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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGHD - P8483PRL001GHD 669 Pacific Street Suite A San Luis Obispo California 93401 United States T +1 805 858 3141 W www.ghd.com September 6, 2019 Jennifer Rice Original Sent Via Email on 9/6/19 Transportation Planner/Engineer City of San Luis Obispo 919 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Re: Proposal for SLO Airport Hotels – Multimodal Transportation Impact Study Dear Jennifer: Please see the attached proposal for the SLO Airport Hotels Multimodal Transportation Impact Study for your review. GHD appreciates the opportunity to provide this proposal to the City of San Luis Obispo under our current On-Call Transportation services contract. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at (805) 858-3141. Sincerely, GHD Jay Walter PE, TE Project Manager cc: Kathryn Kleinschmidt, PE GHD | Street GHD | 669 Pacific Street Suite A, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Proposal for SLO Airport Hotels Multimodal Transportation Impact Study City of San Luis Obispo September 6, 2019 GHD 669 Pacific Street Suite A San Luis Obispo California 93401 United States T +1 805 858 3141 W www.ghd.com September 6, 2019 Jennifer Rice Transportation Engineer/Planner City of San Luis Obispo 919 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Dear Jennifer: Re: Proposal for SLO Airport Hotels – Multimodal Transportation Impact Study GHD appreciates the opportunity to provide this proposal to complete a Multimodal Transportation Impact Study (MTIS) for the proposed SLO Airport Hotels in San Luis Obispo. It is our understanding that this project is located on two parcels on the west corner of Broad Street and Aero Drive and will have driveway access to Aero Drive. The project proposes a 63,000 sq. ft., 100-guest room, three-story hotel on one par- cel, a 66,000 sq. ft., 118-guest room, three-story hotel on the other parcel. Both hotels will share a surface parking lot with 218 parking spaces. The GHD team is very familiar with the City’s multimodal level of service procedures and multimodal traffic impact guidelines, and successfully completed a previous multimodal traffic study for Discovery San Luis Obispo project. Our proposed scope of work will utilize the City’s adopted multimodal level of service standards and other processes contained within the City’s Multimodal Transportation Impact Study Guide- lines. We have prepared the attached proposed Scope of Work for your consideration. The Draft MTIS will be completed within twelve (12) weeks of receiving authorization to proceed. Upon receiving comments on the Draft MTIS, responses to comments will be prepared and the Final MTIS sub- mitted to the City within two (2) weeks. Our fee to perform the services provided in our Scope of Work is $41,043 as summarized by task at the end of this proposal. This cost includes GHD attendance at two (2) project meetings. Attendance at addi- tional meetings, if requested, will be billed on a Time and Materials basis. We look forward to working with you and the project team on this important project. Please feel free to give us a call if you have any questions. Sincerely, GHD Jay Walter, PE, TE Kathryn Kleinschmidt, PE, PTOE Project Manager Senior Transportation Engineer P8483PRL001 1 1. Project Understanding and Approach Project Understanding It is our understanding that this project is located on two parcels on the west corner of Broad Street and Aero Drive and will have driveway access to Aero Drive. The project proposes the following: 63,000 sq. ft., three-story 100-guest room hotel; 66,000 sq. ft., three-story 118-guest room hotel; 218 space surface parking lot shared by both hotels, with access on to Aero Drive. Project Approach The following Scope of Work for the preparation of a comprehensive Multimodal Transportation Impact Study (MTIS) address the following requirements: City of San Luis Obispo standards and guidelines; Caltrans standards and typical CEQA guidelines (where appropriate); and, Compliance with SB 743. GHD will use the analysis parameters and assumptions set forth in the Scope of Work outline contained within the RFP to supplement the guidance provided within the City’s adopted MTISG. In addition, GHD will use the City’s adopted multimodal level of service procedures in following the modal priorities in re- gards to mitigation improvements, and requested special analysis. The study will quantify the following existing and projected transportation impact conditions, per the RFP Work Scope, associated with development of the overall project for vehicular, pedestrian, bicycle, and transit related impacts, along with improvements required to mitigate impacts to acceptable performance and safety levels. The transportation scenarios to be examined include: Existing Conditions Existing Plus Project Conditions Cumulative No Project Conditions Cumulative Plus Project