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Home My WebLink AboutHARMONY MARKET PUD, 6TH FILING, RED ROBIN - PRELIMINARY & FINAL - 54-87T - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - TRAFFIC STUDYTRAFFIC IMPACT ANALYSIS for the FORT COLLINS, COLORADO Prepared for C S ARCHITECTS PC 7555 E. Hampden Ave. Suite 525 Denver, Colorado 80231 Prepared by John Aldridge & Associates ADVANCED 7RA SPORT.47InN PLANNING A,,VD SYSTE211 DESIG,Y 999 Eighteenth Street Suite 1500 Denver, Colorado 80202 MARCH 1994 RED ROBIN RESTAURANT Traffic Impact Analysis TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PAGE 1 LOCATION AND EXISTING ROADS 2 TRIP GENERATION g TRIP DISTRIBUTION/ASSIGNMENT 9 TRAFFIC BRACT ANALYSIS 11 RECOMMENDATIONS 12 John- Aldridge & Associates Page i ® .® Section One RED ROBL i RESTAURANT Traffic Impact Analysis INTRODUCTION A new RED ROBIN Restaurant is proposed on the southeastern side of Fort Collins, Colorado. Specifically, the proposed location is in the Harmony Market PUD on the southeast comer of Harmony Road and Boardwalk Drive. The new 7,300 square foot restaurant will provide seating for 256 customers. As part of the development proposal, a traffic impact study is required by the City of Fort Collins. In previous review of the proposal, the City traffic engineering staff outlined specific concerns to be addressed by the traffic study. 1) Impact on weekday peak period. 2) Impact at noon on Saturdays. 3) Impact on the shopping center entrances from Boardwalk. 4) Impact on the Boardwalk/Harmony intersection. 5) Review of signal phasing requirements at the Boardwalk/Harmony intersection. The graphic on the following page describes the general location and site for the restaurant. John Aldridge & Associates �� Page 1 0 Ell Section Two Harmony Road Site for Red Robin Parking Lot Sams and Builders Sq. RED ROBIN RESTAURANT Traffic Impact Analysis �orth 1st Bank Steeles Market Oalaidge Drive LOCATION and EXISTING LOADS The restaurant will be located in the Harmony Market PUD which is positioned on the south side of Harmony Road between Boardwalk Drive on the west, and LeMay Avenueon the eastern side. Harmony Road is a state highway, SH68, and serves as a main entrance to Fort Collins from I-25. Boardwalk Drive, a north/south street on the western side of the PUD, will function as the primary entrance to the restaurant. Secondary access will come from the PUD's main entrance on Harmony Road and from the entrance located on LeMay Avenue which is on the eastern side of the PUD. The main entrance is limited to right -turn in and right -turn out. It would serve patrons exiting the restaurant heading eastbound. Patrons coming into the restaurant are not likely to use the main entrance as it would require "backtracking." The LeMay Avenue entrance is over one-half mile away and not likely to carry a significant amount of restaurant traffic. John Aldridge & Associates Page 2 0 ®. RED ROBIN RESTAURANT Traffic Impact Analysis Oakridge Drive is an east/west street on the southern side of the PUD that connects Boardwalk Drive and LeMay Avenue. Right now its primary function is as a service drive for deliveries. Currently, SAMS and BUILDERS SQUARE occupy pods to the south of the proposed restaurant location. These are significant traffic generators especially on weekends. The primary residential and commercial areas of Fort Collins exist west of the restaurant site. It is anticipated that restaurant customers will come from these areas and from employees/patrons of the major establishments within the Harmony Market PUD. The following is a detailed discussion of the three primary roads that serve the site, 1) Harmony Road, 2) Boardwalk Drive, and 3) LeMay Avenue. Two signalized intersections are also involved, 1) Boardwalk/Harmony, and 2) LeMay/Harmony. A discussion of the primary entrance from Boardwalk Drive and on -site circulation is also included. Harmony Road Harmony Road is State Highway 68. From I-25 to Boardwalk Drive it is a four -lane facility divided by a grassy median. To the west of Boardwalk Drive, the road is still four -lane but separated by a painted median instead. Harmony Road is the first exit to Fort Collins from northbound I-25. According to the Harmony Road Corridor Plan published by the City of Fort Collins in 1991, Harmony Road carries about 28,000 vehicles on the average weekday. On Saturday and Sunday the road is still quite busy and handles in excess of 20,000 vehicles on each of those days. Limited access and efficient signal control combine to maintain a high level of service along the roadway. John Aldridge & Assocates�.