HomeMy WebLinkAboutHARMONY SAFEWAY MARKETPLACE PUD - PRELIMINARY - 33-94A - REPORTS - CITIZEN COMMUNICATION (3)me
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Safeway Center,' houses a variety of high -traffic tenants, and functions well with
only two effective access points: one all -directions access on Troutman and one
right -in / right -out access on College. (There is a second right-in/right-out access
on the Pavilion Center's south side, but very few know of it, and it is almost
never used.)
► The Riverside Shops at Riverside and Lemay, a center of similar size, prospers
with one, indirect, all directions entry and two right-in/right-out access points.
► The EPIC pool and ice center is another case in point: to protect neighborhood
streets and children, EPIC has only one access at Prospect Avenue and is well
served.'
► If the Safeway Center's access to McMurray Drive is restricted to exiting right -
out, southbound traffic, it will enjoy two and one-half access points — access either
better than or equal to that of these three busy centers of commerce and sport.
We are, of course, suggesting more access than that by way of experiment.
When all is said and done, we are simply asking the City of Fort Collins to take seriously
its repeatedly stated general policy, one appearing with emphasis in the Harmony Corridor Plan:
adjacent shopping areas should enhance rather than detract from their neighborhoods. We
do not object to the Safeway Center and look forward to its being a good neighbor. But it
cannot be a good neighbor if it contributes to traffic and traffic patterns destructive of our
neighborhood's integrity and tranquility or dangerous to our and our children's safety. We
believe our requests are reasonable and essential if the Safeway Center at Golden Meadows is
to be, as it ought to be, a model of good urban planning, one we in the neighborhood, Safeway,
and Fort Collins can all be proud of and comfortable with.
Finally, speaking for myself and my neighbors here tonight, I would like to thank Safeway
for their willingness to discuss some of these issues with us over the past months, the City's
planning and traffic staff for their help and service, and not least to thank you, our neighbors,
who serve on this Board. We understand how much time, energy, and effort such service requires
and how easy that is to overlook when we appear before you on a matter of some urgency and
anxiety for us. Your service to the rest of us is important and valued, and we do thank you.
4According to Planning Department figures, the Pavilion Center occupies 125,000 sq. ft., the proposed
Safeway Center, 115,000 sq. ft.
5A recent story in the Coloradoan emphasized that there were two reasons for restricting EPIC to one
entrance: (1) to protect the neighborhood from excessive traffic and (2) to "ensure the safety of kids walking home
from school." It should be noted that the traffic in this case would have been using Stuart Avenue, a straight street
designed as a feeder unlike Ticonderoga, which is quite clearly a winding, residential street.
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exit (with no entrance) from the Safeway Center to McMurray.
We are, in fact, willing to do more than that, to go the extra mile, so to speak. Safeway,
their traffic consultant, and Our City's traffic staff have told us, on the record, that "there will not
likely be much, if any, 'cttt-through' traffic" entering or leaving the Safeway center via
TiconderoaafivIcMurray. We take them at their word. We are agreeable to providing both
right -in and right -out access on McMurray Drive provided that we have a written guarantee,
provided by both the City and Safeway, as follows:
If both right -in and right -out access at McMurray Drives is provided for the Safeway
Center and either Ticonderoga, McMurray, or New Bedford Drives experiences a
traffic increase of more than 10% (from the baseline numbers established before
construction) on any day of the week, the right -turn -in access on McMurray will be
closed.'-
A few additional points:
• A traffic signal at Lemay and Wheaton, along with left-hand turn bays has
already been suggested by city staff — as a means of reducing a shopping center's
impact on Golden Meadows' streets — according to another traffic consultant involved
in this property's development. We agree and are convinced this is necessary now.'
• A possible objection: Might three access points (one all directional, one right-tum-
in/right-turn out, and one right -turn -out only) be insufficient for the Safeway Center?
Our experience in Fort Collins proves otherwise:
► The Pavilion Center (Troutman and College) larger by 10,000 sq. ft. than the
ISafeway assures us that southbound access into the Center from McMurray is intended only for the
neighborhood. We in the neighborhood, of course, would rind it easy to drive a few hundred feet further to enter
the Center from Harmony Road.
2Using the traffic pattern baseline already discussed, measurements would be made three months, six
months, and one year after the opening of the Safeway Center and once a year thereafter. Left turns into or out of
the Center would, of course, not be permitted.