Conditions Build-out of the City’s General Plan, including its planned circulation system will form the basis for cumula- tive conditions. In addition, GHD will apply the City’s adopted Multimodal Transportation Impact Study Guidelines to per- form the following analyses: Data Collection & Project Traffic Estimates; Baseline and Cumulative Traffic Forecasts; Safety & Access Management Analysis; and, Significant Thresholds. GHD will analyze intersection operations including delay, level of service, and queueing with Synchro 10. Sim-Traffic microsimulation will also be used to more accurately determine queues for oversaturated con- ditions and where intersection spacing warrants the use of simulation. To ensure the queuing characteris- tics are captured correctly, in-person field observations of the intersection queues at each peak hour will be performed. P8483PRL001 2 GHD will use its’ Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) 6th Edition compatible Multimodal Level of Service MMLOS) Excel tool for calculating MMLOS for vehicle segment, transit segment, bicycle segment and intersection, and pedestrian segment and intersection. For safety analysis, GHD will map the past five (5) years of collisions for the study intersections and segments in ArcGIS in identifying any hot spots, collision severity and types in evaluating any possible collision trends. These collision trends will then be evalu- ated with recommended safety countermeasures and the corresponding Crash Modifications Factors CMFs) in quantifying a reduction of crashes. Significance Thresholds Multimodal Level of Service (MMLOS) will be performed for vehicles, pedestrian, bicycles, and transit. Through this analysis, the projects’ impacts will be evaluated for each user. If an impact is deemed signifi- cant, improvements to mitigate those impacts will be analyzed on a holistic basis in evaluating the MMLOS and tradeoffs between users. Consistent with the adopted transportation impact study guidelines, the Project impacts will be consid- ered significant if: Vehicular Thresholds Signalized Intersections A. The project causes minim um LOS standards to be exceeded or further degrades already ex- ceeded LOS standards and the V/C ratio is increased by .01 or more. B. The project causes or exacerbates 95th percentile auto turning movement queues exceeding available turn pocket capacity. C. The project proposes roadway geometry changes that cause minimum LOS standards to be exceeded or further degrades already exceeded LOS standards for the intersection or indi- vidual lane groups. Unsignalized Intersections A. The project causes minim um LOS standards to be exceeded or further degrades already ex- ceeded LOS standards, the V/C ratio is increased by .01 or more, and a signal warrant assess- ment is satisfied. B. The project causes or exacerbates 95th percentile auto turning movement queues exceeding available turn pocket capacity. C. The project proposes roadway geometry changes that cause minimum LOS standards to be ex- ceeded or further degrades already exceeded LOS standards for the intersection or individual lane groups. Segment Analysis A. Project traffic causes minimum LOS standards for either direction to be exceeded or further de- grades already exceeded LOS standards and the average segment speed decreases by 1 mph or more. B. Project proposes roadway geometry changes that minimum LOS standards to be exceeded or further degrades already exceeded LOS standards. Pedestrian and Bicycle Thresholds In properly quantifying the bicycle and pedestrian LOS, GHD will follow the City’s guidelines in MTIS. How- ever, at times the bicycle and pedestrian LOS is difficult to mitigate when you have heavy traffic, speeds, and the presence of multiple major driveway crossings. Therefore, we can evaluate other methods such as the Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) or Bicycle / Pedestrian Quality Index (BEQI/PEQI) in gaining a greater P8483PRL001 3 understanding of impacts. The pedestrian and bicycle thresholds will generally follow these guidelines be- low: Intersections and Segments A. Project traffic causes minimum LOS standards to be exceeded or further degrades already ex- ceeded LOS standards and there is contextual significance to the impact. B. Project proposes modifications to roadway geometry that causes minimum LOS standards to be exceeded or further degrades already exceeded LOS standards. Transit Thresholds With major bus routes serving the site that link with Cal Poly, Amtrak Station, and the Downtown Transit Center, it will be necessary to evaluate the transit LOS as an interactive system with other road users. Since the MMLOS analysis only analyzes the transit segment, the significant threshold will be as follows: Segment A. Project traffic causes minimum LOS standards to be exceeded or further degrades already ex- ceeded LOS standards and there is contextual significance to the impact. Senate Bill (SB) 