��.�.�._.�,.�._.,�,..,,.��...,.�_,..,,�,„�.,..�„_�.__........_ �,,...,�.�..��.m.., �Page 3 RED ROBIN RESTAURANT Traffic Impact Anal vsis Boardwalk Drive Boardwalk Drive south of Harmony Road is a fairly new facility intended to serve the Harmony Market PUD and planned development within the surrounding area. It is a two-lane facility but has a wide painted median for left -turn storage at selected locations. Between the Harmony Road intersection and the first entrance to the shopping center the street carries about 10,000 vehicular trips on Saturday and only slightly less on Sunday at about 9,000 trips. South of the first entrance to the shopping center the number of trips drops by over ninety percent indicating the high demand to use the first entrance. LeMay Avenue LeMay Avenue is similar to Boardwalk Drive but carries about 20 percent less traffic at 8,000 vehicles on Saturday. A primary entrance to the shopping center is accessible from LeMay Avenue, but observations indicate its use is limited to STEELES MARKET and FIRST BANK. No traffic was observed traversing the center to get to SAMS or BUILDERS SQUARE, although some may with a stop at either the bank or market. Entrance Driveway The first entrance driveway from Boardwalk currently serves as the primary entrance to SAMS and BUILDERS SQUARE. On Saturday the entrance will serve about 8,000 vehicles. No major conflicts were observed at the entrance as those entering are turning left virtually unopposed by John Aldridge & Associates Page 4 .RED ROBIN RESTAiRA:.NT Traffic Impact Analysis northbound traffic and those exiting are turning right, again unopposed by northbound traffic. The only conflict noticed was for the exiting vehicle that sometimes encounters a storage back-up caused by the lack of a left turn signal phase for the heavy northbound left turns at the intersection of Harmony Road. On -Site Circulation Presently, traffic movement and circulation directly after the entering the shopping center from Boardwalk Drive is awkward and confusing, especially for the S A M S a n d BUILDERS S Q U A R E customers. Traffic is required to make III Harmony Road Ewmce to Red Robin Area of Concern Roadway in front of Sams and Builders a turn down a narrow roadway to access parking lots close to the stores. When traffic is heavy on Saturdays and Sundays, customers find the right turn down the narrow roadway difficult because it is generally blocked by someone stopped (there's a homemade stop sign there to help control traffic) waiting to turn left out toward the exit. The above graphic illustrates the traffic pattern and area of concern. The problem will likely cause difficulty for RED ROBIN customers getting John Aldridge &Associates page 5 RED ROBIN RESTAURANT Traffic Impact Analysis in and out of the restaurant parking lot. Harmony Road/Boardwalk Drive Intersection According to City staff, the intersection operates satisfactorily during the AM and PM peak hours on weekdays. The signal is part of an overall computer controlled network of 96 signals within Fort Collins. Signal 115 t 807 ®► 04 EMNIM BOARDWALKSRED ROBIN n RESTAURANT Weekday PM - Count taken October, 1992 I NORTH progression along Harmony Road has been established for both 100 and 110 second cycles. The 100 second cycle operates on Saturdays. Separate westbound and eastbound protected left turn phases are currently provided. There are no separate northbound and southbound left turn phases. The operation of the intersection in the PM peak hour was analyzed using the Highway Capacity Software (HCS). The analysis shows Level of Service (LOS) B for overall intersection operation. HCS worksheets can be found in the Appendix. The intersection was counted on Saturday, March 26, 1994, between 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM by Counter Measures, Inc. Their counts and diagrams are provided in the Appendix. The John Aldridge &Associates Page 6 northbound left turn is significantly higher (double AM/PM weekday counts taken in late 1992) on Saturday and Sunday during the noontime period. HCS analysis indicates that the overall intersection operates at an 0 No 71 t 685 324 j RED ROBIN RESTAURANT . Traffic Impact Analysis 207 �703 1 69 .o w :;; <h;<,;�- << 4v•,C� < :; BOARDWALK :>:;> RID ROBIN abG:�iV'H.