Draft Report: West Berkeley Bowl Project

Transcription

1 Draft Report: West Berkeley Bowl Project July 2004 Prepared for: The City of Berkeley F EHR & PEERS TRANSPORTATION CONSULTANTS 3685 Mt. Diablo Blvd. #301 Lafayette, CA Fax:

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...i Page I. INTRODUCTION... 1 Study Purpose... 1 Report Organization... 1 Study Intersections and Forecast Scenarios... 1 Analysis Methodology... 6 II. EXISTING CONDITION... 9 Study Area... 9 Existing Traffic Counts...11 On-street Parking...11 Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities...14 Transit Access...14 Existing Intersection Operations...14 III. IV. PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS...16 Project Description...16 Vehicle Trip Generation Assumptions...16 Project Trip Generation...17 Trip Distribution and Assignment...19 EXISTING PLUS PROJECT TRAFFIC CONDITIONS...21 Planned Roadway Improvements...21 Existing Plus Project Traffic...21 Analysis of Existing Plus Project Peak Hour Intersection Operations...20 Analysis of Existing Plus Project Daily Roadway Segment Operations...21 Mitigation Measures...24 V. CUMULATIVE (YEAR 2020) TRAFFIC CONDITIONS...25 Cumulative Without Project Traffic Projections...25 Cumulative With Project Traffic Projections...25 Analysis of Cumulative Peak Hour Intersection Operations...25 Analysis of Cumulative Daily Roadway Segment Operations...28 Mitigation Measures...29 VI. SITE ACCESS, CIRCULATION, AND PARKING...30 Vehicular Site Access...30 Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Transit Access...31 On-Site Circulation...31 Parking...33 APPENDICES Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Appendix D Appendix E Appendix F Traffic Counts Existing Conditions LOS Calculation Worksheets Berkeley Bowl Zip Code Survey Existing Plus Project Conditions LOS Calculation Worksheets Cumulative (2020) Without Project Conditions LOS Calculation Worksheets Cumulative (2020) With Project Conditions LOS Calculation Worksheets

3 LIST OF FIGURES 1 Project Site Vicinity Map Ground Level Conceptual Project Site Plan b Subterranean Garage Conceptual Project Site Plan Study Intersection Locations Existing Lane Configurations Existing Traffic Volumes PM Peak Hour On-Street Parking Occupancy Project Trip Distribution and Assignment Existing Plus Project Traffic Volumes Cumulative (Year 2020) Without Project Traffic Volumes Cumulative (Year 2020) With Project Traffic Volumes a Consultants Recommendations Ground Level b Consultants Recommendations Subterranean Garage... 38

4 LIST OF TABLES 1 Signalized Intersection LOS Criteria Unsignalized Intersection LOS Criteria Existing (2003) Peak Hour Level of Service ITE Vehicle Trip Generation Rates Berkeley Bowl Trip Generation Rates per 1,000 Square Feet Vehicle Trip Generation Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Transit Trip Generation Existing and Existing Plus Project PM Peak Hour Intersection Level of Service Existing and Existing Plus Project Daily Roadway Segment Analysis Cumulative (2020) Without and With Project PM Peak Hour Intersection Level of Service Cumulative (2020) Without and With Daily Roadway Segment Analysis City Code Automobile Parking Requirements ITE Weekday Parking Demand Rates... 35

5 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report documents traffic impacts of a proposed grocery marketplace with supporting storage area and office at the southwest corner of the Heinz Avenue/9 th Street intersection in the City of Berkeley. Project Description The West Berkeley Bowl, an independent neighborhood serving full-service grocery marketplace, would be located on Heinz Avenue, between 8 th and 9 th Streets, in the City of Berkeley. The project is a two-story full-service grocery marketplace with underground parking garage, including general grocery store (51,065 square feet) and adjacent food service area (3,670 square feet), ancillary office (4,120 square feet), storage, (28,805 square feet), and community room (3,400 square feet). Project site access would be provided from 9 th Street at both Heinz Avenue and Ashby Avenue. The project would also dedicate land for use by the City as a bicycle path and provide 66 bicycle parking spaces in various locations throughout the project site. A total of 217 on-site parking spaces are depicted on the conceptual site plan. Study Area The following six intersections were analyzed during the weekday evening (PM) peak period (4:00 to 6:00 PM) to determine if the proposed project would have any significant traffic impacts on the surrounding roadway network: 1. 7 th Street/Heinz Avenue 2. 9 th Street/Heinz Avenue 3. San Pablo Avenue/Heinz Avenue 4. 7 th Street/Ashby Avenue 5. 9 th Street/Ashby Avenue 6. San Pablo Avenue/Ashby Avenue A morning (AM) peak period (7:00 to 9:00 AM) analysis was not performed as the proposed West Berkeley Bowl Store would not open until 9:00 AM; therefore, AM peak hour trip generation would be minimal. A roadway segment analysis was performed for 9 th Street north of Heinz Avenue for the weekday and Saturday condition. Scenarios The following scenarios were evaluated for this study: Existing Existing conditions. Existing Plus Project Existing traffic volumes plus project-related traffic. Cumulative Without Project Cumulative (2020) conditions considering future development in the area surrounding the project site and planned roadway improvements in the study area. Cumulative With Project Cumulative (2020) forecast conditions plus project-related traffic. i

6 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 Assumed Roadway Improvements Provision of a westbound left-turn lane at the Ashby Avenue/San Pablo Avenue intersection is assumed in the analysis of 2020 conditions. Findings Off-site impacts were less-than-significant at five of the six study intersections in both the Existing Plus Project and Cumulative Plus Project scenarios. A significant off-site impact was identified at the Heinz Avenue/San Pablo Avenue intersection in both the Existing Plus Project and Cumulative Plus Project scenarios. The intersection level of service (LOS) would degrade from an acceptable LOS D to an unacceptable LOS F during the Existing Plus Project scenario. In the Cumulative Plus Project scenario, the addition of project traffic would increase the critical movement volume-to-capacity (V/C) ratio by more than 0.01 at an intersection projected to operate at a deficient service level (LOS F). The City Parking Code requirement was found to be satisfied and on-site parking supplies were found to be sufficient to meet peak parking demand. Recommendations The following recommendations address off-site impacts and on-site issues. Off-Site Recommendations The following off-site improvement is recommended: Install a traffic signal, countdown pedestrian signal, and pedestrian crosswalk at the Heinz Avenue/San Pablo Avenue intersection. The installation of a traffic signal at this intersection would result in LOS B operations in both the Existing Plus Project and Cumulative Plus Project scenarios and reduce the project impact to a less-than-significant level. It would also improve pedestrian and bicycle access to the project, encouraging the use of alternative travel modes to the site. On-Site Recommendations The conceptual site plan was reviewed to evaluate site access, parking, and on-site circulation. Based on this review, the following measures are recommended, as summarized on Figures ES-1a and ES-1b: Install stop-signs at the first and third driveways, as shown on Figure ES-1a. Landscaping should be maintained in areas near driveways to a height of less than 2 feet and tree braches should be trimmed to heights greater than 6 feet to provide sight distance visibility for drivers. Install speed humps in the parking lot to slow drivers within the West Berkeley Bowl parking lot. Schedule deliveries for off-peak periods (i.e., before 4 p.m.) to prevent conflicts between large delivery vehicles and other vehicles/pedestrians. Install vehicle counting system equipment to inform drivers of the number of spaces available in the garage to prevent excessive circulation through the site, and operate as needed. ii

7 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 Modify the curb radius at the garage entry to 10 feet. Provide a two foot clearance between the wall and drive aisle on both sides of the garage ramp. Move the support columns in the parking garage three feet in from the drive aisles to facilitate parking maneuvers, depending on results of final structural analysis. Remove the first parking stall adjacent to the garage ramp, as shown on Figure ES-1b. iii