743 In following SB 743, additional analyses are discussed below: Transit Zone Areas within one half mile of a Major Transit Stop or High Quality Transit Route are defined as “Transit Zones”. This project is not within a “Transit Zone” or a half mile of the City’s Downtown Transit Center and therefore does not include an analysis of project VMT versus forecasted regional VMT. Induced Traffic Analysis It is not anticipated that this project will require this analysis. This typically applies when a project is an in- frastructure improvement that results in a significant reduction in vehicular travel time. Traffic Safety A safety analysis will be performed in evaluating the scoped intersections and segments for the project including a functional analysis of the site driveways. This analysis will cover turn pocket spillback into travel lanes, significant vehicle queues that present a sight distance issues, and heavy congestion that create a collision trend. Significant Thresholds will generally follow these project impacts: A. Project traffic affects the operational characteristics of an existing intersection or segment such that the collision rate, per million entering vehicles for intersections and per million vehicle miles for seg- ments, would be likely to increase. B. Project proposed significant new or modified infrastructure is predicted to have a collision rate as indicated above higher than the median collision rate as reported in the City’s most current annual traffic safety report for the same facility classification type (Arterial, Collector, and Local). Mitigation Measures In selecting the appropriate improvement to mitigate the project’s impacts, GHD will follow the City’s modal priorities in providing the best alternative that result in an improvement for the higher priority mode. Strategies will follow the City’s Circulation Element Goals and Objectives, California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control (CA MUTCD), and MTISG. P8483PRL001 4 Special Analysis The MTIS will follow the City of San Luis Obispo’s standards and guidelines in performing the special analysis. Per the RFP, the following analyses will be performed: Site Access Analysis: Access Management Assessment of new roadway configurations, intersec- tions, and driveways. Include pedestrian, bicycle and transit accessibility. Safety Analysis: Review recent City of San Luis Obispo Traffic Safety Reports to see if any high ranking locations are within the vicinity. If so, make a determination if the project would contribute to crash factors and how they might be mitigated. If other project related impacts are identified, describe appropriate mitigation recommendations (if any). Provide fair share analysis of mitigation measures where appropriate. Route 227 Fee Area: Determine additional Buckley Road trips and impacts to the SR 227 Corri- dor. Agency Reviews – The Draft MTIS will be submitted to the City for review and comment. Following re- view of the Draft MTIS by the City, GHD will prepare the Final MTIS for use in completing the project’s en- vironmental documents. Comments received on the draft and final environmental documents will be re- sponded to by revisions to the MTIS (or in a standard Response to Comments format), and submitted to the client for use in the project’s final applications. {Note: Agency comments requiring significant new analysis or technical discussion may be subject to additional charges. This additional work will be com- pleted only with the client’s prior authorization, and will be billed on a Time and Materials Basis. In addi- tion, we have included budget for responding to approximately 10 comments requiring detailed responses, and 25 comments requiring only a simple response on the draft environmental document review period.} Meetings – This cost proposal includes attendance at two (2) project meetings. Our attendance at addi- tional meetings, if requested, will be billed on a Time and Materials basis. Schedule – GHD will begin work on this project immediately following notice to proceed. We will provide the Draft TIS within a twelve (12) week period of time. Following review of the Draft MTIS, we anticipate that either a revised report or detailed response to comment letter would be prepared within two (2) weeks following receipt of the comments (depending on the nature and extent of the comments). P8483PRL001 5 2. Scope of Work Phase I – Project Management, Meetings, Data Collection and Memorandum of Assumptions Task 1 – Project Management and Meetings. GHD’s Project Manager will review this Scope of Work with the City of San Luis Obispo, to ascertain any changes relative to their requirements. We will also obtain any additional information which the City may have pertinent to this project. Project management work items, along with ongoing communication, corre- spondence and coordination with the involved agencies and environmental consultant team will be con- ducted