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Home My WebLink About3.a. December Trail Traffic StudyA CITY OF ROSEMOUNT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR DISCUSSION COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE DATE: January 15, 2003 AGENDA ITEM: December Trail Update PREPARED BY: Andrew J. Brotzler, P.E., City Engineer AGENDA NO. ATTACHMENTS: Memorandum L-- APPROVE BY: I Over the past several months, Staff has been working with a group of residents along December Trail to address their concerns regarding the volume and speed of traffic on December Trail between Diamond Path and Shannon Parkway. As part of this work, traffic counts were conducted along December Trail and. other streets in the surrounding area to determine the current volumes of traffic. The attached memorandum outlines the results of these counts and provides recommendations to try to address the concerns of the residents. Following an update to the Council on this item, Staff is planning to schedule a public informational meeting for interested residents along December Trail. RECOMMENDED ACTION NOTES: Update Only. t A Memorandum To: Andy Brotzler, P.E. City of Rosemount From: Chuck Rickart, P.E., P.T.O.E. Date: December 20, 2002 Re: December Trail Traffic Issues WSB Project No. 1005 -000 As you requested, I have reviewed the concerns of residents along December Trail between Shannon Parkway and Diamond Path with respect to traffic volume, speed, and cut - through traffic on the roadway. Based on my review, I offer the following comments: Traffic Volume /Cut- ThrouEh Traffic Six traffic volume counts were taken on December 2, 3, and 4, 2002 in the area, to document the existing traffic volume on the area roadways. The following Table illustrates the daily traffic volume, as well as the a.m. and p.m. peak -hour volume at each Iocation. _ TABLE 1 Existing (2002) Traffic Volumes December Trail. WSB WSB & Associates, Inc. • West of Shannon Parkway 4150 Olson Memorial Highway, #300 103 Minneapolis, MN 55422 <4rsocia tes, I (763) 541 -4800 (763) 541 -1700 (fax) Memorandum To: Andy Brotzler, P.E. City of Rosemount From: Chuck Rickart, P.E., P.T.O.E. Date: December 20, 2002 Re: December Trail Traffic Issues WSB Project No. 1005 -000 As you requested, I have reviewed the concerns of residents along December Trail between Shannon Parkway and Diamond Path with respect to traffic volume, speed, and cut - through traffic on the roadway. Based on my review, I offer the following comments: Traffic Volume /Cut- ThrouEh Traffic Six traffic volume counts were taken on December 2, 3, and 4, 2002 in the area, to document the existing traffic volume on the area roadways. The following Table illustrates the daily traffic volume, as well as the a.m. and p.m. peak -hour volume at each Iocation. _ TABLE 1 Existing (2002) Traffic Volumes December Trail. • West of Shannon Parkway 1410 103 137 • East of Diamond Path 1243 68 126 Danville Avenue: ■ South of December Trail 230 33 27 153rd Street West • West of Shannon Parkway 1554 187 214 • East of Diamond Path 869 98 107 Danbury Avenue ■ South of 153r" Street 1 796 1 74 1 86 G: \ENGPROADecember Trai1\122002 - ab.doc Andy Brotzler, P.E. City of Rosemount December 20, 2002 Page 2 of 4 Currently there are approximately 190 residential units (single family, and/or multi- family) adjacent to or accessing onto December Trail. Based on the Institute of Transportation Engineers Traffic Generation Manual, a typical residential unit will generate between eight (8) and ten (10) trips per day. Based on this, traffic on December Trail should be in the range of 1,500 to 1,900 vehicles per day. The actual traffic count on this roadway ranged from 1,200 to 1,400 vehicles per day. Therefore, it can be concluded that it may be very difficult to reduce the actual traffic volume on December Trail between Shannon Parkway and Diamond Path. Although, it may be difficult to reduce the actual traffic volume on December Trail between Shannon Parkway and Diamond Path, there appears to be some cut - through traffic between areas in Apple Valley and the commercial areas east of Shannon Parkway. Several options could be considered to help reduce this cut - through traffic volume. These could include: ■ Installation of mid -block stop signs along December Trail — The installation of stop signs at unwarranted intersections although, would frustrate drivers cutting through, can cause a safety problem. Studies have found that if stop signs are installed where not warranted, the incidence of violation