First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment

Transcription

1 First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report Prepared for Westbank Properties Ltd. Date December 21, 2015 Prepared by Bunt & Associates Project No

2

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION Background Study Objectives Report Layout EXISTING CONDITIONS Introduction Site Context Transportation Surveys Past Vehicle Volumes Street Characteristics Parking Pedestrians and Cycling Transit Accessibility DEVELOPMENT PLAN REVIEW Introduction Development Content Development Access Public Realm Changes Short-term / Drop-off Parking Summary PARKING & LOADING REVIEW Church and Day-Care Parking Residential Parking Bicycle Parking Loading Summary TRIP GENERATION Introduction Vehicle Trip Generation Rates Residential Rates Child Care Rates Church Rates Vehicle Trip Generation Rate Summary First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report bunt & associates Project No December 2015

4 5.4 Vehicle Trip Distribution Summary OPERATIONAL CAPACITY ANALYSIS Introduction Vehicle Flow Diagrams Percentage Change on the Study Network Capacity Analysis Preamble Existing Operational Conditions Future Operational Conditions with Development Changes at Nelson Street at Burrard Street Table 6.4: Vehicle Turning Movements for Nelson at Burrard (2000 to 2014) Table 6.5: Vehicle Lane Utilisation - Nelson Street Eastbound Summary SUMMARY APPENDIX A Synchro Outputs... 1 APPENDIX B Queue Length Data... 2 EXHIBITS Exhibit 1.1: Site Context... 3 Exhibit 2.1: Study Area: (Existing Traffic Control and Laning)... 5 Exhibit 2.2: Existing 2014 Peak Hour Volumes... 8 Exhibit 2.3: Street Parking Exhibit 2.4: Existing Pedestrian and Cyclist Volumes Exhibit 3.1: Development Plan Exhibit 6.1: New Development Peak Hour Vehicle Volumes TABLES Table 2.1: Study Network Intersections... 6 Table 2.2: Traffic Entering Vancouver 1981 to Table 2.3: Summary of Street Characteristics Adjacent to Site... 9 Table 2.4: Existing Church Parking Table 2.5: Bicycle Routes Close to the First Baptist Project Site Table 2.5: Service Frequencies for Transit Services Table 3.1: Proposed Development Content Table 4.1: Parking for Church and Child Care Table 4.2: Residential Parking Rates Table 4.3: Residential Vehicle Parking for Proposed Development Plan Table 4.4: Bicycle Parking Rates Table 4.5: Proposed Class-A Bicycle Parking Supply First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report bunt & associates Project No December 2015

5 Table 4.6: Class-A Bicycle Parking Locations Table 4.7: By-Law Loading Rates Table 4.8: By-Law Loading Requirements Table 4.9: Summary of Planned Supply for Each Use Table 5.1: Observed Residential Vehicle Trip Rates Per Hour (two-way weekdays) Table 5.2: Observed Child Care Trip Rates per Registered Child (two-way weekdays) Table 5.3: Vehicle Trip Rates for All Uses Table 5.4: Vehicle Trip Rates for All Uses Table 5.5: New Development Vehicle Trips Table 5.6: Trip Distribution by General Direction Table 6.1: Changes in Traffic on Network PM Peak-Hour Year Table 6.2: 2015 Capacity Operations Table 6.3: Capacity Operations with Development in Place Table 6.6A: Burrard Street & Nelson Street - Left Lane Removed Table 6.6B: Burrard Street & Nelson Street - Left Lane Removed (left-turn movement restricted) Table 6.6C: Burrard Street & Nelson Street Reduced left-lane length First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report bunt & associates Project No December 2015

