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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTraffic Impact Analysis 1 TRAFFIC IMPACT ANALYSIS 1 1 MENTAL HEALTH CENTER AND 1 MEDICAL OFFICES 1 PREPARED FOR PRO MED, LTD 1 AND 1 TRI- COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER, INC. 1 1 1 JANUARY 1990 1 1 1 1 1 PREPARED BY 1 A F ENGINEERING CO., INC. 1 1 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS I Page I List of Tables i List of Figures i 1 Introduction 1 Purpose 1 I Scope of Work 1 I Proposed Project ,2 Study Area 4 1 Existing Street Conditions 4 Traffic Controls 5 1 Traffic Data 5 I Site Generated Trips 6 Assignment of Generated Traffic 8 1 Distribution of Generated Traffic 8 Pass -by Traffic /Captured Traffic 10 1 Intra Site Trips 10 Site Generated Traffic. Volumes 12 I Total Traffic Volumes 12 II Conclusions 15 Recommendations 17 1 Summary 19 Appendix A 20 1 .1 1 1 1 Page List of Tables 1. Site Generated Trip Table 7 1 Page List of Figures 1 1. Conceptual Master Plan 3 2. Assignment of Generated Traffic 9 3. Distribution of Generated Traffic 11 4. PM Peak Hour Generated Traffic Volumes 13 4. PM Peak Hour Total Traffic Volumes 14 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 r 1 1 r INTRODUCTION This Traffic Impact Analysis has been prepared at the request of 1 the Mr. Robert E. Hughes, General Partner for Pro Med, Ltd. and Mr. Larry Burch, Executive Director for Tri- County Mental Health 11 Center, Inc. This study is an analysis of traffic both as it now II exists and as it is anticipated to change with the completion of the multi -land use development to be located along Smokey Row 1 Road /136th Street and.near the intersection of U.S. 31 and Old Meridian Street, in Hamilton County. 1 I PURPOSE The purpose of this analysis is to determine what effect traffic generated by the multi -land use development will have on the existing street system. Recommendations will then be made to 1 provide for the safe ingress and egress to and from the site with minimal interference to the traffic on the public street system. II SCOPE OF WORK The scope of work for this analysis is to first determine the 1 existing traffic volumes at several intersections in the vicinity of the proposed multi -land use development. Second, to determine II the total traffic that will be generated by the proposed multi- 1 land use development. Third, to assign the generated traffic to the driveway system. Fourth, to distribute the generated traffic II to the public street system. Finally, based on the total of existing traffic volumes plus the total of generated traffic II 1 i 1 1 volumes, make recommendations to ensure safe ingress and egress I to and from the site. PROPOSED PROJECT 1 The proposed development is to be located in Clay Township, Hamilton County at the intersection of Smokey Row Road /136th 1 Street and Old Meridian Street. This intersection is located just east of the intersection of U.S. 31 and Old Meridian Street. I The project is bounded on the north and west by Smokey Row 1 Road /136th Street, and on the east and south by other develop- ments. 1 This development, at completion, will consist of a mental health 1 hospital and several one story or two story office buildings I where the primary occupants will be medical related tenants. The hospital will have a total of 62,000 gross square feet of floor 1 space which will house 42 in- patient beds and also provide areas to service various out patient programs. The office buildings 1 will not exceed a total of 120,000 square feet of gross floor 1 space. 1 Access to the development will be from two driveways located along Smokey Row Road /136th Street. 1 Figure 1 is a Conceptual Master Plan for the proposed develop- I ment. Shown are the existing street system and the location of 1 the driveways. 2 1 1 1 STUDY AREA 1 The study area for this proposed development will be the street system that abuts the site and includes Smokey Row Road /136th Street, Old Meridian Street, and U.S. 31. Intersections that are to be reviewed as a part of this analysis 1 are the following: 1. Smokey Row Road /136th Street and Old Meridian Street. 2. Old Meridian Street and U.S. 31. 1 EXISTING STREET CONDITIONS This development will be served by the public street system that includes Smokey Row Road /136th Street, Old Meridian Street and U.S. 31. 