HomeMy WebLinkAboutJEFFERSON COMMONS PUD - PRELIMINARY - 50-95 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - TRAFFIC STUDY166 morning peak hour trip.ends and 242 afternoon peak hour trip
ends.
- Current operation at the Elizabeth/Taft Hill signalized
intersection is acceptable. Operation at other key intersections
is acceptable with the existing stop sign control.
In the short range future (1997) with the proposed,
Jefferson Commons and the increase in background traffic, the key
intersections will operate acceptably. Left -turn phases should be
added to the Elizabeth/Taft Hill signal phasing.
- In the long range future (2015), the key intersections will
operate acceptably.
- Providing the connection of Orchard Place through the north
portion of Jefferson Commons has a positive effect on all but one
intersection. This connection also provides an alternative route
to the arterial street system for the existing residential
neighborhood to the west of Jefferson Commons.
- The location of Jefferson Commons Student Apartments
provides an opportunity for travel by many modes, particularly for
school trips to/from CSU. Use of the alternative modes has the
positive effect of mitigating the use of personal vehicle travel
for school trips. The developers of Jefferson Commons have
indicated an interest in providing for a turn -around for Transfort
buses within this site.
' - An enhanced two lane cross section is recommended for
Elizabeth Street. This should include right- and left -turn lanes
at appropriate locations. Specifically, a westbound right -turn
lane is recommended on Elizabeth Street approaching the Jefferson
Commons access. Left turns should be accommodated in a continuous
two-way left -turn lane on Elizabeth Street.
7
' Appendix F. All of the key intersections operate acceptably. As
in the short range analysis, only the Taft Hill/Orchard Place
intersection decreased in level of service with the Orchard Place
connection.
The cross section of Elizabeth Street through the area
' adjacent to Jefferson Commons should be two lanes plus the center
left -turn lane. A westbound right -turn lane should be provided on
Elizabeth Street approaching the Jefferson Commons access. This
' will facilitate right -turn entrances to the site and eliminate
delay to the through vehicles on Elizabeth Street. While Elizabeth
Street is classified as an arterial street, the forecasted traffic
' volumes indicate that an enhanced two lane cross section is
adequate west of Taft Hill Road.
Other Issues
This section discusses one issue which was raised at the
' neighborhood meeting. This issue is related to the non -
neighborhood traffic which is currently using Ponderosa Drive to
get from Elizabeth Street to Mulberry Street and vice versa.
The neighborhood described this traffic as primarily students
going to/from Poudre High School. Ponderosa Drive is a relatively
straight street that is conducive to this type of traffic. It was
not observed as part of this study, since school was not in session
during the preparation of this study. There is currently all -way
stop control at the Ponderosa/Orchard intersection. This action
was probably taken to reduce speeds on Ponderosa Drive. Due to the
nature of the street system, there is little that can be done to
eliminate this cut through traffic. It is not likely that
residents of Jefferson Commons will significantly contribute to
this issue. The trip attractions for Jefferson Commons are
primarily east of .the site. Provision of the Orchard Place
connection through Jefferson Commons will positively impact the