6

7 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Westbank Projects Corp. (Westbank) is planning to develop the First Baptist Church Properties on Nelson Street, Vancouver, BC. The site is shown in the context of the downtown street network at Exhibit 1.1. The First Baptist Church is located on the eastern portion of the property, adjacent to Burrard Street, while land on the west side compromises of two surface car parks and a low-rise rental building. The project is proposing to provide around 294 market and 66 rental residential units, a child care, and ancillary facilities (circa 38,600sqft) to support the church s activities. It will also provide the opportunity to enhance the public realm around the church and particularly along Nelson Street in keeping with this historic building s context in the City. Preliminary feedback was received on an earlier draft version of this report from the City with respect to child care parking allocation and calibrating the traffic model. These matters have been incorporated within this version of the report while additional ones can be addressed with further feedback from the City and that this version should be treated as a first draft to evolve with specific direction. A Green Mobility Plan has been prepared as part of the Sustainable Large Development document and this will provide details on the transportation initiatives to support the development plan. 1.2 Study Objectives This report aims to provide sufficient confidence that the development plan can be supported from a transportation perspective, focusing on: Review of the existing accessibility of the site from a transportation perspective; Articulate the church s current parking arrangements for weekend services and how this would operate with the new development plan, including for drop-off; Present the development plan s potential for reinstating the public realm at the church s frontage with Nelson Street; Present the planned parking levels in the context of the City s bylaw requirements; Articulate the planned truck servicing arrangements and that they meet expected demands; Assess the expected new vehicle demands generated and how these would distribute on the immediate street network; and, First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 1 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

8 Demonstrate the new development transportation movements generated on Nelson Street at its connections with Burrard Street and Thurlow Street can be accommodated along with assessing the capacity operational changes with the removal of the left lane on the Nelson Street approach to Burrard Street. 1.3 Report Layout Based on our understanding of previous studies in the local area, the report will proceed with the following sections: Section 2 Existing Conditions Section 3 Development Plan Review Section 4 Parking & Loading Section 5 Trip Generation Section 6 Operational Capacity Assessment Section 7 Summary First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 2 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

9 Scale: NTS SITE W EO G ST IA RG W O RO ST RL U ST N ST RD O BS TH SM A ST E W H N ST G SO VI N RA ST EL E LL O ST E H IT RR BU N S:\PROJECTS\PD\ First Baptist Church\7.0 Deliverables\7.1 Draft Reports\Graphics\Updated Graphics N BC PLACE STADIUM E IDG E RE E G D AR RR BU T DS R TB ET I BR E TR LE S L VI N RA G Exhibit 1.1 Site Context First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment, Vancouver, BC December &

10 2. EXISTING CONDITIONS 2.1 Introduction This section first presents the site s context before outlining the transportation surveys and study intersections (for the assessment), past vehicle volumes, street characteristics, pedestrian and cycling activities, and transit accessibility. It will provide important context when reviewing the development plan along with the operational capacity presented in Section Site Context The First Baptist Property is bounded by Nelson Street to the south, Burrard Street to the east, a laneway (shared with Barclay Street) to the north, and residential buildings to the west. The study area for this report is highlighted at Exhibit 2.1in the context of the local street network. The church was first established in 1911 at the corner of Burrard Street and Nelson Street and the photograph (opposite) shows the church and streetscape in its original form. Originally Nelson Street operated as a twolane / two-way street on the section adjacent to the site, but over time it became one-way and was expanded to four lanes at its approach to Burrard Street to meet expectations of future vehicle demands. This consequently led to the erosion of public realm and specifically the gathering space along the church s main entrance with Nelson Street. It currently feels constrained before and after services or when there is a special event occurring such as a wedding or funeral. Adding to this constraint is having a moving vehicle lane located adjacent to this space without the buffer of a landscaping strip. One the key objectives for the development plan will be to reinstate as much of the public realm on Nelson Street as possible, celebrating one of Vancouver s established landmarks. This is covered further in Sections 3 and 6 of the report. First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 4 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

11 Scale: NTS BA RC LA ST O W ST Y RL LA U N SM EW TH SITE A Y IT H E ST N EL SO ST ST N D CO O X ST RR AR M BU S:\PROJECTS\PD\ First Baptist Church\7.0 Deliverables\7.1 Draft Reports\Graphics\Updated Graphics N Exhibit 2.1 Study Area: (Existing Traffic Control and Laning) First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment, Vancouver, BC December &

