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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReports - Traffic Study - 01/15/2025 MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 300 E Mountain Avenue Traffic Narrative January 15, 2025 The intent of this traffic narrative is to provide a transportation snapshot for the site located at 300 E Mountain and the surrounding area. It will provide an overview of previous and proposed land uses, existing improvements, expected operations, and parking availability. Building & Land Use The redevelopment of the site at 300 E Mountain Avenue serves as a new chapter for the site that was formerly operating as The Lyric Cinema. The existing building was demolished in the Summer of 2024, after sitting vacant for several years. The last active use of the site was a theatre and the proposed uses for the proposed project are office space and a bar area. The Lyric Cinema was a one- story building with 3600 square feet, and the proposed new building will be about 7,233 square feet with two stories a basement for storage. Per the land use code categories for nonresidential uses, The Lyric Cinema would have been considered a ‘Theater’, and the proposed building uses are considered ‘General Office’ and ‘Bar’. A theater typically has higher occupancy loads, often seating many people who arrive and leave within a relatively short timeframe. This concentrated arrival and departure pattern creates a spike in traffic during movie showtimes. The proposed office use and Armory enhancements have lower occupant loads than a theater, a steadier flow of people, and arrival and departure times are staggered to spread the impact over a longer period of time throughout the day. The uses are complementary to each other in that the office will see more use during the day (particularly weekdays) and the Armory enhancements will only be used during the days/nights when there is a show at the Armory. Surrounding uses include a hotel, multiple restaurants, concert venues, hair salons, banks and offices. Expected Operations • Number of employees on site each day: o No additional staff on site as a result of this project. o 2-3 people on site (sporadic based on show schedules) o If tenant space is leased, there could be up to 10 per day • Customers each day: o None, not open to the public MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 • Vendors: o Less than 1 per day for cleaning, etc. • Purchased or leased parking spaces in garage or other lots: o None Existing Improvements Currently, there are 14’ sidewalks meeting ADA requirements adjacent to the site with a wide landing for pedestrians crossing at Mountain and Walnut. Sidewalks connect to the existing sidewalks on adjacent , with direct routes to other businesses and destinations in the area. Bike racks exist along Mountain Ave and Walnut Ave which can accommodate about 10-12 bike spaces, appear to have availability most days. Mountain Ave is a 4-lane arterial with a shared bike lane. A striped bike lane begins as bicyclists turn onto northbound Walnut St. Over the past several years, the corner of Walnut St and Mountain Ave has evolved to enhance the pedestrian experience as well as the flow of traffic to businesses in the area. When the Elizabeth Hotel developed, the pedestrian landing was built when the turn lane was added from Mountain Ave onto Chestnut St. This enhanced pedestrian walkway allows pedestrians to take refuge in a widened, safe area while waiting to cross Mountain Ave, Walnut St or Chestnut St. In addition to the roadway improvements, the Firehouse Alley parking garage was built around the same time, adding hundreds of parking spaces. There is no vehicle access proposed onto the site at 300 E Mountain and historically there hasn’t been vehicular access due to the corner location, size of the lot, and walkability of Downtown. With the availability of on-street parking and garage parking spaces, vehicle access to the site is unnecessary. Parking The previous ‘Theater’ use would require a minimum of 1 parking space per 6 seats. To understand the intensity of this use, we can look at how many seats were provided in each theater. Through research on the previous use, it appears that The Lyric had 2 theaters with approximately 50 seats per theater (this number is based on the current number of seats in the small theater at their new location). This would estimate the parking for the Theater at 17 spaces. The proposed uses in the new building are ‘General Office’ and ‘Bar’. The General Office use is 7,023 square feet and requires a minimum of 1 parking space per 1,000 square feet. The Bar use is 210 square feet and requires a minimum of 5 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet. There are parking reduction exemptions for the TOD Overlay Zone and for existing buildings. With all of this considered, the parking calculation for the new uses would be estimated at 6 parking spaces, which makes the new use much less intense than the previous. MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 When The Lyric Cinema was originally developed at 300 E Mountain in 2007, there was no parking provided on-site, therefore the parking count and format remains the same with the new development. It is unclear whether this was approved through an alternative compliance request or a waiver of some kind. Off-site parking for this site has proven to be sufficient to accommodate patrons of The Lyric Cinema and with the proposed uses being less intense, the parking availability in the area will be adequate for the intended future users. Below is an outline of where parking is available in the vicinity (approximate measurements from pedestrian route): • Chestnut St: o 2-hour public street parking (~25 parking spaces) ▪ Distance from site: 0 ft – 480 feet o Firehouse Alley Parking Garage (~387 spaces) ▪ Public and permit parking ▪ Distance from site: Garage entrance on Chestnut St, ~425 feet • Walnut St to Linden: o 2-hour public parking (east and west sides total~38 spaces) ▪ Distance from site: 215 ft – 520 feet • Walnut to Laporte: o Civic Center Parking Garage (905 spaces) ▪ Public and permit parking ▪ Distance from site: Garage entrance on Laporte Ave, ~1,700 feet • Mountain Ave east of Walnut: o 2-hour public parking (~20 spaces on adjacent/north side) ▪ Distance from site: 0 ft- 350 ft ▪ Additional spaces are located in the middle and across Mountain, as well as west of Walnut o Old Town Parking Garage (~400 spaces) ▪ Public and permit parking ▪ Distance from site: Garage entrance on Mountain Ave, ~525 ft • Jefferson St: o Jefferson surface public/permit lot (~25 public spaces) ▪ Distance from site: ~1,900 feet • Mountain to Remington: o Oak/Remington surface public parking lot (~150 spaces) ▪ Distance from site: ~1,200 feet • Mountain to Mathews: MINIMAL RISK. PAINLESS PROCESS. BEAUTIFUL SPACES. o: 970.224.5828 | w: ripleydesigninc.com RIPLEY DESIGN, INC. | 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200 | Fort Collins, CO 80521 o Olive surface public parking lot (~40 spaces) ▪ Distance from site: ~1,300 feet • More public on-street parking is also available on most streets throughout Old Town In terms of safety, the Downtown area has many streetlights lining the parking areas and streets, so pedestrians walking to and from 300 E Mountain will have safe, well-lit routes to get to their cars in the evening/nighttime hours. String lights exist in many of the alleyways and public plazas, allowing for an extra sense of security and visibility. The DDA is also making improvements in the alley behind the building, allowing for an additional enhanced travel route with adequate lighting.