residents to the west by providing an alternative route to the
arterial street system.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
This study assessed the traffic impacts of the Jefferson
Commons on the short range (1997) and long range (2015) street
system in the vicinity of the proposed development. As a result
of this analysis, the following is concluded:
- The development of the Jefferson Commons Student Apartments
is feasible from a traffic engineering standpoint. At full
development as proposed, approximately 1880 trip ends will be
generated at this site daily. It is expected that there will be
11
Table 6
Long Range Peak Hour Operation
(With Orchard Place Connection)
Level
of Service
Intersection
AM
PM
Elizabeth/Jefferson
Commons (stop sign)
SB LT
C
C
SB RT
A
A
EB LT
A
A
Elizabeth/Taft Hill
(signal)
C
C
Taft Hill/Orchard Place
(stop sign)
EB LT/T/RT
B-
WB LT/T/RT
B
C
NB LT
A
B
SB LT
A
A
Elizabeth/Ponderosa
(stop sign)
NB LT/T
B
C
NB RT
A
A
SB LT/T
B
C
SB RT
A
A
EB LT
A
A
WB LT
A
A
Mulberry/Ponderosa
(stop sign)
NB LT
B
C
NB RT
A
A
WB LT
A
A
Table 5
Long Range Peak Hour Operation
(No Orchard Place Connection)
Level
of Service
Intersection
AM
PM
Elizabeth/Jefferson
Commons (stop sign)
SB LT
C
D
SB RT
A
B
EB LT
A
A
Elizabeth/Taft Hill
(signal)
C
D
Taft Hill/Orchard Place
(stop sign)
EB LT/T/RT
B
B
WB LT/T/RT
B
B
NB LT
A
A
•SB LT
A
A
Elizabeth/Ponderosa
(stop sign)
NB LT/T
B
C
NB RT
A
A
SB LT/T
C
C
SB RT
A
A
EB LT
A
A
WB LT
A
A
Mulberry/Ponderosa
(stop sign)
NB LT
B
C
NB RT
A
A
WB LT
A
A
Table 4
Short Range Peak Hour Operation
(With Orchard Place Connection)
Level
of Service
Intersection
AM
PM
Elizabeth/Jefferson
Commons (stop sign)
SB LT
B
C
SB RT
A
A
EB LT
A
A
Elizabeth/Taft Hill
(signal)
C
C
Taft Hill/Orchard Place
(stop sign)
EB LT/T/RT
B
B
WB LT/T/RT
B
C
NB LT
A
A
SB LT
A
A
Elizabeth/Ponderosa
(stop sign)
NB LT/T
B
C
NB RT
A
A
SB LT/T
B
C
SB RT
A
A
EB LT
A
A
WB LT
A
A
Mulberry/Ponderosa
(stop sign)
NB LT
B
C
NB RT
A
A
WB LT
A
A
Table 3
Short Range Peak Hour Operation
(No Orchard Place Connection)
Level
of Service
Intersection
AM
PM
Elizabeth/Jefferson
Commons (stop sign)
SB LT
C
C
SB RT
A
A
EB LT
A
A
Elizabeth/Taft Hill
(signal)
C
C
Taft Hill/Orchard Place
(stop sign)
EB LT/T/RT
B
B
WB LT/T/RT
B
B
NB LT
A
A
SB LT
A
A
Elizabeth/Ponderosa
(stop sign)
NB LT/T
B
C
NB RT
A
A
SB LT/T
B
C
SB RT
A
A
EB LT
A
A
WB LT
A
A
Mulberry/Ponderosa
(stop sign)
NB LT
B
C
NB RT
A
A
WB LT
A
A
Providing the Orchard Place connection to Taft Hill Road gives
future residents of Jefferson Commons and existing residents of the
neighborhood to the west of Jefferson Commons an alternative route
to the arterial street system. For those who desire to travel east
on Elizabeth Street or south on Taft Hill, direct access to Taft
Hill Road will enable them to make a right turn rather than a left
turn to Elizabeth Street. Review of past City transportation plans
indicate that the Orchard Place connection has always been
intended.
Signal Warrants
As a matter of policy, traffic signals are not installed at
any location unless warrants are met according to the Manual on
Uniform Traffic Control Devices. No new signals are anticipated
at any of the key intersections.
Signal Progression
Signal progression was not evaluated since no new signals are
warranted due to the Jefferson Commons development.
Operations Analysis
Capacity analyses were performed on key intersections adjacent
to and near the Jefferson Commons development. The operations
' analyses correspond to the short and long range traffic forecasts
shown in Figures 6, 7, 8, and 9.