12 2.3 Transportation Surveys Transportation survey work has focused on the weekday morning and afternoon peak periods given the primary change for the development plan is the new residential component. Operations for the church are expected remain similar to that observed today and this will be articulated further in Sections 3 and 5. Additionally, background vehicle volumes are generally lower on a Sunday, which does not have the same accentuated peak-hours, as highlighted at Figure 2.1 (data taken from Vanmap on Burrard Street south of Nelson Street) Figure 2.1: Two-way Vehicle Profiles on Burrard Street Sunday Monday Tuesday Table 2.1 summarizes the transportation survey locations for the vehicle movement counts on the study network, and Exhibit 2.1 illustrates the existing traffic control and laning on the study network. Surveys were conducted on November 27 th 2014 and results were reviewed in the context of the City s data, where the most recent counts on Vanmap were from Table 2.1: Study Network Intersections Intersection Burrard Street & Nelson Street Thurlow Street & Nelson Street Burrard Street & Laneway Thurlow Street & Laneway Intersection Control Type Fixed-Time Signal Fixed-Time Signal Minor stop Minor stop First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 6 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

13 Exhibit 2.2 summarizes the 2014 Weekday AM and PM peak-hour vehicle volumes at these locations with the following peak-hour times: Morning period: 7:30am to 8:30am Afternoon period: 4:30pm to 5:30pm Vehicle volumes in the afternoon peak-hour period are typically 10% higher than the morning, confirming this is the critical time for operations along with the fact that pedestrian volumes are also highest during this period. 2.4 Past Vehicle Volumes Vehicle volumes were reviewed at a city wide and local level to understand how patterns have changed over time as the City has grown. Using vehicle volume data from the City s Vanmap along with the 2014 count survey conducted for this report, Figure 2.2 highlights vehicle volumes have trended down at the Nelson Street and Burrard Street intersection between 1997 and This trend provides important context to the changes planned on Nelson Street as part of the development plan, presented in the next section and analysed in Section Figure 2.2: Nelson at Burrard Vehicle Volumes AM PM First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 7 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

14 Scale: NTS (1425) (15) (20) (1290) (30) BA W RC ST LA Y LO R U TH ST (5)10 (10)5 5 (10) 980 (720) LA N SITE (615) (175) 395 (655) SM EW IT A Y H E ST N EL (290) 425 SO (50) 50 N ST A RD ST (890) 550 (410) 260 RR CO M O X BU S:\PROJECTS\PD\ First Baptist Church\7.0 Deliverables\7.1 Draft Reports\Graphics\Updated Graphics N ST (25) 30 (810) 890 (130) (130) (685) Unsignalized Traffic Signal 000 (000) AM PM Intersection Volumes Exhibit 2.2 Existing 2014 Peak Hour Traffic Volumes First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment, Vancouver, BC December &

15 Similar patterns are being reflected across the City, as highlighted in Table 2.2, which was reproduced from the City of Vancouver s website. Table 2.2: Traffic Entering Vancouver 1981 to 2006 Year of Count 7am to 9am 4pm to 6pm Rest of the day All Day ,000 44, , , ,000 47, , , ,000 60, , , ,000 60, , , ,000 56, , , ,000 53, , ,000 These trends are consistent with the City of Vancouver Transportation 2040 document, where by 2020 it is expected that at least 50% of all trips would be by foot, bike, or transit, and by 2040 this would increase to at least two-thirds of all trips. 2.5 Street Characteristics Streets considered in the transportation assessment are described in Table 2.3 in terms of their general characteristics. Table 2.3: Summary of Street Characteristics Adjacent to Site Street Name Function General Number of Lanes Peak Link Flows (PM) Burrard Street Arterial 5 to 6 lanes with parking both sides (restricted by direction at peak times) 2,050 vehicles Nelson Street Arterial 2 to 4 lanes (no parking) 950 vehicles Thurlow Street Arterial 3 lanes (parking west side) 1,450 vehicles Laneway Local Access 7.5-metre driveway and 1-metre hard standing each side 100 vehicles Burrard Street and Thurlow carry 400 to 500 vehicles per lane on average in the peak-hour periods, while Nelson Street at its approach to Burrard Street carries less at around 250 vehicles per lane. This lower utilisation per lane provides important context for the changes proposed along Nelson Street. New vehicle demands will be primarily generated on the rear laneway which currently serves the church, YMCA, and a number of residential buildings. Its connection with Thurlow Street forms a left-in and -out and at Burrard Street it is full movements, although the left-turn out is challenging at peak times. First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 9 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

