HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemorandums - Traffic - 04/15/2025
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MEMORANDUM
To: Fort Collins Planning and Development Services
From: Cassie Slade, PE, PTOE
Date: April 15, 2025
Project: Volunteer of America Switchgrass Crossing – Fort Collins, CO
Subject: Traffic Generation Letter
The Fox Tuttle Transportation Group
(Fox Tuttle) has completed a
transportation analysis for the
proposed affordable senior housing
adjacent to Mason’s Place in Fort
Collins, Colorado. The property is
currently a surface parking lot that is
leased for overflow parking for the
IBMC College and adjacent businesses.
The subject property is located in on the
east side of Mason Street, midway
between Creger Drive and Colboard
Drive. A vicinity map of the project
property is shown on Figure 1.
Existing Conditions
The land surrounding the project site
includes affordable housing,
commercial retail, a veterinary hospital, the IBMC College, services, light industrial uses, grocery store,
restaurants, and The Salvation Army. There are two (2) existing driveways on Mason Street that will be
utilized for Switchgrass Crossing. Listed on the following page are the existing transportation network
elements that will serve this project.
Figure 1. Project Location
Switchgrass Crossings – Fort Collins, CO
Trip Generation Letter
April 15, 2025
Page 2
Roadways
South College Avenue (US 287) is a six-lane arterial that provides north-south connectivity
through the entirety of Fort Collins and connects to several communities within Northern
Colorado and Southern Wyoming. This section of South College Avenue is part of an interstate
commerce truck route and is subject to access management documents developed by the
Colorado Department of Transportation, Larimer County, and the City of Fort Collins. The
roadway provides three (3) through lanes in each direction, a center median/turn lane, a
landscaped parkway, and 6- to 8-foot sidewalks. Access control is provided via a raised,
landscaped median. The posted speed limit is 40 mph within the vicinity of the project site. South
College Avenue currently serves approximately 37,500 vehicles per day (vpd) south of Drake Road
(Year 2023, CDOT). South College Avenue will provide the primary north/south access for the
proposed Switchgrass Crossing project.
Mason Street is a local roadway with a paved 40-foot section, within the study area, that extends
through Midtown as a parallel roadway to College Avenue. It provides access to multi-family
homes, commercial retail, industrial businesses, offices, recreational facilities, schools, and
community amenities. North of Horsetooth Road, Mason Street becomes a transit only roadway
for the MAX buses. There are sidewalks on both sides of Mason Street and on-street bike lanes.
There is a posted speed limit of 30 mph and is currently serving approximately 7,200 vpd south of
Kensington Drive (Year 2021, Fort Collins).
Multi-Modal
Currently, there are sidewalks and on-street bike lanes on Mason Street. There are sidewalks along South
College Road, Creger Drive, and Colboard Drive. The Mason Trail is parallel to Mason Street and across
the New Mercer Canal to the west. This multi-use path extends throughout Fort Collins providing local
and regional connectivity for people walking, biking, and wheeling.
The City of Fort Collins has a dedicated transit service, Transfort, that serves the community. Transfort’s
primary hub is the Downtown Transit Center (DTC), located on the east side of Mason Street between
Maple Street and Laporte Avenue. For a fee, community members can access various destinations
throughout Fort Collins from the DTC. Near to the Switchgrass Crossing property, the following routes
have stops nearby on the Max Guideway and on Horsetooth Road: #5, #6, #11, and the MAX.
Switchgrass Crossings – Fort Collins, CO
Trip Generation Letter
April 15, 2025
Page 3
Multi-Modal Level-of-Service
The pedestrian LOS is based on five (5) criteria: directness, continuity, street crossings, visual interest and
amenity, and security as outlined in the Fort Collins Pedestrian Plan1. The City’s plan describes the
categories as follows:
• Directness is the measurement of walking trip length and how well the environment provides
direct pedestrian connections to destinations such as transit stops, schools, parks, commercial
areas, or activity areas.
• Continuity is the measurement of the completeness of the sidewalk system by looking at the
physical consistency, type of sidewalk, and visual connection from block to block. This category
also evaluates if the pedestrian facility meets the current design standards.
• Street Crossings is the evaluation of safe crossings that encourages people to walk. There are
four (4) street crossing types that are based on traffic control and roadway classification (minor
or major). Street crossing LOS is based on pedestrian exposure and design elements that increase
awareness of pedestrian presence, including number of lanes, crosswalk markings, signal
indication, lighting level, pedestrian signal indication, pedestrian character, sight distance, and
corner ramps.
• Visual Interest and Amenity considers the attractiveness and features of the pedestrian system
and compatibility with local architecture.