8 CONVERT TO PERPENDICULAR PARKING PROVIDE 15-FOOT MULTI-USE PATH AND 6-FOOT LANDSCAPE BUFFER July ES1A INSTALL SPEED HUMPS PROVIDE 10 RADIUS LIMIT HEIGHT OF LANDSCAPING INSTALL STOP SIGN INSTALL SPEED HUMP INSTALL STOP SIGN PROHIBIT LARGE DELIVERY VEHICLES DURING PEAK TIMES INSTALL PARKING GARAGE COUNT SYSTEM N Not to Scale West Berkeley Bowl GROUND LEVEL CONSULTANTS RECOMMENDATIONS FIGURE ES-1a

9 July ES1B RELOCATE SUPPORT COLUMNS 3 FEET FROM AISLE PROVIDE 2-FOOT CLEARANCE ON BOTH SIDES OF RAMP STRIPE CENTERLINE REMOVE PARKING SPACE N Not to Scale West Berkeley Bowl SUBTERRANEAN GARAGE CONSULTANTS RECOMMENDATIONS FIGURE ES-1b

10 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 I. INTRODUCTION This chapter discusses the purpose and organization of this report and methodology used in report preparation. Study Purpose The study purpose is to present the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the transportation impact analysis conducted by Fehr & Peers for the proposed West Berkeley Bowl, an independent neighborhood serving full-service grocery marketplace. The project site is located on Heinz Avenue, between 8 th and 9 th Streets, in the City of Berkeley, as shown on Figure 1. The conceptual site plan is shown on Figures 2a and 2b. Project site access would be provided from 9 th Street both at Heinz Avenue and Ashby Avenue. This study evaluates the off-site transportation system impacts associated with the project and provides an assessment of site access and circulation based on the conceptual site plan shown on Figures 2a and 2b. Report Organization This report is divided into six chapters as described below: Chapter I - Introduction discusses the purpose and organization of this report. Chapter II - Existing Condition describes the project vicinity, including the surrounding roadway network, transit, pedestrian, and bicycle facilities, weekday evening (PM) peak hour on-street parking occupancy, weekday PM peak-hour vehicle traffic volumes, weekday and Saturday daily traffic volumes, and weekday PM peak hour intersection levels of service. Chapter III - Project Characteristics presents relevant project information, such as the project components and project trip generation, distribution, and assignment. Chapter IV - Existing Plus Project Traffic Conditions addresses the Existing (2003) Plus Project conditions and discusses project impacts. Chapter V - Cumulative (Year 2020) Traffic Conditions addresses the Cumulative (2020) condition, both without and with the project, and discusses project impacts. Chapter VI - Site Access, Circulation, and Parking describes project access, circulation, and parking issues. Study Intersections and Forecast Scenarios Six intersections in the vicinity of the project site were analyzed for the weekday PM peak hour: 1. 7 th Street/Heinz Avenue 2. 9 th Street/Heinz Avenue 3. San Pablo Avenue/Heinz Avenue 4. 7 th Street/Ashby Avenue 5. 9 th Street/Ashby Avenue 6. San Pablo Avenue/Ashby Avenue These intersection locations are shown on Figure 3. A roadway segment analysis was also performed for 9 th Street north of Heinz Avenue for the weekday and Saturday condition. 1

11 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SHATTUCK AVE. UNIVERSITY AVE. 6th ST. 123 SACRAMENTO ST. DWIGHT WAY 80 10th ST. 9th ST. 8th ST. 7th ST. ADELINE ST. HEINZ AVE. ANTHONY ST. 9th ST. PROJECT SITE 13 ASHBY AVE. HOLLIS ST. SAN PABLO AVE. MARKET STANFORD AVE. ST. POWELL ST. WAY N Not to Scale West Berkeley Bowl July PROJECT SITE VICINITY MAP FIGURE 1

12 July A N Not to Scale West Berkeley Bowl GROUND LEVEL CONCEPTUAL PROJECT SITE PLAN FIGURE 2a

13 July B N Not to Scale West Berkeley Bowl SUBTERRANEAN GARAGE CONCEPTUAL PROJECT SITE PLAN FIGURE 2b

14 SACRAMENTO ST. 6th ST. 123 DWIGHT WAY 10th ST. 9th ST. 8th ST. 7th ST. 80 HEINZ AVE. 1 ANTHONY ST th ST PROJECT SITE ASHBY AVE. 13 SAN PABLO AVE. HOLLIS ST. N Not to Scale LEGEND: 1 = Study Intersections West Berkeley Bowl July STUDY INTERSECTION LOCATIONS FIGURE 3

15 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 For this study, the following scenarios were evaluated: Existing Existing conditions. Existing Plus Project Existing traffic volumes plus project-related traffic. Cumulative Without Project Cumulative (2020) conditions taking into account future development in the area surrounding the project site and planned roadway improvements in the study area. Cumulative With Project Cumulative (2020) forecast conditions plus project-related traffic. Analysis Methodology Study intersection operations were evaluated using level of service calculations as discussed below. Level of Service Criteria Transportation engineers and planners commonly use a grading system called level of service (LOS) to measure and describe the operational status of a local roadway network. LOS is a description of an intersection s operation, ranging from LOS A (indicating free-flow traffic conditions with little or no delay) to LOS F (representing over-saturated conditions where traffic flows exceed design capacity, resulting in long queues and delays). Signalized Intersections At signalized intersections, traffic conditions were evaluated using the Transportation Research Board s 2000 Highway Capacity Manual methodology. This operation analysis uses various intersection characteristics (i.e., traffic volumes, lane geometry, and signal phasing) to estimate the average control delay experienced by motorists traveling through an intersection. Table 1 summarizes the relationship between delay and LOS for signalized intersections. Unsignalized Intersections For unsignalized (all-way stop-controlled and side-street stop-controlled) intersections, the 2000 Highway Capacity Manual methodology for unsignalized intersections was utilized. With this methodology, operations are defined by the average control delay per vehicle (measured in seconds) for each stop-controlled movement. This incorporates delay associated with deceleration, acceleration, stopping, and moving up in the queue. For side-street stop-controlled intersections, the delay is typically represented for each movement from the minor approaches only. Table 2 summarizes the relationship between delay and LOS for unsignalized intersections. 6

16 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 TABLE 1 SIGNALIZED INTERSECTION LOS CRITERIA Level of Service A B C D E F Description Operations with very low delay occurring with favorable progression and/or short cycle length. Operations with low delay occurring with good progression and/or short cycle lengths. Operations with average delays resulting from fair progression and/or longer cycle lengths. Individual cycle failures begin to appear. Operations with longer delays due to a combination of unfavorable progression, long cycle lengths, or high V/C ratios. Many vehicles stop and individual cycle failures are noticeable. Operations with high delay values indicating poor progression, long cycle lengths, and high V/C ratios. Individual cycle failures are frequent occurrences. This is considered to be the limit of acceptable delay. Operation with delays unacceptable to most drivers occurring due to over saturation, poor progression, or very long cycle lengths. Average Control Delay (Seconds) < 10.0 > 10.0 to 20.0 > 20.0 to 35.0 > 35.0 to 55.0 > 55.0 to 80.0 > 80.0 Source: Highway Capacity Manual, Transportation Research Board, Level of Service TABLE 2 UNSIGNALIZED INTERSECTION LOS CRITERIA Description Average Control Per Vehicle (Seconds) A Little or no delays < 10.0 B Short traffic delays > 10.0 to 15.0 C Average traffic delays > 15.0 to 25.0 D Long traffic delays > 25.0 to 35.0 E Very long traffic delays > 35.0 to 50.0 F Extreme traffic delays with intersection capacity exceeded > 50.0 Source: Highway Capacity Manual, Transportation Research Board,