Using the traffic volumes shown in Figure 6, the key
intersections operate as indicated in Table 3. Calculation forms
for these analyses are provided in Appendix C. The Elizabeth/Taft
Hill signalized intersection will continue to operate acceptably,
however consideration should be given to providing left -turn phases
for each leg. The stop sign controlled intersections operate
acceptably. Using the traffic volumes shown•in Figure 7, the key
intersections operate as indicated in Table 4. Calculation forms
are provided in Appendix D. All of the intersections operate
acceptably. Comparing Tables 3 and 4, and the detailed calculation
' forms in Appendices C and D indicate that, with the Orchard Place
connection, the operation at all intersections except the Taft
Hill/Orchard Place intersection will improve.
Using the traffic volumes shown in Figure 8, the key
intersections operate as indicated in Table 5. Calculation forms
for these analyses are provided in Appendix E. All of the
I ' intersections are expected to operate acceptably. Using the
traffic volumes shown in Figure 9, the key intersections operate
as indicated in. Table 6. Calculation forms are provided in
1 5
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WITH ORCHARD PLACE CONNECTION
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LONG RANGE PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC
NO ORCHARD PLACE CONNECTION
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Figure 8
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SHORT RANGE PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC
WITH ORCHARD PLACE CONNECTION
Figure 7
1 N
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1 � L
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515 ELIZABETH
+
/—60/155
105/115
365/355 —
110/120 -�
to uo o
�q
AM / PM Leo
Rounded to the Nearest
5 Vehicles.
SHORT RANGE PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC
NO ORCHARD PLACE CONNECTION
Figure 6
SCHOOL TRIPS
NON -SCHOOL TRIPS
TRIP DISTRIBUTION
A,
N
NO SCALE
A&
N
NO SCALE
Figure 5
trips. This is shown in the row labelled non -school trips in Table
2. The remaining vehicle trips were considered to be school trips.
Based upon the location of Jefferson Commons with regard to CSU,
it was assumed that 20 percent of the school trips would be by
modes not involving a personal motor vehicle. These modes are
primarily Transfort or bicycle. Transfort operates on West
Elizabeth Street with service to CSU. The Jefferson Commons
developers are interested in providing a turn -around for buses
within Jefferson Commons. Jefferson Commons is less than two miles
from the geographical center of CSU. This makes bicycle travel an
attractive travel alternative, also.
Trip Distribution
Two directional distributions of the generated trips were
determined for Jefferson Commons. Distribution for the non -school
travel used employment as the attraction variable in the gravity
model. Future year data was obtained from information supplied by
the Fort Collins Planning Department. School related vehicle trips
for Jefferson Commons were oriented to CSU. A small percentage of
the school trips are to the west, since there are CSU facilities
in this direction. Both trip distributions are shown in Figure 5.
Background Traffic
Background traffic is defined as the traffic that is and/or
will be on the area streets that is not related to the proposed
developments. Future analysis years were 1997 (short range) and
2015.(long range). It was assumed that this development would be
built out by 1997. The traffic projections from the North Front
Range Regional Transportation Plan, October 1994 were used to
obtain the short range and long range background traffic
projections. In addition to the forecasts shown in the cited plan,
traffic studies for other developments (e.g. The Ponds, etc.) were
used to develop background traffic.
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. Four trip
assignments were performed. Figure 6 shows the short range peak
hour traffic with Orchard Place not connected through Jefferson
Commons. Figure 7 shows the short range peak hour traffic with
Orchard Place connected through Jefferson Commons. Figures B and
9 show the long range peak hour traffic with no Orchard Place
connection and with the Orchard Place connection, respectively.
4 ..
Table 2
Trip Generation
Daily
Land Use Trips
JEFFERSON COMMONS
684 Bedrooms/684 Persons 2240
Non -school Trips 450
School Trips 1790
Alternative Mode School 360
Trips,
Remaining School Trips 1430
Total Private Vehicle Trips 1880
A.M.
Peak
P.M.
