23 - Downtown Stop Sign Study - Laserfiche WebLink

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After completion of the study and removal of the temporary stop signs in mid-April, a number of follow up meetings between city staff and TxDOT officials were held to assess the results of the study. This was a time consuming and lengthy process. One of the first conclusions that TxDOT arrived at was that the traffic control signals were not able to be removed from the 4 intersections on the square irrespective of the stop study. The stated reasons at that time were two -fold. First it was concluded by TxDOT that pedestrians would be safer with signalized crosswalks at intersections vs. the unprotected walk without a signal. Second, it was stated that the Paris' downtown signals were the first in the state to receive audible crossing technology and they could not allow this provision for visually -impaired pedestrians to be removed. It was upon these two primary considerations that 1) stop signs would not be approved as a replacement for the traffic control signals, and 2) the signals would require upgrade in order to accommodate the reversion for two-way vehicular travel. Had these two pedestrian -related issues been brought up prior, the study and expense might not have occurred. A concern going in to the study was potential increased traffic counts on side roads as traffic might choose to avoid the stop signs. The city's side roads are not up to the same condition as the TxDOT roads through downtown and may, in time, degrade faster under heavier traffic than existing. The City collected traffic count data on select roadways before and during the study. It was concluded that no additional traffic volumes occurred during the study with the counts consistently totaling 11,000 trips per day. Additional counts were also taken by TxDOT on their roads during the study, but have not been provided to the City of Paris. For additional information on traffic engineering analysis, please see the Toole Design Plan and the work performed by AECOM in support of the downtown roadway plans. Item#8-mAccident reiqrt_statistics The Paris Police Department has provided an accident report for this study. The report shows the number and severity of accidents within the scope area during the 4 months prior to the study, 4 months of the study, and 4 months after the study. Please see the attached report. For questions regarding the report, please speak with the Paris Police Department. Item #9-wTxDOT µSurvey, Results An electronic public survey was performed by TxDOT. The survey was available on Facebook, on the City of Paris website, and on the TxDOT website. There were approximately 2500 responses to each of the survey's questions. Due to the volume and size of the survey, we have not attached it to the agenda, but it is available to anyone who requests it. In conversations city staff have had, the Chamber of Commerce, the Paris Downtown Association, the Main Street Advisory Board, and the Historic Preservation Commission are all in support of the stop signs and the Toole Plan recommendations as adopted. Item #10 — Pro'ect Summar ym _& Next Steps Page 4 of 5