1 U.S 31 is a major north -south thoroughfare which links 1 Indianapolis with many cities and towns throughout the state of Indiana. In the vicinity of the site, U.S. 31 is a four- lane, divided, limited access highway. At the intersection of U.S. 31 and 136th Street, U.S. 31 has been widened to provide lanes for both left -turns and right- turns. 1 Smokey Row Road /136th Street is an east -west collector street serving residents with access to U.S. 31. Smokey Row Road /136th Street intersects with Old Meridian Street south of U.S. 31. Old Meridian Street then connects to U.S. 31. 4 1 1 1 Old Meridian Street is a two lane northeast southwest 1 street which serves as a collector /distributor /frontage road, parallel to U.S. 31, providing access to U.S. 31 I for Carmel residents and businesses located east of 1 U.S. 31. II TRAFFIC CONTROLS Traffic controls in the area include: I a stop sign control at the intersection of Smokey Row I Road /136th Street and Old Meridian Street where Smokey Row Road /136th Street stops for Old Meridian Street. 1 a traffic actuated automatic traffic, signal at the intersec- tion of U.S. 31 and Old Meridian Street. 1 TRAFFIC DATA 1 There were peak hour turning movement traffic volume counts made at three intersections around the site. These counts were 1 conducted between the hours of 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM to I 7:00 PM. These traffic volume counts include an hourly total of all "through" traffic and all "turning" traffic at each intersec- t tion. These traffic volume data are included in Appendix A and are identified as follows: 1 Exhibit 1 Old Meridian Street and Smokey Row Road Exhibit 2 Old Meridian Street and Guilford Road II Exhibit 3 Old Meridian Street and U.S. 31 1 5 1 1 1 There was a three (3) hour gap study made at two intersections in 1 the vicinity of the site. All gaps in the traffic were measured for both directions of traffic between the hours of 4:00 PM to 7 :00 PM. The summary of the gaps for the 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM street peak hour are included in Appendix A and are identified as follows: Exhibit 4 Old Meridian Street and Smokey Row Road Exhibit 5 Old Meridian Street and Guilford Road There was a three (3) hour delay study made for Old Meridian Street as traffic waits for the green light to enter the inter- 1 section of U.S. 31. The delay for each vehicle entering the intersections was measured between the hours of 4:00 PM to 7:00 1 PM. The summary of the delays for the 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM street 1 peak hour are included in Appendix A and is identified as follows: Exhibit 6 Old Meridian Street and U.S. 31 SITE GENERATED TRIPS The estimated number of trips that will be generated by the proposed development is a function of the size and character of the land use. A'& F Engineering Co., Inc. has collected trip generation data for various land uses. Local data collected at 1 general office developments were used to estimate the number of trips that will be entering and exiting the offices during the 1 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM street peak hour. 6 1 Data to estimate the number of trips for mental health center does not exist. Therefore, A F Engineering Co., Inc. made a single study to collect trip data at the St. Vincent's Stress Center. The St. Vincent's Stress Center provides services, both in- patient and out- patient, that will be similar to those that will be provided at this proposed facility. These data were then compared to the number of trips that can be expected to be generated by a general hospital as reported in Trip Generations. The data collected at the 'St. Vincent's Stress Center was found to fall within the range for a general hospital. Therefore, the St. Vincent's Stress Center data will be used as the basis for estimating the number of trips that will be generated by the Tri- County Mental Health Center during the 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM street peak period. .1 Table 1 is a summary of the trip generation data for this proposed development. 