HomeMy WebLinkAboutTraffic Assessment RAMADA INN REDEVELOPMENT
< TRAFFIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT>
July 25, 2007
Existing Thoroughfare System
To adequately describe the significance of these roadways, a further characterization is provided
for each.
SH 6 (Texas Avenue)—The 2005 — 2030 Metropolitan Transportation Plan prepared in 2004 by the
Bryan/College Station Metropolitan Planning Organization (Ref.1), classifies Texas Avenue as a
part of the Principal Arterial System in the Bryan/College Station area. These roadways carry most
of the trips entering and departing the urban areas, including the through trips bypassing the
Central Business District (CBD). This class of facility serves trips between the CBD and outlying
residential areas. Construction is underway to expand Texas Avenue to a six-lane divided roadway
between S acinto Street) and SH udder Freeway). TxDOT annual traffic counts
in the year 2005 show a volume of 48,000 vehicles per day (vpd) on Texas Avenue north of Harvey
Road.
George Bush Drive (FM 2347) — George Bush Drive is a four-lane undivided roadway between
Harvey Mitchell Parkway and Texas Avenue and a two-lane undivided roadway west of Harvey
Mitchell Parkway. The Metropolitan Transportation Plan classified George Bush Drive as a major
arterial roadway. TxDOT annual traffic counts in the year 2005 show a volume of 29,000 vpd on
George Bush Drive west of Texas Avenue. There are no planned roadway improvements on George
Bush Drive at this time.
Redmond Drive — Redmond Drive is a two-lane undivided residential street adjacent to the project
site. 24-hour traffic counts are not available on this roadway. There are no planned roadway
improvements on Redmond Drive at this time. Upon completion of the Texas Avenue construction,
access to Redmond Drive from Texas Avenue will be limited to right turn movements only.
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Rosemary Lane — Rosemary Lane is a two-lane undivided residential street in the vicinity of the
project site. 24-hour traffic counts are not available on this roadway. There are no planned
roadway improvements on Rosemary Lane at this time.
Milliff Road — Milliff Road is a two-lane undivided mixed residential and commercial street
adjacent to the project site. 24-hour traffic counts are not available on this roadway. There are no
planned roadway improvements on Milliff Road at this time. Upon completion of the Texas Avenue
construction, full access to/from Milliff Road from/to Texas Avenue will be allowed through
provision of a median opening with a northbound left turn lane.
HDR WHM Transportation Engineering 3
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TRAFFIC ANALYSIS
Data Collection
The analysis of study area conditions required the acquisition of primary data on the major
roadways and at intersections. To study the impacts of the redevelopment of the Ramada Inn site,
relevant data were collected at intersections within the study boundary which are listed below:
• Texas Avenue and Milliff Road
• Texas Avenue and Redmond Drive
• George Bush Drive and Rosemary Lane
• George Bush Drive and Redmond Drive
The data were collected in July 2007. The data collection included existing intersection and lane
geometry and the AM and PM peak hour turning movement counts. It should be noted that data
collection was completed while local public schools were not in session and Texas A&M University
summer classes were in session. Based on traffic counts conducted in the vicinity of the site in
April 2006 and information on existing land uses in the study area, traffic counts were forecasted
to reflect conditions while school is in session.
Study Methodology
The network was evaluated for four alternatives as discussed below:
1. Existing Traffic Conditions — Existing traffic conditions consist of current land uses and
existing roadway geometrics.
2. Alternative 1 Site Plus Forecasted Traffic Conditions — This alternative consists of 2009
site land uses and access modifications including construction of a cul-de-sac on Redmond
Drive.
3. Alternative 2 Site Plus Forecasted Traffic Conditions — This alternative consists of 2009
site land uses and access modifications including construction of a cul-de-sac on both
Redmond Drive and on Milliff Road. Milliff Road will be restricted to eastbound traffic only
between Rosemary Lane and the cul-de-sac.