'Residents of the Landings neighborhood, immediately west of the Lemay / Wheaton intersection, are
reasonably worried that a traffic signal there would create a bypass from Harmony Road to Boardwalk Drive via
Wheaton and Whaler's Way. There is such a danger, but the solution to a similar problem is already working well
farther north on Lemay. Although there are no physical obstructions, westbound traffic exiting Poudre Valley
Hospital's parking lots from their south exit is not permitted to proceed westbound on Robertson Street. Signs direct
all traffic onto Lemay's north and southbound lanes. A similar system at Lemay / Wheaton /Whaler's Way would
protect Whaler's Way from becoming a bypass, make the intersection far safer and allow our neighbors in the
Landings both to cross Lemay to turn safely northbound. As it stands, they will be able only to turn right onto
Lemay, and that at some risk.
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TiconderogaNlcMurray already has a left-hand turn bay from Lemay, and some
south and eastbound traffic already finds it more convenient and far more pleasant
route to use.
Providing all -direction access to the Center from McMurray just south of Kruse
Elementary School would compound the problem by providing customers
convenient, pleasant access to the Center's east side.
• In sum, the failure to improve the intersection of Lemay and Wheaton together with
the unnecessary access on McMurray Drive will create a severe traffic problem in
our neighborhood and endanger the neighborhood's children, particularly those
walking to Kruse Elementary School.
We therefore ask:
First, that the intersection of Lemay and Wheaton be made safe for Safeway
Center and Rockbridje traffic and for traffic going south and east of the
Lemay/Harmony intersection.
Second, that access to McMurray be limited to traffic exiting the Center
southbound.
We take it as given that westbound, right -in / right -out access to the Safeway Center
from Harmony Road is absolutely essential. Golden Meadows as a neighborhood wishes to
state for the record that it urges the City of Fort Collins, in the strongest possible terms, to work
closely with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to ensure this access before
final approval of the Center and before any construction begins.
It is also extremely important, if we are to gauge the traffic impact of the Safeway Center
on our neighborhood that a detailed and accurate baseline for neighborhood traffic patterns
be established before any construction begins on the Safeway Center (see attached map). These
measurements should be made on all days of the week, including both school and non -school
days and all hours of the day. Golden Meadows, of course, is completely built out; any increase
in traffic will be connected to the new center.
We prefer that there be no shopping access whatever to McMurray — in addition to
averting traffic problems, this would help insulate Kruse Elementary School and its neighborhood
park from shopping center problems. In the absence of a light at Wheaton and Harmony,
however, we recognize that some provision must be made for eastbound traffic leaving the
Safeway Center. In a spirit of cooperation, therefore, we are agreeable to a right -turn only
2
Members of the Board: my name is Kevin Keane, and I am speaking as a member of the
Golden Meadows Homeowners Association. I reside at 4106 Attleboro Court, just north of
Ticonderoga Drive.
The impact of the proposed Safeway Shopping Center on traffic patterns is a matter of
serious concern to all of us in Golden Meadows. We worry particularly about traffic to and from
the'Center using neighborhood streets and the threat this poses to the safety and security of our
children, especially because the Center will be only a few hundred feet from Kruse Elementary
School, which is primarily a "walk-in" school.
Two aspects of the proposal pose major problems: 1) no improvements are planned for
the intersection of Lemay Avenue and Wheaton Drive and 2) a full-service/all directions
entrance to the Safeway Center is planned for McMurray Avenue. Together they would
encourage a significant increase in traffic on Ticonderoga/McNlurray (it should be pointed
out that Ticonderoga/McMurray are really one continuous street with two names).
• Absence of a left-hand turn bay from Lemay onto Wheaton will clog the southbound
left lane with traffic for the new Center. Immediately north of this intersection two
sharp curves severely limit line -of -sight. We can expect a sharp increase in traffic
accidents and a lot of inconvenience.
The right southbound lane will also be affected: drivers in the left lane going south
or east on Harmony will be tempted to dart into the right lane.
The Wheaton/Lemay intersection, already heavily used, will be overwhelmed by new
traffic to and from the Safeway Center and the new Rockbridge condominium
complex. Drivers using Lemay and its Harmony intersection for trips to a host of
destinations will find it time-consuming, inconvenient, dangerous, and downright
unpleasant. The obvious alternative is Ticonderoga/McMurray.
