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Department of State Growth Hobart Bus Mall - Temporary Partial Relocation Proposal Traffic Impact Assessment and Safety Analysis June 2017 This report: has been prepared by GHD for Department of State Growth and may only be used and relied on by Department of State Growth for the purpose agreed between GHD and the Department of State Growth as set out in GHD’s fee proposal dated 24 March 2017 for Contract No. 2220-2-69. GHD otherwise disclaims responsibility to any person other than Department of State Growth arising in connection with this report. GHD also excludes implied warranties and conditions, to the extent legally permissible. The services undertaken by GHD in connection with preparing this report were limited to those specifically detailed in the report and are subject to the scope limitations set out in the report. The opinions, conclusions and any recommendations in this report are based on conditions encountered and information reviewed at the date of preparation of the report. GHD has no responsibility or obligation to update this report to account for events or changes occurring subsequent to the date that the report was prepared. The opinions, conclusions and any recommendations in this report are based on assumptions made by GHD described in this report. GHD disclaims liability arising from any of the assumptions being incorrect. GHD has prepared this report on the basis of information provided by Department of State Growth and others who provided information to GHD (including Government authorities), which GHD has not independently verified or checked beyond the agreed scope of work. GHD does not accept liability in connection with such unverified information, including errors and omissions in the report which were caused by errors or omissions in that information. GHD | Report for Department of State Growth - Hobart Bus Mall - Temporary Partial Relocation Proposal, 3218429 | i Executive summary This report has considered the potential impacts of a Proposal to relocate the departure points for Metro Tasmania’s Eastern Shore bus services from the Elizabeth Street Bus Mall to Elizabeth Street and Macquarie Street. The relocation of bus stops is required to facilitate the construction of a new hotel on Elizabeth Street and associated partial closure of Elizabeth Street. The Proposal The Proposal assessed in this report includes the following key features: Temporary Bus Stop Locations: – Stop M located on Elizabeth Street adjacent to Franklin Square and catering for 38 services daily (18 services during the 2-hour PM Peak period); and – Stop J located on Macquarie Street, between Elizabeth Street and Argyle Street, and catering for 123 services daily (24 services during the 2-hour PM Peak period). New Layover on Elizabeth Street opposite Franklin Square (outside Town Hall); and New Bus Stop on Macquarie Street, downstream of Campbell Street (relocated from Campbell Street). In addition to the above, the Proposal includes the following road closures: Elizabeth Street Bus Mall (westbound) closed to all traffic except those vehicles associated with construction activities as required; and Elizabeth Street between Davey Street and Macquarie Street closed to general traffic with buses, bicycles, taxis and local traffic excepted. A range of other traffic management treatments were considered in this report, however these treatments are considered to be impact mitigation measures and did not form part of the base Proposal. Design Requirements Stop M The minimum provision at Stop M is a single bus stop operating independently. In order to accommodate occasional articulated buses, the minimum clear length required is 40 metres including 14 metres for draw-in and 8 metres for draw-out. It is considered that the position of Stop M is interchangeable with the layover and could be provided at the western end of the block (near the Macquarie Street junction) or outside the Franklin Square amenities block. Stop J The minimum provision at Stop J is a dual bus stop under “nose-to-tail” operation. In order to accommodate simultaneous use by rigid and articulated buses, the minimum clear length required is 55.5 metres including 14 metres for draw-in and 8 metres for draw-out. The location of Stop J is complicated by a number of factors including the following: Existing building entry ramp which limits the available footpath space at the front of the stop, where passenger loading would occur; Existing canopy extends to the kerb-line and does not allow the minimum 600 mm clearance required to accommodate the body clearance of entering and exiting buses; and GHD | Report for Department of State Growth - Hobart Bus Mall - Temporary Partial Relocation Proposal, 3218429 | ii Existing left turn lane into Argyle Street requires buses exiting Stop J to cross 2 lanes of traffic in order to continue along Macquarie Street. If Stop J is to be utilised, the following works will be required in order to mitigate the above issues: Build