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Internal Capture — Once the total buildout of proposed land uses occurs, there will be some
interaction between the uses within this development. Internal capture is accounted for in two
ways. First, to account for internal capture among similar retail land uses in adjacent areas, the
sizes may be combined during the trip generation process. Because the equations used in trip
generation estimations are logarithmic, the number of trips generated by a site does not increase in
direct proportion to an increase in the square footage of a development. By combining retail
projects in close proximity to each other, a lower number of trips will be estimated, thereby taking
into account the internal capture factor. The second way to account for internal capture is to
reduce the expected number of trips directly by some percentage, which reflects expected
multipurpose trip-making among different types of land uses, which are in close proximity. As with
pass-by trip reductions, internal capture depends on the type and quantity of land uses. A 25
percent internal capture reduction was applied to the retail land uses in the site.
Transit Trips—The provision of transit service to an area may reduce the expected number of trips
by providing a mode of travel alternative to the private automobile. Because of the close proximity
of the Ramada Inn site to Texas A&M University, transit was considered a key component of this
study. The Ramada Inn site is planned be served by the Texas A&M University off-campus shuttle
service. Due to the high cost and low number of parking spaces available to students on the
campus, the Texas A&M University shuttle service provides an easy alternative for students to
travel to and from campus throughout the day. In addition, the shuttle service is free to students.
Because of these factors, it was assumed that 30 percent of trips to and from the residential land
use would be via the shuttle service.
Table 2 provides a detailed summary of the adjusted traffic production which is directly related to
the assumed land use activity for the proposed project given the pass-by capture, internal capture
and transit reductions discussed previously. As a point of reference, the total adjusted trips per
day for this project are estimated at 2,203.
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4. Alternative 3 Site Plus Forecasted Traffic Conditions — This alternative consists of 2009
site land uses assuming that no access modifications and traffic patterns remaining the
same.
Trip Generation
Based on recommendations and data contained in the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
Trip Generation, the proposed project will generate approximately 4,774 unadjusted daily weekday
two way volume trips upon buildout. Table 1 provides a detailed summary of traffic production,
which is directly related to the assumed land use plan.
Table 1.
Summary of Unadjusted Daily and Peak Hour Trip Generation
24 Hour AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour
Two Way Enter Exit Enter Exit
Land Use Size Volume
Existing Land Uses
Hotel 167 rooms 1,364 57 37 52 47
Proposed Land Uses
Student Dormitory 404 Rooms 2,578 40 161 156 84
Retail/Commercial 37,000 SF 3,559 53 34 156 169
Difference 4,774 36 158 260 206
Pass-By Capture — Studies have shown that retail land uses will capture from 20 to 60 percent of
their traffic as pass-by trips, depending upon their size. It is well documented that many other land
uses also experience significant pass-by trip capture, such as drive-in banks and restaurants. The
amount of trip reduction that each tract may attribute to the pass-by phenomenon will depend
directly on the type of land use that is developed. A pass-by reduction of 34 percent was applied to
the retail land use.
DO/ SF t
its- rVo 431
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Table 2.
Summary of Adjusted Daily and Peak Hour Trip Generation
24 Hour AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour
Two Way Enter Exit Enter Exit
Land Use Size Volume
Existing Land Uses:
Hotel 167 rooms 1,364 57 37 52 47
Proposed Land Uses:
Student Dormitory 404 Rooms 1,805 28 113 109 59
Retail/Commercial 37,000 SF 1,762 26 17 77 84
Difference 2,203 24 110 134 96
Roadway Capacity Analysis
A roadway capacity analysis was performed for the following four roadways:
1. Redmond Drive, south of George Bush Drive
2. Rosemary Lane, south of George Bush Drive
3. Milliff Road, west of Texas Avenue
4. Redmond Drive, west of Texas Avenue
The 2000 Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) (Ref. 2) does not provide guidelines for roadways with
speeds of less than 45 miles per hour; therefore, it is not feasible to analyze these roadways using
the capacity analysis method of the 2000 HCM. The 1994 Highway Capacity Manual (Ref. 3)
provides estimates for service flow rates in passenger cars per hour per lane (pcph) for two-lane
roadways as they relate to LOS. Table 3 describes traffic flow rates in relation to LOS for two-lane
roadways.