16 The rear laneway for the site is wider than other typical downtown locations. It is around 10-metres wide, building face to building face, and has a roller-over curb on each side (on certain sections) along with a 7.5-metre roadway width. Parking occurs along the laneway, partially using the hard standing area which is around 1.0 to 1.5-metres each side. The layout is shown on the photograph opposite. With the development plan, it is expected that this laneway will continue to provide short-term parking to support the adjacent uses, and especially as the street parking opportunities are limited on the adjacent streets. Nelson Street transitions from two-lane roadway to a four lane roadway in the eastbound direction and this has consequently impacted the public realm at the church s frontage as can be seen from the photograph opposite. The travel lane closest to the First Baptist church acts primarily as a left-turn lane to Burrard Street and this is reflected in the low usage. Even during the weekday peak periods when it is also available for through movements, its use is very low due to its short length and preference of drivers to use the middle lanes. One of the key changes for the development plan is the option to remove this lane, covered at Sections 3 and 6, and it is hoped that the City can give a balanced consideration for this change. The driveway shown on this photograph for the church will be removed as part of the development plan. 2.6 Parking Parking arrangements for the church are currently located on the adjacent surface parking lots and at weekends this is supported by the Nelson Square parkade at the corner of Howe Street and Nelson Street. Summarised in Table 2.4 is breakdown of the existing church parking provisions. First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 10 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

17 Table 2.4: Existing Church Parking Location Space Available Operations Drop-off / pick-up close to west entrance 3 Marked for use Parking adjacent to church 55 Small number reserved for church members and the remainder reserved on Sundays only - public can use at other times (managed by Impark) #Upper levels Nelson Square 83# Under a contract for the church to use on weekends Peak parking drop-off activity generally occurs15-minutes before a church service starts, where around 10 to 15 movements are typically observed at the church s driveway with Nelson Street. Drivers usually proceed south toward the Nelson Square car park and this activity is expected to continue in the future development plan, but with the laneway primarily used instead. Street parking in close proximity to the church has been reviewed and this is presented at Exhibit 2.3. It highlights limited opportunities for short-term parking adjacent to the church. On the Nelson Street frontage, no parking or stopping is allowed except for a short section where stopping is allowed at the front of the church while on the Burrard Street frontage parking meters operate (except 3pm to 7pm on weekdays). As part of the development plan it will be important to work with the City of Vancouver to understand the opportunities to provide more supportive parking for the church s short-term needs along with improvements to the public realm. 2.7 Pedestrians and Cycling With its downtown setting, the new residents will be well-positioned to access a wide range of amenities and employment opportunities within reasonable walking distance, i.e. 10 to 20 minutes, and indeed this is one of the main reasons why people orientate themselves to live in such locations. Walkscore describes the site as a walker s and biker s paradise with a score of 99 to 100 out of 100. These factors will be a strong influence in minimizing the number of new vehicle movements generated by the residential and this will be reflected in the low vehicle trip rates applied later in the report. Figure 2.3 shows cycling facilities in the vicinity of the site while existing pedestrian and cyclist volumes from the transportation surveys are presented at Exhibit 2.4. The site is located close to the City s bike facilities, shown at Table 2.5, providing opportunities to cycle conveniently in a north-south or east-west direction through the downtown, and connect with other strategic routes such as the Seawall, Dunsmuir bikeway, Central Valley Greenway, etc. First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 11 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

18 Table 2.5: Bicycle Routes Close to the First Baptist Project Site City Bike Route General Direction Location Type Burrard Street North-south East boundary Painted lanes Smithe Street East-west 1.5 blocks to the north Painted lanes Comox Helmcken East-west One block to the south Separated lanes Hornby North-south One block to the east Separated lanes Figure 2.3: City Bicycle Routes First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 12 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

19 N Restricted Parking 7:30am to 9:30am Restricted Parking 3:00pm to 7:00pm No Parking No Stopping No Parking No Stopping No Parking *photo taken on September 12,2014 at 4pm Nelson St. Restricted Parking 7:30am to 9:30am & 3:00pm to 6:00pm Front Stairwell Location Hornby St. Main Entrance Existing Driveway Locations *to be removed SITE Burrard St. S:\PROJECTS\PD\ First Baptist Church\7.0 Deliverables\7.1 Draft Reports\Graphics\Updated Graphics Bike Lane Laneway Restricted Parking 3:00pm to 7:00pm 2 Hour Parking Y.M.C.A Bike Lane Exhibit 2.3 Street Parking First Baptist Church Nelson Street Design Review December 2015 Scale NTS &