These destinations south and east of Harmony/Lemay include:
► the SafewayCenter itself
► the Federal Office building on McMurray Drive
the Golden Meadows Business Park
b. the Oakridge residential neighborhood
P. Oakridge Park's major commercial, lodging, and industrial centers, including the
new Marriott Courtyard Hotel
P. all of the new and growing neighborhoods and businesses to the southeast
► the rapidly growing towns, like Windsor and Severance, east of I-25
► Interstate-25 traffic to and from Greeley, Loveland, Longmont, Denver, and
elsewhere
• APR 22 '56 10:57 FROM FRESH MTS CORPORATE PAGE.004
WN GG '96 11:02AM RHD FORT COLLINS P.4
Golden Meadows also requests the installation of spied undulations to be implemented on Monte
Carlo - the number to be determined by a traffic engineer, Speed undulations will discourage
unnecessary traffic on this street - promoting the use of collector streets instead - and greatly
reduce the speed of traffic at all times of the day or night.
By narrowing the width of Monte Carlo road, adding landscaped buffers and wider sidewalks,
installing chokers and additional stop signs, and implementing speed undulations, the residents
of Golden Meadows feel these measures will create a much safer road for their children to travel
on, decrease the amount of traffic, and become a more peaceful road to live on.
APR 22 '96 10:39 303 4S2 6369 PAGE.004
** TOTAL PAGE.004 **
• APR 22 '96 10:57 FRO`l FRESH MTS CORPORATE PAGE .003
APR 22 '56 11:02AM RBD FORT COLLINS P.3
Therefore, Monte Carlo appears to be wide open and uninhibited for easy pass through and
speeding. Often cars - most with younger drivers or in sports cars - will race at high speeds down
this curvy road just for the thrill of it and will not slow much for the stop signs at each end of the
street. On occasion, the squeal of tires can be heard.
Golden Meadows feels these problems will only increase when the Safeway and Rockbridge
projects are completed.
Nelghborhood/Safeway Solutions:
Safeway has acknowledged our concerns on Monte Carlo, and It is Golden Meadows
understanding they have agreed to the following solution applications:
1) Monte Carlo will be redesigned to a 24' wide street. The narrow sheet will give drivers the
impression the street is more residential,
2) The south side of the road will have a landscaped buffer with a sidewalk.
3) The north side of the road will have a landscaped bu$bs with an S' or wider sidewalk. The
wider sidewalk will encourage children to stay out of the road when riding their bikes or roller
blading. Snow clearing of the sidewalks and maintenance of the landscaped buffers will be
worked out with Safeway, the school district, and the city. (The sidewalks aced to be cleared
before the start of the school for children's safety).
4) No parking of any kind would be allowed along the road.
5) Monte Carlo intersection will be redesigned to have chokers at each comer of the intersection
and four atop signs. The chokers will be landscaped (possibly with 2' high conifer trees) so they
are visible to snowplows.
The chokers will:
* Give drivers the impression they arc entering into a residcutial/school area
* Deter non -neighborhood traffic.
* Forcc drivers to stop, evaluate the conditions of chlldron in the vicinity.
* To regain speed slowly while passing through the school zone.
APR 22 '9S 10:37 303 432 6368 PAGE.003
APR 22 '96 10:56 FROG' -RESH MTS CORPORATE PAG_.022
APR 22 156 11:01AM R3D FORT COLLINS P.2
My name is Juleigh Bayda and I live at 4427 Monaco Placa As a Golden Meadows resident who
lives along Monte Carlo Drive, I would like to address the neighborhoods' traffic concerns for
this road when the Safeway and Rockbridge condo projects are completed.
Currently, Wheaton and Monte Carlo roads are used as it cut -through passage.
1) To &caws Kruse Elementary School by residents on the western and southern halves of
Golden Meadows and all of the Landings area.
2) To access the stoplight on Harmony and McMurray in order to go East on Harmony to I-25
by the same drivers as mentioned before.
3) For business traffic from innovation Drive, just east of Kruse School.
Pedestrian Traffic:
1) On school days, a large number of children use this route to access the school by means of
hikes, roller blades, walking, and skate boards. Many of the children who are riding bikes,
rollerblading or skateboarding prefer riding on the street to avoid the conjestion of those children
walking on the existing 4' sidewalk.
2) On weekends, Monte Carlo and Wheaton (combined with McMurray and Ticonderoga) are
very busy roads with pedestrian traffic as many residents prefer this route for an exercising path
(walling dogs, biking, jogging etc), This path circles the outer perimoW of the neighborhood
and is conveniently accessible to all residents.
The problem with Monte Carlo:
1) The amount of car traffic in relation to pedestrian traffic
2) The speed of car traffic in relation to pedestrian traffic
Monte Carlo is a narrower street than Wheaton and does not have a wide bike lane.
The majority of traffic on Monte Carlo does not obey the 25mph speed limit as the road does not
appear to be the normal residential street.
