HomeMy WebLinkAboutHICKORY COMMONS - PDP - PDP110005 - REPORTS - TRAFFIC STUDYStreet
Hickory
Commons
SITE LOCATION
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SCALE: 1 "=500'
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Conifer Street
Vine Drive
Figure 1
Hickory Commons TIS, October 2010
The Hickory Commons site is in an area within which the City requires pedestrian
and bicycle level of service evaluations. Appendix F shows a map of the area that is
within 1320 feet of Hickory Commons. The Hickory Commons site is located within an
area termed "activity center," which sets the level of service threshold at LOS B for all
measured categories. There are two destination areas within 1320 feet of the proposed
Hickory Commons: 1) the residential neighborhood to the north and 2) the Poudre Trail
to the south. This development will add sidewalk to their frontage along Hickory Street,
which will create a pedestrian connection to the Poudre Trail spur. It is expected that
when other properties in the area develop, the appropriate pedestrian connections will
be made with this developments. Appendix F contains a Pedestrian LOS Worksheet.
The Bicycle LOS analysis is provided in Appendix F. Based upon Fort Collins
bicycle LOS criteria, there is one bicycle destination within 1320 feet of the proposed
Hickory Commons. This is the Poudre Trail to the south. This site is adjacent to the
Poudre Trail. There are designated bicycle facilities along Hickory Street and Conifer
Street. With the North College Avenue Corridor Improvements, there will be bike lanes
on North College Avenue. This site will meet the minimum bicycle LOS.
Currently, this area is served by Transfort Route 8.
It is anticipated that the trip generation will be lower for the live/work units than if
each residential and office was sold/rented separately. It is concluded that, with full
development of Hickory Commons, the future level of service at the N. College/Hickory,
N. College/Conifer, Hickory/Site Access intersections will be acceptable with the higher
trip generation used in this transportation impact study. Therefore, the operation will be
acceptable with the expected trip generation. The geometry is shown in Figure 8. The
level of service for pedestrian and bicycle modes will be acceptable
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contractor's shops (carpenter, electrician, plumber, handyman), and non -customer
oriented offices. It is anticipated that approximately 40 percent of the commercial units
would have one outside employee, otherwise, the only employee would be the
residential occupant above the office area. Therefore, a reduction in the residential and
commercial trip generation is anticipated. Table 2 shows the expected trip generation
for the Hickory Commons site. Trip Generation, 8th Edition, ITE was used as the
reference document in calculating the trip generation. The apartment land use (Code
220) was used for the residential units. To be conservative, the office land use (Code
710) was used for the commercial units.
The Fort Collins Traffic Operations Engineer, Ward Stanford, agreed that it is
likely that the trip generated at Hickory Commons would be as shown in Table 2.
However, he requested that the trip generation used for analysis purposes not be
reduced in the event that live/work units are rented independently of the residential units
and that there is no reduction in the trip generation. Table 3 shows the trip generation
used in the traffic operation analyses. Use of this higher trip generation provides a
conservative analyses of the key intersections.
The trip distribution was determined using the existing traffic counts, knowledge
of the existing and planned street system, development trends, and engineering
judgment. Figure 5 shows the trip distribution and site generated traffic assignment of
Hickory Commons.
Figure 6-shows the short range (2015) background peak hour traffic at the N.
College/Hickory and N. College/Conifer intersections. Background traffic volume
forecasts for the short range (2015) future were obtained by reviewing traffic studies for
other developments in this area, CDOT growth factors, and reviewing historic counts in
the area. The CDOT growth factor for this area of North College Avenue is 1.7 percent
per year. The proposed Jax Mercantile Expansion traffic was also added in the short
range (2015) background traffic. To be conservative, no reduction in traffic was taken
along Hickory Street between North College Avenue and the site access. Table 4
shows the short range (2015) background peak hour operation at the N.
College/Hickory and N. College/Conifer intersections. Calculation forms are provided in
Appendix D. The N. College/Hickory and N. College/Conifer intersections will operate
acceptably during the morning and afternoon peak hours.
Figure 7 shows the short range (2015) total peak hour traffic at the key
intersections. Table 5 shows the short range (2015) total peak hour operation at the
College/Hickory, N. College/Conifer, and the Hickory/Site Access intersections.
Calculation forms are provided in Appendix E. The key intersections will operate
acceptably during the morning and afternoon peak hours.
Signal warrants were
College/Conifer intersection
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Hickory Commons TIS, October 2010
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direction. At the N. College/Conifer intersection, Conifer,Street has westbound dual left -
turn lanes and a westbound right -turn lane. The N. College/Hickory and N.
College/Conifer intersections have signal control.
Figure 2 shows recent peak hour counts at the N. College/Hickory and N.
College/Conifer intersections. The traffic count data was collected by the City of Fort
Collins in March 2009. Raw traffic counts are provided in Appendix B. More recent
traffic counts were not done at this time due to roadway. construction on N: College
Avenue to the north. The Fort Collins Traffic Operations Engineer agreed to use the
March 2009 traffic counts. These counts were adjusted/balanced between the N.