20 O RL U TH 1 (2 9 ) Scale: NTS 1 ) (4 BA RC LA 0 (0 Y ) 0 ) (0 ST LA N SITE N EL EW BU Y ST SM IT H E ST ST 1 (3 0 9) N RD A RR A SO CO 2 ( ) 2 ( ) 2 ( ) 2 (7 0 ) 1 (1 9 ) 4 ( ) 2 ( ) 1 ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) S:\PROJECTS\PD\ First Baptist Church\7.0 Deliverables\7.1 Draft Reports\Graphics\Updated Graphics N ST W 0 (0 ) Pedestrian Volumes: AM(PM) M O X Cyclist Volumes: AM(PM) ST Exhibit 2.4 Existing Pedestrian and Cyclist Volumes First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment, Vancouver, BC December &

21 2.8 Transit Accessibility Bus stops on Burrard Street are within a 5-minute walk of the development site, while the Burrard Street SkyTrain Station to the north is located at around 600-metres away while to the east is the Canada Line Station at Granville Street at around 650-metres. Shown at Table 2.5 are the current transit service frequencies accessible from the development site, covering rapid transit and buses. Table 2.5: Service Frequencies for Transit Services Service Route Description Weekday Peak Weekday Midday Weekday Evening Bus #2 MacDonald - Knight 5-7 min 7-8 min min Bus #22 MacDonald - Knight 5-6 min 6-7 min 15 min Bus #44 UBC min n /a 20 min Bus #32 Dunbar 20 min n / a n / a Expo/Millennium Line Downtown Vancouver-New Westminster and Surrey 2-3 min 3 min 3 min Canada Line Downtown Vancouver-Richmond 3-4 min min First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 15 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

22 3. DEVELOPMENT PLAN REVIEW 3.1 Introduction Westbank Properties is planning a new development of the underutilized land adjacent to the First Baptist Church that is currently occupied by surface parking and a low-rise residential rental building. The new building footprint is planned to accommodate two new residential buildings along with ancillary facilities to support the church s day-to-day needs along with special events. All existing surface parking will be removed as part of the development plan and relocated within the new buildings underground parking structure. Changes to the church capacity and / or membership are not expected as a direct result of the development plan, and as such, patterns observed today are expected to continue into the future. Parking arrangements, including for drop-off and pick-up, are presented in the following paragraphs and, as will be evident, they will broadly be similar with the current arrangements. Exhibit 3.1 presents the development plan in the context of its immediate environs. 3.2 Development Content Summarized in Table 3.1 is a breakdown of the development plan, presenting floor and unit numbers. Table 3.1: Proposed Development Content New Building Gross Buildable Floor Area Units or Children Market Residential 459,607sq.ft (42,688sqm) 294 units Rental Residential 51,179sq.ft (4,755sqm) 66 units Church (new) 38,600sq.ft (3,586sqm) n/a Child Care 6,358sq.ft (591sqm) 37 students Expansion of the church floor area will essentially support the existing activities and is not expected to materially increase vehicle demands, although as part of the capacity work consideration has been for additional movements. The church s activities typically include Sunday school, adult education, coffee and cookies, shelter dinner prep, senior support activities, etc.; and clearly most of these are communityoriented and should not materially increase vehicle movements. 3.3 Development Access Access and circulation routes are shown at Exhibit 3.1 in the context of the development plan along with the proposed changes to the street design. Pedestrian access to the residential will primarily be from First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 16 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

