HomeMy WebLinkAboutFIRST MAINSTREET BANK - PDP - 37-03 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - CORRESPONDENCE-NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGlikely that the site generated traffic utilizing this portion of
Whalers Way would be significantly different. It is concluded that
the site generated traffic will not cause a significant increase in
the traffic on Whalers Way between the site access and Lemay Avenue.
Pedestrian Level of Service
Appendix J shows a map of the area that is within 1320 feet of
First MainStreet Bank Development. There will be five pedestrian
destinations within a quarter mile of the First MainStreet Bank
Development. These are: (1) the commercial/office area north of the
site (The Boardwalk Office Park), (2) the residential area west of the
site (The Pier Apartments), (3) the residential area east of the site
(Whalers Neighborhood), (4) the commercial area south of the site
(Harmony Center), and 5) a park northwest of the site (Landings Park).
This site is in an area type termed "activity corridor." The level of
service determination assumes that future developments will build
their sidewalks in accordance with Fort Collins Standards. This being
the case, pedestrian facilities will exist adjacent to. vacant
property. This is a reasonable assumption. The Pedestrian LOS
Worksheet is provided in Appendix J. The minimum level of service for
"activity corridor" is B for all measured categories.
Bicycle Level of Service
Appendix J shows a map of the area that is within 1320 feet of
the First MainStreet Bank Development. Based upon Fort Collins bicycle
LOS criteria, there are two destination areas within 1320 feet of First
MainStreet Bank Development. These are 1) Landings Park, and 2) Harmony
Center. All streets in this area that are required to have bike lanes,
have bike lanes. The Bicycle LOS Worksheet is provided in Appendix J,
which indicates that the Bicycle LOS is acceptable.
Transit Level of Service
Currently, this site has no transit service within 1320 feet. In
the future, transit service will be improved along Harmony Road to
that of an enhanced transit service. A future transit level of
service worksheet is provided in Appendix J. Future, transit level of
service will be acceptable.
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Roundabout Analysis
According to the City code, a roundabout analysis is required at
arterial/arterial and arterial/collector intersections. A roundabout
analysis at the Harmony/Boardwalk intersection is not appropriate.
However, this section of this transportation impact study provides an
analysis of a roundabout at the Boardwalk/Whalers intersection. This
is a T-intersection that was shown to operate acceptably with stop
sign control. A single lane roundabout would operate acceptably in
both the short range and long range futures. Calculation forms are
provided in Appendix I. Due to the proximity of the Pier Access, a
roundabout at the Boardwalk/Whalers intersection may not be
appropriate.
Neighborhood Issues
Traffic volumes and speed on Whalers Way, between Boardwalk Drive
and Lemay Avenue are issues that have been raised with this and
previous development proposals on this property. Whalers Way is
classified as a collector street. According to Fort Collins Street
Standards, the anticipated daily street volumes on a major collector
street are 3500-5000 vehicles and on a minor collector street are
2500-3500 vehicles. Based upon the traffic forecasts in this
transportation impact study, the daily traffic is expected to be less
than 2500 vehicles. This forecast indicates that Whalers Way would be
in the minor collector street classification through the residential
area. Whalers Way is posted at 25 mph through the residential area.
This is an appropriate speed limit for this street. Speed humps and
an entry feature have been installed as traffic calming measures. A
speed study was conducted by the City of Fort Collins on Whalers Way,
at a location just east of Maxwell Drive. The 85th percentile speed
was 32.2 mph (both directions). Of the 1724 observations, 648
vehicles (38%) were traveling less than 25 mph. There were 684
vehicles traveling at speeds between 25-30 mph. Seventy-seven percent
of the vehicles were traveling less than 30 mph. While some motorists
do exceed the posted speed, it appears that most motorists are driving
at a reasonable, prudent speed. If speed through this area continues
to be an issue, additional speed studies should be conducted. If it
is found that the 85th percentile speed is significantly above the
posted speed, then a higher level of enforcement can be implemented.
At a neighborhood meeting, some neighbors requested that the site
access to Whalers Way be deleted as a means of eliminating the site
generated traffic from utilizing the portion of Whalers Way from the
site access to Lemay Avenue. Elimination of .this access may not be
allowed by the Poudre Fire Authority in the interest of public safety.
In addition to this, the trip distribution model determined that
approximately 10 percent of the site generated traffic would utilize
this portion of Whalers Way. Some of these vehicles would likely be
to/from the residential neighborhood between this site and Lemay
Avenue. Even if the Whalers Way site access were deleted, it is not
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a direct connection to the office park to the north, the project is complying with
continuity and connectivity standards required by the City.
Sincerely,
Cc'v� YV`,��
Cathy Mat is
VF Ripley Associates
9
V Ir r11P1EiyASSOCIATES INC
Landscape Architecture Urban Design Planning
4, 2003
Steve Olt
City of Fort Collins Planning Department
281 North College Avenue
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
RE: First MainStreet Bank Project Development Plan, Type I
Dear Steve,
The comments below summarize and address the major comments and concerns
raised at the neighborhood meeting held on October 9, 2003.
Most all of the comments dealt with the potential for increased traffic cutting through
the neighborhood. There is an existing problem expressed by the neighbors that many
cars take Whalers Way as a shortcut from Boardwalk to Lemay in order to avoid using
Harmony Road. Several people asked if the bank's access to Whalers Way could be
eliminated. The assumption would be that less of the bank's traffic would go east on
Whalers Way. Given these concerns, the applicant and the design team looked at the
possibility of eliminating the access and the decision was made to keep the drive for the
following reasons:
Ron Gonzales of the Poudre Fire Authority indicated it his desire to keep the Whaler's
Way access drive. He is concerned that the future, undeveloped pad site may not
otherwise have the opportunity for two points of access. As such, the pad may not
adequately be accessible by emergency vehicles and could create a public safety
issue.
According to the Transportation Impact Study, the amount of traffic that the bank would
contribute to Whalers Way would be negligible. (Attached are Pages 24 and 25 of the
TIS, dated October 3, 2003.)
Although the bank is assisting with dramatic improvements to Boardwalk, the bank
wants to insure left -turn access back to Harmony Road. This access may only be
available, during peak traffic, from the Whalers Way intersection.
It is in the best interest of the bank to develop this access for the maximum, future
development potential.
Given these reasons, the applicant concluded that the elimination of the access would
not reduce the amount of cut -through traffic on Whalers Way. In addition, by providing
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