as part of this task. This proposal also includes attendance at two (2) project meetings. Attendance at more than two (2) meetings if requested may be billed on a Time and Materials basis with prior authorization. Task 2 – Data Collection. GHD will review all project related material, including; data provide by the City, site maps, land use quanti- ties, site access locations, project descriptions, project applications, past transportation studies, recent transportation studies within the study area, and other agency transportation planning documents (includ- ing general plan circulations elements, and/or specific plan circulation elements). Per the RFP, the City will provide the data pertinent to this project to include: Citywide Travel Demand Forecasting Model (TransCAD format) Weekday Peak hour intersection counts o vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle counts in 15 minute intervals in Excel format Master Synchro network files o Current signal timing with most recent volumes (consultant to verify) 48-hour segment vehicular counts for limited streets o Vehicular volumes available for arterial streets o Pedestrian & Bike volumes available for selected streets Traffic collision reports for any study intersection or segment Transit route map & rider count for selected routes and times o Rider count requests at least 48 hours in advance It is assumed that GHD will not need to obtain new traffic, pedestrian or bicycle counts for this project. If it is determined that new counts are required, we will identify the type and location, will obtain only with prior authorization from the City, and will be billed on a Time and Materials basis. Transportation facility study locations are comprised of all existing vehicular, pedestrian, bicycle, and transit facilities near the project site that would reasonably be impacted by this project. Vehicular transpor- tation facilities (roadways and intersections) to be included in this study will be determined in coordination with the City of San Luis Obispo. All data will be provided by the City of San Luis Obispo. The project study locations are as follows: Roadway Segments: Broad (Orcutt to Tank Farm) Broad (Tank Farm to City Limits) Tank Farm (Broad to Higuera) Tank Farm (Broad to Orcutt) P8483PRL001 6 Intersections: Broad & Aero Broad & Aerovista Broad & Airport Broad & Tank Farm Broad & Industrial Broad & Capitolio Broad & Buckley South Higuera & Buckley (future Intersection) Tank Farm & Mind Body Tank Farm & Santa Fe Tank Farm & Long Tank Farm & Higuera Highway 101 & Los Osos Valley Road ramps For the above locations, vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian counts will be provided by the City, including MID & PM peak hour and right-turn-on-red (RTOR) movements. Available transit ridership information will be obtained from the SLO Transit Short Range Transit Plan and/or the SLORTA Transit Manager and supplemented with requested passenger counts on scheduled routes coordinated with the Transit Man- ager. The City will provide their master SYNCHRO network files (files are anticipated to include all study inter- sections). GHD will utilize other pertinent information with the provided count data in assuming percentage of permissive left turns. GHD will also check for any other relevant transportation related data in the area available from the City, SLORTA, and State. This data would include traffic counts, traffic signal timing plans, collision statistics and reports, speed surveys, planned development proposals, improvement plans, transit schedules, pedestrian counts, and other data as deemed necessary. {Note: If necessary, traffic counts will be modified to account for seasonal variances and school schedules as appropriate.} Task 3 – Estimate Project Trip Generation. Person and vehicular trip generation estimates will be provided for weekday daily and peak hour (MID and PM, as requested) conditions. Trip generation estimates shall identify the gross trips generated by the pro- posed project, as well as the net external trips (accounting for pass by, internalization or other reductions). GHD will work with City staff to agree on multimodal trip generation for vehicular, pedestrian, bicycle and transit prior to performing the impact analyses. The City’s Travel Demand Model, existing modal split, ITE, and other sources will be utilized to determine appropriate multimodal trip rates and values. Task 4 – Project Trip Distribution and Assignment. The trip distribution of project generated traffic will be estimated based on an analysis of the trip making characteristics of the proposed project, the City's Travel Demand Model (utilizing its select zone capability of the Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ)), along with area demographics. Traffic will be assigned to the existing street system based on logical travel patterns associated with this directional distribution. Task 5 – Other Project Analysis. Site