Supplementary Agenda of Local Traffic Committee Meeting

Local Traffic Committee Meeting

1 April 2019

MEETING AGENDA – PRECIS

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEMS

The following report/s appear as late item/s with approval as information required for the preparation of the report/s was not available at the time of distribution of the Business Paper.

Parking Matters

ITEM PAGE #

LTC0419 Item 9 Charles Street, Leichhardt - Proposed Angled Parking
(Gulgadya Ward/Balmain Electorate/Leichhardt PAC) 3

Item No: LTC0419 Item 9

Subject: Charles Street, Leichhardt - Proposed Angled Parking
(Gulgadya Ward/Balmain Electorate/Leichhardt PAC)

Prepared By: David Yu - Engineer - Traffic and Parking Services

Authorised By: John Stephens - Traffic and Transport Services Manager

RECOMMENDATION

THAT

a) ‘45 degree angle parking, rear to kerb, vehicles under 6 metres only’ restrictions be installed on the eastern side of Charles Street, Leichhardt from the driveway of No.53A Charles Street to the boundary of No.7/9 Charles Street; and

b) Existing bike logos be amended to accommodate 45 degree angle parking layout

c) 10m ‘No Stopping’ zones be installed on the eastern and western side of Charles Street, north of William Street.

BACKGROUND

A number of residents of Charles Street, Leichhardt requested the implementation of angle parking in their street to address concerns with limited parking availability. Parking occupancy surveys undertaken in Charles Street have indicated high parking occupancy levels.

Charles Street, Leichhardt (between Darley Road and William Street)
Traffic Volume	429 vehicles per day (bi-directional)
Recorded Accident History (5 year)	Nil.
Recorded 85% speed	49.6km/h
Speed Limit	50km/h
Carriageway width	13.3m
Road Classification (State, Regional, Local)	Local
Bike Route	Local

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Nil.

OTHER STAFF COMMENTS

It is proposed to signpost ‘45⁰ angle parking rear to kerb vehicles under 6m only’ on the eastern side (odd numbered houses) of Charles Street as shown on the following map. This angle parking proposal is expected to increase the number of parking spaces in the street by approximately 15 spaces.

It should be noted that the road is not wide enough (13.3 metre carriageway) to allow angle parking on both sides of the road. The western side of Charles street will not be signposted with the exception of the ‘No Stopping Zone.

It should also be noted that parking in Charles Street (between Darley Road and William Street) is currently unrestricted.

This proposed angle parking provides a typical cross-section of:

· 2.3m Parallel Parking Lane

· 6.2m Travel Lane

· 4.8m Angle Parking Lane

In accordance with Council’s angle parking policy, a number of requirements must be met to modify parallel parking to angle parking. These requirements are outlined in the table below:

Requirement	Response
Permitted only on Local roads	Charles Street is a Local Road
The volume of traffic (bi-directional) must not be greater than 1000 vehicles per day	Traffic Counts undertaken in August 2018 revealed an ADT of 429 vehicles per day (bi-directional) with an 85^th %ile speed of 50 km/h northbound and 49 km/h southbound.
The total width of travel lanes (two-way) to be minimum of 5.8m (manoeuvring space for angle parking range between 3.0m-5.8m)	Charles Street has a road carriageway width of 13.3m, thus allowing 45 degree angle parking on one side and parallel parking on the other side.
That the street not form a bus route.	Charles Street is not on a bus route.
Accident data for last 5 years	No recorded crashes in the most recent 5 years of RMS data within Charles Street.
Orientation of angle parking: front or rear to kerb, to be determined based on the presence of bicycles on the subject street and adjacent land uses.	Charles Street is a local bicycle route, and so rear to kerb parking is proposed to consider cyclist safety.

Based on the above analysis, the proposed ‘45 degree angle parking Rear to Kerb, Vehicles Under 6m Only’ for the eastern side of Charles Street meets Council’s angle parking policy requirements.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

A letter outlining the above angle parking proposal was mailed out to the affected properties (66 properties) as indicated on the following plan, requesting residents’ views regarding the proposal.

