Posted 11:34 pm Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Congestion Reduced, Thoroughfares Eased
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first of an ongoing series on the progress of the Tyler 21 Comprehensive Plan.
By MALENA OGLES
Staff Writer
A year into the Tyler 21 Comprehensive Plan, city officials continue to work on one of Tyler residents' top grievances -- traffic.
Staff Writer
A year into the Tyler 21 Comprehensive Plan, city officials continue to work on one of Tyler residents' top grievances -- traffic.
Former City Manager Bob Turner said in his 29 years with the city, he's heard a lot of complaints, and the majority, he said, were about traffic.
"In the beginning I heard 'Why can't you do this?' or, 'Why can't you do that?''' he said adding that now, with the implementation of the Tyler 21 plan, city departments are working together to find ways to reduce congestion and ease tension on the city's thoroughfares.
The 480-page plan, adopted by city council members more than 19 months ago, was based on public opinions gathered from a citizens' retreat, public meetings and via e-mails. It addresses the long- and short-term goals brought to light during the meetings.
Results from the Tyler 21 study showed that traffic congestion was a problem on southern arterial roadways and that many roadways in other parts of the city were larger than needed. It also showed that most people opted to drive to work alone rather than carpool, use public transportation or walk.
The report also addressed the inconveniences of using public transportation in the city. The study also found that more cars were driving on South Broadway Avenue than on Interstate 20 on a daily basis.
South Broadway and the Loop
With a mall, restaurants, and dozens of shopping centers lining each side of the roadway, South Broadway has become a destination for drivers, creating bottlenecks and stop-and-go traffic.
In 2002, studies showed that the intersection of South Broadway and Loop 323 had an average volume of 80,000 vehicles a day, followed by the intersection of Old Jacksonville Highway and Loop 323 with 70,000 vehicles.
City Engineer Carter Delleney said traffic along Broadway has improved after adaptive-control technology was installed at key intersections from Amherst Street to Southtown Drive, on Loop 323 from Copeland Road to Broadway Avenue then to Old Bullard Road.
The signals electronically adjust the traffic lights to the number of cars driving on the roadway.
"They adjust in real time to add a few seconds here and there giving traffic more green" lights, he said.
Before the adaptive control system was installed in 2007, there was an average of four stops when heading north on Broadway during peak evening traffic during the week. Wait time averaged 2.5 minutes. After the system was installed, the average number of stops dropped to two and wait time was a minute less, according to figures from July 2008.
"We gave priority to through traffic as opposed to cross traffic. We're trying to push traffic through on Broadway. It's a give and a take," Tyler City Manager Mark McDaniel said.
Delleney said the flashing yellow signals installed at intersections in Tyler including several along Broadway and Beckham avenues have also helped more traffic along.
In the past, drivers wanting to make a left-hand turn had to wait for a green arrow or yield to traffic with a solid green light.
City Council members decided to move forward with the changeover after hearing about a study by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. In the seven-year study, researchers found that the flashing yellow arrow was the best alternative to a solid green light when signaling that a left turn is permissible, with caution for oncoming traffic.
City officials said they hope to add additional flashing yellow lights and adaptive control signals by the end of 2009.
The next step in the five-year plan for South Broadway, McDaniel said, is to look at intersections in need of more turning movements.
Part of that will mean acquiring right of ways, McDaniel said, which is a big cost.
"With all of that great density of development, those business owners are not going to give up valuable parking areas to allow traffic to flow better," McDaniel said. "We've done all we can with signals. Now we need to do some reconfigurations to the geometry of the pavement so we can pick up more flow."
Traffic congestion for travelers trying to get from one end of Broadway to the other isn't the only frustration for travelers. Drivers wanting to get from one shopping center to the one next to it have to drive onto South Broadway to get there because of internal abutments inside the shopping center parking lots.
New development regulations require joint access.
"It doesn't help us so much on existing developments, but it will as we move further south," he said. "You can have only so many access points. (Joint access) helps traffic moving through because you do not have all those cross movements."
East-West routes
One of the city's plans to ease congestion on Broadway is to add east-west routes such as the Grande Boulevard project.
Delleney said that while Grande Boulevard is about 40 percent complete, issues with right-of-way acquisitions, relocating utilities and rising costs of materials have complicated construction plans.
McDaniel said, "We're trying to retrofit corridors for large streets inside urban areas where we need more east-west routes. The problem is there are either houses there or development, and we don't want to take out neighborhoods to put in roads."
McDaniel said that what people call the "Grande Boulevard Project" is really three separate projects.
Phase 1 connects the west side of Broadway to the Hollytree area. Phase 2A is from Southerland Drive to Paluxy Drive and a widening of Copeland Road, and Phase 2B is Paluxy Drive to Highway 110.
Other east-west routes in the works include the New Sunnybrook minor arterial project, which runs from Loop 323 to Highway 155 (at Eighth Street). It will consist of a four-lane road with a median and a bike lane on both sides.
As part of the project, Old Noonday Road also will be reconstructed from Highway 155 to Glenwood Boulevard, resulting in a 40-foot-wide collector street with two lanes. The total cost of the project is estimated at $17.1 million.
The city is also providing some matching funds for the construction of Loop 49, which will provide another route for people traveling around Tyler. The city has already contributed $1.5 million to the construction funds and anticipates paying $500,000 next year for a segment of Loop 49 from Highway 155 to State Highway 31.
McDaniel said he thinks the lesson learned with the Grande project is the city needs a master street plan and needs to stick with it.
"Had we been planning those corridors 30 years ago it would not have been such an issue, but they were not thinking of us (the city) being two miles south of Loop 49 in 20 years," he said, adding that while there are still issues the city has a plan and is working to get the job done.
Trails and public transportation
If the hassle of driving is still too much, travelers will soon be able to take the Rose Rudman Park trail. The scenic hike-and-bike trail will run from Reick Road to Grande Boulevard and cross under the intersection of Broadway and Grande with a tunnel.
The trail will continue on, paralleling Grande on the southwest side, near Hollytree. Finally, it will run down to just east of Royal Oak Drive, where the trail ends.
Delleney said contractors have installed most of the concrete and bridges and the city is working on obtaining matching funds to install stretch and exercise equipment in the new section of the trail.
McDaniel said that until recently, Tyler's transportation planning focused mostly on vehicles.
He said offering options for walking, biking and public transpiration will ease traffic congestion.
In the planning phase of Tyler 21, citizen comments showed a desire for alternatives to driving.
"I have already seen people dressed in their uniforms walking to work in the mornings on the trail," McDaniel said, noting the entire trail is not yet open.
The city is responsible for 20 percent of the $3.07 million trail project, which is mostly paid for by a reimbursement grant from the Federal Highway Administration.
The city's portion is paid for with the Half Cent Sales Tax. McDaniel said that while the traffic problems are anything but solved, he feels the work accomplished in the first year of Tyler 21 has put the city on the right path.