College/Hickory and N. College/Conifer intersections. The adjusted/balanced recent
peak hour traffic is shown in Figure 3. The adjusted/balanced recent peak is the same
as shown in the Jax Mercantile Expansion Transportation Impact Study, dated October
2009. Table 1 shows the current peak hour operation of the N. College/Hickory and N.
College/Conifer intersections. The N. College/Hickory and N. College/Conifer
intersections operate acceptably overall during both the morning and afternoon peak
hours. Due to the coordination with signalized intersections in the area, the City of Fort
Collins signal timing was used. A description of level of service for signalized and
unsignalized intersections from the 2000 Highway Capacity Manual and a table showing
the Fort Collins Motor vehicle LOS Standards (Intersections) are also provided in
Appendix C. The Hickory Commons site is in an area termed as "Commercial
corridors." In "commercial corridors," acceptable overall operation at signal
intersections during the peak hours is defined as level of service D or better. At
signalized intersections, acceptable operation of any leg and any movement is level of
service E. At unsignalized intersections, in commercial corridors, there is no minimum
level of service criteria.
The North College Corridor Improvements — Phase II has been through a design
process. This project covers North College Avenue, from Vine Drive through Hickory
Street. The construction of these improvements, described below, have been funded
and are expected to be built in the next 1-3 years. It is expected that the improvements
at the N. College/Conifer intersection will include: two through lanes in each direction, a
northbound right -turn lane (in front of Jax Mercantile), and a southbound left -turn lane.
It is expected that the improvements at the N. College/Hickory intersection will include:
two through lanes in each direction and a northbound left -turn lane. The left -turn lanes
between these two intersections will be side -by -side left -turn lanes, which will increase
the storage capacity. While the design shows curb/gutter/sidewalk on both sides of
North College Avenue and a raised center median island, these components are not
expected to be constructed in the next five or so years. The subsequent analyses in
this TIS assumes that the geometry at these key intersections would be as described.
Figure 4 shows the site plan for Hickory Commons. Hickory Commons is
proposed as 20 units each with 1,250 square feet (25,000 square feet total) of
commercial/light industrial on the ground floor and one residential dwelling unit above
each unit. Hickory Commons is intended and being marketed as live/work units. The
types of uses in the commercial area could include artist studios, architect offices,
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DELICH ASS O -IATES Traffic& Transportation Engineering
2272 Glen Haven Drive Loveland, Colorado 80538
Phone: (970) 669-2061 Fax: (970) 669-5034 �71 / r
MEMORANDUM
TO: Charlie Meserlian, Fort Collins Truck Sales
Bob Gowing, APEX Engineering
Troy Jones, Architex
Joe Olson/Ward Stanford, City of Fort Collins Traffic Engineering
FROM: Joe/Matt Delich
DATE: October 6, 2010
SUBJECT: Hickory Commons Transportation Impact Study
(File: 1042ME01)
This memorandum addresses the transportation impacts of the proposed Hickory
Commons development. Hickory Commons is proposed to be located on the south side
of Hickory Street, west of the railroad tracks, in Fort Collins, Colorado. The site location
is shown in Figure 1. Hickory Commons will consist of 20 units each with 1,250 square
feet (25,000 square feet total) of commercial/light industrial on the ground floor and one
residential dwelling unit above each unit. Access to the site will be via one access to
Hickory Street. Currently the site is vacant. The scope of this study was discussed with
the Fort Collins Traffic Operations Engineer. A brief memorandum was requested. The
Base Assumptions form is provided in Appendix A. There are sidewalks along some
developed parcels of land within 0.25 miles of the site. There are bicycle lanes along
Hickory Street. There are no bicycle lanes along North College Avenue. A spur of the
Poudre Trail connects to Hickory Street from the south, just east (adjacent to) the
Hickory Commons site.
North College Avenue (US287) is a four -lane street with auxiliary lanes and has a
posted speed of 40 mph. It is classified as a four -lane arterial according to the Fort
Collins Master Street Plan. Hickory Street is a two-lane street and has a posted speed
of 25 mph. Hickory Street is classified as a two-lane collector street according to the
Fort Collins Master Street Plan. Hickory Street only has a west leg at the N.
College/Hickory intersection. At the N. College/Hickory intersection, North College
Avenue has a northbound left -turn lane and two through lanes in each direction. At the
N. College/Hickory intersection, Hickory Street has eastbound left -turn and right -turn
lanes. Conifer Street is a two-lane street that is off -set to the south of Hickory Street at
North College Avenue. This off -set is approximately 225 feet, on -centers. The posted
speed on Conifer Street is 30 mph. Conifer Street is classified as a two-lane collector
according to the Fort Collins Master Street Plan. Conifer Street only has an east leg at
the N. College/Conifer intersection.. At the N. College/Conifer intersection, North
College Avenue has a southbound left -turn lane and two through lanes in each