Local Street - 25 miles per hour
- Collector street - 30 to 35 miles per hour
Volume
On a residential street, traffic should not exceed 1,000 vehicles per day or 75 vehicles per hour. The ADT did not exceed 1,000 vehicles per day or 75 vehicles per hour in any of the traffic count locations. This indicates that the ADT is normal, and there is no excessive traffic. The volume of traffic was significantly reduced in all locations except for a slight increase in traffic at the following locations:
- Traffic entering Norris Avenue at Grant Road
- Traffic entering and exiting Olsen Avenue at Grant Road
- Traffic (westbound) on Water Street between Norris Avenue and Plumer Avenue
- Traffic (eastbound) on Water Street between Norris Avenue and Plumer Avenue
Speed
The average vehicle speed ranged from 14mph to 26mph, which does not indicate a speeding problem.
The 85th Percentile gives the average speed of 85% of the traffic traveling on a specified street. Vehicles traveling greater than 25mph is considered high for a residential street. Except for Plumer Avenue between Grant Road and Spring Street, The 85th percentile was above normal (between 27% and 32%) and indicates a slight speeding problem at the following locations:
- Water Street west of Olsen Avenue-eastbound (30) /westbound (29)
- Water Street east of Plumer Avenue -eastbound (31) /westbound (30)
- Copper Street west of Wilson Avenue-eastbound (32) /westbound (30)
- Copper Street east of Olsen Avenue-eastbound (27) /westbound (29)
- Olsen Avenue between Grant and Spring Street-northbound (28) /southbound (28)
- Norris Avenue between Grant and Spring Street-northbound (27) /southbound (28)
- Copper Street east of Campbell Avenue-eastbound (28) / westbound (27)
- Spring Street between Olsen Avenue and Plumer Avenue-eastbound (29)
The percent of vehicles traveling over 25mph was under 50%, except for the following two locations, which is slightly above normal, and indicates a slight speeding problem:
- Water Street east of Plumer Avenue-eastbound (53)
- Copper Street west of Wilson Avenue-eastbound (54)
Overall, the traffic speed has decreased significantly since the traffic counts were taken in 1994 and 1996.
The 85th percentile (average speed of 85% of the traffic on a specified street) increased slightly or remained the same from 1996 at the following three locations, but does not indicate a speeding problem:
- Water Street between Norris Avenue and Olsen Avenue (from 27 to 30 mph)
- Water Street east of Plumer Avenue (30 mph-remained the same)
- Copper Street between Norris Avenue and Plumer Avenue (27 mph-remained the same)
Recommendations
The Neighborhood Traffic Management Program staff will work with the Neighborhood to address any concerns regarding these counts. The overall volume of vehicles for the Campbell-Grant Neighborhood seems consistent with the density of residential development. According to data assembled by the institute of Transportation Engineers, single family detached residents serve as origins or destinations for five to twenty trips on a typical workday. The streets that exhibit speeds higher than 85th Percentile over 25 miles per hour indicate the need for increased police enforcement and/or implement and evaluate remedial actions.
