HomeMy WebLinkAboutPALMER DESIGN CENTER - PDP - 47-98 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - TRAFFIC STUDYVII. CONCLUSIONS
This study assessed the potential impacts of the Palmer Design Center
site in Fort Collins, Colorado. As a result of the analysis, the following
conclusions were drawn:
- The potential impacts of the proposed project were evaluated at
the following intersections: College/Horsetooth, Horsetooth/Mitchell/
Square, Horsetooth/Prudential Access, and Horsetooth/JFK.
- The traffic impact analyses were performed for existing conditions
and future Year 2003. Future background traffic conditions without the
project and the total traffic conditions with completion of the proposed
project were evaluated.
- Under existing conditions, each of the study intersections is
currently operating at an acceptable level of service.
- For Year 2003 background and total traffic conditions, the study
intersections are projected to operate at acceptable levels of service.
The required geometry in the short range future is shown in Figure 9.
- Pedestrian access to and from the proposed Palmer Design Center
site is/will be direct and continuous. Pedestrian level of service will
be acceptable, except for the street crossing criteria. Bicycle level of
service will be acceptable. It is anticipated that the transit level of
service will be acceptable in the future.
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parking lot on an adjacent property. Therefore, the base connectivity is
at level of service C as shown on Appendix E. The site is in an existing
commercial area. "The Fort Collins Bike Program Plan" indicates that there
will be on -street bike lanes on Horsetooth Road. When this occurs, the
base connectivity will be at level of service A.
1 Transit Level of Service
' There is transit service along College Avenue and Horsetooth Road (to
the west) with a stop at the Square South Transit Center, which is near the
site. The current routes (Routes 1, 6, and 7) are within 1320 feet of the
site. The 2015 Transit System map indicates that Horsetooth Road will be
LII
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a high frequency transit corridor. The BNRR Enhanced Travel Corridor will
be just beyond 1320 feet from the site. Future transit level of service
will be acceptable.
20
m
cc
— - Denotes Lane
RECOMMENDED APPROACH GEOMETRY
19
Figure 9
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
L
1
Table 4
Short Range Total Peak Hour
Traffic
Operation
Level of Service
Intersection
Em
dam./
College/Horsetooth (signal)
C
D
Horsetooth/Mitchell/Square (stop sign)
NB RT
A
A
SB RT
A
A
WB LT
B
A
OVERALL
A
A
Horsetooth/Prudential Access (stop sign)
NB RT
A
A
Horsetooth/JFK (signal)
B
B
Mitchell/Bank/Palmer Design Center
(stop sign)
EB LT/T/RT
A
A
WB LT//T/RT
A
A
NB LT
A
A
SB LT
A
A
OVERALL
A
A
18
1
1
M
1
1
1
1
i
1
1
1
t
1
Table 3
Short Range Background Peak Hour Traffic Operation
Level of Service
Intersection gb
College/Horsetooth (signal) C D
Horsetooth/Mitchell/Square (stop sign)
NB RT A A
SB RT A A
WB LT B A
OVERALL A A
Horsetooth/Prudential Access (stop sign)
NB RT A A
Horsetooth/JFK (signal) B B
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VI. TRAFFIC IMPACT ANALYSIS
The previous two chapters described the development of future traffic
forecasts both with and without the proposed project. Intersection
operations analyses are conducted in this chapter for both scenarios to
assess the potential impact of the proposed project -generated traffic on
the local street system. Other transportation modes are also addressed in
this chapter.
Traffic Analysis - Year 2003
The peak hour background and total traffic volumes for Year 2003,
illustrated on Figures 7 and 8, respectively, were analyzed to determine
the intersection delay and corresponding level of service. Tables 3 and
4 summarize the results for the respective short range Year 2003 background
and total traffic conditions. The level of service worksheets for Year
2003 background and total traffic conditions are provided in Appendix C and
D, respectively. As indicated in Tables 3 and 4, the traffic movements at
each of the study intersections are expected to operate at an acceptable
level of service under future traffic conditions in the Year 2003. The
short range intersection geometry is depicted on Figure 9.