23 Nelson Street along with a secondary access from the rear laneway, taking into consideration the need to reach the lower grade at that point. Vehicle access for the underground car park will be from the rear laneway and entrance will be positioned on the eastern side of the development plan to allow the ramp to run along much of the northern boundary of the site, minimizing the grade change to reach the lower parking levels. The design has been tested using a large saloon car (5.5 metres in length), and this demonstrates that there is sufficient room to turn a vehicle 180-degree to enter and exit. Maximum ramp grade is planned at 10% and all details can be presented at the DP stage. Underground parking will be located on 5 / 6 underground levels and this will be confirmed as the development plan is further refined. The upper parking level will be allocated for the child care and church parking while the lower ones would be secured for residents. Circulation and parking space details can be reviewed at the DP stage. Loading will have a separate access from the laneway and is positioned on the western side of the development plan. 3.4 Public Realm Changes An important part of the development plan will be to improve the church s public realm along the fronting streets and laneway, while new space will be created on the west side of the church. One of the main considerations to discuss with the City will be the treatment of the church s frontage with Nelson Street. It is proposed as part of the development plan to reinstate the public realm back to its original form (it was removed when Nelson Street was widened for vehicle traffic in the 1960s / 70s), and this change can be seen on the landscape drawings. Initial feedback from the City is that they would not be supportive but it is hoped that the positives can outweigh the negatives from the City s perspective. There are a number of relevant City polices from Transportation 2040 that can be linked to this change W1.2 Provide generous, unobstructed sidewalks on all streets W1.3 Make streets accessible for all people W1.6 Provide a blueprint for great pedestrian realm design W2.2 Create public plazas and gathering spaces throughout the city It is appreciated this change could impact capacity operations at the intersection of Nelson Street and Burrard Street at peak times and this matter is considered in the capacity review section. However, this should be balanced with the benefits outlined below: Allows landscaping and trees to be reintroduced on Nelson Street that were lost when the roadway was widened (i.e. when the City s priorities were different); First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 17 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

24 Creates a more comfortable experience for gathering at the church s main entrance; This change is consistent with the City s policy to promote pedestrians first and make the downtown more walkable; and Reduces the crosswalk distance on Nelson Street, which carries 400 pedestrians per hour at peak times. These benefits provide a compelling case for this change and hopefully can outweigh any minor loss to vehicle capacity that may occur for short periods of time, e.g. weekday peak-hour times. 3.5 Short-term / Drop-off Parking One of the main transportation considerations for the church is the ability for drop-off (and to a lesser extent pick-up) to occur in close proximity to the main entrance. This activity presently occurs at the First Baptist surface car park driveway access and is typically linked with the use of the Nelson Square car park, which the church has a private arrangement for use at weekends (see Section 2). With the changes planned at the church, it is proposed that the following arrangements be considered with the City: Nelson Street provide a layover facility (not lay-by) for wedding or funeral vehicles that can be used only for such activities. It is important for any church that event activities can be conducted at the main entrance, and in public view, as it adds to the experience of people attending and contributes to the quality of street life. Outside special events, this space would form part of the public realm for people to walk (similar to what happens on sections of Granville Street in the downtown) and access could be managed with a rollover curb and the use of removable bollards (if necessary). Rear laneway - similar to the YMCA frontage, it is proposed to allow short-term parking on the laneway while still allowing for a 6-metre clear width for passing vehicles. This zone is expected to function as drop-off / pick-up zone for the residential and church. Burrard Street parking on the church s Burrard Street frontage is currently metered and no parking is allowed on weekdays between 3pm and 7pm (bus lane). It is proposed that this parking on weekends could be allocated for short-term use and hence be more attuned to the church s activities with limited use for say 5 or 10-minutes at certain times. 3.6 Summary With the new development plan, it is proposed to improve how the church currently operates with respect to pedestrian circulation and gathering space along with continuing to manage parking demands, including for short-term drop-off. In the next section parking and loading is considered while in Section 6 the capacity operations on the adjacent streets are considered, including for the public realm change proposed along Nelson Street. First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 18 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

25 Short Term Parking Scale: NTS Parking Access BURRARD ST S:\PROJECTS\PD\ First Baptist Church\7.0 Deliverables\7.1 Draft Reports\Graphics\Updated Graphics N Loading Short Term Parking Option Main Entrance NELSON ST Improvement to Public Realm Exhibit 3.1 Development Plan First Baptist Property Transportation Assessment, Vancouver, BC December &