17 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 Significance Criteria According to the City of Berkeley, a significant traffic-related impact would occur if the addition of project-related traffic results in: Intersections where the project changes the projected service level from LOS D or better to LOS E or LOS F. Intersections projected to operate at LOS E or LOS F without the project and the project causes an increase in the critical movement volume-to-capacity ratio of 0.01 or more. The project will also be judged to have a significant impact if it substantially increases hazards due to a design feature or incompatible use. This last significance criterion will be assessed through a review of the project conceptual site plan. 8

18 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 II. EXISTING CONDITION The following chapter generally describes the project study area, including the surrounding roadway network, transit, pedestrian, bicycle facilities, and on-street parking in the vicinity of the project site. Study Area The project site is located on the southwest corner of the Heinz Avenue/9 th Street intersection in the southwest area of the City of Berkeley. Berkeley is located in western Alameda County, adjacent to the cities of Emeryville and Albany, located south and north, respectively. Land uses surrounding the project site are currently residential, commercial, and educational. The project study area is bound by Heinz Avenue to the north, Ashby Avenue to the south, San Pablo Avenue to the east, and 7 th Street to the west. This study area was chosen as it is the area most likely to experience direct traffic impacts, if any, from the proposed project. Major roads in the study area include Interstate 80 (I-80), Ashby Avenue, and San Pablo Avenue. The following discusses the roadways in the study area. Existing lane configurations and traffic control at the study intersections are shown on Figure 4. I-80 is an eight-lane freeway facility that connects the San Francisco Bay Area to the Sacramento region and further east. Although I-80 is generally an east-west facility, it runs parallel to the Bay in a north-south orientation through Berkeley. An interchange is provided at Ashby Avenue in the study area. Ashby Avenue (State Route 13 [SR 13]) is an east-west major street located south of the project site, which connects I-80 to SR 24. Four travel lanes are provided on Ashby Avenue west of San Pablo Avenue and two travel lanes are provided east of San Pablo Avenue. Parking restrictions along portions of Ashby Avenue provide for one additional travel lane in the peak direction of flow during peak commute hours. San Pablo Avenue (SR 123) is a north-south major street located east of the project site that connects the Richmond/El Cerrito area in the north to the Oakland/Emeryville area in the south. In the study area, four travel lanes are provided on San Pablo Avenue in addition to left-turn pockets at major intersections. Heinz Avenue is an east-west local street that forms the northern boundary of the project site. Heinz Avenue extends from west of 7 th Street to San Pablo Avenue. Two travel lanes are provided with on-street parking allowed. Heinz Avenue between 7 th Street and San Pablo Avenue is a designated bicycle boulevard. 7 th Street is a north-south collector street located west of the project site. Two travel lanes are provided with on-street parking allowed and left-turn pockets at major intersections in the study area. Recent improvements have added lanes between Anthony Street and Folger Avenue. 9

19 SACRAMENTO ST th ST. 9th ST. 8th ST. 7th ST. 80 HEINZ AVE. 1 ANTHONY ST th ST PROJECT SITE ASHBY AVE. 13 SAN PABLO AVE. HOLLIS ST. N Not to Scale 1 2 7th St. 9th St. 3 San Pablo Ave. 4 7th St. Heinz Ave. Heinz Ave. Heinz Ave. Ashby Ave. 5 Ashby Ave. 9th St. 6 Ashby Ave. San Pablo Ave. LEGEND: = Stop Sign = Signalized Intersection West Berkeley Bowl July EXISTING LANE CONFIGURATIONS FIGURE 4

20 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July th Street is a north-south local street that would provide primary site access from Ashby Avenue. Two travel lanes are available with permitted on-street parking. In the study area, to the north of Heinz Avenue, 9 th Street is also a designated bicycle boulevard. South of Heinz Avenue, 9 th Street is generally unimproved, providing access to the Orchard Supply Hardware parking lot. Parking is also allowed on this section of 9 th Street, although not in designated parking spaces. 9 th Street is also discontinuous between Heinz Avenue and Ashby Avenue. A traffic signal was recently installed at the 9 th Street/Ashby Avenue intersection. In conjunction with the signalization of the 9 th Street/Ashby Avenue intersection, the City of Berkeley recently upgraded the traffic signals at the 7 th Street/Ashby Avenue intersection and installed a traffic signal at the 7 th Street/Potter Street intersection. Existing Traffic Counts Weekday evening (4:00 to 6:00 PM) peak period intersection turning movement counts were conducted at four of the study intersections in March 2003 and automatic counts were conducted on 9 th Street, north of Heinz Avenue, for three weekdays and a Saturday in March Traffic counts at the San Pablo Avenue/Ashby Avenue intersection were conducted in November 2002 and at the 7 th Street/Ashby Avenue intersection in May Counts were conducted on clear days with area schools in normal session. The existing traffic counts are provided in Appendix A. For each intersection count period, the 1-hour with the highest traffic volumes was identified and is represented on Figure 5. The peak hour data is used as the basis for analysis. The existing weekday and Saturday daily volumes on 9 th Street, north of Heinz Avenue, are also shown on Figure 5. On-street Parking On-street parking is permitted on all streets adjacent to the project site. There are no time restrictions on Heinz Avenue, 8 th, 9 th, or 10 th Streets in the study area, except for a 5-minute parking restriction in front of the East Bay French-American School. A weekday peak hour on-street parking occupancy survey was conducted for the following streets surrounding the project site: 8 th Street between Heinz Avenue and Grayson Street 9 th Street between Heinz Avenue and Grayson Street 9 th Street south of Heinz Avenue 10 th Street between Heinz Avenue and Grayson Street Heinz Avenue between 7 th and 8 th Streets Heinz Avenue between 8 th and 9 th Streets Heinz Avenue between 9 th and 10 th Streets 9 th Street between Anthony Street and Ashby Avenue Approximately 260 on-street parking spaces are provided in the vicinity of the proposed West Berkeley Bowl. The parking space occupancy survey indicates that during the mid-day (around noon), the majority of on-street parking spaces are occupied. Parking occupancy diminishes during the PM peak period with approximately 175 spaces (67 percent) occupied at 4:00 PM, 126 spaces (48 percent) occupied at 5:00 PM, and 90 spaces (35 percent) occupied at 6:00 PM, as detailed on Figure 6. 11

21 GRAYSON ST. 123 SACRAMENTO ST. 8th ST. 7th ST. 9th ST. 10th ST. DAILY TRAFFIC VOLUMES 1,700 - WEEKDAY 80 HEINZ AVE. 1 ANTHONY ST th ST SATURDAY PROJECT SITE ASHBY AVE. 13 SAN PABLO AVE. HOLLIS ST. N Not to Scale th St th St San Pablo Ave San Pablo Ave Heinz Ave. Heinz Ave. Heinz Ave. Ashby Ave th St San Pablo Ave Ashby Ave. Ashby Ave. LEGEND: XX = PM Peak Hour Traffic Volumes West Berkeley Bowl July EXISTING PM PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC VOLUMES FIGURE 5

22 HEINZ AVE. LEGEND: 10 XX% (XX%) [XX%] = Approximate number of on-street parking spaces = Observed parking occupancy at 4PM = Observed parking occupancy at 5PM = Observed parking occupancy at 6PM July th ST. 7th ST. GRAYSON ST. 69% (64%) [57%] 76% (69%) [45%] 71% (49%) [40%] % (37%) [21%] 65% (39%) [27%] 83% (50%) [25%] PROJECT SITE 35 77% (31%) [17%] ANTHONY ST % (15%) [15%] 10th ST. 9th ST. 8th ST. 7th ST. NOTE: Observed parking occupancies on a typical weekday in April Parking supply based on the observed number of legal spaces. N Not to Scale West Berkeley Bowl PM PEAK PERIOD ON-STREET PARKING OCCUPANCY FIGURE 6 SAN PABLO AVE.

