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Home My WebLink AboutARAPAHOE/MOUNTAINRIDGE FARM - MASTER PLAN - 55-87 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - TRAFFIC STUDYI MOUNTAINRIDGE FARM SITE ACCESS.STUDY FORT COLLINS, COLORADO APRIL 1992 Prepared for: Community Construction; Inc. 531 California Avenue Bakersfield, CA 93304. Prepared' by : MATTHEW J. DELICH, P.E. 3413 Banyan Avenue Loveland, CO 80538 Phone: 303-669-2061 EXECUTIVE.SUMMARY Mountainridge Farm is a proposed single family detached residential development located west of Shields Street and south of Horsetooth Road in Fort Collins. This traffic study assessed the impacts of Mountainridge Farm at various phases of development. The following summarizes the significant findings as a result of this study: Traffic from a portion of the Mountainridge Farm - can be handled on the area streets with various improvements. - Current traffic operation at the area intersections is acceptable. The Mountainridge Farm, Phases 1 and 2 will gain primary; acces's to the street system via Wabash Street, which will intersect with Shields Street at a T intersection. - With development of Phase 1, the key intersections operate acceptably. At the Shields/Wabash intersection, the eastbound left turns will experience delays which are common at arterial/local street intersections with stop sign control. The following auxiliary lanes should be built at the Shields/Wabash intersection: 1) southbound right turn,radiusand„taper4; 2) northbound left -turn. lane;:, 3) eastbound right -turn lane, and 4) 1.eastbound left -.turn Jane. These can be striped on anticipated new pavement. Some widening will :likely be necessary of Shields Street, not adjacent o Monta i rig htuntainridge_Farm, to meet the requirements of'the southbound taper`. With development of Phases 1 and 2, the key intersections will operate acceptably. During peak hours, eastbound left turns at the Shields/Wabash intersection will experience some delays. The auxiliary lanes mentioned above will handle the traffic at this level of development in a safe, efficient manner. - Phases 3 and 4 of Mountainridge Farm can occur when alternative access is provided either via extension of Seneca Street to Horsetooth or connecting Troutman Parkway to Shields Street'. et: - Troutman Parkway will go through the property to the south of Mountainridge Farm. When development proposals are put forth for this property, the traffic study should evaluate the long range impacts which will include development on all the nearby properties including Mountainridge Farm. N I. Introduction Community Construction, Inc. is proposing to build a single family detached residential development, located south of Horsetooth Road and west of Shields Street in Fort Collins, Colorado. The site location is shown in Figure 1. Thi development is known as Mountainridge Farm. This development is proposed to be built in four phases. The total development period I. will be dependent upon market conditions. !� Figure 2 shows the area street system, existing and future. i ! Land adjacent to the south of Mountainridge Farm has some legal constraints, which may delay its development. Troutman Parkway, which will serve Mountainridge Farm and other properties as a collector street, is proposed to go through the legally constrained property. Since Troutman Parkway is proposed to be signalized when warranted in the future, delay in implementation of the west leg of Troutman Parkway may place temporary development limitations on Mountainridge Farm. Due to' these questions, this traffic study analyzed development of Mountainridge Farm with access to Shields -- Street (at Wabash) and S"eca Street to the south. The analyses in this traffic study assumed no west leg of Troutman Parkway,. When Troutman Parkway is built through the legally constrained property, a traffic study should analyze the impacts of this +� connection and the adjacent development. Horsetooth Road is classified as an arterial on the Fort Collins Master Street Plan. The segment between Shields Street and Taft Hill Road is currently two lanes with a rural cross section, with widening at the Shields Street and the Taft Hill Road' intersections. East of Shields Street, Horsetooth Road has a standard four lane arterial cross section with raised medians. There is signal control at the Horsetooth/Shields and Horsetooth/ Taft Hill intersections. Other intersections