Pedestrian Level of Service
The study area for pedestrians is, by definition, those destinations
which are within 1320 feet of the site. The potential destinations are
shown on the graphic in Appendix E. The site itself falls into the
"Activity Corridor" category and the "Transit Corridor" category. As
mentioned earlier, the site is connected to most of the potential
destinations by existing sidewalks, although some of those sidewalks do not
meet current City Standards since they were built under previous City
Standards. Completion of the sidewalks along the site frontage will
mitigate the continuity criteria in all cases, except for the residential
area east of Landings Drive. This area was approved with no sidewalk on
the east side of Landings Drive. It is not reasonable that the Palmer
Design Center contribute to completion of this segment of sidewalk. The
minimum level of service (B) for this area cannot be met by the street
crossing criteria for a number of destination areas, since some crossings
involve 6 or more lanes.
The Pedestrian LOS Worksheets are provided in Appendix E. The
minimum level of service for activity center is B for all measured
categories. This level of service will be satisfied for most categories
either currently or in the future. This area has/will have a good
pedestrian system in spite of not satisfying the street crossing criteria.
Bicycle Level of Service
This site is directly connected to the on -street bike lanes on
Mitchell Drive and can access the bike lanes on JFK Parkway through a
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SHORT RANGE TOTAL
PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC
N
- 40/195
— 780/1125
,r- 40/210
AM/PM
Rounded to the Nearest
5 Vehicles.
Figure 8
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' V. FUTURE TOTAL TRAFFIC PROJECTIONS
The future total
traffic projections reflect future traffic
conditions with the traffic
from the proposed Palmer Design
Center site.
'
The future total traffic projections
were developed for the
Year 2003.
Total Traffic Year 2003
'
The total traffic for
Year 2003 was developed by adding
traffic from
the proposed project to
the background traffic for Year
2003. The
resulting short range peak
hour total traffic projections for
Year 2003 are
'
shown on Figure 8.
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776/1114
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1079/877
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68/47 -
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SHORT RANGE BACKGROUND
PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC
AM/PM
Figure 7
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IV. FUTURE BACKGROUND TRAFFIC PROJECTIONS
In order to properly evaluate the potential impact of the proposed
Palmer Design Center site on the local traffic conditions, future traffic
' volumes were first estimated for the study area without the project. These
future forecasts reflect the growth that is expected from overall
development in this area of the City of Fort Collins.
1 Background Traffic Year 2003
' The growth reflected in Year 2003 Background Traffic is based on area
wide growth and development. Based upon historical traffic growth and
information from the North Front Range Regional Transportation Plan,
October 1994, the background traffic was determined. The short range peak
' hour background traffic for Year 2003 is depicted on Figure 7.
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12
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izz,
"1-- 0/0
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- 0/0
2/4 —
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Note.
To College Avenue via Backman
or other available private connections.
SITE GENERATED
PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC
AM/PM
Figure 6
Ak-
NO SCALE
TRIP DISTRIBUTION
10
Figure 5
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Land Use
PALMER DESIGN CENTER
North Building - 5.656 KSF
(Rate)
South Building - 6.332 KSF
(Rate)
TOTAL
Table 2
Trip Generation
Daily A.M. Peak P.M. Peak
Trips Trips Trips Trips Trips
in out in out
245
4
2
10
11
(42.92)
(0.63)
(0.40)
(1.80)
(1.94)
275
4
3
11
12
(42.92)
(0.63)
(0.40)
(1.80)
(1.94)
520
8
5
21
23
9
0
m
HORSETOOTH ROAD
A&
N
0 SCALE
SITE PLAN
Figure 4
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III. PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT
1 The Palmer Design Center site is proposed to have retail uses. The
project site, depicted on Figure 4, is located east of Mitchell Drive and
' south of Horsetooth Road.
' Trip Generation
Trip generation is important in considering the impact of a
development such as this upon the existing and proposed street system. A
' compilation of trip generation information, prepared by the Institute of
Transportation Engineers (Trip Generation. 6th Edition) was used to
estimate trip generation. Table 2 shows the trip generation of the
proposed project. Land use code 820 (Shopping Center) was used to estimate
' the trip generation. One of the uses that has been contemplated is a
furniture store. Comparisons of trip generation rates were made between
the Shopping Center use, and furniture and general retail use. It was
' found that the Shopping Center use had a higher trip generation rate
compared to the other uses. This, coupled with the fact that the site is
in close proximity to the Square and Foothills Fashion Mall, suggested that
the Shopping Center use would provide a conservative analysis.
Trip Distribution
The directional distribution of the generated trips was determined
for the Palmer Design Center site. The distribution was determined based
upon a gravity model process, in addition to analysis of the existing
' traffic patterns in the area and the type of use proposed at the site. The
trip distribution is provided on Figure 5.