23 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Pedestrian facilities in the study area are comprised of sidewalks, pedestrian signals at the 7 th Street/Heinz Avenue intersection, and crosswalks. Heinz Avenue and 9 th Street are designated bicycle boulevards in the study area. Bicycle boulevards have been developed throughout the City of Berkeley as roadways where motorized travel is discouraged and bicycle travel is encouraged. Heinz Avenue and 9 th Street connect to other bicycle boulevards in the City including those on Russell Street, Virginia Street, Milvia Boulevard, Channing Way, California/King Streets, and Bowditch/ Hillegass Streets. Transit Access Alameda County Transit Authority (AC Transit) provides seven transit routes service in the study area: Routes 72, 72M, 72R, Route 9, Route 19, Route H, and Route Z. Routes 72, 72M, 72R connect San Pablo/El Cerrito/Richmond to downtown Oakland via San Pablo Avenue in the study area. A transit stop is provided at the Heinz Avenue/San Pablo Avenue intersection. Connections to numerous Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) stations and other transit lines can be made from this route. This route provides 24-hour service with headways ranging between 1 hour between midnight and 4:00 AM to less than 10 minutes during peak periods. Weekend service is also provided on this route. Route 72R provides weekday peak period Rapid Bus service along the San Pablo Avenue corridor. Route 9 connects the Claremont Hotel to the Berkeley Marina and provides service to the Ashby and Berkeley BART Stations. Service is provided between 6:00 AM and 9:00 PM on this route. Headways are approximately 20 minutes during the week, with 40-minute headways on the weekend. Stops are provided in the study area on 7 th Street and Ashby Avenue. Route 19 connects the North Berkeley BART station to the Fruitvale BART station via 7 th Street in the study area. Weekday and weekend service is provided between 6:00 AM and 9:00 PM with 30-minute headways. Route H provides transbay service between San Francisco and El Cerrito. Westbound service is provided during the AM commute period, while eastbound service is provided during the PM commute period with a stop at the San Pablo Avenue/Ashby Street intersection. Route Z provides transbay service between San Francisco and Albany. Westbound service is provided during the AM commute period, while eastbound service is provided during the PM commute period with a stop at the 7 th Street/Heinz Avenue intersection. Existing Intersection Operations Existing intersection conditions were evaluated for the weekday PM peak hour at the six study intersections. Table 3 summarizes the intersection analysis results. As shown, all of the study intersections operate at acceptable service levels during the PM peak hour. Detailed intersection LOS calculation worksheets are presented in Appendix B. 14

24 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 TABLE 3 EXISTING (2003) PEAK HOUR LEVEL OF SERVICE Location Control 1 Peak Hour Delay 2 LOS 7 th Street/Heinz Avenue Signal PM 9 seconds A 9 th Street/Heinz Avenue AWSC PM 8 seconds A San Pablo Avenue/Heinz Avenue SSSC PM 25 seconds D 7 th Street/Ashby Avenue Signal PM 42 Seconds D 9 th Street/Ashby Avenue Signal PM 9 seconds A San Pablo Avenue/Ashby Avenue Signal PM 30 seconds C Notes: 1 Signal = Signalized intersection AWSC = All-way stop-controlled intersection SSSC = Side-street stop-controlled intersection 2 For side-street stop-controlled intersections, delay for worst movement calculated using the 2000 Highway Capacity Manual methodology. For all-way stop-controlled intersections, average delay calculated using the 2000 Highway Capacity Manual methodology. Source: Fehr & Peers,

25 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 III. PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS This chapter provides an overview of the proposed project components and addresses the proposed project s trip generation, distribution, and assignment characteristics. This allows for an evaluation of project impacts on the surrounding roadway network. Project Description The West Berkeley Bowl, an independent neighborhood serving full-service grocery marketplace, would be located on the south side of Heinz Avenue, between 8 th and 9 th Streets in the City of Berkeley. The project is a two-story full-service grocery marketplace with underground parking garage, including general grocery store (51,065 square feet) and adjacent food service area (3,670 square feet), ancillary office (4,120 square feet), storage, (28,805 square feet), and community room (3,400 square feet). The community room would be used periodically for such events as holiday parties or office meetings, and is expected to be used a maximum of four times per month. The project would also dedicate land for use by the City as a bicycle path and provide 66 bicycle parking spaces. The West Berkeley Bowl would be open from 9:00 AM until 8:00 PM Monday through Saturday and from 10 AM until 6 PM. on Sunday. As the store would not be open during the AM peak period, AM peak hour trip generation would be negligible and an AM peak hour analysis was not performed. The conceptual site plan depicts 217 on-site parking spaces. Vehicle Trip Generation Assumptions Project vehicle trips for the proposed project were estimated using trip generation rates from the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual (7 th Edition) for office, storage area, and grocery store, as shown in Table 4. TABLE 4 ITE VEHICLE TRIP GENERATION RATES 1 Proposed Use Weekday Weekday PM Peak Hour Saturday Saturday Peak Hour Daily Daily In Out Total In Out Total Grocery marketplace Ancillary office Ancillary storage Notes: 1 Average ITE rate per 1,000 square feet. Source: Trip Generation Manual (7 th Edition), Institute of Transportation Engineers, To supplement the analysis, Fehr & Peers staff conducted a weekday PM peak period (4:00 to 6:00 PM) trip generation survey at the existing Berkeley Bowl, located at 2020 Oregon Street in Berkeley, to determine vehicle, pedestrian, bicycle, and transit usage. Table 5 shows the PM peak-hour vehicular, bicycle, pedestrian, and transit trip generation rate per 1,000 square feet of grocery store. Survey data is provided in Appendix C. These rates were derived by comparing the survey results to the size of the existing Berkeley Bowl store. The site-specific rates were used to estimate alternative mode trip generation to the site. 16

26 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 TABLE 5 BERKELEY BOWL TRIP GENERATION RATES PER 1,000 SQUARE FEET Mode PM Peak Hour In Out Total Vehicle Bicycle Pedestrian Transit Notes: Rates derived from surveys conducted at the existing store located at 2020 Oregon Street. Source: Fehr & Peers, The limited survey shows that the vehicle trip rates generally conformed to the ITE Manual s estimates. (Six percent lower than the trip rates in the 6th Edition ITE Manual and three percent higher than the 7 th Edition ITE Manual.) Due to the limited data collected for the Oregon Street store, however, Fehr & Peers was directed by City Staff to utilize current ITE trip generation rates for the purposes of this analysis, as the ITE data is based on numerous surveys, while the Berkeley Bowl rates are based on one day of data collection. Nevertheless, the site-specific rates are useful in estimating the alternative mode trip generation for the project. Pass-by trips were also accounted for in the calculation of project trip generation. Pass-by trips are trips already on the roadway system that would stop at the project site on an already planned trip, such as someone stopping at the grocery store on their way home from work. Documented ITE average pass-by trip percentage for grocery stores is thirty-six percent (36%) during the PM peak hour. Pass-by data is not available from ITE for Saturdays for grocery stores. Therefore, for the purposes of calculating trip generation, the PM rate was assumed to be the same for Saturdays. Project Trip Generation Trip generation rates as described above were applied to the proposed project components to determine overall project vehicle and alternative modes trip generation. As the community center portion of the project would be used infrequently at off-peak hours, and often for employee-related functions, this area was not considered to generate traffic during the peak hours of analysis. As shown in Table 6, the proposed project would generate approximately 3,780 weekday daily vehicle trips including 386 PM peak hour vehicle trips (194 in and 192 out) and 6,270 Saturday daily vehicle trips including 382 Saturday peak hour vehicle trips (197 in and 185 out). 17