A total of 36 responses were received from Charles Street (55% response rate) with a total of 28 supporting the angle parking proposal (42% support rate). Given the high support rate from the respondents, it is proposed that the angled parking in Charles Street be implemented.

RESIDENT COMMENT	OFFICER RESPONSE
I support 45 degree angle parking on the street, I do not care which side or which direction, or whether front to kerb or back to kerb.	Noted.
Giving residents and hence light rail commuters more parking spaces would just mean more commuters will park their cars in the street. It is aesthetically unappealing and would be a shame to put in our street as we consider this street to be one of the nicest in Leichhardt.	Council has received a number of requests from residents of Charles Street for angle parking due to concerns regarding lack of parking. It should also be noted that ‘No Parking 7AM–7PM – Motor Vehicles under 4.5t GVM Excepted’ restrictions in Darley Road have been installed, which is expected to provide additional on-street parking capacity for light rail commuters. The angle parking layout has been designed in accordance with AS 2890 and in accordance with Council policy to ensure the street can safely accommodate angle parking.
We do not wish to increase traffic flow, noise and parking in Charles Street.
Children frequently play on the street and any change to increase the number of parking spots will also increase traffic. This is dangerous.
Why will there be a 10m no stopping zone at the junction of William Street and Charles Street? That will reduce the number of spaces unnecessarily. Why will there be small amounts of parallel parking next to the angle parking at both ends? That seems not to be a good use of space.	Signposting the statutory 10m ‘No Stopping’ zone is required to improve the safety for pedestrians and drivers at the intersection. Angled parking spaces are not proposed at sections adjacent to median strips and double barrier centre lines to allow appropriate manoeuvring space and sightlines near intersections.
I fully support the proposed changes. Parking spaces are very hard to find particularly down the bottom end of Charles Street. Suggest signs be installed to remind drivers to look out for cyclists, as this is a popular cycle route.	Council will modify the existing bicycle logos as part of the proposal.
Centre median strip needed, as trucks and buses are using this street.	It should be noted that truck ban signs have been recently installed and median islands are not recommended for minor local streets, such as Charles Street.
I have suggested the following, along Council's original proposal: - Most traffic comes down from William St, so being able to enter Charles & left turn into an angle parking area. - Front to kerb was indicated to keep the exhaust fumes out on the street & not into houses. - It was indicated that with rear to kerb parking, exhausts would dig into the grass verge or sandstone kerb thus damaging exhaust pipes and fumes would kill the grass. - Houses on the westside are higher, the camber of the street falls to the kerb and so headlights facing the house would tilt down on the western side and not shine into residences. - It also assists to keep drivers doors open when entering/alighting vehicles, as Charles St slopes downhill (William St to Darley Rd). - As there are no time restrictions there should be a minimum of streets signs re Angle parking.	Angled parking has been proposed for the eastern side of Charles Street based on the geometric layout of the street. Measurements have identified that more parking could be accomodated on the eastern side. There are also less vehicle overhang obstructions on this side of the street. Rear to kerb parking has been selected due to the presense of a bike route along Charles Street. This angle provides improved sight lines for motorists exiting parking spaces.The width of the eastern footpath verge is wider than the western footpath and approximateley 3.7m wide. It has been identified that the gradient of the road is in accordance with AS 2890, and so will not impact significantly on door swing.
The rear lane is also an issue. Many drivers speed down it as a short cut. I am worried that children playing in the lane will not see/react to a speeding car in the lane. So I recommend setting a speed limit.	Traffic tube counters were installed in the service lane (unnamed laneway running parallel between Hubert Street and Charles Street) and Charles Street in August 2018. The survey results indicated that the 85th percentile speed in the lane was under the speed limit and the volume of traffic was very low with only 9 vehicles (peak hour) being recorded on average in the week. There were no recorded collisions.

ATTACHMENTS

Nil.