Access Analysis: Access Management Assessment of new roadway configurations, intersec- tions, and driveways. Include pedestrian, bicycle and transit accessibility. Safety Analysis: Review recent City of San Luis Obispo Traffic Safety Reports to see if any high ranking locations are within the vicinity. If so, make a determination if the project would contribute to crash factors and how they might be mitigated. If other project related impacts are identified, describe appropriate mitigation recommendations (if any). P8483PRL001 7 Provide fair share analysis of mitigation measures where appropriate. Route 227 Fee Area: Determine additional Buckley Road trips and impacts to the SR 227 Corri- dor. Task 6 – Memorandum of Assumptions (MOA) As required in the impact study guidelines all assumptions need to be clearly stated. To that end, a Memo- randum of Assumptions will be prepared that clearly states all data collected and any assumptions utilized relating to the proposed project and use of the City’s Travel Demand Model for establishing cumulative base multimodal travel conditions. All assumptions relating to future pedestrian, bicycle, and transit use will all be disclosed. This MOA will be prepared and submitted to the City for review and approval prior to the performance of the impact analyses. Upon approval of the MOA, the impact analyses will be com- pleted and the mitigation measures identified. Phase II – Existing Conditions Analysis Overall the existing conditions traffic analysis will be as follows for the SLO Airports Hotel project. Intersection Analysis will be performed at all study intersections (listed in Task 2). The intersections at Broad and Buckley, South Higuera and Buckley (future intersection), and US 101 and Los Osos Valley Road Ramps will only have vehicle LOS and queueing analysis. The remaining intersections will have analysis performed for vehicle LOS, pedestrian LOS, bicycle LOS, and queuing analysis. Segment Analysis will be performed at all study intersections (listed in Task 2) for vehicle LOS, pedes- trian LOS, bicycle LOS, and transit LOS. Task 7 – Existing Conditions Analysis. Based on the data collected in Task 2, the Existing transportation conditions at all study locations will be analyzed. Transportation facility study locations (as listed in Task 2) will be described in terms of func- tional classification, roadway geometries, number of travel lanes, current traffic volumes, intersection spacing, pedestrian walkways, and bikeways. The multimodal transportation impacts will be determined based on the Significance Thresholds identified in the City’s MTISG. Task 8 – Existing Plus Project Conditions Analysis. Based on the results of Tasks 3 and 4, the multimodal project generated peak hour trips will be added to the Existing conditions volumes, to obtain the Existing Plus Project conditions for all peak hour scenarios. The potential multimodal transportation related impacts of the project will be quantified by comparison of Existing conditions to Existing Plus Project conditions at all study locations. The multimodal transportation impacts will be determined based on the Significance Thresholds identified in the City’s MTISG. Transpor- tation improvements required to mitigate impacts and maintain acceptable multimodal transportation flows, including queuing characteristics for left turn movements, along with pedestrian, bicycle, and transit will be identified in Task 12. Task 9 – Safety, Site Access & Management Analysis. The proposed hotels and access driveway will be evaluated to determine appropriate driveway location, throat depth, general configuration, and traffic control. Spacing with other intersections and roadways, and vehicle queuing requirements (including trucks) will be evaluated. In modeling the new intersection at South Higuera and Buckley, previous planning documents (Avila Ranch Development Project Traffic Im- pact Study and Airport Area Specific Plan) will be reviewed in capturing the traffic control and lane config- uration. Internal site related vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle (and transit as appropriate) circulation will also be reviewed. Transportation improvements required to maintain acceptable traffic flows and queuing char- acteristics within and adjacent to the project site will be identified. P8483PRL001 8 Phase III – Future Conditions Analysis Overall the future conditions traffic analysis will be as follows for the SLO Airport Hotels project: Intersection Analysis will be performed at all study intersections (listed in Task 2). The intersections at Broad and Buckley, South Higuera and Buckley (future intersection), and US 101 and Los Osos Valley Road Ramps will only have vehicle LOS and queueing analysis. The remaining intersections will have analysis performed for vehicle LOS, pedestrian LOS, bicycle LOS, and queuing analysis. Segment Analysis will be performed at all study intersections (listed