27 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 TABLE 6 VEHICLE TRIP GENERATION Proposed Use Size Daily Weekday PM Peak Hour In Out Total Daily Saturday Peak Hour In Out Total Grocery marketplace 1 54,735 sf 5, , Less 36 % Pass-by (2,020) (103) (103) (206) (3,500) (106) (106) (212) Net New Grocery Market Place Trips 3, , Ancillary office 4,120 sf Ancillary storage 28,805 sf Net New Trips (with pass-by) 3, , Note: Vehicle Trips derived using the ITE rates presented in Table 4. 1 Includes grocery and food service. Source: Fehr & Peers, A Saturday intersection analysis was not performed as Saturday peak hour trip generation is equivalent to weekday trip generation and background traffic volumes are much lower on Saturdays than on weekdays. Therefore, any project impacts would be accounted for in the weekday conditions analysis. As shown in Table 7, the project would generate approximately 76 bicycle trips, 116 pedestrian trips, and 32 transit trips during the weekday PM peak hour. On Saturdays, West Berkeley Bowl would generate 81 bicycle trips, 123 pedestrian trips, and 34 transit trips during the Saturday peak hour. Saturday peak hour alternate mode trip generation was derived using the ratio of ITE weekday PM peak hour to Saturday peak hour trip generation applied to the observed rates presented in Table 5. TABLE 7 BICYCLE, PEDESTRIAN, AND TRANSIT TRIP GENERATION Alternative Mode Weekday 1 Saturday 2 PM Peak Hour Peak Hour In Out Total In Out Total Bicycle Pedestrian Transit Net New Trips Trip generation derived from surveys conducted at the existing store located at 2020 Oregon Street. 2 Saturday peak hour trip generation rate calculated: ITE Saturday peak hour rate X (Observed PM peak hour rate/ite PM peak hour rate) Source: Fehr & Peers,

28 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 Trip Distribution and Assignment Project trips were distributed based on information provided by the project applicant. A zip code survey was conducted for a one-week period at the existing Berkeley Bowl, where all patrons were asked to provide their residential zip code (See Appendix C). The survey results were used to determine the regional distribution of Berkeley Bowl patrons. The data were adjusted to account for patrons who would continue to shop at the existing store, due to its location relative to the new store. The project trip distribution percentages are graphically shown on Figure 7. It should be noted that the zip code survey revealed that seventy-five percent (75%) of all patrons were from within a five mile radius of the store. Trips generated by the proposed project were assigned to the roadway system based on the directions of approach and departure as described above. Project driveway and parking space locations were taken into consideration in the routing of project trips to the site. The PM peak hour project trip assignments are also shown on Figure 7. Note that for purposes of the intersection analysis, to be conservative, this study did not include the pass-by trip reduction. 19

29 6% 2% % SACRAMENTO ST. 80 6% 7% HEINZ AVE. 10th ST. 9th ST. 8th ST. 7th ST. 2 1 ANTHONY ST. 9th ST PROJECT DAILY TRAFFIC VOLUMES WEEKDAY SATURDAY PROJECT SITE ASHBY AVE. 6% 13 5% SAN PABLO AVE. HOLLIS ST. 35% 10% N Not to Scale th St th St San Pablo Ave. 4 7th St Heinz Ave. Heinz Ave. Heinz Ave. Ashby Ave th St San Pablo Ave. 18 Ashby Ave. 47 Ashby Ave NOTE: DOES NOT INCLUDE PASS-BY TRIPS. LEGEND: XX = PM Peak Hour Traffic Volumes West Berkeley Bowl July PROJECT TRIP DISTRIBUTION AND ASSIGNMENT FIGURE 7

30 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 IV. EXISTING PLUS PROJECT TRAFFIC CONDITIONS This chapter discusses the impact of the proposed project under near-term conditions. Planned Roadway Improvements No roadway improvements beyond those improvements which have recently been implemented were assumed for the analysis of near-term project impacts. These improvements include signalization of the 9 th Street/Ashby Avenue intersection and traffic signal upgrades at the 7 th Street/Ashby Avenue intersection and signal installation at the 7 th Street/Potter Street intersection. An additional northbound through lane on the east side of 7 th Street from Ashby Avenue to Anthony Street was also recently completed. Existing Plus Project Traffic The peak hour project volumes without the pass-by reduction were added to the existing traffic volumes to determine Existing Plus Project traffic volumes at the study intersections. The resulting weekday PM peak hour volumes are shown for each intersection on Figure 8, as well as weekday daily and Saturday daily volumes for 9 th Street to the north of Heinz Avenue. Analysis of Existing Plus Project Peak Hour Intersection Operations The Existing Plus Project intersection analysis is provided in Table 8. The analysis results indicate that all study intersections would operate at acceptable LOS ranges (i.e., LOS D or better) with the addition of project traffic, except for the San Pablo Avenue/Heinz Avenue intersection, which is projected to operate at LOS F. The proposed project would result in deficient operations at this intersection, which would operate at an acceptable service level prior to the addition of project traffic, which is significant based on the City of Berkeley s significance criteria. Detailed intersection LOS calculation worksheets are provided in Appendix D. Analysis of Existing Plus Project Daily Roadway Segment Operations The Existing Plus Project daily roadway segment analysis is shown in Table 9. The analysis indicates that the proposed project would increase daily traffic volumes on 9 th Street, north of Heinz Avenue, by 348 vehicles during a typical weekday, resulting in 2,048 vehicles per weekday on 9 th Street. On Saturday, daily traffic volumes would increase by 586 vehicles, resulting in 1,336 vehicles per Saturday on 9 th Street. The City of Berkeley does not have specific criteria to identify an impact to a bicycle boulevard. However, one characteristic of bicycle boulevards is the low volume of vehicles they serve. According to the City of Berkeley s Bicycle Plan (December 1998), a low volume facility is one that serves less than 3,000 to 4,000 vehicles per day (vpd). For purpose of this analysis, the project shall be deemed to have a significant impact on a bicycle boulevard facility if it results in daily traffic volumes over 3,000 vpd. As the resulting maximum daily traffic volume on 9 th Street with the addition of project traffic is less than 2,100 vpd, the proposed project would not significantly impact operations of the 9 th Street bicycle boulevard. 21

31 SACRAMENTO ST th ST. 7th ST. 9th ST. 10th ST. DAILY TRAFFIC VOLUMES 2,048 - WEEKDAY 80 HEINZ AVE. 1 ANTHONY ST th ST ,336 - SATURDAY PROJECT SITE ASHBY AVE. 13 SAN PABLO AVE. HOLLIS ST. N Not to Scale th St th St ,006 San Pablo Ave th St Heinz Ave. Heinz Ave. Heinz Ave. Ashby Ave , th St San Pablo Ave Ashby Ave Ashby Ave , NOTE: DOES NOT INCLUDE PASS-BY TRIPS. LEGEND: XX = PM Peak Hour Traffic Volumes July West Berkeley Bowl EXISTING PLUS PROJECT TRAFFIC VOLUMES FIGURE 8

32 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 TABLE 8 EXISTING AND EXISTING PLUS PROJECT PM PEAK HOUR INTERSECTION LEVEL OF SERVICE Existing Existing Plus Project 3 Intersection Control 1 Delay 2 LOS Delay 2 LOS 7 th Street/Heinz Avenue Signal 9 Sec. A 9 Sec. A 9 th Street/Heinz Avenue AWSC 8 Sec. A 9 Sec. A San Pablo Avenue/Heinz Avenue SSSC 25 Sec. D > 50 Sec. F 7 th Street/Ashby Avenue Signal 42 Sec. D 46 Sec. D 9 th Street/Ashby Avenue Signal 9 Sec. A 13 Sec. B San Pablo Avenue/Ashby Avenue Signal 30 Sec. C 36 Sec. D Notes: 1 Signal = Signalized intersection. AWSC = All-way stop-controlled intersection. SSSC = Side-street stop-controlled intersection. 2 For side street stop-controlled intersections, delay for worst movement (in seconds per vehicle) calculated using the 2000 Highway Capacity Manual methodology. For all-way stop-controlled intersections, average delay calculated using the 2000 Highway Capacity Manual methodology. 3 Intersection analysis does not assume any pass-by reductions. Source: Fehr & Peers, TABLE 9 EXISTING AND EXISTING PLUS PROJECT DAILY ROADWAY SEGMENT ANALYSIS Segment Time Period Existing Daily Volume Project Daily Volume 1&2 Existing Plus Project Daily Volume 9 th Street, North of Heinz Avenue Weekday 1, ,048 Saturday ,336 1 Based on discussions with City Staff, the Berkeley Bowl zip code survey, and existing turning movements at the study intersection, this analysis assumes 6 percent of daily project traffic would use 9 th Street, north of Heinz Avenue. The 3,000 vehicle threshold would not be met until more than 23 percent of weekday daily or 26 percent of Saturday daily project traffic uses 9 th Street, north of Heinz Avenue. 2 Roadway analysis does not assume any pass-by reductions. Source: Fehr & Peers,

