TRAFFIC IMPACT ANALYSIS
BARKLEY URBAN VILLAGE – SW QUADRANT
BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON
March 2010
Prepared for:
Barkley Company/Talbot Real Estate
GERALYN REINART, P.E.
159 DENNY WAY, #111
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98109
(206) 285-9035
TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM
March 3, 2010
TO: Chris Comeau, AICP
Transportation Planner, City of Bellingham
FROM: Geralyn Reinart, P.E.
SUBJECT: Barkley Urban Village/SW Quadrant - Traffic Impact Analysis
Introduction/Executive Summary
The purpose of this analysis was to summarize the off-site traffic-related impacts associated with the construction of additional commercial space within Barkley Urban Village. This assessment provides a detailed analysis of the project based on discussions with the Applicant and comments provided by City Staff. Specifically, the analysis includes the following items/assumptions in its scope of work:
· An analysis for the development of 105,000 square feet of commercial space (shopping center) within Barkley Urban Village.
· Development of the project is assumed to occur over the next two years, although this assessment also reviews a six-year and twenty-year horizon.
· Access to the site would be from Barkley Boulevard and Woburn Street.
· A certificate of concurrency will be received on the project from the City of Bellingham.
· An annual growth rate of 2% of existing traffic volumes was assumed.
· Eleven intersections were analyzed as part of this assessment.
The project site is located on the southwest quadrant of the Barkley Boulevard/Woburn Street intersection and currently is undeveloped. The proposed project would include the construction of 105,000 square feet of space in five buildings, and would provide additional commercial space in Barkley Urban Village. Access to the site will be provided from four accesses along Barkley Boulevard (one of which currently exists, with the other three aligning with existing accesses on the north side of the street), and from two existing accesses along Woburn Street.
Prior trip modeling for projects in Barkley Urban Village was used as the basis for the trip assignment for the proposed action. The trip generation/ assignment estimates were submitted for initial review by City Staff. Upon review of the trip generation/distribution, City Staff provided comments and determined which intersections should be reviewed for the project.
The proposed project could potentially generate just under 3000 new daily trips, with 259 of those new trips occurring during the PM peak hour. The adjacent Woburn Street/Barkley Boulevard intersection is currently operating at level of service “D”, and could drop to level of service “E” by 2011, the year of project completion, with or without the proposed action. Level of service “E” will also still be present in 2015, with or without the project and level of service “F” would occur by 2029 with or without the project. Other critical intersections would see increases in volumes as a result of continued growth in the area. Only one intersection failure would occur upon project completion in 2011, i.e., the eastbound movement at the Illinois Street/Woburn Street stop controlled intersection. By 2015, two additional intersection failures would occur, and by 2029, nine intersection failures would occur with or without the proposed action. Although these increases in delay would occur in the future, further development within this urban village is consistent with the goals and objectives of the City.
The following summarizes the background/existing conditions, the probable impacts associated with development on the property, the assumptions used in this analysis, and recommendations to mitigate the impacts associated with the development
Background/Project Description
The proposed project is for the construction and development of a mix of commercial space within Barkley Urban Village, including cinemas, restaurants, or retail space. The project site is located on the southwest quadrant of the Barkley Boulevard/Woburn Street intersection. The proposed project would include the construction of 105,000 square feet of space in five buildings. A bank is currently located on the northeast corner of the project site and the new construction will be located to the west and south of this parcel. Access to the site will be provided from four accesses along Barkley Boulevard (one of which currently exists, with the other three aligning with existing accesses on the north side of the street) and from two existing accesses along Woburn Street. These accesses are consistent with those (existing, future, or proposed) noted in the Barkley Urban Development Center “Existing and Proposed Access onto Barkley Boulevard and Woburn Street” plan that is included in the attachments. Surface parking will be provided for this phase of the project.
Currently, the project site is a relatively flat, undeveloped site that has been cleared with the exception of the southerly and westerly perimeters. The surrounding land consists of undeveloped parcels, single-family residences to the west, and miscellaneous commercial development immediately to the north and east. The parcel is currently zoned “IND/COM/RES”, which allows a mix of industrial, commercial and residential development. A vicinity map of the area is shown on Figure 1 and a preliminary site plan for the project has been attached.
Existing Conditions
The subsequent sections describe the existing conditions in the project vicinity.
