Study says some traffic signals aren’t warranted
KINGSTON, N.Y. >> The traffic signals at eight intersections in Uptown Kingston are not warranted under federal guidelines and the Common Council could choose to remove them without increased risk to public safety or impact on traffic operations, representatives of the Ulster County Transportation Council said.
“Not a single location met any of the eight traffic warrants that would be needed to erect a traffic signal in any of the locations,” Brian Slack, a principal transportation planner for the Ulster County
Transportation Council, told the Common Council’s Public Safety/General Government Committee on Wednesday.
Slack said the eight traffic warrants within the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices are generally examined by a municipality to justify putting up a new signal, but he said the opposite was done in this instance.
The intersections studied are along Washington Avenue at Linderman Avenue, Pearl Street, and Main Street; as well as on Wall Street at Pearl Street; Fair Street at Pearl Street; and on Clinton Avenue at St. James, Franklin, and Henry streets.
If the city were to decide to remove the traffic signals, the devices should be replaced by four-way stop signs at each of the intersections, Slack said. Even so, he said the Common Council is not being asked to make any decisions on the signals at this time.
Slack said an information session would be held first to get feedback from the public and to educate the public about the possible removal of the signals.
Slack and Ulster County Planning Director Dennis Doyle said the information about the traffic signals was included in the draft findings of a “Traffic Signal Warrant Evaluation” performed for the city by the county Transportation Council.
Doyle said the evaluation began in 2016 at the request of Kingston’s Engineering Office.
“This study came about because the Engineering Office recognized that a substantial number of the signals in the Uptown area were aging out in terms of their ability to be repaired,” Doyle said. “In addition, there have been calls for removal.”
Doyle said the engineer’s office was concerned with the lack of data to support the removal of the signals.
He added that there had also been conversations about a study that suggested Kingston reverse the flow of traffic on certain one-way streets in Uptown. Removing the traffic signals and replacing them with stop signs at the eight intersections would make the change in the flow of traffic easier and less expensive, he said.
Slack said the study also collected data from the intersections on Fair Street at St. James Street, on Lincoln Street at East Chester Street, on Hasbrouck Avenue at Chester Street, and on Foxhall Avenue at Grand Street. He said a detailed analysis has not been done for those four intersections, but if there is still money left in the project budget, they could be included.
Doyle noted that of the eight intersections examined by the study, four have since been set to flashing lights. He also said none of the signals at the eight Uptown intersections meet current standards and would be costly to replace.
In examining each of the intersections, the study looked at traffic volumes and speed, as well as the crash history at each location, Slack said. He said the crash rate over the past three years was found to meet or exceed the statewide average for similar intersections.
Removing the traffic signals would lead to a reduction in crashes, Slack said.