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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWalker Response to Comments on Traffic Study 02152017VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER MOB TRAFFIC ANLAYSIS RESPONSE TO COMMENTS ON 1ST DRAFT SUBMITTAL PAGE 1 j:\39-1037.00 valley medical center\resubmittal tia docs\walker response to comments on traffic study 02152017.docx Walker has reviewed the comments on the Valley Medical Center MOB Traffic Analysis provided by the City of Renton on January 7, 2017, and revised the traffic impact analysis accordingly. Our detailed response to comments is provided below. TRAFFIC IMPACT ANLAYSIS COMMENTS & RESPONSES Comment: The Traffic Impact Analysis prepared by Walker Parking Consultants dated October 17, 2016 has been reviewed by City staff. City staff agrees with the finding that traffic signal is warranted at the north road / S. 177th Street / Talbot Road S. intersection. However, the following items (expansions, additions, and clarifications) are required to address City concerns with traffic impacts resulting from this project and to meet City Traffic Impact Analysis guidelines. Response: Comment noted. Comment: Per the Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) Guidelines published by the City, the TIA needs to be signed and stamped by a licensed professional engineer with adequate experience in transportation planning and traffic engineering. Please provide a resume of traffic engineering experience of the engineer for the City project records. Response: Resumes of the Walker personnel closely involved in the preparation of the traffic impact analysis have been included with the resubmittal of the study. Comment: Accident history and analysis is needed at the intersections of the four site accesses / driveways with Talbot Road S., particularly at the north road / S. 177th Street / Talbot Road S. intersection; and at the S. 43rd Street and Davis Avenue S. intersection. Response: Crash data for the prior 36-months was requested of and received from WSDOT. Accident history review and analysis have been included in the revised TIA. (Existing Conditions – Three Year Crash History Review) DATE: February 15, 2017 TO: Clark Close, Senior Planner COMPANY: City of Renton ADDRESS: 1055 S Grady Way CITY/STATE: Renton, WA CC: Elisabeth Nelson, Daniel Pedersen, Becky Hardi HARD COPY TO FOLLOW: No FROM: Weckstein, Jeff PROJECT NAME: Valley Medical Center MOB Traffic Impact Analysis PROJECT NUMBER: 39-1037.00 SUBJECT: Response to City Comments on Traffic Impact Analysis 606 South Olive Street, Suite 1100 Los Angeles, CA 90014 Office: 213.488.4911 Fax: 888.502.5726 www.walkerparking.com VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER MOB TRAFFIC ANLAYSIS RESPONSE TO COMMENTS ON 1ST DRAFT SUBMITTAL PAGE 2 j:\39-1037.00 valley medical center\resubmittal tia docs\walker response to comments on traffic study 02152017.docx Comment: Add discussion of existing operational characteristics at the four accesses / driveways with Talbot Road S., particularly at the north road / S. 177th Street / Talbot Road S. intersection; and at the S. 43rd Street and Davis Avenue S. intersection. Response: Detailed discussion of the existing operational characteristics at the study intersections has been provide din the revised TIA (Existing Conditions – Study Area) Comment: Add discussion of proposed operational characteristics of the employee garage ramp and driveway (i.e. one-way in or two-way). Response: Discussion of the proposed operational characteristics of the employee garage ramp and driveway is provided in the revised TIA (Proposed Project) Comment: Expand discussion of bicycle and pedestrian facilities to include existing pedestrian activity (i.e. pedestrian volumes if available), amenities (i.e. crosswalks, ADA curb ramps, pedestrian signals, etc.), safety, and any increase in pedestrian and bicycle activity from the project, including potential crosswalk and pedestrian crossing traffic control improvements. Response: Additional discussion of bicycle and pedestrian facilities have been added to the revised TIA (Existing Conditions – Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities and Activity). Comment: Include a vehicle queuing analysis using Synchro at the four accesses / driveways and Talbot Road S., S. 43rd Street and Talbot Road S., and S. 43rd Street and Davis Avenue S. Synchro printouts should show queuing for the 50 and 90 percentile. Response: Queuing analysis has been prepared utilizing the SimTraffic module in Synchro. The SimTraffic module provides more detailed queuing information at unsignalized intersections than Synchro. Queuing analysis for project opening year with project conditions has bene provided in its own section (Queueing Analysis), and analysis/discussion of queueing has been added to the recommendations where necessary. Detailed queue output sheets (queuing and blocking reports) are included in the appendix. 