1. Streets
The following describe the streets near the site that will be the most critically impacted by the traffic generated by the project:
Woburn Street is a north-south secondary arterial that extends south from Sunset Drive to Lakeway. The street is striped for two lanes in each direction (between Sunset Drive and Barkley Boulevard) and includes left-turn storage and some landscaped median. Curb, gutter, sidewalk, and street lights have been installed. The street begins transitioning to one through lane in each direction south of Haggen Way. Traffic signals are provided at major intersections including Sunset Drive, Barkley Boulevard, Haggen Way and Alabama Street. All other streets are stop sign controlled at their intersection with Woburn Street. The street is fronted by a variety of commercial developments in the vicinity, transitioning to residential development south of the project site. The posted speed is 35-mph north of Haggen Way and 25-mph south of Haggen Way, with a 20-mph school zone present near Illinois Street.
Barkley Boulevard is primarily an east-west secondary arterial consisting of one travel lane in each direction plus left-turn storage, with curb, gutter, sidewalk and bicycle lanes on both sides of the street. The street widens to two lanes in each direction east of Woburn Street easterly for several hundred feet, transitioning back to two/three lanes thereafter. The adjacent land use is primarily residential to the east and west of the project site with commercial development on both sides of the street in the immediate vicinity of the project. The posted speed is 35-mph, dropping to 25-mph west of Orleans Street.
Alabama Street is a four-lane east-west secondary arterial that provides a connection between Cornwall Avenue and Electric Avenue. The street is relatively flat and straight with curb, gutter, sidewalk and street lights. The street is fronted by the single-family residences and some commercial development. The posted speed is 35-mph.
Orleans Street is a two-lane north-south secondary arterial that includes curb, gutter and sidewalk. Left-turn lanes are provided at major intersections and a two-way left-turn lane has been striped between Barkley Boulevard and Sunset Drive. The adjacent land use is commercial north of Barkley Boulevard, with residential development south of Barkley Boulevard. On-street parking is also available south of Barkley Boulevard. A 20-mph school zone is present near Illinois Street along with a school crossing; otherwise the posted speed is 25-mph.
Sunset Drive is a primary arterial that extends northeasterly from Cornwall Avenue into Whatcom County and provides a grade-separated interchange with I-5. The section of street east of I-5 consists of five to seven lanes with curb, gutter and sidewalk and is a state highway (SR-542). Traffic signals control major intersections and the posted speed is 35-mph. West of I-5, the street transitions to one lane in each direction and the speed limit drops to 25-mph. The adjacent land use is commercial east of I-5 and transitions to residential west of I-5.
Illinois Street is an east-west local access street that is flat and straight and includes some curb, gutter, and sidewalk along the frontages of newer development, or sections of open ditch. The street provides direct access to the adjacent residences and a traffic circle has been constructed at the Racine Street intersection. Traffic on Illinois Street is stop controlled at its intersections with Woburn Street and Orleans Street.
2. Transit/Non-Motorized Facilities
Whatcom Transit Authority (WTA) is responsible for providing bus service in Bellingham. Transit service is currently available along both Woburn Street and Barkley Boulevard. These routes are as follows:
Route / Areas Served / Service Period / Days of Week#331 / Bellingham Station/Cordata Station/Whatcom Community College via Alabama Street, Woburn Street, Sunset Drive, I-5 and Bellis Fair / 6:00 AM to 10:30 PM at 15- to 60-minute headways / Weekdays, with less frequent service on weekends
#525 / Sunset Square and downtown Bellingham Station via Barkley Boulevard to the north shore area of Lake Whatcom, along Electric Avenue and Lakeway / 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM at 60-minute headways / Weekdays, with Saturday service from about 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
#540 / Bellingham Station and Sunset Square traveling along Lakeway, Alabama Street, past Squalicum High School, Sunset Drive, Barkley Boulevard, and Woburn Street / 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM at 60-minute headways / Weekdays, with fewer service hours provided on Saturday
#541 / Bellingham Station and Sunset Square traveling along Lakeway, Alabama Street, past Squalicum High School, Sunset Drive, Barkley Boulevard, and Woburn Street / 6:15 AM to 6:15 PM at 60-minute headways on weekdays / Weekdays
Bus stops are currently provided on both sides of Woburn Street south of Haggen Way and on Barkley Boulevard east of Howe Place. A copy of the WTA system map is included in the attachments.
In addition to the fixed route service, WTA also provides paratransit, dial-a-ride, “flex” service, vanpools, community use vans, rideshare assistance, and park and ride lots.
As noted in the previous section, sidewalk and bicycle lanes have been constructed along both sides of Barkley Boulevard with sidewalk provided along Woburn Street.