• Homes do not have driveway access off Monte Carlo
' 98% of the time oars do not park on Monte Carlo
APR 22 '36 10:36 303 482 636E PAGE.002
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Place speed undulations the length of Ticonderoga and New Bedford. These are
NOT speed bumps (see attached). This traffic tool has become widely used in the
United Kingdom and has been heavily studied prior to implementation in the
U.S.A. Speed undulations incline to a height of 4 inches over 6 feet and decline
back to street level over the next 6 feet. They will allow traffic to move at the
speed limit very comfortably. If you speed over them, the ride is not comfortable.
With speed undulations 160 to 510 feet apart, maximum prevailing
speeds were reduced from 32 mph to 22mph, a 30% reduction.
They successfully reduced the volume of unnecessary traffic by
discouraging use of the street as a short cut. In the study in the U.K.,
volume was reduced an average of 30%.
A survey of residents found 79% of residents and 60% of non-residents
favored the humps.
The fire department may be concerned about reduced speeds over the
humps when responding to an emergency. Considering the humps will
cover a maximum of 1/2 mile of their route as well as a speed
reduction of perhaps only 10 mph, the impact on arrival time would be
minimal, only a matter of seconds over the 1/2 mile maximum.
D P*,j E: G(-��
At this time, no left hand turn lanes or traffic lights are planned at Lemay and Wheaton
to serve the Safeway Center and the new Rockbridge Condo community (160+ units)
to the east of the Center. For this reason, the intersection of Ticonderoga and Lemay,
with a left hand turn pocket, will become a very attractive alternative route. This will
bring excessive cut through traffic into the Golden Meadows neighborhood. This
traffic will use Ticonderoga to McMurray and Ticonderoga to New Bedford as short
cuts to the center. Recognizing our concerns, Safeway has agreed to these measures
to mitigate increased traffic. Thanks to the city of Fort Collins for already removing
the large street signs on the pedestrian crossing lights on Lemay. This has reduced
the image of this being a major intersection.
At the entrance to Golden Meadows, Ticonderoga and Lemay, build "Chokers" or
"Bulbs" on each side of Ticonderoga. Ticonderoga is 42 feet wide from curb to
curb and can accommodate this modification. The "chokers" will narrow the
intersection at the entrance and then taper away, widening the street again, as you
proceed to the east into the neighborhood.
Build a small median in the center of the neighborhood entrance on Ticonderoga
drive.
The above measures would narrow the intersection both physically and
visually, thereby;
Drivers will recognize this as a smaller neighborhood street which will
probably not serve their desire for a short cut.
Any traffic that does enter will immediately slow down to a "neighborhood"
speed, 25 mph.
Place a traffic circle or "rotary" at the intersection of Ticonderoga and
NewBedford. These are currently used widely in many cities including Boulder.
The city of Vail added several of them this past summer.
This will impair the sight line of drivers prospecting a short cut. Currently,
Ticonderoga is currently open and long inviting cut through traffic.
The rotary will also further slow traffic entering the neighborhood.
(see attached illustration for street modifications outlined above)
Kenneth G.D. Allen
Good evening. My name is Kenneth Allen, I live at 1719 Ticonderoga Drive and I am a
member of the Golden ivleadows Homeowners Association. Thank you for this opportunity to
present some of the concerns of the Homeowners Association in regard to the Safeway store
proposed for our neighborhood. We are very concerned with the traffic problems that inevitably
accompany shopping center developments in an established residential neighborhood. It is
important to recognize that our neighborhood is fully built -out and that increases in neighborhood
traffic will not originate from the neighborhood residents, but will be generated by traffic to and
fromthe proposed Safeway shopping center.
Bott.Safeway and the City feel that the shopping center traffic, originating from the north
and northwest; will choose the S. Lemay and Wheaton Drive route to access this center.