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Table 3.
Two-Lane Roadways LOS vs. Traffic Flow Rates
LOS Bi-Directional Flow Rate(pcph)
A <_420
B >420and <_750
C >750and <_ 1,200
D > 1,200 and <_ 1,800
E > 1,800and <_2,800
F >2,800
pcph— passenger cars per hour
Redmond Drive, south of George Bush Drive — This section of Redmond Drive is a two-lane local
street. The existing two-way peak hour flow rate obtained from traffic volume counts on Redmond
Drive, south of George Bush Drive, i 20 cph, which would equate to LOS A conditions. The
highest 2009 site plus forecasted weekday peak hour flow rate is 72 pcph, which would equate to
LOS A. Table 4 presents the weekday hourly flow rate and corresponding roadway LOS for each
alternative.
Table 4.
Redmond Drive Roadway Capacity Analysis
2007 Alternative 1 Alternative 2 Alternative 3
2009 Site+ 2009 Site+ 2009 Site+
Existing Forecasted Forecasted Forecasted
AM PM AM PM AM PM AM PM
Two-way Peak Hour Flow Rate(pcph) 20 20 50 69 43 68 51 72
Two-way Peak Hour Roadway LOS A A A A A A A A
The 2007 Bryan/College Station Unified Design Guidelines: Streets and Alleys (Ref. 4), classifies a
minor collector street as one which primarily serves vehicular traffic in the general range of 1,000
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to 5,000 vpd. It classifies a residential street as one which primarily serves vehicular traffic to
abutting residential properties. A residential street may also provide limited access to commercial
properties if approved by the City. Based on these descriptions, it is assumed that a residential
street would serve vehicular traffic up to 1,000 vpd.
Based on previous traffic counts conducted in the area, peak hour traffic volume represents
approximately nine percent of the daily volume. Based on this percentage and the assumed site
traffic distribution among the area streets, the 2009 site plus forecasted traffic volume will be 669
vpd and 618 vpd for Alternatives 1 and 2, respectively, on Redmond Drive after buildout. These
traffic volumes are less than the expected 1,000 vpd as discussed previously. For Alternative 3, the
2009 site plus forecasted traffic volume will be 704 vpd. The traffic volume is less than the
expected 1,000 vpd as discussed previously.
Rosemary Lane — Rosemary Lane is a two-lane local street in the vicinity of the site. The existing
two-way peak hour flow rate obtained from traffic volume counts on Rosemary Lane, south of
George Bush Drive,
(:)
cph, which would equate to LOS A conditions. The highest 2009 site
plus forecasted weekday peak hour flow rate is 73 pcph, which would also equate to LOS A. Table
5 presents the weekday hourly flow rate and corresponding roadway LOS for each alternative.
Table 5.
Rosemary Lane Roadway Capacity Analysis
2007 Alternative 1 Alternative 2 Alternative 3
2009 Site+ 2009 Site+ 2009 Site+
Existing Forecasted Forecasted Forecasted
AM PM AM PM AM PM AM PM
Two-way Peak Hour Flow Rate(pcph) 39 55 48 71 34 62 55 73
Two-way Peak Hour Roadway LOS A A A A A A A A
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Based on previous traffic counts conducted in the area, peak hour traffic volume represents
approximately nine percent of the daily volume. Based on this percentage and the assumed site
traffic distribution among the area streets, the 2009 site plus forecasted traffic volume will be 690
vpd and 512 vpd for Alternatives 1 and 2, respectively, on Rosemary Lane after buildout of the
development. For Alternative 3, the 2009 site plus forecasted traffic volume will be 731 vpd.
These traffic volumes are less than the expected 1,000 vpd as discussed previously.
