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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda 08_119 Tilley_TIA supplemental Date: 14 September 2022 To: Gail Henderson-King, EDFP, PLA, Senior Project Manager From: Corey Mack, PE Subject: UVM Medical Center OSC – Technical Review Response WCG has received the technical review comments prepared by BFJ, Inc. dated September 1, 2022, regarding the Traffic Impact Study (TIS) prepared in support of the UVM Medical Center Outpatient Surgery Center (OSC). The BFJ technical review issued two primary comments: 1. Internal Capture Credit. BFJ disagreed with the application of internally capture trip classification, citing that the new development will only result in new trips, not result in trips that currently go to the deli now going to the OSC or any significant number of trips between the two land uses in the peak hour. WCG agrees with BFJ’s premise that existing deli trips will not be internally captured. However, we continue to assert that a portion of the new trips associated with the OSC will be captured on site at the deli. To support this position, we offer the following points: • The existing Red Barn Market and Deli and OSC form a complimentary land use pair, with the market and deli providing services in demand by OSC staff, patients, and people accompanying the patients. If the two buildings were proposed within the same development proposal, internal capture classification would certainly be considered. • As confirmed by BFJ’s assessment, employees will arrive as early as 5:50 AM and depart as late as 7:30 PM. There will be staff on site in the middle of their shift during the peak hour of adjacent street traffic (typically 7:30 AM – 8:30 AM, or 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM). The OSC site has no on-site cafeteria, and the Red Barn Market and Deli has prepared foods, coffee drinks, and other consumable items within convenient walking distance to the OSC. There will be a demand from OSC staff to travel to and from the deli during breaks or slow periods which may occur during peak hours of adjacent street travel. • The UVM Medical Center surgery schedule estimates that surgical procedures will begin as early as 6:20 AM. Many of the patients will be accompanied by someone to drive them home following the procedure. These people may choose to travel to the adjacent deli while they wait. • BFJ stated “Some of the future staff and doctors, and possibly some visitors/patients may walk to the deli to purchase coffee, snacks or lunch, however, these trips would be limited in their numbers and would mostly occur during non-peak hours.” As noted earlier, the site does not operate within the typical 9-5 business day. There will be internal capture demands during the peak hour, and we agree they will be modest: using the industry standard NCHRP UVM Medical Center OSC – Technical Review Response 9/14/2022 2 method to estimate internal capture, we have estimated 9 internally captured trips during the AM peak hour and 4 trips in the PM peak hour, or 7% and 3%, of the total estimated trip generation. The existing deli and proposed OSC form a complimentary land use pair within convenient walking distance of each other and shared driveway. The OSC will be operational during the peak hours of adjacent street travel. There will be demand for the deli’s products from the OSC staff, patients, and accompanying people. We continue to support a modest internal capture estimate, and the industry-standard internal capture model provides a modest estimate of internal trips. A secondary BFJ statement indicated that the internal capture estimate should be the same inbound and outbound. When applying internal capture, there are multiple land uses. The NCHRP method assigns inbound and outbound trips at all land uses, with the overall effect that inbound and outbound trips at the net site would be equal. The recommended internal capture credit is only applied to the trips associated with the OSC (please refer to Attachment B of the original TIS for more detail). 2. Application of Transportation Demand Management Credit. BFJ recommended revisions to the TDM credit calculation: • Parking Supply Management. BFJ questioned the application of Parking Supply Management as a credit to reducing vehicle trips. This credit was recommended given UVM Medical Center’s organizational parking management practices. Through participation with the Champlain Area Transportation Management Association (CATMA), UVM Medical Center has prepared and conforms with the Joint Institutional Parking Management Plan (JIPMP). While the JIPMP is primarily focused on parking management in the core campus area in Burlington, the plan documents the strategies employed by UVM Medical Center to collect travel, analyze, and act upon travel and parking data. The JIPMP also documents satellite parking and employee shuttle alternatives around Chittenden County. Through this engagement, UVM Medical Center manages parking supply and demand for more than 7,000 employees at over 30 patient care sites. The OSC site will be one of those facilities falling into this management plan. We recognize that parking supply management is not necessarily occurring at this site, but rather within the overall UVM Medical Center campus environment through participation with CATMA. By counting both parking supply management and participation in CATMA, the estimated effect of TDM measures may be duplicated. • Joining a TMA. BFJ agreed that membership in a TMA would be suitable for TDM credit, however BFJ recommended a reduced credit at 5% rather than 9% as stated in the VTrans TDM guidance. The BFJ recommendation cites no sources for reducing the credit. In addition to the previously discussed JIPMP, UVM Medical Center capitalizes on many CATMA programs to manage and influence travel and parking behavior. For instance, CATMA conducts annual UVM Medical Center OSC – Technical Review Response 9/14/2022 3 travel surveys of all UVM Medical Center employees and CATMA organizes free and reduced-price transit passes, guaranteed ride home programs, and other events and incentives to encourage walking, biking, and transit to sites around Chittenden County. UVM Medical Center will continue to participate in these programs. In addition, UVM Medical Center operates a shuttle for patients from the University Mall transit stop direct to Tilley Drive which will serve the proposed site. We agree that walking, biking, and transit travel will not be the preferred or most convenient option for all staff or patients. However, VTrans developed a recommended TDM credit for a medical land use which would include those considerations. The VTrans TDM Guidance cites that a 9% reduction for membership in a TMA is applicable to “Office – Medical – Institutional” (emphasis added) land uses. Without a source citing that the TDM credit should be reduced for medical land uses, we see no reason to apply a reduced TDM credit to the UVM Medical Center OSC’s medical land use in contradiction to the statewide guidance. UVM Medical Center is a founding member of CATMA. Participation in CATMA is required from multiple jurisdictions and UVM Medica Center will continue to be a pillar of CATMA’s membership. Since parking management is a feature of CATMA membership, applying a credit to both “Parking Supply Management” and “Membership in a TMA” may be duplicative. In addition to CATMA’s parking management services, UVM Medical Center encourages all their employees to participate in CATMA’s other programs. CATMA has been a long-term partner in assisting the Medical Center manage and lessen their transportation impact. The statewide TDM guidance recommends a TMA credit specifically assigned to medical land uses. We recommend the analysis remove the “Parking Supply Management” credit and continues to apply the TMA credit in accordance with statewide guidance. Adjusting the TDM credit by removing the 3% “Parking Supply Management” adjustment reduces the credit from 14.5% to 11.5%. The TDM credit is capped at a maximum of 12%, which was applied to the TIS. The resulting change to the analysis from a 12% TDM credit to an 11.5% credit is negligible. RECOMMENDATION As documented above, WCG recommends no change to the analysis: a modest internal capture trip classification (as analyzed) is appropriate, and the adjustment to the transportation demand management credit results in a negligible change to overall trip generation calculations. If BFJ’s recommendations are considered appropriate by the DRB, the resulting PM peak hour trips will change by +4 trips due to internal classification, and +6 trips due to TDM credits. The total change in trips may result in additional transportation impact fees but will likely have little change to the roadway congestion and capacity analysis results.