Fiscal Note
No fiscal impact
Title
Including a 1/2 traffic diverter at the intersection of Blair Street and E. Mifflin Street be modified as part of the pending street reconstruction.
Body
WHEREAS, East Mifflin Street was designated a bicycle boulevard in 2011; and,
WHEREAS, the intersection of Blair and Mifflin is to be included in the reconstruction of Blair Street to be undertaken in 2018; and,
WHEREAS, the Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood Association (TLNA) and area bicyclists have requested TE review the intersection for modifications to reduce the volume of motorized traffic using the Bike Boulevard and improve the operation of the bike boulevard; and,
WHEREAS, in the fall of 2017 TE implemented a trial of a half closure which precluded automobile traffic from crossing Blair Street eastbound on Mifflin Street requiring all traffic instead to turn right to E. Washington Avenue to determine what the impacts of a 1/2 diverter would have on area traffic patterns and neighborhood; and,
WHEREAS, traffic data collected by Traffic Engineering did not find significant problems created by the traffic diversion; and,
WHEREAS, the diverter resulted in less motorized traffic using the Mifflin Street Bike Blvd., and resulted in the traffic that did use the Bike Boulevard to travel at lower overall speeds; now,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the intersection of Blair Street and E. Mifflin Street be modified as part of the pending street reconstruction to include a 1/2 traffic diverter. Said diverter is intended to prevent Eastbound motorized traffic, with the exception of emergency, bicycles and other authorized vehicles, from proceeding East on Mifflin at Blair Street, or turning left from Blair Street to continue to travel east on Mifflin Street.