However, the Wheaton Drive/ S. Lemay intersection does not have a left -turn lane for access to
Wheaton by south -bound traffic on Lemay. South Lemay Avenue has become a very busy
thoroughfare as residential, commercial, and industrial developments have grown south of
Harmony Road. Kathleen Krager of Krager and Associates, the traffic consultants for Safeway,
feels that the south -bound Lemay/ east -bound Wheaton turn is a level -of -service (LOS) "A'
intersection, in other words the best of ratings, and the city concurs with this analysis. However,
the traffic consultant for the previously proposed King Sooper development at the same site felt
that this intersection, without a left -turn lane, was a potential safety concern and would need a
traffic signal in the future to accommodate the increased traffic turning left (that is east) onto
Wheaton Drive. In contrast to this intersection, the Lemay/ Ticonderoga Drive intersection does
have a left -turn lane for access to Ticonderoga from south -bound traffic on Lemay. We are
concerned that traffic backlog at the Lemay/ Wheaton intersection, resulting from the lack of a
left -turn lane, will inevitably lead to traffic choosing the Ticonderoga/ McMurray route through
our neighborhood to access the shopping center. It should be emphasized that Ticonderoga and
McMurray are in fact a single street with two names. It is important to realize that drivers focus
on drive -time and not on distance when choosing a route. In time and distance tests, in conditions
where there were no traffic delays, and where posted speed limits were obeyed, it is 1 minute and
one third of a mile longer to proceed down Ticonderoga/ McMurray rather than to chose the
Lemay/ Wheaton route. One minute - an insignificant difference even in conditions where there
are no traffic related delays. However, when traffic backlogs at the Lemay/ Wheaton intersection,
as we fully expect, the Ticonderoga/ McMurray route will offer a much shorter route time -wise to
the shopping center. Our neighborhood is very concerned that Ticonderoga and other
neighborhood routes will, as a result of the traffic backlog at the Lemay/ Wheaton intersection,
become the route of choice for access to the shopping center. We cannot accept our residential
streets becoming arterials for shopping center traffic.
In view of these concerns, the Neighborhood Association requests that the City install a
left -turn lane at Lemay/ Wheaton, and that measures be taken to ensure that Golden Meadows
residential streets not become thoroughfares for shopping center traffic. Thank you.
GOOD EVENING -
MY NAME IS Tim DOLAN AND I LIVE AT 4212 NEW HAMPTON COURT IN THE GOLDEN
MEADOWS NEIGHBORHOOD.
TONIGHT, SEVERAL OF MY NEIGHBORS AND I ARE GOING TO VOICE OUR OPINIONS
REGARDING THE SAFEWAY SHOPPING CENTER PROPOSAL BEING PRESENTED TO YOU AT THIS SESSION.
IT HAS BEEN A VERY INTERESTING PROCESS, BEGINNING WITH THE KING SOOPERS PROPOSAL.
BEFORE WE GET ANY FURTHER INTO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD PRESENTATION, I WANT TO EXPRESS ON
BEHALF OF THE GOLDEN MEADOWS HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION OUR GRATITUDE TO KATY PRESS
OF SAFEWAY STORES FOR HER OPEN MIND AND IN PARTICULAR, LISTENING EAR, WHICH SHE HAS
BROUGHT TO OUR DISCUSSIONS WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD. IF NOTHING ELSE HAS BEEN EFFECTIVELY
ACCOMPLISHED IN THE PAST FEW YEARS REGARDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SITE, IT IS SIMPLY THIS:
IF DEVELOPERS COME TO NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS PREPARED TO DEAL IN GOOD FAITH, WE
TOO CAN BE FAIR IN OUR NEGOTIATIONS.
WITHIN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, EVEN TODAY, THERE IS DISAGREEMENT REGARDING WHAT IS
ACCEPTABLE FOR THIS SITE. AFTER MUCH DISCUSSION AND DEBATE, WE ARE PREPARED TO MOVE
FORWARD IN AN ATTEMPT TO SECURE AN ASSET TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD; SPECIFICALLY, A SHOPPING
CENTER ADJACENT TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WILL HOPEFULLY PROVE TO BE AN ENHANCEMENT
TO OUR SURROUNDINGS.
WE DO HAVE SOME LEGITIMATE CONCERNS REGARDING THIS SHOPPING CENTER;
SPECIFICALLY, THE INCREASED TRAFFIC THAT WILL SURELY ENSUE. MY FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS WILL
HIGHLIGHT THOSE CONCERNS SUCCINCTLY IN THE NEXT FEW MINUTES. WE SIMPLY ASK THAT YOU HEAR
OUR REQUESTS AND CONSIDER THEM CAREFULLY. THANK YOU.
Golden Meadows Homeowners Association/Planning and Zoning
Representatives
4/22/90'
Ken Allen
(P) 970/225-0988 (Office) 970/491-6712
(F) 970/491-7252
Juleigh Boyda
(P) 970/223-9469
(F) 970/482-6368
Kevin Keane
(P) 970/223-8502
(F) 970/223-8502
Tim Dolan
(P) 800/685-6328 x8024
(F) 970/395-8795
Dave Graf
(P)970/223-3918
(F) 970/223-5475
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