1 TABLE 1 1 SITE GENERATED TRIP DATA LAND USE SIZE TOTAL PM PEAK HOUR TRIPS. ENTER EXIT Office Buildings 120,000 Sq Ft 1573 29 81 Mental Health Hospital 62,000 Sq Ft 897 29 41 1 1 Trip Generation, Institute of Transportation Engineers, Fourth Edition, 1987. 1 7 1 1 1 ASSIGNMENT OF GENERATED TRAFFIC 1 All site generated traffic must be assigned to the roadway system that will be serving this proposed development. The assignment of the site generated trips for this proposed development was ac- 1 complished by reviewing the zip codes for all patients who have been using the facilities of Tri- County Mental Health Centers for 1 the past 18 months. The traffic that will enter or exit the site will find the most efficient path to travel to the development. I Therefore, the site generated traffic has been assigned to the II roadways based on the direction of travel that the patients will use to approach this development. 1 Figure 2 shows the assignment of trips to the public street 1 system for the site generated traffic as it will approach the 1 proposed development. 1 DISTRIBUTION OF GENERATED TRAFFIC To analyze the effect the site generated traffic from the 1 development will have on the abutting street system, the site I generated traffic volumes must be distributed to the abutting street system. The distribution of the site generated traffic at -1 the driveways, at the intersection of Smokey Row Road /136th Street and Old Meridian Street and at the intersection of Old 1 Meridian Street and U.S. 31 is based on the assignment of I generated traffic, the route patients will use to the proposed development, and the traffic patterns at the intersections. 1 8 1 1 1 Figure 3 shows the percentage distribution of traffic at the site 1 driveways, at the intersection of Smokey Row Road /136th Street I and Old Meridian Street, and at the intersection of Old Meridian Street and U.S. 31. 1 PASS -BY TRAFFIC /CAPTURED TRAFFIC 1 Office complexes and hospitals will not draw traffic from existing streams of traffic around the site.. Traffic to and from 1 these land uses is all new traffic. Therefore, pass -by traf- 1 fic /captured traffic is not a factor for this proposed develop- ment. 1 INTRA SITE TRIPS 1 All of the land uses within this proposed development will be I served by a connecting internal roadway system. Therefore, there will be trips to the individual buildings that will be generated 1 from within the site. That is, there will be trips from offices to the mental health center and trips from the mental health 1 center to the offices that will never use the public roadway system. These trips are called intra -site trips. Various 1 studies have projected the intra -site trips for multi -land use 1 developments to from 20 percent to 25 percent. For this proposed development a reduction of 5 percent in the total number of site 1 generated trips will be used. 1 1 10• 1 SITE GENERATED TRAFFIC VOLUMES 1 Using the site generated trip data, the assignment of site generated traffic, the distribution of site generated traffic, and the antra -site trip data, the site generated traffic volumes at the proposed access points, the intersection of Smokey Row Road /136th Street and Old Meridian Street, and at the intersec- 1 tion of Old Meridian Street and U.S. 31 have been prepared for the 5:00 PM to 6:OO PM street peak hour. Figure 4 shows the 5:00 to 6:00 PM Peak Hour Site Generated Traffic Volumes. 1 TOTAL TRAFFIC VOLUMES To evaluate the effect the site generated traffic volumes will 1 have on the public street system, the site generated traffic volumes have been added to the existing traffic volumes at the 1 intersection of Smokey Row Road /136th Street and Old Meridian Street and at the intersection of Old Meridian Street and U.S. 1 31. Figure 5 shows the 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM Peak Hour Total Traffic 1 Volumes. 1 12 1 1 CONCLUSIONS Based on this analysis and review of the area the following conclusions can be drawn: 1. The majority of the patients approaching this development will use U.S. 31 from the south, 77.9 percent and U.S. 31 from the north, 13.8 percent. 