33 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 Mitigation Measures Impact Statement: Based on the City of Berkeley significance criteria, the proposed project would have a significant traffic impact at the San Pablo Avenue/Heinz Avenue intersection. The addition of project traffic would increase delay, resulting in a service level deterioration from LOS D to LOS F for the side-street movements from Heinz Avenue to San Pablo Avenue, specifically those vehicles leaving the West Berkeley Bowl and turning left onto San Pablo Avenue. Several measures were considered to mitigate this impact: Restrict left-turns from Heinz Avenue to San Pablo Avenue during peak periods. The prohibition of left-turns from Heinz Avenue would improve the service level to LOS C for the right-turn movements from Heinz Avenue to San Pablo Avenue, and improve the overall intersection level of service to LOS A. However, this mitigation could result in secondary neighborhood and bicycle boulevard impacts as vehicles may travel through neighborhood streets north of the project site to where a traffic signal is provided at San Pablo Avenue. Direct West Berkeley Bowl patrons through the 9 th Street/Ashby Avenue intersection in order to minimize traffic through the intersection of Heinz Avenue/San Pablo Avenue. This routing, however, is circuitous and unless strictly enforced, individuals may ignore the direction and either use Heinz Avenue or 9 th Street to the north. Install a traffic signal at the Heinz Avenue/San Pablo Avenue intersection. Due to the close spacing between the intersections of Heinz Avenue/San Pablo Avenue and Ashby Avenue/ San Pablo Avenue, these two intersections would need to be interconnected and coordinated to provide optimal traffic flow through the study area. Intersection signalization would improve the service level to LOS B during the PM peak hour, and provide secondary benefits to pedestrians and transit users. Signalization of this intersection would enable pedestrians and transit users to cross San Pablo Avenue at a controlled crossing location. Consultant Recommendations: It is recommended that the project applicant install a traffic signal at the Heinz Avenue/San Pablo Avenue intersection to improve traffic flow in the area and reduce the potential for secondary neighborhood and bicycle boulevard impacts. The installation of a traffic signal would improve intersection operations to an acceptable LOS B, and provide secondary pedestrian, bicycle and transit benefits, and reduce this impact to a less-than-significant level. As San Pablo Avenue is a designated Smart Corridor within the City of Berkeley, any new traffic signals installed along San Pablo Avenue must meet the Smart Corridor Design Criteria. Additionally, a countdown pedestrian signal and crosswalk should also be provided to facilitate bicycle and pedestrian movement across San Pablo Avenue. Installation of a pedestrian signal at Heinz Avenue and San Pablo would enhance pedestrian and bicyclist access to the site and could increase alternative travel mode usage to the site. 24

34 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 V. CUMULATIVE (YEAR 2020) TRAFFIC CONDITIONS This chapter discusses cumulative (Year 2020) traffic conditions both without and with the project. The future traffic conditions analysis takes into consideration forecasted land use development within the area surrounding the project site. Cumulative Without Project Traffic Projections Cumulative (2020) traffic forecasts were developed using the data from the Emeryville Traffic Impact Fee Program model. This model is based on the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency model with refinements in the Berkeley/Emeryville area to account for known developments. Cumulative Without Project peak hour traffic volumes at each study intersection are shown on Figure 9. Daily weekday and Saturday traffic volumes on 9 th Street, north of Heinz Avenue, are also shown on Figure 9. City staff has indicated that a westbound left-turn pocket from Ashby Avenue to San Pablo Avenue would be installed by This improvement has been assumed in the analysis. City staff indicated that the East Bay French-American School, located at the northeast corner of the Heinz Avenue/9th Street intersection, should be considered in the cumulative analysis. The school intends to increase enrollment by 50 students by the year Any additional activity at the school would occur during the AM peak period (7:00 to 9:00 AM) prior to the opening of West Berkeley Bowl, and during the afternoon peak period (2:00 to 4:00 PM), prior to the peak operation of the store (observed from 4:45 to 5:45 PM at the existing Berkeley Bowl store). Therefore, since the East Bay French-American School and the West Berkeley Bowl activities would peak at separate times, operational conflicts between the two facilities would be minimal. In addition, field observations made by Fehr & Peers staff at the school suggest that student dropoff/pick-up activities operate efficiently. However, brief periods of congestion do occur for 10 to 15 minutes around bell times. The school traffic control personnel currently make use of two-way radios to efficiently load students during afternoon bell times. School planned system improvements include converting four to six curbside parking spaces to 5-minute restrictions (in addition to the spaces that are already restricted). This would provide increased flexibility and more efficient operation for the school during drop-off/pick-up periods. Cumulative With Project Traffic Projections The project volumes were added to the Cumulative Without Project traffic volumes to form the basis for the Cumulative With Project analysis. Cumulative With Project weekday peak hour traffic volumes at each study intersection are shown on Figure 10. Daily weekday and Saturday traffic volumes on 9 th Street, north of Heinz Avenue are also shown on Figure 10. Analysis of Cumulative Peak Hour Intersection Operations The cumulative (2020) conditions analysis was performed using the same methodology discussed previously. Table 10 presents the result of this analysis, and indicates that all study intersections are projected to operate within an acceptable service level range (i.e., LOS D or better) in the cumulative without the project scenario, except for the Heinz Avenue/San Pablo Avenue intersection, which is projected to operate at LOS F prior to the addition of project traffic. The proposed project would increase the critical movement V/C by more than 0.01 at the Heinz Avenue/San Pablo Avenue intersection. This is considered significant based on the City of Berkeley s significance criteria. Detailed intersection LOS calculation worksheets for the Without Project scenario are provided in Appendix E; Appendix F provides LOS calculations worksheets for the With Project scenario. 25

35 SACRAMENTO ST HEINZ AVE. 8th ST. 7th ST. 1 ANTHONY ST. 4 9th ST. 2 9th ST. 10th ST DAILY TRAFFIC VOLUMES 1,750 - WEEKDAY SATURDAY PROJECT SITE ASHBY AVE. 13 SAN PABLO AVE. HOLLIS ST. N Not to Scale th St th St ,238 San Pablo Ave th St Heinz Ave. Heinz Ave. Heinz Ave. Ashby Ave , th St , San Pablo Ave Ashby Ave. Ashby Ave. LEGEND: , XX = PM Peak Hour Traffic Volumes July West Berkeley Bowl CUMULATIVE (YEAR 2020) WITHOUT PROJECT TRAFFIC VOLUMES FIGURE 9

36 SACRAMENTO ST HEINZ AVE. 8th ST. 7th ST. 1 ANTHONY ST. 4 10th ST. 9th ST. 2 9th ST DAILY TRAFFIC VOLUMES 2,098 - WEEKDAY 1,361 - SATURDAY PROJECT SITE ASHBY AVE. 13 SAN PABLO AVE. HOLLIS ST. N Not to Scale th St th St ,272 San Pablo Ave th St Heinz Ave. Heinz Ave. Heinz Ave. Ashby Ave , th St , San Pablo Ave Ashby Ave Ashby Ave , NOTE: DOES NOT INCLUDE PASS-BY TRIPS. LEGEND: XX = PM Peak Hour Traffic Volumes July West Berkeley Bowl CUMULATIVE (YEAR 2020) WITH PROJECT TRAFFIC VOLUMES FIGURE 10