Trip Assignment
Trip assignment is how the generated and distributed trips are
' expected to be loaded on the street system. The assigned trips are the
resultant of the trip distribution process. Figure 6 shows the peak hour
site generated traffic for the proposed project. Since northbound left
turns are not allowed at the Horsetooth/Mitchell/Square access, the
' vehicles that would have done this were assigned to Bockman Drive or the
various cross accesses to College Avenue. This assignment is reflective
of the intended function of the Mitchell Drive connections to the south.
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1
1
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1
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Table 1
Current Peak Hour Operation
Intersection
College/Horsetooth (signal)
Horsetooth/Mitchell/Square (stop sign)
NB RT
SB RT
WB LT
OVERALL
Horsetooth/Prudential Access (stop sign)
NB LT/RT
WB LT
OVERALL
Horsetooth/JFK (signal)
Level of Service
C C
A
A
A
A
B
A
A
A
B
C
A
A
A
A
B (B)
*
(B)
* Delay calculation not feasible. Considered to be LOS F. This is with
two phase signal operation.
( ) Level of service with east and west left -turn phases.
1 Existing Motor Vehicle Operation
1 Using the traffic volumes shown in Figure 3 and the existing control,
the key intersections operate as indicated in Table 1. Calculation forms
for these analyses are provided in Appendix B. Appendix B also describes
' level of service for unsignalized intersections as provided in the 1994
Highway Capacity Manual. Operation at the key intersections is acceptable.
Acceptable level of service is defined as level of service D or better.
Pedestrian Facilities
' Currently, there are pedestrian facilities along Horsetooth Road,
College Avenue, Mitchell Drive, JFK Parkway, and Landings Drive, except for
the frontage of the project site and intermittent segments on JFK Parkway
and on Landings Drive. Some of these sidewalks were built under former
City Street Standards and, therefore, do not have the parkway between the
street and the sidewalk. However, most do have the parkway. There are
handicap ramps at all intersections. Site plans show that this development
will complete the sidewalk system along its frontage on Horsetooth Road and
Mitchell Drive.
' Bicycle Facilities
There are bike lanes striped along Mitchell Drive and JFK Parkway.
There are on -street bike lanes on Horsetooth Road, west of College Avenue
and east of Stanford Road.
' Transit Facilities
Transfort currently serves this area with Routes 1, 6, and 7. There
is a transit stop at the Square South Transit Center. During the school
1 year, these routes have 30 minute, 60 minute, and 30 minute service,
respectively. The Square South Transit Center is located on the north side
of Horsetooth Road, less than 1320 feet from the site.
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AM/PM
RECENT PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC Figure 2
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95/190 ---/
790/539 —
135/176
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Nt-- 170/178 8/28 HORSETOOTH
424/704 d — 781/1201 825/1282 ^ "'
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RECENT ADJUSTED PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC
A
Figure 3
3
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m
1" = 1500'
N
SITE LOCATION
Figure 1
II. EXISTING CONDITIONS
The location of the proposed Palmer Design Center site is shown on
Figure 1. It is important that a thorough understanding of the existing
conditions be presented.
Land Use
Land uses in the area are commercial. The topography surrounding the
site is essentially flat from a traffic operations perspective. The center
of Fort Collins is located north of this site.
Roads
The primary streets, which will serve the proposed project in the
study area, are Horsetooth Road and Mitchell Drive. The intersections of
College/Horsetooth and Horsetooth/JFK are signal controlled. The
Horsetooth/Mitchell/Square intersection has right-in/right-out/left-in
access on the Mitchell Drive side and right-in/right-out access on the
Square side. A median has recently been constructed on Horsetooth Road at
this location. There is a full -movement access to Horsetooth Road between
the site and the Prudential Building to the east. According to City staff,
the median should have been extended to the east, possibly to JFK Parkway,
which would have restricted this access to right-in/right-out. While not
the responsibility of the Palmer Design Center, staff recommended that this
intersection be analyzed as a right-in/right-out access.
' Horsetooth Road is an east/west arterial
area, Horsetooth Road accommodates five travel
in each direction and a center left -turn lane
right -turn lane on Horsetooth Road approaching
daily traffic on Horsetooth Road is approximately
to the east of the project site.
street. Within the study
lanes: two through lanes
There is an eastbound
Mitchell Drive. Recent
26,000 near Stanford Road
Mitchell Drive is a local street that primarily serves the
commercial uses east and west of Mitchell Drive. It acts as a recirculation
street for College Avenue. Mitchell Drive intersects with Bockman Drive
to the south, as well as, providing rear access to businesses on the east
side of College Avenue.