3. Traffic Volumes
Weekday PM peak hour traffic counts were conducted for this assessment
at eleven locations per discussions with City Staff. The locations are
summarized on Figure 2 and include the following:
1. Sunset Drive/James Street/I-5 SB Ramps
2. Sunset Drive/I-5 NB Ramps
3. Barkley Boulevard/Sunset Drive
4. Sunset Drive/Woburn Street
5. Barkley Boulevard/Orleans Street
6. Illinois Street/Orleans Street
7. Alabama Street/Orleans Street
8. Woburn Street/Alabama Street
9. Woburn Street/Illinois Street
10. Woburn Street/Newmarket Street
11. Barkley Boulevard/Woburn Street
A summary of the PM peak hour volumes for these intersections is
shown on Figure 3.
Daily traffic volume information provided by the City’s Public Works Department for 2009 shows a daily traffic volume of 12,900 vehicles per day along Barkley Boulevard (west of Woburn Street) and 10,800 vehicles per day east of Woburn Street. Traffic volumes on Woburn Street were 19,000 vehicles per day south of Barkley Boulevard and 15,600 vehicles per day north of Barkley Boulevard. (Note: these are not ADT’s, as noted on the traffic volume maps produced by the City.)
4. Level of Service
Capacity analyses for the peak hours were conducted at the
intersections noted in the previous section in order to determine the current
level of service/operating conditions. All of the intersections are controlled
by traffic signals with the exceptions of Orleans Street/Illinois Street and
Woburn Street/Illinois Street which are stop controlled in the east/west
directions.
“Level of service” (LOS) is a common term used in the Traffic Engineering profession that is defined as a qualitative measure describing operational conditions within a traffic stream, and its perception by motorists and/or passengers. These conditions are usually described in terms of such factors as speed and travel time, freedom to maneuver, traffic interruptions, comfort and convenience, and safety. Six levels of service are designated, ranging from “A” to “F”, with level of service “A” representing the best operating conditions and level of service “F” the worst. The City of Bellingham generally considers level of service “E” acceptable, although level of service “F” is acceptable at some intersections.
Calculations for the level of service analysis were conducted using the McTrans Highway Capacity Software version 4.1d/e based on the 2000 Highway Capacity Manual. The following table shows the current levels of service for these intersections using the traffic volumes shown on Figure 3. Calculations for the level of service analyses are provided in a separate Appendix.
TABLE 1EXISTING PM PEAK HOUR LEVELS OF SERVICE
north-
bound / south-
bound / east-bound / west-bound / overall
Sunset Dr./I-5 SB Ramps/James St. / LOS D
44.5 sec. / LOS D
38.8 sec. / LOS D
45.9 sec. / LOS D
45.6 sec. / LOS D
43.2 sec.
Sunset Dr./
I-5 NB Ramps / LOS E
64.3 sec. / N.A. / LOS C
30.4 sec. / LOS F
85.7 sec. / LOS E
59.9 sec.
Barkley Blvd./
Sunset Drive / LOS E
72.4 sec. / LOS F
108.0 sec. / LOS E
58.1 sec. / LOS E
66.0 sec. / LOS E
66.8 sec.
Woburn Street/
Sunset Drive / LOS C
31.1 sec. / LOS D
39.5 sec. / LOS D
48.9 sec. / LOS D
40.4 sec. / LOS D
40.7 sec.
Barkley Blvd./ Orleans Street / LOS C
32.2 sec. / LOS D
45.6 sec. / LOS E
56.1 sec. / LOS C
34.5 sec. / LOS D
43.7 sec.
Orleans Street/
Illinois Street* / LOS A
8.6 sec. / LOS A
8.5 sec. / LOS D
32.6 sec. / LOS C
17.0 sec. / N.A.
Orleans Street/
Alabama Street / LOS C
26.0 sec. / LOS D
36.3 sec. / LOS B
16.8 sec. / LOS C
28.8 sec. / LOS C
24.7 sec.
Woburn Street/
Alabama Street / LOS E
55.9 sec. / LOS C
29.1 sec. / LOS D
41.1 sec. / LOS D
54.3 sec. / LOS D
42.7 sec.
Woburn Street/
Illinois Street* / LOS B
10.4 sec. / N.A. / LOS E
46.6 sec. / N.A. / N.A.
Woburn Street/
Haggen Way / LOS C
31.5 sec. / LOS B
15.7 sec. / LOS C
29.6 sec. / LOS C
33.0 sec. / LOS C
25.1 sec.
Barkley Blvd./
Woburn Street / LOS D
40.4 sec. / LOS D
35.9 sec. / LOS F
101.0 sec. / LOS C
32.8 sec. / LOS D
51.0 sec.
* - unsignalized intersection
N.A. – not applicable (i.e., calculation not provided for specific analysis, such as at stop-controlled intersections, not a critical movement, or no volume on subject movement)