2. Typically, gaps of about six (6) seconds are needed to allow the critical left -turn entry into the traffic stream. The total number of effective six (6) second gaps that were measured in the northbound and southbound streams of traffic on Old Meridian-Street at Smokey Row Road /136th Street were 180 between the hours of 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Based on the gap study it appears that there will be more than an adequate number of gaps to accommodate the projected number of vehicles desiring to make a left -turn from Smokey Row Road /136th Street on to southbound Old Meridian Street. 3. Based on a study of the traffic signal timing at U.S. 31 and 136th Street, it has been found that the average green time available to 136th Street is 32.5 seconds. The maximum 1 green time available is 41.5 seconds. Therefore it appears the additional traffic that will be added to the intersec- tion can be accommodated by the existing traffic signal with 15 1 1 no changes. 1 4. Based on the delay study taken for the northbound Old 1 Meridian Street traffic at U.S. 31, it has been found that each vehicle experiences an average delay of 55.9 seconds. I The average length of the red signal phase for the Old I Meridian Street traffic is 82.3 seconds. The amount of delay experienced by Old Meridian Street traffic is caused 1 by the length of green time given. to U.S. 31 traffic. Further, in view of the fact that the average delay for Old II Meridian Street is less than the average red time, the I vehicles waiting in line are easily clearing the intersec- tion on the green light. 1 5. A traffic signal will not be required or warranted at the 1 intersection of Old Meridian Street and Smokey Row Road/ 1 136th Street. 1 1 1 1 1- II 16 1 RECOMMENDATIONS 1 To insure that the traffic into and out of this development will operate in a safe and efficient manner at the driveways, at the 1 intersection of Smokey Row Road /136th Street and Old Meridian Street, and at the intersection of Old Meridian Street and U.S. 31, the following recommendations should be implemented. 1 East Driveway 1. The east driveway should be designed with one inbound lane and one outbound lane. These lanes should all be twelve feet in width. West Driveway 1 1. The west driveway should be design with two inbound lanes and two outbound lanes. These lanes should all be twelve 1 feet in width. 1 Smokey Row Road /136th Street 1 1. Smokey Row Road /136th Street should be widened to a three lane cross section of thirty -three (33) feet in width. Left 1 turn lanes should be provided at the west driveway and at the intersection with Old Meridian Street. 1 Intersection of Old Meridian Street and U.S. 31 1. The south leg, Old Meridian Street, should be widened to 1 include three outbound lanes; a right -turn lane, a through 17 1 1 1 lane and a left -turn lane and two inbound lanes. All lanes 1 should be twelve (12) feet in width. `1 This widening of the existing outbound lane plus the I additional lanes will increase the capacity of the approach. The additional lanes will also increase the storage poten- 1 tial of the approach by allowing for more vehicles to move through the intersection, at U.S. 31, when they are given I the right -of -way to proceed. 1 The additional inbound lane should be used as an exclusive 1 left -turn lane from Old Meridian Street on to Smokey Row Road /136th Street. The second inbound lane will continue to 1 be used for through traffic on Old Meridian Street. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 18 1 1 1 SUMMARY I If the recommended improvements are incorporated into this project the traffic into and out of this development will operate I in a safe and efficient manner with a minimal disruption to the existing traffic volumes on the surrounding street system. 1 Further, the increase in traffic volumes through the intersection of U.S. 31 and Old Meridian Street will not create capacity 1 problems at that intersection. 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 19 1 APPENDIX A 1 Page Exhibit 1 Peak Hour Traffic Volume Count Meridian Street Smokey Row Road /136th Street A -1 1 Exhibit 2 Peak Hour Traffic Volume Count Old Meridian Street Guilford Road A -4 1 Exhibit 3 Peak Hour Traffic Volume Count Old Meridian Street U.S. 31 A -7 Exhibit 4 Gap Study Summary Meridian Street Smokey Row Road /136th Street A -10 Exhibit 5 Gap Study Summary 1 Old Meridian Street Guilford Road A -11 Exhibit 6 Delay Study Summary Old Meridian Street U.S. 31 A -12 111 1 1 1 1 1 .1 20 1