�'�:�. �.�•:•'!, time.µ?y., � ,;;�. RESTAURANT Saturday Noon - Count taken March 26, 1994 NORTH acceptable Level of Service (LOS) C, however the northbound left turn operates at LOS F and experiences annoying delays. The heavy left turn movement sometimes causes the queue to exceed the current storage capacity which backs up traffic in front of the shopping center entrance. This, in turn, causes delays at the entrance for exiting vehicles because most exiting vehicles want to get into the storage lane for the a left turn at Harmony Road. Harmony Road/LeMay Avenue Intersection The Harmony Road and LeMay Avenue intersection was counted at the same time as the Harmony/Boardwalk intersection. The signal system and timing plans are virtually identical to the intersection of Boardwalk/Harmony with one distinct difference, that being the presence of protected northbound and southbound left turn phases. HCS analysis reveals that the Harmony/IxMay intersection operates at LOS C during the Saturday noon period. No excessive delays were found in any specific movement. John Aldridge & Associates Page 7 M N N =_•.. : �: : �. 1 M 43 700 125 gg .'",r!:! iw1tiWNyk!3 108 t 654 R� 83 j 4� t ha� LEMAY AVENUE Section Three RED ROBIN RESTAURANT Traffic Impact Analysis I i NORTH O The graphic to the left show. the Saturday noon hour traffic count taken on March 26, 1994 TRIP GENERATION The RED ROBIN Restaurant is considered a quality, sit-down type restaurant by the ITE Trip Generation Manual (5th Edition). According to the manual (Source Code 832) the proposed restaurant of 256 seats and 7,300 square feet will generate from 110 to 122 trips during the noon peak on Saturdays. RED ROBIN management reports that customer counts from nationwide experience indicate 56 cars will enter the parking lot during this time. Customers generally spend less than an hour in the restaurant which means that the 56 cars will exit the parking lot during the period. In terms of trips, this means that 112 trips are generated based on actual experience. The ITE Trip Generation Manual and RED ROBIN experience correlate exceptionally well. For the purposes of this analysis, a trip generation number of 120 is used. The ITE manual states that 48 percent will enter the restaurant and that 52 percent will exit during the Saturday noon period. According.to *the ITE manual a similar (almost identical) trip generation will be produced during John Ald . ge & Associates �' - Page 8 RED ROBIN RESTAURANT Traffic Impact Analysis the weekday AM and PM peak hours of the adjacent streets. The highest trip generation period for the restaurant is after 6:00 PM on weekdays and weekends. At this time the trip generation is doubled but the adjacent street traffic will have diminished by half if not more. Restaurants like RED ROBIN attract 'a certain percentage of pass -by or diverted link trips. In other words, a stop in the restaurant may be planned as a stop along the way to other destinations, for example SAMS or BUILDERS SQUARE. Since pass -by trips are on the road anyway, a reduction can be taken from the total trip generation. ITE studies show that fast-food operations with drive -up windows attract up to 50 percent of their customers from pass-bys. There are no pass -by percentages established for this type of restaurant; however 20 percent is considered reasonable. Section Four TRIP DISTRIBUTION/ASSIGNMENT Trip distribution for the RED ROBIN Restaurant is assumed to mirror the pattern established for SAMS and BUILDERS SQUARE. Based on the patterns in the Harmony/Boardwalk intersection, the following distribution is used. Fifty-five (55) percent will access from eastbound Harmony Road, 35 percent from