Existing Motor Vehicle Traffic
Peak hour traffic counts at the key intersections are shown on Figure
2. Raw count data is provided in Appendix A. Since some of these counts
were obtained on different days, they were adjusted and balanced between
the analyzed intersections. The resulting traffic volumes are shown in
Figure 3.
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I. INTRODUCTION
■ This transportation impact study addresses the capacity, geometric,
and control requirements at and near the proposed Palmer Design Center
' site, located south of Horsetooth Road and east of Mitchell Drive in Fort
Collins, Colorado. This transportation analysis addresses potential
vehicular impacts upon the street system, the pedestrian network
surrounding the study area, the bicycle system, and the availability of
transit facilities. Traffic projections will be prepared for future Year
2003. The scope of this study was discussed with City staff.
' During the course of the analysis, numerous contacts were made with
the project architect/planner (VF Ripley Associates) and City staff. This
study generally conforms to the format set forth in the Fort Collins
Transportation Impact Study Guidelines. The study involved the following
steps:
- Collect physical, traffic, and development data;
- Perform trip generation, trip distribution, and trip assignment;
Determine peak hour traffic volumes and daily traffic volumes;
Conduct capacity and operational level of service analyses for all
pertinent modes of transportation.
' This report is prepared for the following purposes:
- Evaluate the existing conditions;
Estimate the trip generation by the proposed/assumed developments;
Determine the trip distribution of site generated traffic;
- Evaluate level of service;
' = Determine the geometrics at.key intersections;
Determine the impacts of site generated traffic at key intersections;
- Determine pedestrian, bicycle, and transit levels of service.
Information used in this report was obtained from the City of Fort
Collins, the planning and engineering consultants, the developer, research
sources (ITE, TRB, etc.), and field reconnaissance.
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Paae
1. Site Location ........................................ 3
2. Recent Peak Hour Traffic ............................. 4
3. Recent Adjusted/Balanced Peak Hour Traffic ........... 4
4. Site Plan ............................................ 8
5. Trip Distribution .................................... 10
6. Site Generated Traffic ............................... 11
7. Short Range Background Peak Hour Traffic ............. 13
8. Short Range Total Peak Hour Traffic .................. 15
9. Short Range/Long Range Geometry ...................... 19
APPENDIX
A Recent Peak Hour Traffic
B Current Peak Hour Operation/Description of Level of Service
C Year 2003 Background Traffic Analyses
D Year 2003 Total Traffic Analyses
E Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Transit Level of Service
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.
Introduction .........................................
Page
1
II.
Existing Conditions ..................................
2
LandUse .............................................
2
Roads................................................
2
Existing Motor Vehicle Traffic .......................
2
Existing Motor Vehicle Operation .....................
5
Pedestrian Facilities ................................
5
Bicycle Facilities ...................................
5
Transit Facilities ...................................
5
III.
Proposed Development .................................
7
TripGeneration ......................................
7
Trip Distribution ....................................
7
Trip Assignment ......................................
7
IV.
Future Background Traffic Projections ................
12
Background Traffic Year 2003 .........................
12
V.
Future Total Traffic Projections .....................
14
Total Traffic Year 2003 ..............................
14
VI.
Traffic Impact Analysis ..............................
16
Traffic Analysis Year 2003 ...........................
16
Pedestrian Level of Service ..........................
16
Bicycle Level of Service .............................
16
Transit Level of Service .............................
20
VII. Conclusions .......................................... 21
LIST OF TABLES
Table -fie
1. Current Peak Hour Operation .......................... 6
2. Trip Generation ...................................... 9
3. Short Range Background Peak Hour Traffic Operation ... 17
4. Short Range Total Peak Hour Traffic Operation ........ 18
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PALMER DESIGN CENTER
TRANSPORTATION IMPACT STUDY
FORT COLLINS, COLORADO
SEPTEMBER 1998
Prepared for:
VF Ripley Associates
1113 Stoney Hill Drive
Fort Collins, CO 80525
Prepared by:
MATTHEW J. DELICH, P.E.
2272 Glen Haven Drive
Loveland, CO 80538
Phone: 970-669-2061
FAX: 970-669-5034