in this area are stop sign controlled with Horsetooth Road receiving the right-of-way. it is posted at 35 mph. In the future, Horsetooth Road west of Shields is expected to have a four lane cross section with turn --- lanes at appropriate locations. Shields Street is classified as an arterial on the Fort Collins Master Street Plan. It is a street of varying width south of Horsetooth Road. The segment adjacent to Mountainridge Farm has a two lane rural cross section. North of Horsetooth Road, Shields Street has a four lane urban cross section with auxiliary turn lanes and a raised median at some locations. It is proposed to have a four lane urban cross section -with turn lanes at appropriate locations in the future. It is posted at 35 mph in this area. There are signals at the Shields/Harmony and Shields/Horsetooth intersections. Troutman Parkway is,a collector street east of Shields Street. ersection with stop sign It intersects Shields Street at a T int _ Pit's BSulwat 41- tma Field \ n Z. •s,`'"T �, j 1 .:.... .fir. l��, `+^North Ya .. �JI;ii II,I _n t )( gar '� �( sue\ /i.. 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I \_ Grav I MORS TOOTH'' ` I _ 0 Pits r . :I soez � 1 j /i'/ �_ it ,�F[. �•I I�r I�Iii �[t •l I1 . 11 \v.i� vck ••' '�\ �' —' it iI SICr d .IE. :549 to �I" !r' • ` , `�fJ�\\j� I I r `. DrY 33(fjli >h!u ri n a� n Canyon 11�tice I� �I Ir= ;il`' 3; 36 4991 s. B Y I;c 'Gravel t l; )— -- Dam i•�- Pit �' 1 114c Clellaiiijs , i voC'= 11 1I , Harmony HAN Cem MONY ' u °arid a Farm. a 5o40 t, 1, � L 1 \ _ No Scale i SITE LOCATION Figure 1 11 n 1;. Old& %-M 116- B— 0 %F 6 %0 5 ft- N v m (EXISTING AND FUTURE) Figure 2 According to the Fort1. Collins Master Street Plan, Troutman Parkway, will -continue wes1.t 'of Shields Street, intersecting with Seneca Street near,Phase 3 of Mountainridge Farm. Land uses in this area are residential, school, and vacant. Residential uses are north and west of the proposed Mountainridge Farm. There is vacant land south and east of Mountainridge Farm. Johnson Elementary School is to the southwest. The center of Fort Collins lies northeast of Mountainridge Farm. II. Existing Conditions The most recent daily traffic counts were obtained in 1991. These counts are one way volumes on Shields Street and Horsetooth Road, and are shown in Figure 3. Peak hour intersection counts were obtained in March 1992 at the Horsetooth/Shields intersection and at the Shields/Troutman intersection. These counts are also shown in Figure 3. Raw data is shown in Appendix A. With the existing control, at the two counted intersections, the peak hour operation is shown in Table 1. The operation at the signalized intersection is deemed to be acceptable. Acceptable operation is defined as level of service D or better. Descriptions of level of service from the 1965 Highway__ Capacity Manual for signalized and unsignalized intersections are provided in Appendix B. Calculation forms for the operation shown in Table 1 are provided in Appendix C. At the stop sign controlled Shields/ Troutman intersection, minor street left turns are at levels of service E. Based upon recent research, it was found that the 1.985 HCM capacity technique for stop sign controlled intersections gives an overstatement of the level of service. The expected delay to the westbound left turns would be 16-26 seconds per approach vehicle in the morning peak and 20-30 seconds per approach vehicle in the afternoon peak. By other criteria in the 1985 .HCM, the level of service of these left turns is more appropriately defined as level of service C/D. Attached is a copy of two research papers discussing this subject in Appendix D. The conclusions of the one research paper are supported _in a similar study conducted in Boston, Massachusetts. The signals at the Horsetooth/Shields and the Harmony/Shields intersections also have an impact on the queue of vehicles approaching the Shields/Troutman intersection. It is concluded that the level of service E shown in Table 1 should be tempered when considering the additional operational information provided. above. The left -turn exits from Troutman Parkway are in the level of service C/D category. HORSETOOTH 54U9 (1991) 5732 (199 ) T rn a� 'T W T. T O V T T O O O O O O O to N O \ \ \ lqt O °) ' C' N CV 173/361 --*-154/544 j --111/121 117/35--� i 49.2/288 I 17/25 — C:) •- co t-� T U)�- \ \ ao OOCV W 0 T to T T CD o) 0) CD v V d co 0) 00 (p r N t- O U) In Uj M (O (O 0) O -, co Lo to N 1 toN 00 M co o-- \ (p O T co co 122/69 21/18 TROUTMAN 8723 (1991) 852. 