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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSD-22-10 - Supplemental - 0500 Old Farm Road (65) BUCKHURST FISH JACQUEMART, INC. 115 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10003 T. 212.353.7474 F. 212.353.7494 MEMORANDUM To: Marla Keene, PE City of South Burlington Development Review Planner From: Georges Jacquemart, PE, AICP, Principal Mark Freker, Senior Planner Subject: Review of Traffic Impact Assessment for Eastview – O’Brien Home Farm Date: August 31, 2022 Introduction This memo provides findings from BFJ’s review of the March 30, 2022 Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) for the proposed second phase of the Eastview - O’Brien Home Farm development prepared by Lamoureux & Dickinson Consulting Engineers, Inc. (LDC). This review focuses on key updates that LDC incorporated in response to BFJ’s April 2021 comments on the previous TIA, including: • Trip Generation: o The project proposed land-uses and trip generation have been updated based on the 11th edition of ITE’s Trip Generation. o The estimated internal capture trips were reduced by 50% and the resulting traffic impacts were reevaluated. • Future traffic conditions at the relocated Kimball Ave/Old Farm Rd intersection as a four-way intersection with 20-30 Kimball Ave. This memo also summarizes BFJ’s review of the Bike and Pedestrian Infrastructure review submitted by WCG. Trip Generation and Internal Capture BFJ reviewed revised trip generation estimates based on ITE’s 11th edition of Trip Generation and accepts L&D’s analysis. BFJ accepts L&D’s approach for proposed commercial land-uses, including the following key assumptions: • C1-LR Area: a 64,000 sf supermarket has been used to estimate the equivalent trip generation for the office/commercial space. • I-C Area: It is assumed that medical-dental offices will comprise a large portion of the commercial development. This seems acceptable as a worst-case assumption. Should actual land-uses and their sizes differ significantly from the above, the applicant will have to submit a revised traffic impact analysis BFJ’s review and comment on the original March 30th 2021 TIA recommended that L&D make a 50% internal capture reduction as the original internal capture rate was believed to be too high for the R1 and C1-LR Area. TIA revision has satisfied this concern: The AM Peak Hour internal captural vehicle trips were reduced from 6 trips to 3 trips; in the PM Peak Hour trips were reduced from 222 to 111. BUCKHURST FISH JACQUEMART, INC. 115 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10003 T. 212.353.7474 F. 212.353.7494 Kimball Ave. Intersections BFJ’s April 2021 review commented that the original LDC analysis did not analyze the traffic impacts at the intersection of the relocated Old Farm Road with Kimball Avenue due to the lack of traffic data for the 20-30 Kimball Ave office building. It was recommended that LDC estimate the traffic generation for this office complex based on the gross floor area and ITE traffic rates, so that a general impact assessment can be undertaken for this intersection. LDC updated the Kimball Ave/Old Farm Road intersection analysis to reflect a 4-way intersection with volumes added for the office building. Table 10 highlights the Intersection Analysis Results for Kimball Ave and Old Farm Road. If the intersection is relocated as proposed along with signalization, LOS D is projected in the 2032 Full Build AM Peak Hour and LOS F in the 2032 Full Build PM Peak Hour. Consequently, the TIA states that traffic congestion conditions at this intersection should be periodically re-examined after Eastview’s Partial-Build peak hour trip generation is reached. BFJ recommends that the applicant commits to monitoring these conditions and shows how they would mitigate for LOS F. Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure Review BFJ reviewed Exhibit 9, the Eastview Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure Review, which was prepared by Wall Consulting Group (WCG). This review takes into account the project’s commitment to create an interconnected bicycle and pedestrian network within the Eastview site, the adjacent Hillside neighborhood, and existing and future offsite City paths and trails. WCG’s review concluded in key recommendations: • Add raised mid-block crossings on Old Farm Road in order to reduce the desirability of Old Farm Road as a shortcut between Hinesburg Rd. and Kimball Ave./Williston Rd. and to enhance pedestrian safety. • Enhance crosswalk features- i.e. install rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs) at the northernmost and southernmost intersections on Old Farm Road. o BFJ notes that RRFBs are costly interventions and only worthwhile if there will be substantial pedestrian activity. For example, two pedestrian crossings an hour would not necessitate RRFBs. • Pedestrian scale wayfinding at path intersections to note distance or walking travel time to key destinations. • Evaluate distance between marked parallel parking spaces and crosswalks in order to ensure there is ample space for sight lines. A minimum of 25’ is recommended. o BFJ Planning is in agreement with this sight distance recommendation as a general guideline. However, it should be noted that 25’ is applicable to upstream conditions (when parking activity interferes with the ability for drivers to see pedestrians at a crosswalk). It is acceptable for sight distance to be less than 25’ for downsteam intersection/crosswalk approaches (when the crosswalk comes before parking activity in the driver’s field of vision) or if parallel parking areas are inset as shown on the site plan (i.e. inset parallel parking on Old Farm Road and Mabel Way). • Kennedy Drive Transit Stop – consider the addition of a new westbound transit stop opposite the Hillside signal on Two Brothers Drive. BUCKHURST FISH JACQUEMART, INC. 115 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10003 T. 212.353.7474 F. 212.353.7494 BFJ suggests the following additional consideration: • Shared use Path - The Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Infrastructure plan currently recommends that the proposed Eastview shared use path on Old Farm Road that connects to the north at Kimball Ave. extend to the south at Leo Lane. At that point, the shared use path is recommended to connect/continue with a city-planned shared use path that would connect to Hinesburg Rd to the south. Should the I-C Area access road (Potash Rd.) be constructed to connect to Tilley Drive, this extension should also include a new shared use path segment in order to provide a connection to the existing shared use path on Tilley Dr. This alignment would be consistent with the recent VT 1116/Kimball Ave/Tilley Drive Area Land Use & Transportation Plan (VHB, 2020).