37 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 TABLE 10 CUMULATIVE (2020) WITHOUT AND WITH PROJECT PM PEAK HOUR INTERSECTION LEVEL OF SERVICE Without Project With Project 3 Intersection Control 1 Delay 2 LOS Delay 2 LOS 7 th Street/Heinz Avenue Signal 9 Sec. A 9 Sec. A 9 th Street/Heinz Avenue AWSC 8 Sec. A 9 Sec. A San Pablo Avenue/Heinz Avenue SSSC 42 Sec. E > 50 Sec. F 7 th Street/Ashby Avenue Signal 52 Sec. D 55 Sec. D 9 th Street/Ashby Avenue Signal 9 sec. A 13 Sec. B San Pablo Avenue/Ashby Avenue Signal 38 Sec. D 54 Sec. D Notes: 1 Signal = Signalized intersection. AWSC = All-way stop-controlled intersection. SSSC = Side-street stop-controlled intersection. 2 For side-street stop-controlled intersections, delay for worst movement (in seconds per vehicle) calculated using the 2000 Highway Capacity Manual methodology. For all-way stop-controlled intersections, average delay calculated using the 2000 Highway Capacity Manual methodology. 3 Intersection analysis does not assume any pass-by reductions. Source: Fehr & Peers, Analysis of Cumulative Daily Roadway Segment Operations The Cumulative (2020) daily roadway segment analysis is shown in Table 11 and indicates the proposed project would increase daily traffic volumes on 9 th Street, north of Heinz Avenue, by 348 vehicles during a typical weekday. This results in daily volumes on this roadway of approximately 2,098. On Saturday, daily traffic volumes would increase by 586 vehicles to approximately 1,361. With the addition of project traffic, daily traffic volumes on 9 th Street, north of Heinz Avenue would remain low (less than 3,000) and bicycle boulevard operations would not be significantly impacted. TABLE 11 CUMULATIVE (2020) WITHOUT AND WITH PROJECT DAILY ROADWAY SEGMENT ANALYSIS Segment 9 th Street, North of Heinz Avenue Time Period Cumulative Daily Volume Project Daily Volume 1 & 2 Cumulative Plus Project Daily Traffic Volume Weekday 1, ,098 Saturday ,361 1 Based on discussions with City Staff, the Berkeley Bowl zip code survey, and existing turning movements at the study intersection, this analysis assumes 6 percent of daily project traffic would use 9 th Street, north of Heinz Avenue. The 3,000 vehicle threshold would not be met until more than 23 percent of weekday daily or 26 percent of Saturday daily project traffic uses 9 th Street, north of Heinz Avenue. 2 Roadway analysis does not assume any pass-by reductions. Source: Fehr & Peers,

38 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 Mitigation Measures Impact Statement: The proposed project would increase the critical V/C ratio at the intersection of Heinz Avenue/San Pablo Avenue by more than As this intersection is projected to operate at a deficient level of service, this increase is considered significant. Consultant Recommendations: Implement the mitigation measure recommended in the Existing Plus Project scenario (i.e., signalization of the Heinz Avenue/San Pablo Avenue intersection, installation of a pedestrian crosswalk and count down pedestrian signal). With implementation of this mitigation measure, the service level would improve to LOS B during the PM peak hour and reduce project impacts on the intersection to a less-than-significant level. In addition, implementation of these improvements would improve pedestrian, bicycle and transit access to the site and could increase alternative travel mode usage to the site. 29

39 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 VI. SITE ACCESS, CIRCULATION, AND PARKING This chapter evaluates and provides recommendations for project site access, on-site circulation, and parking. These recommendations are summarized on Figures 11a and 11b (at the end of this chapter). Vehicular Site Access The project would have three vehicle access points from 9 th Street: The first driveway would connect the project parking lot to Heinz Avenue (via 9 th Street). The second driveway would be at the 9 th Street extension, north of Anthony Street. The third driveway would be offset with Anthony Street. All driveways would provide for unrestricted access in and out of the project site, although no traffic control is shown on the conceptual site plan for vehicles exiting the site. Impact Statement: No traffic control for vehicles exiting the site is shown on the conceptual site plan. Consultant Recommendation: Install stop-signs at the first and third driveways as shown on Figure 11a. Impact Statement: Landscaping proposed adjacent to project driveways could limit visibility of drivers exiting the site. Consultant Recommendation: Landscaping should be maintained in areas near driveways to a height of less than 2 feet and tree braches should be trimmed to heights greater than 6 feet to provide sight distance visibility for drivers. The project applicant would improve the portion of 9 th Street, south of Heinz Avenue to the property line, including roadway paving, construction of sidewalks, curbs, and gutters along the eastern property line. The project would dedicate land on the eastern and southern project frontages to the City for use as a bicycle path. These improvements would improve bicycle and pedestrian circulation throughout the area. The project applicant would also extend 9 th Street to the north from Anthony Street to the project site. Improvements (i.e., curb, gutter, and sidewalks) would be constructed with this extension. The conceptual site plan was also reviewed to determine if driveway placement and 9 th Street improvements would encourage traffic passing through the site on 9 th Street between Ashby Avenue and Heinz Avenue. Traffic passing through the West Berkeley Bowl parking lot is likely to occur similar to the current condition through the Orchard Supply Hardware parking lot. Impact Statement: Vehicle traffic could use the West Berkeley Bowl parking lot to travel between Heinz Avenue and Ashby Avenue via 9 th Street. Consultant Recommendation: Install speed humps in the parking lot to slow drivers within the West Berkeley Bowl parking lot. 30

40 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 A subterranean garage is also proposed with access from the upper parking area adjacent to the storage area loading docks. Impact Statement: At the subterranean garage entrance, conflicts could exist between delivery vehicles and patrons entering the garage. Consultant Recommendation: Schedule deliveries for off-peak periods (i.e., before 4 PM) to prevent conflicts between large delivery trucks and vehicles entering the garage. Additionally, prohibit large delivery trucks during peak shopping periods when traffic flows through the garage are heavy. Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Transit Access The project would dedicate land on the eastern and southern project frontages to the City for use as a bicycle path. The proposed project would not remove any pedestrian or bicycle facilities in the area. The path should be designed as a multi-use path with appropriate transitions at both ends. The proposed project is expected to increase bicycle usage by 76 bicycle trips (45 inbound, 31 outbound) during the PM peak hour. These bicycle trips would most likely use Heinz Avenue and 9 th Street, portions of which are designated as bicycle boulevards within the study area. The proposed project would add additional vehicular traffic on these roadway facilities which could discourage bicycle activity in the area. However, as previously shown in Tables 8 and 10, traffic increases on 9 th Street would be less-than-significant, and the total daily volume would remain well below the desired threshold for bicycle boulevards (i.e., 3,000 to 4,000 vpd). As discussed previously, AC Transit operates several routes in the study area. It is projected that an additional 32 weekday PM peak hour transit trips (18 inbound, 14 outbound) would be generated by the proposed project. This increase in transit trips is not considered significant. Therefore, transit impacts from this project would be considered less-than-significant. The traffic mitigation measure to signalize the San Pablo Avenue/Heinz Avenue intersection would enhance transit user access to the project site as a controlled crosswalk would be provided across San Pablo Avenue at Heinz Avenue. On-Site Circulation On-site circulation was reviewed with respect to the following: drive aisles, dead-end drive aisles, vehicle/pedestrian conflicts, delivery vehicles, shopping cart return areas, and parking stall dimensions. These elements are further discussed below. Drive Aisles The surface parking area provides two main north-south drive aisles serving the parking areas. All drive aisles are at least 24 feet wide (the minimum width generally allowed for two-way travel and perpendicular parking). The garage area provides three north-south 26-foot wide drive aisles. The ramp connecting the garage parking to the main level is proposed to be 20 feet with one foot on both sides between the drive area and the wall. This width is sufficient to provide two-way travel, although a minimum clearance of two feet between the aisle and the wall is recommended. Impact Statement: The garage ramp provides one foot clearance between the wall and drive aisle on both sides of the ramp. 31