Milliff Road — Milliff Road is a two-lane local street in the vicinity of the site. The existing two-
way peak hour flow rate obtained from traffic volume counts on Milliff Road, west of Texas
Avenue, i 111 cph, which would equate to LOS A conditions. The highest 2009 site plus
forecasted weekday peak hour flow rate is 201 pcph, which would equate to LOS A. Table 6
presents the weekday hourly flow rate and corresponding roadway LOS for each alternative.
Table 6.
Milliff Roadway Capacity Analysis
2007 Alternative 1 Alternative 2 Alternative 3
2009 Site+ 2009 Site+ 2009 Site+
Existing Forecasted Forecasted Forecasted
AM PM AM PM AM PM AM PM
Two-way Peak Hour Flow Rate(pcph) 77 111 58 130 79 134 121 201
Two-way Peak Hour Roadway LOS A A A A A A A A
Based on previous traffic counts conducted in the area, peak hour traffic volume represents
approximately nine percent of the daily volume. Based on this percentage and the assumed site
traffic distribution among the area streets, the 2009 site plus forecasted traffic volume will be
1,249 vpd and 1,416 vpd for Alternatives 1 and 2, respectively, on Milliff Road after buildout of the
development. For Alternative 3, the 2009 site plus forecasted traffic volume will be 1,995 vpd.
These traffic volumes are more than the expected 1,000 vpd as discussed previously. Because
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Milliff Road serves primarily commercial traffic, it can be expected to accommodate greater traffic
volumes than a residential street, more in the range of that expected for a collector street.
Redmond Drive, west of Texas Avenue— Redmond Drive is a two-lane local street in the vicinity of
the site. The existing two-way peak hour flow rate obtained from traffic volume counts on
Redmond Drive, west of Texas Avenueescph, which would equate to LOS A conditions. The
highest 2009 site plus forecasted weekday peak hour flow rate is 144 pcph, which would equate to
LOS A. Table 7 presents the weekday hourly flow rate and corresponding roadway LOS for each
alternative.
Table 7.
Redmond Drive Roadway Capacity Analysis
2007 Alternative 1 Alternative 2 Alternative 3
2009 Site+ 2009 Site+ 2009 Site+
Existing Forecasted Forecasted Forecasted
AM PM AM PM AM PM AM PM
Two-way Peak Hour Flow Rate(pcph) 26 31 136 142 139 144 66 71
Two-way Peak Hour Roadway LOS A A A A A A A A
Based on previous traffic counts conducted in the area, peak hour traffic volume represents
approximately nine percent of the daily volume. Based on this percentage and the assumed site
traffic distribution among the area streets, the 2009 site plus forecasted traffic volume will be
1,517 vpd and 1,530 vpd for Alternatives 1 and 2, respectively, on Redmond Drive after buildout of
the development. These traffic volumes are more than the expected 1,000 vpd as discussed
previously. Because Redmond Drive will serve only site traffic, it can be expected to accommodate
greater traffic volumes than a residential street, more in the range of that expected for a collector
street for Alternatives 1 and 2. For Alternative 3, the 2009 site plus forecasted traffic volume will
be 867 vpd.
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Summary of Results
As discussed above, as part of the redevelopment of the Ramada Inn site, changes in access are
being considered to address concerns of the adjacent neighborhood related to cut-through traffic.
Both alternatives discussed in this study will help to alleviate cut-through traffic in the
neighborhood.
Alternative 1
The proposed cul-de-sac on Redmond Drive, west of Texas Avenue, will eliminate all cut-through
traffic exiting the Ramada Inn site to Redmond Drive as well as traffic from the Meridian
Apartments on Redmond Drive that use the neighborhood streets to access George Bush Drive. In
addition, installation of one-way gates at site driveways on Redmond Drive will ensure that
vehicles exiting the proposed parking garage on the south side of Redmond Drive do not travel
through the Ramada Inn site to access Milliff Road nor travel through the neighborhood to George
Bush Drive. Vehicles bound for the Ramada Inn site may still enter via Redmond Drive and
Rosemary Lane from George Bush Drive and access the site via Milliff Road. This inbound travel
path, particularly along Redmond Drive, will not be very desirable for future residents and patrons
of the proposed development. Redmond Drive between George Bush Drive and Rosemary Lane is a
narrow residential street with several curves, lined with trees limiting visibility, and frequent
parking of vehicles on both sides of the street which limit traffic to a single direction of travel.