8 11-99 ) AM PM d AECENT DAILY AND PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC Figure 3 Table 1 Existing (1992) Peak Hour Operation Level of Service (*) Intersection AM PM Horsetooth/Shields [signal] C C Shields/Troutman WB LT E (C/D) E (D) WB RT C B SB LT A B (*) Level of service considering recent research pertaining to vehicle delay. Land Use Phase I 39 D.U. Church - 25 KSF Phase 2 -', 35 D.U. Phase 3 - 36 D.U. Phase 4 - 40 D.U. Table 2 Trip Generation Daily A.M. Peak P.M. Peak Trips Trips Trips, Trips Trips in out in out 390 8 21 25 14 190 2 1 9 8 350 7 19 22 13 360 8 20 23 13 400 8 22 25 15 J III. Proposed Development Community Construction, Inc. is proposing to develop 15C single family lots on a parcel of land west of Shields Street. A site plan showing expected phasing is shown in Figure 4. Phases 1 and 2 will gain access'to the arterial. street system via Wabash Street. Phases 1 and 2 also include a `church site near the Shields/Wabash intersection. Phases 3 and 4 will access Seneca Street: At the present time, traffic accessing Phases 3 and 4 will be from the south. City staff has indicated that alternative access via an extension of Seneca Street to Horsetooth Road and/or Troutman Parkway to Shields Street will be necessary. This will be discussed further in this report. A. Trip Generation Trip generation estimates for Mountainridge Farm were obtained from Trip Generation, 4th Edition, ITE. Table 2 shows trip generation on a daily and peak hour basis. x� B. 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 development. 'The intersections considered for the operations analysis are Horsetooth/Shields, Shields/Troutman, and Shields/ Wabash. Background traffic for impacted streets was projected for each of the future years analyzed. Background traffic was projected to increase at 3 percent per year for the short range future. This rate of increase is normal for streets and roads in the City of Fort Collins. It accounts for general traffic growth and some J level of continued development in the vicinity that -would also contribute to traffic growth.. Long range traffic projections were - not made due to the legal constraints of the property to the south. When development proposals are put forth on this property and Troutman Parkway continues west of Shields Street, this long range _ analysis would be more appropriate. That study should include the development of Mountainridge ;Farm as described in this traffic ® study. C. Trip Distribution Trip distribution was determined based upon an evaluation of attractions for home -based productions and the most likely routes available to travel to those attractions. The directional distribution of the approaching and departing traffic generated at the proposed uses is a function of: 3 m Figure 4 - Geographic location within the City of Fort Collins; - Location of employment and business centers which are likely to attract trips from this area; - Access to the site. Figure 5 illustrates the trip distribution percentages used in the subsequent traffic assignments. D. Traffic Assignment and Intersection Operation Using the vehicular trip generation estimates presented in Table 2 and the trip di.stribution assumptions, the site generated traffic was assigned to the area street network. The initial network consisted of Horsetooth Road, Shields Street, and Troutman Parkway as they are today. Wabash Street was added to the network as shown in Figure 4. The analyzed intersections were Horsetooth/ Shields with the existing sigoalization, and Shields/Troutman and Shields/Wabash with stop sign control. Due to property lines, no connection could be made between Wabash Street and Seneca Street via a short segment of Troutman Parkway. Figure 6 shows the Phase 1 peak hour traffic assignment. This assignment also includes a -3 percent per year increase in background traffic assuming a 1995 future year. Table 3 shows the peak hour operation at the key intersections. Calc.u.lation forms are provided in Appendix E. The signalized Horsetooth/Shields intersection will operate acceptably with the existing geometrics. At the Shields/Troutman and Shields/Wabash intersections, operation will be acceptable for all movements, except the left -turn exits from the minor streets, which will be at level of service E. Based upon the recent research cited earlier, the