southbound Boardwalk Drive and 10 percent from westbound Harmony Drive. Obviously some traffic will come through the center from LeMay Avenue and from the customers already in the a center. However, these are random occurrences and specific patterns cannot be established. All traffic during this period is being assigned to the intersection to discover the maximum impact. The next graphic shows the traffic assignment and projected turning movements for the intersection in the weekday PM peak period. John Aldridge ssociatesm�� Page 9 RED ROBIir RESTAURANT Traffic Impact Analysis 5 v'1 .S ti w w �p I NORTH 1 217 a•• 941 i (5) 115 _807 t x (25) 159 t i•.: 00 1 1 BOARDWALK RED ROBIN .� J RESTAURANT Weekday PM with Red Robin (XX) added.: ^ ter. Q� I N }`f ' NORTH 207 703 The graphic to the right 74 (5) shows the Saturday noon 71 period with RED ROBIN 685 4 x traffic added. (25) 349 �' ■ MR x: :F,k ',"�' ��F; RROBIN ED BOARDWALK RESTAURANT Saturday noon with Red Robin (7X) added. _:::.... w..:.::,...._..,..:._:_...w�.:..::..:......,.::..::,:.::....,....:, :,,.� ...::_. , ,,.............. .::,.:..,: John Aldridge &Associates Page 10 RED ROBIN RESTAURANT Traffic Impact Analysis Section Five TRAFFIC IMPACT ANALYSIS Traffic generated by the RED ROBIN Restaurant will have a minor impact on the Boardwalk/Harmony intersection during the noon hour on Saturday only because of the high traffic generation caused by SAMS and BUILDERS SQUARE that has already flooded the intersection, especially the northbound left turn: The additional trips from RED ROBIN would cause the intersection to operate at an overall LOS D rather than LOS C. The northbound left turn movement would still operate at LOS F, however delays would be increased from 82 seconds to 133 seconds which would result in additional back-up in the northbound left turn storage bay. During the weekday PM peak hour the intersection will operate at the same LOS B even with the added RED ROBIN traffic. Again, HCS worksheets are provided in the Appendix. Since this is the highest impact point then all other intersections and movements are assumed to operate without a reduction in LOS, therefore there's no need for extensive weekday peak period analysis. at other locations. Section Six RECOMMENDATIONS There are two options available to remedy the northbound left turn problem at the Harmony/Boardwalk intersection. The first is to add a northbound and southbound left turn phase for the existing single lane John Afdridge & Associates �_," "—."�""."°_...,.,,....,_,_., .,_..� __.__..,,�,�,,..,_. Page 11 RED ROBIN RESTAURANT Traffic Impact Analysis configuration. The left turn would have to be permitted on the through phase and include a separate protected phase. An overall intersection LOS C with a left turn LOS D could be achieved if the Harmony Road through movement part of the green time is reduced from 56 percent to 47 percent. The second and more desirable option is to install a dual left turn on the northbound approach. This would reduce the back-up of the storage lane considerably and provide additional capacity for future development (some 600 homes are planned south of the center). Also the Harmony Road through movement is maintained at about 56 percent. Under this configuration the overall intersection would operate at LOS C and the left turn would operate at LOS D. a~ f� c� 3 With regard to the Harmony Road on -site circulation Robin Site problem, it can be o solved with an Enrance to Red Robin additional curb cut and new. entrance - from Boardwalk Drive located at the Parking Lot extension of the FmRecommended traffic circulation —*for Sams and Builders Sq. roadway directly in front of SAMS and Roadway in front of Sams and Builders O = New Entrance -- Sams and Builders Sq. BUILDERS SQUARE. The graphic to the left illustrates the recommended solution. This new entrance location is a common and popular choice for many ,Page 12 C L-1 RED ROBIN RESTAURANT Traffic Impact Analysis stores and facilities of a similar nature. It would be attractive to use for all SAMS and BUILDERS SQUARE customers and allow the RED ROBIN patrons virtually unencumbered use of the first entrance. John Aldridge &Associates �� page 13