drastically increases. With time, people can even tend to ignore or barely slow down at the stop signs. Also, the speed of traffic could actually increase with traffic speeding away from the stop sign. ■ Physically restricting the traffic from getting to December Trail — This could be accomplished by installation of a raised concrete median on Diamond Path or Shannon Parkway to eliminate the straight through and left -turn traffic at these intersections. These medians could eliminate all movements, except for the right - turn movements, or just some of the movements (3/4 intersection). By restricting the movements at one intersection or both intersections, traffic on either end of December Trail could actually increase with persons from the area having to go around the block to get access into December Trail. For example, if a median was installed on Diamond Path, all traffic that currently turns left onto December Trail would need to go to Shannon Parkway and turn right onto December Trail. This would increase the traffic volume on the east end of December Trail. Vehicle Speed A vehicle speed study was also conducted together with the traffic volume data collection on December 2, 3, and 4, 2002. The results of the vehicle speed data is illustrated in Table 2. G: E&NGPROJIDecemher Trad1122002- ab.doc Andy Brotzler, P.E. City of Rosemount December 20, 2002 Page 3 of 4 1 I _ _. Existing (2002) Vehicle Speeds December Trail: • West of Shannon Parkway 28 25 44 • East of Diamond Path 27 25 48 Danville Avenue: ■ South of December Trail 24 22 37 153rd Street West • West of Shannon Parkway 27 24 45 • East of Diamond Path 26 22 39 Danbury Avenue ■ South of 153 Street 25 23 40 Based on this data, the 85% speed and average speed are all below the posted 30 -mph speed limit. It has been found that drivers will drive at a speed that is comfortable to the driver. The speed in which 85% of the vehicles are traveling is typically used as the posted speed limit. In this case, all roadways should be posted at 30 mph. Although this data gives a good indication of what the speed is at the count locations, it is not -as reliable as a radar gun speed study. A more detailed speed study should be considered to document the vehicle speeds on December Trail, mid -block between Shannon Parkway and Diamond Path. It may be determined from that study that the existing posted speed limit of 30 miles per hour is an incorrect speed for the situation. Conclusions Recommendations Based on the collected traffic data and brief analysis discussed in this memorandum, the following conclusions can be made: ■ Although the amount of existing traffic appears to be in excess of what would be reasonable for a residential neighborhood, the amount of residential units and/or multi- family units appears to be consistent with the existing traffic volumes. ■ It would be very difficult to eliminate the cut - through traffic without physically preventing the traffic from going down December Trail. The vehicle speed data collected indicates that the speed limit on this roadway is 30 mph and that the majority (85 %) of the vehicles are traveling below that speed limit. G: IENGPROJIDeceneber Trai11122002- ab.doc Andy Brolder, P.E. City of Rosemount December 20, 2002 Page 4 of 4 Based on the above conclusion and review of the traffic data, the following recommendations are made. Traffic Volume/Cut-Through Traffic: 1. Work with the City of Apple Valley and Dakota County on review of the impacts to closing of the left turn and through movements at December Trail/Dodd Boulevard on Diamond Path. 2. Install no through traffic signs on 151" west of Shannon Parkway and east of Diamond Path. Vehicle Speed. 1. Conduct a more comprehensive Speed Study to determine exactly when the speed problem occurs. 2. Provide additional enforcement on this stretch of roadway. This enforcement should be targeted when speeding is typically occurring. 3. Use a variable speed display board on a periodic basis to help the drivers realize what their speed is compared to the actual posted speed limit is. 4. Install larger speed limit signs and paint a 30 -mph speed limit message (already completed) on the pavement through the corridor. This will help reinforce the actual posted speed limit. 5. A Neighborhood Watch Program could be implemented similar to the Neighborhood Crime Watch Program. This would rely on neighbors within the corridor to help document the speed of vehicles in the corridor. The City staff could help to coordinate this program. i G: IENGPROJIDecember TradU22002- ab.doc