50th and 95th percentile queueing results are provided. Synchro/SimTraffic do not provided 90th percentile queue reports. Comment: Add discussion of existing lane configurations and potential future lane configurations. Discussion particularly should include lane configurations at the intersection of the north road and Talbot Road S., and at the intersection of the employee driveway and Talbot Road S. Response: Additional discussion of lane configurations have been provided throughout the revised report. Comment: The following minor edits were found by City staff when reviewing the report. Please make the following changes. a. Page 8: First paragraph under “EXISTING TRAFFIC VOLUMES”, “and 9:00 AM” in the third sentence should be relocated to follow after “7:00 AM” in the second sentence. Also, the source of the existing volumes at the S. 43rd Street and Talbot Road S. intersection is not provided. Response: Comment noted, report revised. VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER MOB TRAFFIC ANLAYSIS RESPONSE TO COMMENTS ON 1ST DRAFT SUBMITTAL PAGE 3 j:\39-1037.00 valley medical center\resubmittal tia docs\walker response to comments on traffic study 02152017.docx b. Pages 16-20: Provide justification for the percentage trip distribution of traffic accessing the site by turning right on Davis Avenue S. If additional signage directing vehicles to the new MOB site and new parking garage will be provided at this intersection, please note it in the report. Response: Additional discussion has been added to the trip distribution section of the report as appropriate. c. Page 21: The 277% for right turns from Talbot Road S. to S. 43rd Street should read 27%. Response: Comment noted, report revised. d. Page 40: Recommend including a graphic depicting the alternate garage access and a figure showing the AM, Mid-Day, and PM traffic volumes at the existing driveway on Talbot Road S. to be used for garage access. Also on this page, Table 8 in the first sentence under ALTERNATIVE GARAGE ACESS SCENARIO should read Table 10. Response: The alternate garage access has been incorporated into the main body of the TIA as it is now a project feature. Figure 1 provides a depiction of the proposed ramp. The Talbot Road/HR Lot Driveway intersection has been added to the analysis as an additional study area, with volumes provided at the intersection for each analysis scenario. e. Page 42: Appears that Table 10 in the third paragraph should read Table 12 and that Table 11 in the last paragraph should read Table 13. Response: Comment noted, table headings and references have been checked and corrected as appropriate. Comment: Based on the City’s review of the traffic volumes presented in the traffic report, the traffic analysis at the north road / S. 177th Street / Talbot Road S. intersection should be expanded to address: a. Proposed signal phase operation. b. Evaluate the need for a southbound right-turn drop lane on Talbot Road S. extending from the north road to north of the employee driveway. When evaluating the drop lane, compare scenarios with and without a traffic signal. c. Evaluate the need for an eastbound two-lane (thru and left turn lane, separate right turn lane) exit for the north road. When evaluating the exit lanes, compare scenarios with and without a traffic signal. d. Evaluate the need for a wider throat and larger curb radius of the ingress lane from Talbot Road S. to the north roadway. Include discussion of potential backups from the existing narrow travel lane into the site. When evaluating the width of the ingress lane, compare scenarios with and without a traffic signal. e. The evaluation of items b-d should also include comparison tables. Response: A total of eight alternative scenarios for the north road / S. 177th Street / Talbot Road S. intersection have been analyzed in the revised TIA. A table comparing the results of each alternative has been provided (Table 14). Discussion related to the throat/curb radius of the ingress lane has been included below Table 14. VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER MOB TRAFFIC ANLAYSIS RESPONSE TO COMMENTS ON 1ST DRAFT SUBMITTAL PAGE 4 j:\39-1037.00 valley medical center\resubmittal tia docs\walker response to comments on traffic study 02152017.docx Comment: If the lot located at the intersection of Davis Avenue S. and S. 45th Place will be used for temporary staff parking or a construction laydown area, an additional section describing the impacts from the proposed use will be required in the report. Response: A temporary staff parking lot is not part of the proposed project. 5. Based on the additional information provided above, City staff will determine if any additional frontage improvements are necessary as required by City code. Response: Comment noted.