Rosemary Lane between George Bush Drive and Redmond Drive includes access to only five single
family homes and the University Terrace Apartments along the east side. With either route to the
site, patrons must then turn onto Milliff Road and travel through parking areas within the
development. The alternative path for patrons of the proposed development consists of eastbound
travel on George Bush Drive, right turn to travel south on Texas Avenue and right turn in at the site
or Redmond Drive to access parking. Upon completion of construction on Texas Avenue, travel
along this path will experience relatively minor delay and eliminate the circuitous travel paths on
Redmond Drive and Rosemary Lane.
HDR1WHM Transportation Engineering 15
Peak hour traffic volumes will result in Level of Service A for the two primary residential streets of
concern, Redmond Drive and Rosemary Lane. Estimated daily traffic volumes will be within the
range of that expected for a residential street.
It should also be noted that existing shuttle service to Texas A&M University is currently not
available to students living in the existing Meridian and University Terrace apartments as well as
students renting the single-family homes in the adjacent neighborhoods. The planned shuttle
service to the Ramada Inn site should also provide service to students in the neighborhood to
further reduce the impact of cut-through traffic on the adjacent neighborhood.
Alternative 2
This alternative will function similarly to Alternative 1 with the addition of a cul-de-sac on Milliff
Road, south of Texas Avenue. The addition of this cul-de-sac will restrict Milliff Road to eastbound
traffic only which will allow vehicles from the neighborhood to access Texas Avenue as well as
other retail developments near the intersection of George Bush Drive and Texas Avenue. However,
the construction of the cul-de-sac will not allow westbound through traffic from Texas Avenue nor
site traffic to enter the neighborhood. This will help to eliminate cut-through traffic in the
neighborhood via Milliff Road. Vehicles bound for the Ramada Inn site may still enter via Redmond
Drive and Rosemary Lane from George Bush Drive and access the site via Milliff Road. As
discussed previously, these travel paths will be less desirable than the George Bush Drive to Texas
Avenue route.
Peak hour traffic volumes will result in Level of Service A for the two primary residential streets of
concern, Redmond Drive and Rosemary Lane. Estimated daily traffic volumes will be within the
range of that expected for a residential street.
Under both alternatives, the two-way peak hour flow rate remains at LOS A for all four roadways
that serve the neighborhood in both the AM and PM peak periods. Additionally, under both
HDRIWHM Transportation Engineering 16
alternatives, the 2009 site plus forecasted 24-hour traffic volumes will remain within the expected
ranges for their respective functional classifications. The analysis indicates that traffic volumes on
neighborhood streets will be slightly lower for Alternative 2 than Alternative 1.
Alternative 3
This alternative was included to analyze the effect of cut-through traffic in the adjacent
neighborhood with no access modifications when the Ramada Inn site is redeveloped. Without
access modifications to Redmond Drive and Milliff Road, vehicles entering and exiting the site can
cut-through the adjacent neighborhood without deterrence, subject to the travel path variations
discussed previously.
Peak hour traffic volumes will result in Level of Service A for the two primary residential streets of
concern, Redmond Drive and Rosemary Lane. However, estimated daily traffic volumes are
significantly higher compared to Alternative 1 and 2 traffic conditions.
HDR1WHM Transportation Engineering 17
REFERENCES
1. College Station Transportation Plan, Bryan/College Station Metropolitan Planning
Organization in cooperation with Brazos County, City of Bryan, City of College Station,
Texas A&M University, Texas Department of Transportation, United States Department
of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration,
approved by policy committee on December 15, 2004.
2. Highway Capacity Manual, Transportation Research Board, 2000.
3. Highway Capacity Manual, Transportation Research Board, 1994.
4. Bryan/College Station Unified Design Guidelines — Streets and Alleys, revised January
2007.
HDRIWHM Transportation Engineering 18