delay per approach vehicle will be 19-29 seconds during the morning peak hour and 21- 31 seconds during the afternoon peak hour at the Shields/Troutman intersection. The delay per approach vehicle will be 18-28 seconds during the morning peak hour and 17-27 seconds during the afternoon peak hour at the Shields/Wabash intersection. Using delay criteria from the 1985 Highway Capacity Manual, the operation of these left turns would be largely in the level. of service D category even though the operations technique shows the level of service in category E. It is recommended that this operation be accepted. At'the new'Shields/Waba_sh,intersection, the following geometry is recommended: 1) southbound Shields - one through lane and one right -turn' deceleration radius and taper' (radius >40, and taper = 24'0-); 2) northbound Shields - one through lane and one left -turn 'The southbound through and right -turn volumes do not warrant a full width deceleration lane based. upon criteria in "Intersection Channel ization Design Guide," NCHRPR 279, TRB,1985, Pg 63-65. The taper will allow right -turning vehicles to enter the taper slowing to 15 mph to make the turn. 51 TRIP DISTRIBUTION Figure 5 N 00 0 •" O Cp co r \ \ -N O I; M to N �_ 189/393 --168/593 HORSETOOTH 122/ 136 128138 —� 536/314--s'' �.--_ 19/28 N't � t r � \ O (O 'It r-, OR Coco (0 (o co t- N r- co J co WABASH 1 � 17/11� — O •" M N 00 ` O to G0 0) O O O \ r In \ . N �-- 133/75 ' 23/20 TROUTMAN N O r r N r; AM/PM PHASE 1 PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC Figure 6 Table 3 Phase 1 (1995) Peak Hour operation Level of Service (*) Intersection AM PM Horsetooth/Shields [signal] C C Shields/Troutman WB LT E (D) E (D) WB RT C C SB LT A B Shields/Wabash EB LT E (D) E (C/D) EB RT A B SB LT A A (*) Level of service considering recent research pertaining to vehicle delay. I Table 3 Phase 1 and 2 (1995) Peak Hour Operation - Level of Service (*) Intersection AM PM Horsetooth/Shields [signal] C C Shields/Troutman WB LT E (D) E (D) WB RT C C SB LT A C Shields%Wabash EB LT E (D) E (D) EB RT A B SB LT A B (*) Level of service considering recent research pertaining to vehicle delay. deceleration/s orage lane (325 feet, including taper);, 3), eastboundla Wabash - _one l,,eft turn lane„ (50 feet),,and one .-r.:ight--turn lane; and 4) westbound Wabash - one lane:' This development will be required to. build the west half of Shields Street to an arterial cross section. Assuming that existing Shields Street is centered in the right-of-way, there will be 41 feet of pavement adjacent to the Mountainridge Farm property. Wabash Street intersects Shields Street 80 feet south of the north property line. Some of the s.outhbound. taper paving will occur _,,longA., portion of Shields Street that is not adjacent to Mountainridge Farm. The other aforementioned auxiliary lanes can be striped on the new pavement area. Figure 7 shows the Phase 1 and 2 (including the church site) peak hour traffic assignment which includes the background traffic on the area streets. Table 4 shows the peak hour operation at the key intersections. Calculation forms are provided in Appendix F. The range of delay per approach vehicle will be'19-29 seconds in the morning peak hour and 21-31 seconds in the afternoon peak hour at the Shields/Troutman intersection. At the Shields/Wabash intersection, the range q delay per approach vehicle will be 21- 31 seconds in both the morning and afternoon peak hours. There is little that can be done to improve this operation. With good signal progression on Shields Street, this operation could be improved by one level of service category. This level of service occurs at many arterial/local street intersections throughout Fort Collins. This type of operation is generally accepted. Development of Phase 3 or 4 (36 D.U. and 40 D.U., respectively) would require primary access via Seneca Street to Harmony Road and via Wakerobin to Shields Street. A previously prepared traffic analysis for the Platt Property recommends a level of development of that property before alternative access (Troutman Parkway) be provided. Development of Phase 3 or 4 of Mountainridge Farm would push the Shields/Wakerobin intersection to unacceptable operation categories when coupled with the continued development of the Platt Property. City staff has suggested that alternative means of access be provided if Phase 3 or 4 of Mountainridge Farm develops. The suggested