• Security is the evaluation of a pedestrian’s perspective of security with visual sight lines,
separation from vehicles, and lighting level.
Each of the areas was evaluated for the study area and the LOS for each is discussed on the following
pages.
DIRECTNESS – LOS B
The directness LOS is based on proximity of destinations anticipated to be visited by patrons of the
proposed project. Within the recommended 0.25-mile radius, there is transit services, a grocery store,
retail services, restaurants, and trail access. The LOS letter grade was determined from information
provided in Table P.1 of the Fort Collins Pedestrian Plan. There is excellent and direct connectivity
surrounding the project site with clear and visual connection to transit facilities, streets, and activities.
CONTINUITY – LOS C
In the study area, there are sidewalks on both sides of the roadways near the project site. Some are
detached with landscape buffers and others are attached. There is a variety of widths throughout the
1 Fort Collins Pedestrian Plan, https://www.fcgov.com/fcmoves/files/ped-plan.pdf?1592323966, 2011.
Switchgrass Crossings – Fort Collins, CO
Trip Generation Letter
April 15, 2025
Page 4
area, but the sidewalks are connected and continuous. Per the City standards, LOS C reflects areas where
there are continuous stretches of sidewalks which may have variable widths, with and without landscaped
parkways.
STREET CROSSINGS (SIGNALIZED) – LOS B
The closest signalized intersection to the project site is Horsetooth Road at Mason Street. This crossing
includes clear vehicular pedestrian indications, well marked crosswalks, good lighting, standard curb
ramps on three corners, signing and sidewalks that suggest the presence of pedestrians, and unobstructed
views. Therefore, this signalized intersection was determined to be LOS B for street crossings due to the
number of lanes (5) across Horsetooth Road.
VISUAL INTEREST AND AMENITY – LOS C
The neighboring streets have generous sidewalks, landscaping, some street furniture, and good lighting.
Three are no specific amenities installed for visual appearance and the architecture varies along the
roadways. Therefore, it was found that the area is functionally operational with less importance to visual
interest or amenity.
SECURITY - LOS B
The streets adjacent to the project side have a high level of pedestrian security. The streets have sidewalks
that are separated from vehicles in certain segments. There appears to be adequate lighting and good
sight distance at access intersections.
SUMMARY
In summary, the existing pedestrian facilities meet or exceed the minimum LOS by category, as shown on
Table 1.
Table 1 – Pedestrian Level-of-Service Summary
Directness Continuity Street Crossing Visual Interest
and Amenity Security
Minimum LOS
Threshold C C C C C
Existing Facilities B C B C B
Met? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Switchgrass Crossings – Fort Collins, CO
Trip Generation Letter
April 15, 2025
Page 5
Trip Generation
To establish the volume of trips associated with the existing home, the data contained in the Institute of
Transportation Engineers’ (ITE) Trip Generation Manual2 was applied using ITE land use #223: “Affordable
Housing – Senior”. There is limited data for trip making on this land use type, therefore, the LADOT’s
Transportation Impact Study Guidelines were utilized since this resource provides trip rates for affordable
senior housing. The highest rates for each of the time periods were applied.
The estimated trip generation is summarized on Table 2 for weekday daily, weekday AM, and weekday
PM periods. It is anticipated that the 45 affordable senior units will generate up to 77 daily trips with
up to eight (8) trips in the peak hours. It is anticipated that the majority of traffic associated with the
new homes will be light vehicles with the occasional trash truck and delivery truck.
Table 2 – Trip Generation
Conclusions
The Switchgrass Crossing project proposes to build 45 affordable units on an existing surface parking lot
that will serve senior residents. It was estimated that the project will generate up to 77 weekday daily
trips, eight (8) AM peak hour trips, and seven (7) PM peak hour trips. It is anticipated that a full traffic
impact analysis will not be required for the Switchgrass Crossing project since there the City’s requirement
to require a full traffic study.
Please contact our office with any questions.
Sincerely,
FOX TUTTLE TRANSPORTATION GROUP, LLC
Cassie Slade, PE, PTOE; Principal
2 Trip Generation Manual, 11th Edition, Institute of Transportation Engineers, 2021.
ITE #223: Affordable
Housing - Senior 45 DU 1.72 77 39 38 0.18 8 5 3 0.15 7 4 3
* Source: ITE Trip Generation Manual and Handbook, 11th Edition, 2021.
** Source: LADOT Transportation Impact Study Guidelines, December 2016
Rate** Total In Out Rate* Total In Total In Out
Land Use Size Unit
Average Daily Trips AM Peak Hour Trips PM Peak Hour Trips
Out Rate**