HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter #25 Mary SmithJanuary 28, 2022 rev January 29 2022
Carmel Plan Commission Commercial Committee Members and Staff Members
Miles Nelson
Re: 11335 N. Michigan Road, Docket PZ-2021-00205.
I have 46 years of experience in the development of land; 40+ years were as a Professional Engineer. I let my PE
expire last cycle as I officially retired last December, although I am still working for my firm, Walker Consultants
“on call.” While I am not a traffic engineer, as the designer of hundreds of parking structures throughout my
career, I design for the volumes and movements of vehicles on sites throughout the world. I have designed a dozen
parking structures with more than 10,000 spaces including two at Universal Studios Florida and one at Disneyland.
Please note that the opinions herein are my professional opinion, not that of my firm, but rather as a resident of
the Woodhaven neighborhood immediately to the north of this site.
The first concern is that no Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) has been submitted for the project. In my experience it is
routine that TIAs are submitted for nearly all developments. While Michigan Road is controlled by the state, this
proposal requests a 67% increase in density permitted on the property. According to ITE Trip Generation the multi-
family residential units will generate more than 1500 trips per day in addition to the trips generated by the four
commercial pads. The permitted 144 units would generate only 950 trips a day. In order to approve the variances
required to increase density by 2/3, a TIA should be required by the City of Carmel. I note that a TIA was submitted
for Weston Pointe to the south which was permitted for 180 Townhouse units, far less than proposed for the
Altum’s site, and which is quite similarly accessed from Michigan Road. According to the notes of the Plan
Commission Meeting on 12/21/2022, commissioners were concerned about traffic.
I understand that the developer has said they are applying for a traffic signal at Michigan Rd and therefore a TIA
will be required and probably is in progress if not completed. Why then does the staff or commission not require
the TIA to be submitted? Based on my experience, I think it unlikely that the state will give the project a signal
approximately 800’ north of the recently installed one to the south. The ideal spacing of traffic signals on arterials
is generally accepted to be ½ mile. According to one metropolitan transportation organization, “When the spacing
between signals falls below one-quarter mile (1,320 feet), the traffic flow along the route may be disrupted. The
ability of the route to carry through traffic will decrease, travel speeds may decrease, and traffic delays and queues
may develop at intersections. There is also some evidence from research that placing more than three traffic
signals per mile on an arterial increases the traffic accident rate.”1
This project is proposing a signal at 61% of the generally accepted minimum for an arterial of ¼ mile. Without a
signal, what then are the traffic impacts? People wanting to go south on Michigan are likely to try to go south on
the internal road to Weston Pointe Drive. Indeed, perhaps at the request of the City, the Petitioner has added
another stub road to get to that road. As noted by City staff, the City would also like to have the project roads
connect east through the Fehsenfeld property to:
· Andretti Drive in Cass Estates and then to 116th Street
· Cole Court in the Weston Ridge subdivision which then connects through to Shelbourne Rd via Weston
Dr.
While the project’s traffic will be dispersed east rather than solely to/from Michigan Road, the connections are a
“two-way street”: traffic from those subdivisions will traverse the project to get to a signal on Michigan Rd.
However, based on the design, the main connector is the one between the commercial and the residential. Which
brings me to another serious issue: The connector road is currently aligned to run straight in the retail building to
the south. The designers conveniently cut off the adjacent property features before that building. Even if it winds
around, it connects through the parking lot in a circuitous path. The new secondary connector to the east is aligned
with triangular joint of three separate properties, not a clear corridor to Weston Pointe Drive. What gives me
pause is that apparently the staff has not noticed this. Even if the property to the south never permits the
connection, the developer is going to build the main misaligned, dead-end road today. See the markups below.
1 https://www.gtcmpo.org/sites/default/files/pdf/2007/IntersectionSpacing-TrafficSignalSpacing.pdf
I believe these connections are unacceptable, particularly if a traffic signal is NOT permitted on Michigan Rd. The
connector roadway should connect to the main drive aisle without parking between the two retail pads. That will
reduce the size of Lot 2. In addition, the secondary road clearly aligns with the point of three separate properties
It should be moved west. The green space between the Westin Shoppes Commercial and the townhouses is nearly
all part of the commercial property, but should be preserved as green space buffer. Therefore this access would
wind through the parking lot circuitously and likely resulting in accidents. See the google earth image below. The
yellow arrows are approximately where the roads connect now, the red is where they should be located.
Sincerely,
Mary S. Smith
4560 Windledge Circle