Peak
Trips
Trips
Trips
Trips
in
out
in
out
48
150
185
103
10
30
37
21
38
120
148
82
8
24
30
16
30
96
11B
66
40
126
155
87
ORCHAM===j
PLACE_- 4M7
PLUM STREET
I I
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A&
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NO SCALE
PLACE
STREET
WEST ELIZA ETH STREET
---_-------- ------------ -------
U
SITE PLAN Figure 4
. Table 1
Current Peak Hour Operation
Level
of Service
Intersection
AM
P14
Elizabeth/Taft Hill
(signal)
B
B
Taft Hill/Orchard Place
(stop sign)
EB LT/RT
B
B
NB LT
A
A
Elizabeth/Cedarwood
Plaza (stop sign)
NB LT
B
C
NB RT
A
A
WB LT
A
A
Elizabeth/Ponderosa
(stop sign)
NB LT/T
B
B
NB RT
A
A
SB LT/T
B
B
SB RT
A
A
EB LT
A
A
WB LT
A
A
Mulberry/Ponderosa
(stop sign)
NB LT
B
B
NB RT
A
A
WB LT
A
A
1]
I1
it
obtained and still meet the schedule for submittal of this project.
The synthesis techniques were discussed with City staff.
Existing Operation
The five intersections shown in Figure 3 were evaluated
regarding operational efficiency. They were evaluated using their
respective control with existing geometries. The peak hour
operation in shown in Table 1. Calculation forms are provided in
Appendix A. Appendix B describes level of service for signalized
and unsignalized intersections from the 1994 Highway Capacity
Manual (1994 HCM). The signalized Elizabeth/Taft Hill intersection
oPerates acceptably. All of the stop sign controlled intersections
operate acceptably. By definition, acceptable operation is
considered to be level of service D or better.
III. PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT
Jefferson Commons is located north of West Elizabeth Street
in Fort Collins. Figure 4 shows a site plan of the site.
Jefferson Commons is a student apartment development consisting of
684 bedrooms in various size apartment buildings: Based upon the
rental policy, this will result in a population of 684 students.
Students are expected to be primarily upperclassmen and graduate
students. The main access to Jefferson Commons will be across from
West Elizabeth Street A secondary access is shown connecting
Orchard Place through the site. City staff requested an evaluation
of the change in traffic patterns with and without the Orchard
Place connection.
Trip Generation and Modal Split
Trip generation is important in considering the impact of a
development such as this upon the existing and proposed street
system. Trip Generation, 5th Edition, ITE was used to estimate the
vehicular travel to/from Jefferson Commons. Land use code 220
(Apartment) was used with persons as the independent variable.
Urban Travel Patterns for Hospitals, Universities, Office
Buildings, and Capitols, NCHRP Report 62, HRB, 1969, was used to
determine the student travel from/to Jefferson Commons, since the
data in this document was more definitive pertaining to diurnal
travel behavior of students.
Table 2 shows the trip generation expected from Jefferson
Commons. Jefferson Commons trips were divided into two categories:
school (CSU) and non -school trips. The non -school trips can be
categorized as work trips, shopping trips, recreation trips, etc.
It was assumed that 20 percent of the trips would be non -school
3
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RECENT PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC Figure 3
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PRIMARY STREETS Figure 2
' West Elizabeth Street. Land in the area is essentially flat. The
center of Fort Collins lies to the east of the site.
Roads
The primary streets near the Jefferson Commons are shown in
Figure 2. West Elizabeth is south of Jefferson Commons. It is an
east/west street designated as an arterial on the Fort Collins
' Master Street Plan. In this area, it has a functional two lane
cross section with auxiliary turn lanes at some intersecting
streets and driveways. The West Elizabeth/Taft Hill intersection
is signalized. Sight distance is generally not a problem along
West Elizabeth Street. Streets and driveways intersecting West
Elizabeth have stop sign control.
Taft Hill Road is approximately 1000 feet east of the site.
It is a north/south street designated as an arterial on the Fort
Collins Master Street Plan. In this area, Taft Hill Road has a
four lane cross section with a center left -turn lane at some
intersections.