in Task 2) for vehicle LOS, pedes- trian LOS, bicycle LOS, and transit LOS. Task 10 – Cumulative No Project Conditions. Weekday peak hour volumes will be provided by the City from their travel forecasting models, to simulate Cumulative No Project conditions. Planned and funded roadway improvements for roadways and intersec- tions within the study area for cumulative conditions, will be determined, and incorporated into these anal- yses. The multimodal transportation impacts will be determined based on the Significance Thresholds identified in the City’s MTISG. Task 11 – Cumulative Plus Project Conditions. Weekday peak hour trip volumes associated with project build-out will be added to Cumulative No Project volumes to obtain Cumulative Plus Project traffic conditions. The potential transportation related impacts of the project for these conditions will be quantified by comparison of Cumulative No Project condition to Cumulative Plus Project conditions at all study area critical intersections. The multimodal transportation impacts will be determined based on the Significance Thresholds identified in the Cit y’s MTISG. From the City’s Travel Demand Model, VMT will be forecasted and as appropriate, MOE values determined. Transportation improvements required to mitigate impacts and maintain accepta- ble multimodal transportation flows, including queuing characteristics for left turn movements, along with pedestrian, bicycle, and transit will be identified in Task 12. Task 12 – Mitigation Measures. Task 12 will identify the transportation improvements required to mitigate the multimodal transportation impacts identified in previous tasks. These improvements could include, but are not limited to; intersection and/or roadway widening, signalization or traffic control change, traffic calming, bikeways, pedestrian im- provements, channelization, turning movement restrictions, roundabout construction, road and access clo- sure, additional facilities, and/or Transportation Demand Management (TDM) measures. Traffic flow met- rics (LOS, delay, etc.) will be reported for each of these mitigated conditions. The project’s fair share per- centage of improvements will be calculated based upon formulas contained in the Caltrans Traffic Impact Study Guidelines. Estimated planning level cost estimates for all mitigation measures will be provided. Note: Detailed cost estimates are not included in this task. If transportation improvements identified in the report require detailed engineering cost estimates, GHD will provide a separate proposal to complete these services.} Phase IV – Transportation Impact Study (TIS) Report Preparation and Agency Review P8483PRL001 9 Task 13 – Prepare Draft MTIS. The analysis conducted in the previous tasks will be used to prepare the Draft MTIS and will include all of the information and assumptions identified the in Memorandum of Assumptions (Task 5). The analysis will be summarized in text, tables, and figures to explain the technical evaluation and recommendations. The Draft MTIS will be prepared and submitted to the City for review and comment. Task 14 – Final MTIS. Following receipt of comments on the Draft MTIS by the City, GHD will review and revise the MTIS as needed. The Final MTIS will then be prepared and submitted to the City for use in completing the pro- ject’s environmental document. Note: Comments requiring significant new analysis or technical discussion may be subject to additional charges. This additional work will be completed only with the City’s prior authorization, and will be billed on a Time and Materials Basis} P8483PRL001 10 3. Project Schedule/Budget The proposed project schedule will require twelve (12) weeks to prepare and submit the Draft Multimodal Transportation Impact Report (MTIS) after receiving authorization to proceed from the City. The Final MTIS will be completed within another two (2) weeks following receipt of all comments on the Draft MTIS. Project Schedule Task Description Oct-19 Nov-19 Dec-19 Jan-20 Phase I – Project Management, Meetings, Data Collection, and MOA Task 1 – Project Management and Meetings. Task 2 – Data Collection. D D Task 3 – Estimate Project Trip Gener-ation. D D Task 4 – Project Trip Distribution and Assignment. D D D Task 5 – Special Analysis. D D Task 6 – Memorandum of Assump- tions (MOA). D D D City Review D Phase II – Existing Conditions Anal- ysis D Task 7 – Existing Conditions Analysis. D Task 8 – Existing Plus Project Condi-tions Analysis. D Task 9 – Safety, Site Access & Man- agement Analysis. D Phase III – Future Conditions Analy- sis Task 10 – Cumulative No Project Con- ditions. D Task 11 – Cumulative Plus Project Conditions. D Task 12 – Mitigation Measures. D Phase IV – MTIS Report Prepara-tion and Agency Review Task 13 – Prepare Draft MTIS. D City Review Task 14 – Final MTIS. D Project Budget GHD’s cost to prepare and provide all of the work described in our Scope of Work is $41,043. The project budget