footpath out by a minimum of 600 mm to provide adequate clearance for buses and to improve the available footpath width at the front of the stop; and Reduce Macquarie Street adjacent to Stop J to 3 lanes with a short, left-turn lane commencing immediately following the front of Stop J. Contra-Flow Bicycle Lane A potential westbound (contra-flow) bicycle lane within the Elizabeth Street Bus Mall was considered in this report. Given the risk of collision between buses and bicycles, the following minimum design standards are adopted: Minimum width of 2.0 metres Minimum separation between the bicycle lane and the eastbound traffic lane of 1.0 metres (painted chevrons) Clear and well-maintained pavement markings, including provision of bicycle stencils and directional arrows at each end of the Bus Mall and at regular intervals It is noted that provision of a contra-flow bicycle treatment will significantly limit the width available for the construction zone and may not be feasible depending on the requirements for construction. The Key Impacts The main impacts of the base proposal detailed above were as follows: Reduce bus travel times by up to 96 seconds for Eastern Shore services departing Stop M, and by up to 3 minutes for those services departing Stop J, during the PM Peak period; Relatively minor draw-out delays for Stop M due to low traffic using Elizabeth Street; Draw-out delays not considered significant for Stop J due to congestion/queuing on Macquarie Street and the legal obligation for vehicles to give way to buses pulling out of stops; Minor increase in queuing at Macquarie Street / Argyle Street junction due to the left-hand lane being converted to a short lane in order to accommodate Stop J; Up to 125 vehicles per hour requiring redirection from Elizabeth Street during the peak periods as a result of the closure; Up to 90 additional vehicles using Murray Street during the peak periods resulting in additional delays along the Murray Street corridor, most notably in the AM Peak period; Minor increase in delays along other roads including Macquarie Street, Davey Street and Harrington Street during the AM Peak period; and Negligible change in network performance in the PM Peak period. GHD | Report for Department of State Growth - Hobart Bus Mall - Temporary Partial Relocation Proposal, 3218429 | iii Mitigation Treatments The following traffic management treatments were found to have an overall positive impact on traffic capacity in the external network and aid in mitigating the impacts of the Proposal: Implement the partial road closure on Elizabeth Street, between Davey Street and Macquarie Street, in the westbound direction only thereby maintaining the benefits to Stop M operation while allowing eastbound traffic to utilise Elizabeth Street and relieving Murray Street; Provide an additional left-turn signal at the Elizabeth Street / Macquarie Street junction in order to allow a third phase (Phase A1) to be provided at this junction whereby vehicles can turn left out of Elizabeth Street, into the Macquarie Street contra-flow lane, during the Macquarie Street phase; Provide peak period parking restrictions on the left-hand side of Macquarie Street, between Argyle Street and Campbell Street, and on both sides of Macquarie Street, between Campbell Street and Evans Street, in order to improve the efficiency of Macquarie Street heading outbound from the Hobart CBD; Modify the intersection of Davey Street and Murray Street to remove the existing pedestrian crossing point on the southern Davey Street leg of the junction; – It is noted that this treatment results in detrimental impacts to pedestrian access and safety and active discouragement of pedestrian crossings at this location would be required if the pedestrian crossing point is to be removed. Key Recommendations This report makes the following key recommendations: Metro implement a policy by which dead running buses should be required to give way to active buses attempting to draw out from stops and enter the traffic lane. If the contra-flow bicycle lane within the Elizabeth Street Bus Mall is to be implemented, it should have a minimum width of 2.0 metres and be located 1.0 metres clear of the eastbound traffic lane to provide sufficient clearance to entering and exiting buses. – Note that if the above dimensions cannot be provided given the extent of the work zone, the contra-flow bicycle lane treatment should not be included. An alternative option should be considered in which Elizabeth Street is restricted to general traffic in the westbound direction only, maintaining eastbound access. A dedicated left-turn phase be provided for vehicles turning left from Elizabeth Street into the Macquarie Street contra-flow lane, running along with the Macquarie Street green phase. – Note that a Left Turn on Red (LTOR) treatment is not recommended due to safety impacts given the high volumes of crossing pedestrians at this location (as specified in Australian Standards).

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