HomeMy WebLinkAboutRIDGEVIEW CLASSICAL SCHOOL PHASE IV ADDITION - SPAR - 16-01A - REPORTS - TRAFFIC STUDYSUMMARY
Based on the above document analyses, investigations, and findings, the following can be
concluded.
1. The school drop-off / pick-up plan should be modified to include:
• Conversion of the Lemay access from right -in, right -out to three-quarter access.
• Modifying the south lane on Stuart to a right -turn lane for traffic entering the
school.
• Changing the striping on eastbound Stuart, east of the school exit, to provide a
bicycle lane and parking consistent with Stuart to the east.
Removal of the existing on -site speed bumps.
Modification of the traffic routes for student drop-off and pick-up to those shown
on Figure 2. The action of course, is subject to adjustment and modification
based upon issues that surface during implementation
2. The drop-off / pick-up plan should be capable of serving school needs until such time
that 720 students are enrolled. It will likely remain viable beyond that point given the
number of conservative assumptions upon which it is based.
3. Intersection operations will meet or exceed City standards at all site access points
and the Lemay — Stuart intersection.
4. Improvements have been made to restrict students from cutting through nearby
residences and east -west left turn phasing has been installed at the Lemay — Stuart
intersection. Consequently, the issues prompting these improvements have already
been addressed.
I trust this report meets your current needs. Please give me a call if you have any questions
or need additional assistance.
Sincerely, �1a��AYu�°nullry
Eugene G. Coppola, P.E. =*;c 15945
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Intersection
Control
Movement/
Direction
Level of Service
AM Pk Hr.
PM Pk Hr.
Stuart — Access
Stop
EB LT
A
A
WBLT
A
A
NB LT
C
C
NB RT
A
A
SB LT/TH/RT
B
B
Lemay — Access
Stop
SB LT
C
B
WBRT
E
C
Lemay — Stuart
Signal
EB LT
D
C
EB TH/RT
D
D
WBLT
D
D
WB TH
D
D
WBRT
D
D
NB LT
B
C
NB TH/RT
D
C
SB LT
C
D
SB TH/RT
B
C
Overall
C
C
Based on the above determined levels of service, all traffic movements, all approaches, and
all intersection levels of service will be very acceptable in the future. The indicated levels of
service easily satisfy City level of service criteria.
Closer scrutiny revealed that the combined left turn queue of left turning vehicles on Lemay
between Stuart and the access will total 4 — 5 vehicles during peak hours. The available
spacing between these intersections will easily accommodate these vehicles. Stacking on
Stuart for westbound left turns onto Lemay can be regulated with the recent installation of
east — west left turn phasing.
10
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m
E
m
m
J
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m
v
v
Q
r
to r c )
00
k-145/125
0
10/5
M Go to
—95/125
0 to
o
f— 230/250
1
�--115/140
�% 1
�— 50/20
Stuart
105/100
I
40/40 —�
�� 1
70/120 —►
too to
851215 —►
to o 0
65/70
°r°
to
170/125 —�
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N
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U)
O
Q
0 O
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GO
1 �•
170/80
Driveway
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0
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to
LEGEND: AMIPM Peak Hour
NOTE: Rounded to nearest 5 vetudes.
FIgurm J
MHO
SCHOOL PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC
!%J
Grades ?b Only
Rignl-turn Lane Grades 26 Only A Parking+Bike
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9
PROPOSED
SITE PLAN
LEGEND:
�1— K&ISt GnaOr
%=MMLIM
NOTES:
GRADES K - L ENTER LEMAY ONLY, EXIT SMART ONLY
GRADES 2 - 6'. ENTER STUART ONLY, EXIT STUART OR LEMAY
0
FUTURE PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC
School peak hour traffic for conditions some 6 years in the future was developed. This
assumed that the school would reach an enrollment of some 720 students by that time. It
also estimates traffic on Lemay and Stuart using annual growth in the range of 2Y2% per
year. Resultant future school peak hour traffic is shown on Figure 3. School traffic was
shifted to the appropriate site access to reflect changes in the student drop-off / pick-up plan.
No reductions in traffic were taken to reflect diverted traffic movements or use of the drop-off
area along Stuart.
FUTURE OPERATING CONDITIONS
Operating conditions in 2010 were assessed using highway capacity analysis procedures.
Levels of service for the site access points and the Lemay — Stuart intersection were
determined. The new student pick-up / drop-off plan and increases in both street traffic and
the number of students are fully considered in this effort. Resultant 2010 intersection levels
of service are shown below.