' Mulberry Street is an east -west street designated as an
arterial. It intersects with Taft Hill Road at a signalized
intersection. It is located approximately 1/4 mile north of the
site. Jefferson Commons does not take direct access from Mulberry
' Street.
On the west side of the proposed Jefferson Commons is
' Ponderosa Drive. It is a local street, 40-50 feet wide. It
provides a direct north/south connection between West Elizabeth
Street and Mulberry Street. It intersects with Mulberry Street at
a stop sign controlled T intersection, and at West Elizabeth Street
at a four leg stop sign controlled intersection. Due to its
location, it provides an access route to Poudre High School. As
indicated in a neighborhood meeting, it has considerable high
' school vehicular traffic. There is little that can be done to
alleviate this.
Orchard Place and Plum Street are local streets which
terminate on each side of the Jefferson Commons site. The City's
intention has always been that both streets would be connected
through the Jefferson Commons site. Meetings with City staff
Indicated that at least one of the streets should be connected.
The preferred street connection is via Orchard Place.
' Existing Traffic
Peak hour turning movements obtained in 1992, 1994, and 1995
are shown in Figure 3. Some turning movements were synthesized
because actual traffic counts during the school year could not be
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SITE LOCATION Figure 1
I. INTRODUCTION
This traffic impact study addresses the capacity, geometric,
and control requirements at and near a proposed development known
as the Jefferson Commons in Fort Collins, Colorado. Jefferson
Commons is a student apartment development, located north of West
Elizabeth Street between Taft Hill Road and Ponderosa Drive.
During the course of the analysis, numerous contacts were made
with the project planning consultant (Gefroh, Hattman Architects),
the developer (JPI Texas Development), and the Fort Collins
Transportation Division. This study generally conforms to the
format set forth in the Traffic 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 on
key intersections and roadway sections;
Analyze signal warrants;
This report is prepared for the following purposes:
- Evaluate the existing conditions at key intersections;
- Estimate the trip generation by the proposed developments;
- Determine the trip distribution of site generated traffic;
- Evaluate operation at key intersections;
- Determine the geometrics at key intersections;
- Determine the impacts of site generated traffic on key
intersections.
Information used in this report was obtained from the City of
Fort Collins, the planning consultant, the developers, research
sources (ITE, TRB, etc.) and field reconnaissance.
II. EXISTING CONDITIONS.
The location of the Jefferson Commons is shown in Figure 1.
It is important that a thorough understanding of the existing
conditions be presented.
Land Use
Land uses in the area are primarily vacant, commercial or
residential. Residential development exists on all sides of the
proposed Jefferson Commons. Some commercial uses exist to the
southeast along both sides of West Elizabeth Street. The site
itself is vacant. There is also some vacant land to the west along
1
10
r
01
10
10
0
August 16, 1995 (File:9558LET1)
Fort Collins Planning Department
Fort Collins Transportation Division
Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580
and
Mr. Jim Truitt
JPI Texas Development
P.O. Box 619208
Dallas,, TX 75261-9208
Gentlemen:
This site access study was prepared in July, 1995 and used a
bedroom count of 684. Subsequent reworking of the site plan
caused the number of bedrooms to be reduced to 624. This
change has a minimal impact on the trip generation. I have
gone through a cursory evaluation using the 624 bedrooms and
have determined that the conclusions and recommendations of
this report would not change. Therefore; I am submitting this
report using 684 bedrooms as the size of the project.
Sincerely,
"may
Matthew J. Delich, P.E.
JEFFERSON COMMONS STUDENT APARTMENTS
SITE ACCESS STUDY
FORT COLLINS, COLORADO
JULY 1995
Prepared for:
JPI Texas Development
P.O. Box 619208
Dallas, TX 75261-9208
Prepared by:
MATTHEW J. DELICH, P.E.
3413 Banyan Avenue
Loveland, CO 80538
Phone: 970-669-2061
FAX: 970-669-5034