41 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 Consultant Recommendation: Provide two feet of clearance between the wall and drive aisle on both sides of the garage ramp. Drive aisles are of sufficient width to accommodate vehicle circulation, although the curb radius at the subterranean garage entry is not sufficient to allow southbound vehicles entry into the garage without entering the travel lane of exiting traffic. Impact Statement: The curb radius at the subterranean garage entry is not sufficient to allow southbound vehicles entry into the garage without entering the travel lane of exiting traffic. Consultant Recommendation: Modify the curb radius at the garage entry to 10 feet. Impact Statement: circulation. The first parking stall adjacent to the garage ramp would impede vehicle Consultant Recommendation: Remove the first parking stall adjacent to the garage ramp, as shown on Figure 11b. Dead-End Drive Aisles Dead end drive aisles are parking aisles that are obstructed at one end thereby increasing navigational difficulty through the drive aisles. Although no dead-end drive aisles are shown on the conceptual site plan, a driver entering the garage does not know if spaces are available in the garage. Impact Statement: Excessive site circulation could occur when the parking garage is at or near capacity. Consultant Recommendation: Install vehicle counting system equipment to inform drivers of the number of spaces available in the garage to prevent excessive circulation through the site, and operate as needed. Vehicle/Pedestrian Conflicts A review of the conceptual site plan indicates that pedestrian paths are provided within the site, across the 9 th Street extension, north of the Anthony Street driveway and the internal connection between the southerly and main parking lots. These facilities separate to the greatest extent possible pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Vehicle/pedestrian conflicts are expected to occur within parking lots as drivers access parked vehicles and drive to/from the site. Additional traffic associated with drivers traveling through the site between Heinz Avenue and Ashby Avenue is also expected. Speed humps previously recommended for installation within the site would slow traffic and enhance pedestrian safety. Delivery Vehicles The location of the project s proposed storage area would require large delivery vehicles to enter the main project parking lot via the extension of 9 th Street at Anthony Avenue and maneuver through approximately 15 parking spaces to access the loading dock area. Delivery operations are oriented to the Ashby Avenue corridor and away from the neighborhood to the north of the project site. 32

42 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 Impact Statement: Conflicts would exist between large delivery vehicles and parked cars. Consultant Recommendation: Schedule deliveries for off-peak periods to prevent conflicts between large delivery trucks and other vehicles. Shopping Cart Return Areas Shopping cart return areas are proposed throughout the site. Parking Stall Dimensions City of Berkeley requires that 90 degree parking stalls be 18 feet long and 8 feet wide with 26 foot wide drive aisles. Spaces adjacent to a support column must be 8 ½ feet wide and spaces adjacent to a wall must by 9 feet wide. According to the project architect, all parking spaces have been designed to meet City of Berkeley parking requirements. Parking stalls for high turnover uses typically provide wider parking stalls to facilitate parking maneuvers into and out of the site. The support columns in the garage are located one foot from the drive aisles. Impact Statement: The location of the parking garage support columns could impede parking maneuvers due to their proximity to the drive aisles. Consultants Recommendation: Move the support columns in the parking garage three feet in from the drive aisles to facilitate parking maneuvers, depending on results of final structural analysis. Parking A total of 217 on-site parking spaces are shown in the conceptual site plan as part of the project. The proposed on-site parking supply was compared to both City Code parking requirements and ITE parking demand rates. The project would provide on-site parking exceeding City Code requirements and is sufficient to satisfy the ITE peak parking demand. City Code Parking requirements were reviewed to ensure that the proposed project would provide sufficient parking based on City Code requirements. The City of Berkeley requires: One space for every 500 square feet of grocery store One space for every 500 square feet of office development One space for every 500 square feet of storage area One space for every 500 square feet of community room As shown in Table 12, the project is required to provide 183 parking spaces. The on-site parking space supply (216 spaces, assuming loss of one space per recommendation above) would exceed City Code requirements. 33

43 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 Land Use Type TABLE 12 CITY CODE AUTOMOBILE PARKING REQUIREMENTS Size Parking Code Requirement Parking Spaces Required Grocery marketplace 1 54,735 sf 1/500 sf 110 Storage area 28,805 sf 1/500 sf 58 Office 4,120 sf 1/500 sf 8 Community Room 3,400 sf 1/500 sf 7 1 Includes grocery and food service. Total Parking Required 183 Total Provided 217 Surplus (Deficit) 34 Source: City of Berkeley Parking Code Requirements. Bicycles Based on City Code requirements, one bicycle parking space per every 2,000 square feet of nonresidential development is required, equating to a bicycle parking space requirement of 46. The proposed bicycle parking supply of 66 spaces would exceed City Code Requirements. Weekday Parking Demand Peak weekday parking demand rates, as presented in ITE s Parking Generation (2 nd Edition) were reviewed to estimate peak weekday parking demands for the project. ITE weekday peak parking demand rates for the various project uses are shown in Table 13. Observations of parking shortages at the existing Berkeley Bowl indicate that the use of the maximum parking demand rate for the grocery store, rather than the average demand rate as presented in ITE s Parking Generation, would be appropriate to conservatively estimate peak grocery store parking demand for this project. Information contained in the Urban Land Institute s publication Shared Parking, as well as practical experience, indicates that peak demand for the storage area and office portions of the project would occur during the weekday mid-day, and peak demand for the supermarket and restaurant would occur on weekday evenings, as presented in Table 13. Based on a conservative assessment of peak parking demand rates, a mid-day weekday peak demand of 124 spaces and a weekday PM peak demand of 212 spaces could be expected. This level of peak demand could be accommodated on site. 34

44 Draft Report Traffic Impact Analysis - West Berkeley Bowl July 2004 TABLE 13 ITE WEEKDAY PARKING DEMAND RATES Land Use Size Peak Parking Demand Rate Percent Utilization 1 Parking Demand Midday PM Midday PM Grocery marketplace 54,735 sf 3.60/1,000 sf 50 % 100 % Storage area 28,805 sf 0.50/1,000 sf 100 % 50 % 14 7 Office 4,120 sf 2.79/1,000 sf 100 % 75 % 11 8 Total Parking Demand Notes: 1 Percent utilization estimated based on information provided in Shared Parking, practical experience of Fehr & Peers staff and discussions with Berkeley Bowl. Source: Parking Generation (2 nd Edition), Institute of Transportation Engineers and Shared Parking, Urban Land Institute,

45 CONVERT TO PERPENDICULAR PARKING PROVIDE 15-FOOT MULTI-USE PATH AND 6-FOOT LANDSCAPE BUFFER July A INSTALL SPEED HUMPS PROVIDE 10 RADIUS LIMIT HEIGHT OF LANDSCAPING INSTALL STOP SIGN INSTALL SPEED HUMP INSTALL STOP SIGN PROHIBIT LARGE DELIVERY VEHICLES DURING PEAK TIMES INSTALL PARKING GARAGE COUNT SYSTEM N Not to Scale West Berkeley Bowl GROUND LEVEL CONSULTANTS RECOMMENDATIONS FIGURE 11a

46 July B RELOCATE SUPPORT COLUMNS 3 FEET FROM AISLE PROVIDE 2-FOOT CLEARANCE ON BOTH SIDES OF RAMP STRIPE CENTERLINE REMOVE PARKING SPACE N Not to Scale West Berkeley Bowl SUBTERRANEAN GARAGE CONSULTANTS RECOMMENDATIONS FIGURE 11b