7
An alternate traffic plan was conceptually prepared. The plan is based on the following
desirable concepts:
• Better balancing of traffic demands between both the Lemay and Stuart accesses.
• Retention of the current drop-off and pick-up areas within the site.
• Removal of the speed bumps to allow easier circulation.
• Increasing the available waiting area for student drop-off and pick-up.
• Providing a location where vehicles can drop-off or pick-up students without entering
the site.
The indicated concepts will promote a reduction in traffic congestion, more balanced traffic
flows, less spillover onto adjacent streets, and more efficient operating conditions. Further
study, review, and evaluation determined that the following actions would enhance and
support the above concepts:
• Assigning different grade levels to specfic driveways for primary access and egress.
• Modifying the existing right -in, right -out access to Lemay to allow southbound left turn
turns into the school.
• Converting the south lane on eastbound Stuart to a right -turn lane for vehicles
entering the school.
• Removal of the existing speed bumps.
• Converting the south lane on Stuart (east of the school exit) to parking and a bicycle
lane consistent with Stuart to the east. This will provide an off -site location for
students to be dropped off or picked up.
The above actions were developed into a new traffic plan to facilitate student drop-off and
pick-up. The plan maximizes the amount of on -site waiting area and results in an increase
of some 30% over current conditions. This increase should be sufficient to meet the current
shortage and allow for future growth. The traffic plan is shown on Figure 2 and is
considered conceptual at this time. It will need to be refined and adjusted prior to
implementation; however, the guiding principles behind the plan are appropriate.
2
number of trips. In any event, as the student population increases, the number of overall
site trips is expected to more closely reflect average conditions. Consequently, an increase
in student enrollment will not cause a proportionate increase in site traffic.
FUTURE SCHOOL TRAFFIC
The school has stated that a practical growth target is 720 students with some 60 students
in each grade. This reflects an increase of some 25% over the current enrollment. As
indicated earlier, an increase in enrollment is not expected to result in a proportionate
increase in site traffic. In order to conduct a conservative analysis of future conditions
however, current school traffic was expanded by 25% to reflect the school's growth target.
This reflects very conservative (high) school traffic demands.
EVALUATION OF DROP-OFF AND PICK-UP PLAN
All vehicles currently enter from Stuart at the beginning and end of school. These vehicles
then proceed to either the K —1 or 2 — 6 pick-up / drop-off areas. Older students are
dropped -off or picked up along the curb adjacent to the entrance to the school. Given the
ages and number of students in the K - 6 group, these students represent the most severe
condition. Observation and discussions with others concerning the current traffic plan
resulted in the identification of the following deficiencies.
• The use of only one access concentrates all entering traffic at one location.
• On one observation, the queue of vehicles waiting to enter the site was long enough
to cause 5 vehicles to back up onto Stuart.
• The westbound left turn queue at the Stuart — Lemay intersection backed up and
occasionally blocked vehicles trying to enter the site from the east on Stuart. In tum,
those vehicles interfered with vehicles trying to exit the site.
o Vehicles are required to enter the site to drop-off students.
• Speed bumps internal to the site hinder easy maneuvering.
5
CURRENT ISSUES
The City and residents have identified a number of issues surrounding the school. These
are generally stated below. Comments or responses are provided where appropriate.
1. Congestion and excessive traffic queues at the beginning and end of school.
2. Long westbound left -turn queues at the Lemay — Stuart intersection.
During the course of this study, it was mentioned to the City that east -west left turn
phasing might decrease queue length at this intersection. The City considered this
improvement and the identified phasing has been or will be installed.
3. Pedestrians crossing Stuart should be quantified and addressed if necessary.
Eight pedestrians were observed crossing Stuart during the morning school peak
hour with two observed during the afternoon peak hour. The number of pedestrians
is considered nominal and therefore, no additional investigation is necessary.
4. Students cut through nearby residential areas to access the school.
The school has recently installed a fence to prohibit this action.
5. School traffic backs onto Stuart at the beginning and end of school.
Outstanding issues will be addressed in the following sections of this letter.
SCHOOL TRAFFIC
Driveway activity was counted at 620 morning peak hour trips and 445 afternoon peak hour
trips. This includes vehicles associated with Children's World and Stuart Professional Paris.
School traffic is estimated at 570 morning trips and 425 afternoon trips after adjustment for
trips related to other uses.