access is a continuation of Seneca Street north to Horsetooth Road. However, this segment goes through Land. not controlled by the developer of Mountainridge Farm. This option does not appear to be possible unless other developments occur. Secondary access via Westfield Drive and Crescent Drive to Horsetooth through Imperial Estates would provide a second means of access. However, these streets are not suited for higher traffic volumes and would not fit the same role as Seneca Street. continuing to Horsetooth Road. If agreements could be reached to build the short segment of Troutman Parkway as shown in Figure 8, then Phases 3 and 4 of Mountainridge Farm would have a second means of access via Wabash Street. However, this presents a complication. While this will A 6 cr) (D co Lf) T- o CO cl) 0 C4 cq 't cm 189/393 ORSETOOTH 168/593 'oe— 123/ 140 12 8 / 3 8 536/314 19 2 9 c ' " co Lo Gp co co (000 co Co C-4 A T CID WABAS H FLU 33/28 8/7 co CO Lo \ Lo Lo 00 T- o Lo t-- 0 0 C'j '*- 133/75 ,#-23/20 t( TRoUTmAN M 0 Lo I.- cli N PHASES 1 & 2 PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC AM / PM Figure 7 LINK BETWEEN Figure 8 serve as an access for Phases 3 and 4, it will also change some of the travel patterns of the existing tY connection will provide another means of the Platt Property, and other existing will reduce some of the traffic load intersection, but increase the traffic intersection. affic in the area. This access to the two schools, residential areas. This on the Shields/Wakerobin .oad on the Shields/Wabash It is concluded that Phases 1 and 2 of Mountainridge Farm can be developed with access via the Shields/Wabash intersection. Development of Phases 3 or 4 can occur when alternative access is provided either via the extension of Seneca Street to Horsetooth Road or connecting Troutman Parkway to Shields Street. The auxiliary turn lanes at the Shields/Wabash intersection, mentioned earlier, will provide safe, efficient operation through Phase 1 and 2 of Mountainridge Farm. When the property to the:, ,south.,_.of Mountainridge Farm develops, a traffic study should be, p.erf,o;rmed- which analyzes the impact of that property development and also the development of Phases 3 and 4 of Mountainridge Farm. It is likely that a signal will be warranted at the Shields/,. Troutman intersection with the development of the property to the south.The convenience of using this signal by area motorists will, in turn, reduce the traffic volumes at both the. -Shields/ Wabash and Shields/Wakerobin intersections. IV. Conclusions The following summarizes the significant findings as a result of this study: Traffic from a portion of the Mountainridge Farm can be handled on the area streets with various improvements. Current traffic operation at the area intersections is acceptable. The Mountainridge Farm, Phases 1 and 2 will gain primary access to the street system via Wabash Street, which will intersect with Shields Street at a T intersection. With development of Phase 1, the key intersections operate acceptably. At the Shields/Wabash intersection, the eastbound left turns will experience delays which are common at arterial/local street intersections with stop sign control. The following auxiliary lanes should be built at the Shields/Wabash intersection: ` 1)'southbound right -turn radius and taper, 2) northbound left -turn lane, 3)' eastbound right -turn lane, and 4) eastbound left -turn Lane. These can be striped on anticipated new pavement. Some widening will likely be necessary of Shields Street, not adjacent 2 to Mountainridge Farm, to meet the requirements of the southbound right -turn taper. ' - With development of Phases 1 and 2, the key intersections will operate acceptably. During peak hours, eastbound left turns' at the Shields/Wabash intersection will experience some delays. The auxiliary lanes mentioned above will handle the traffic at this level of development in a safe, efficient manner. - Phases 3 and 4 of Mountainridge Farm can occur when alternative access is provided either via extension of Seneca Street to Horsetooth or connecting Troutman Parkway to Shields f Street. Troutman Parkway will go through the property to the south of Mountainridge Farm. When development _g p proposals are put forth for this property, the traffic study should evaluate the long -,range:: impacts which..wills incl:udp.de.velopment on all the nearby properties, "incl'uding'Mountainridge Farm. 7