Agenda - Public Works Committee - 10/19/2021

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Public Works Committee 5.5. Meeting Date: 10/19/2021 By: Bruce Westby,Engineering/Public Works Title: Consider Recommending City Council Authorization for Flashing Yellow Arrow Study at the Intersection of Sunwood Drive and Ramsey Boulevard/CSAH 56 Purpose/Background: Purpose: The purpose of this case is two-fold. First, Staff will provide updates to the Committee on Anoka Counties plans for updating their signal systems to include flashing yellow arrow operations. Second,the Committee will consider a recommendation to the City Council to authorize a feasibility study for adding flashing yellow arrow operations to the existing signal system at the intersection of Sunwood Drive and Ramsey Boulevard/CSAH 56. Background: In December 2009, after extensive testing,the Federal Highway Administration authorized use of flashing yellow arrows nationwide.A study conducted by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program determined that drivers had fewer crashes with flashing yellow left-turn arrows than with traditional yield-on-green signal configurations. Flashing yellow arrow traffic signals feature a flashing yellow arrow in addition to the standard red,yellow and green arrows. When illuminated,the flashing yellow arrow allows waiting motorists to make a left-hand turn after yielding to all oncoming traffic and to any pedestrians in the crosswalk. Oncoming traffic has a green light. Drivers must wait for a safe gap in oncoming traffic before turning. When not illuminated, signals with flashing yellow arrows work the same as traditional signals. Flashing yellow arrows offer more opportunities to make a left turn than with the traditional three-arrow,red, yellow and green indications. They also provide traffic engineers with more options to handle variable traffic volumes. A flashing yellow arrow signal has the same meaning it always has: left turns may proceed with caution after yielding to oncoming traffic. In the past, flashing yellow arrows in Minnesota were only used when the entire traffic signal was in flash-mode. Use of the flashing yellow arrow has been shown to have several benefits including minimizing delays and enhancing safety by reducing driver errors. The majority of newly installed traffic signals are constructed to allow flashing yellow arrow operations,though sometimes the flashing yellow arrow heads are not immediately installed. The flashing yellow arrow may be used at any intersection at any time but the most typical use will be at intersections and times-of-day that have lower volumes, lower speeds and other favorable conditions. Retrofitting existing signals to include flashing yellow arrows can be costly and are typically only done on a limited basis,when necessary. Attached is two-page brochure produced by the Minnesota Department of Transportation with additional information on flashing yellow arrows. 2022 Proposed Anoka County Flashing Yellow Arrow(FYA)Upgrades Anoka County typically budgets up to $200,000 each year to add flashing yellow arrow operations to their 200+ existing signal systems across the County,most of which were not constructed to accommodate FYA operations since they were constructed before FYA operations existed. In 2022,Anoka County proposes to construct FYA improvements to their signal systems at 14 intersections in the