Per the Institute of Transportation Engineers publication, "Trip Generation, Seventh Edition",
a private school with grades K —12 and 580 students should generate 460 and 320 morning
and afternoon peak hour trips, respectively. Therefore, Ridgeview is generating 25 — 30%
more trips than expected for its current student population. This excess will likely lessen as
older students become more prevalent and the number of students with siblings at the
school increases. Older students could drive their siblings to school thereby reducing the
4
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J
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t)
V
Q
N
O O
L125/107
:3 o m
10/6
N (D t- 4-81/108
199/216
1—98/122
1
- 75/34
Stuart
90185 V) 1
39/42
1
62/105 —► 1 ^ m
ep
73/184 —i
_o rn
04 o
55/62 o o r'
234/147
oZ5o
N
0
O
(7
co
122172
Driveway
1�
N
_W
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C7
LEGEND: AMIPM Peak Hour
NOTE: 8 pedestrians were observed crossing Stuartduring
the morning peak hour with 2 observed during the
Figure 7
afternoon peak hour.
2004
SCHOOL PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC
3
AGENCY DISCUSSIONS
A scoping session and several discussions were held with Eric Bracke, City Traffic Engineer.
Mr. Bracike asked that a review of current congestion during the beginning and end of school
be undertaken in lieu of a normal traffic study. It was agreed that all needed bicycle and
pedestrian facilities currently exist and therefore no multi -modal analysis was required. A
Base Assumptions worksheet is attached.
CURRENT CONDITIONS
Ridgeview currently has about 580 students in grades K —12. The number of students is
biased to the lower grades since the school is relatively new and the natural maturation
process starts in the lower grades and progresses to the higher grades.
School hours are 7:45 A.M. — 2:45 P.M. for grades 1 — 6 and 7:30 A.M. — 3:00 P.M. for
grades 7 -12. Access is provided by two one-way driveways to Stuart and a right in — right
out driveway to Lemay. Current school drop-off and pick-up plans require all traffic to enter
from Stuart and exit to Stuart or Lemay. Both Stuart driveways have two lanes with the
Lemay driveway having one exiting lane for northbound travel only. The west Stuart
driveway (entrance only) is some 225 feet east of Lemay while the Lemay access is 390 feet
south of Stuart.
All access points are shared by Children's World and the school parking lot is shared by
Stuart Professional Park.
CURRENT TRAFFIC
Traffic counts were undertaken at the beginning and end of school as part of this study.
This included all accesses and the Lemay — Stuart intersection during the afternoon peak
hour. The City provided morning peak hour counts at this intersection. Drop-off and pick-up
activities were observed during both peak periods. Count data includes traffic associated
with Children's World and Stuart Professional Park. Traffic data is provided on Figure 1.
0
t,
Tel: 303 792-2450 P.O. Box 260027
EUGENE G. COPPOLA P.E.
Fax: 303-792-5990 Littleton, Co 80163-0027
April 3, 2004
Mr. Larry Trampe
Architectural Resource Group
P. O. Box 271305
Fort Collins, CO 80527-1305
RE: Ridgeview Classical School Traffic Study
1800 South Lemay
Fort Collins, CO
Dear Mr. Mr. Trampe:
I have assessed the traffic impacts of the expansion of Ridgeview Classical School in Fort
Collins, Colorado. The assessment was conducted in conformance with City criteria. Key
areas of investigation are documented in the following sections of this letter.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Ridgeview Classical School (Ridgeview) is proposing to expand its current facility by some
11,675 square feet on two levels. This represents about a 20% increase. The current
playground will be relocated to the north with the expansion located in the area of the
existing playground. The new area will allow more room for elective classes such as band,
orchestra and other such subjects, as well as, providing a less crowded environment. The
expansion will not result in an increase in the student population.
May 05 04 11:59a Larry Trampe
970-484-0127 p.2
Page 1 of I
Larry Trampe
From: "Larry Trampe" <argpcl@earthlink.net>
To: "Bob Barkeen" <bbarkeen@fcgov.com>
Cc: "Leon McCauley" <leon@heathconstruction.com>; "Domenic Carpine"
<dcarpine@ridgeviewclassical.com>; "Gene Coppola" <trafhcpe@attbi.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2004 9:53 AM
Subject: Ridgeview Classical School
Bob,
Ridgeview Classical Schools has agreed to do the improvements recommended in the traffic study upon approval of the
Planning and Zoning Board.
It is my understanding that the City Traffic Department has agreed to do the striping improvements on Stuart Street and
the school would reimburse the City for up to $500.00.
Larry G. Trampe
Architectural Resource Group, P.C.
P.O. Box 271305
1828 Wallenberg Drive
Fort Collins, CO 80527-1305
970-484-0126 (P)
970A84-0127 (F)
argpcl@earthlink.net
5/5/2004