26 4. PARKING & LOADING REVIEW This section articulates the parking supply, for vehicle and bicycles, covering the church and residential uses together with the loading arrangements for all uses. Based on the current site plan, the planned parking will be for 497 spaces in total and these will allocated to the different uses as described in the following paragraphs. 4.1 Church and Day-Care Parking Parking for the church is guided by the non-residential use rates for the downtown requiring the following: (a) minimum of one parking space for each 145 m² of gross floor area; and, (b) maximum of one parking space for each 115 m² of gross floor area. Child care parking was based on guidance from the City as there is no specific category in the parking bylaw, where the following link was provided: Application of these parking rates is presented in Table 4.1 based on the planned floor area for the church and number of children for the child care. Table 4.1: Parking for Church and Child Care Use Floor Area or children Minimum Parking Rate (spaces/sq m) Minimum Parking Spaces Maximum Parking Rate (stalls/sq m) Maximum Parking Stalls Planned Parking Church+ 6678sqm Child care 37 children 1 per 8 children++ 7 n/a n/a 7 Total includes heritage floor area (33285sq.ft); ++includes staff Combined, the parking spaces for church and child care fall at the lower end range where 51 spaces are planned. However, the peak parking demand for the child care will be during the weekday daytime period, while in contrast, the church is currently during weekends or the occasional evening. This shared parking opportunity allows for the best use of parking given the different peak demand periods. Child care parking spaces are expected to be signed for that use on weekdays for time periods to be agreed with the City. Additional parking for the church will continue to be supplemented by the Nelson Square car park given the short-term use nature of the church s peak demands at weekends. First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 20 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

27 4.2 Residential Parking Vehicle parking bylaw rates for the residential are set out in Table 4.2 and application of these for the proposed development plan are presented in Table 4.3 in the context of the planned supply. Table 4.2: Residential Parking Rates Land Use Market Residential Non-Market Residential Bylaw Rates Lesser of 1 per 140 m 2 or 1 per unit 1 per 150 m 2 ( based on 20% of the City-wide 1 space per 125 m 2 ) Table 4.3: Residential Vehicle Parking for Proposed Development Plan Land Use Market Housing Non-Market Housing Floor Area (m 2 ) Residential Units Minimum Rate Minimum Required Planned 42, , Total 47, n/a Altogether 417 spaces are planned (equivalent to around 1.42 spaces per unit) for the market housing. This level complies with the City s minimum bylaw requirement and is reflective of the high proportion of family-sized units (i.e. 2 bedrooms or more), which is around 75% of the total. This parking level is important for residents in having access to a vehicle for certain trip types; for example, school-related ones (especially with number of two-bedroom or more units) or leisure / personal business trips in the evening or weekends when access to transit may be less convenient. Non-market housing is slightly below the minimum requirement with the 29 parking spaces planned, but the church is comfortable with this numbers for its rental needs. 4.3 Bicycle Parking Rates for bicycle parking are presented in Table 4.4, along with the preliminary expected provision based on the estimated number of the total units planned at 360. Table 4.4: Bicycle Parking Rates Land Use Class A Class B Residential A minimum of 1.25 spaces for every unit. A minimum of 6 spaces for any development containing a minimum of 20 units Church No requirement A minimum of 6 spaces Day-care No requirement No requirement but can be shared with church First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 21 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

28 Summarized in Table 4.5 is the overall planned bicycle residential parking numbers and Table 4.6 provides a breakdown of where the Class-A bicycle parking would be located. Table 4.5: Proposed Class-A Bicycle Parking Supply Land Use Bylaw Minimum Proposed Bicycle Parking Market Residential 368 (294 x 1.25) 368 Non-Market Residential 83 (66 x 1.25) 83 Church / child care No requirement 15 spaces Totals Table 4.6: Class-A Bicycle Parking Locations Use Location Number of Spaces Access Market Residential On each floor 150 (3 per floor) Elevator All Residential Mezzanine level (main room) 301 Dedicated ramp access from Laneway Church / Child care Mezzanine level (separate room) 15 Service corridor access from laneway Totals 466 In addition to the above, Class-B bicycle parking spaces are planned with 6 provided for the church and 12 for the residential and there would be an opportunity to share these for the different peak times of use. 4.4 Loading Two Class-B and 1 Class-A loading spaces are planned to serve the development plan and these will be accessed directly from the rear laneway. Table 4.7 highlights the minimum loading space requirements based on Section 5 of the City s Parking Bylaw, while Table 4.8 presents them in the context of the development plan floor areas and unit numbers. Table 4.7: By-Law Loading Rates Land Use Class A Class B Class C Residential No requirement No requirement for less than 100 units. At least one space for 100 to 299 units. No requirement Church 0 1 space per 2,800sqm 0 First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 22 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

29 Table 4.8: By-Law Loading Requirements Land Use Units / Floor Area Class A Class B Class C Residential 360 units Church 6678sq m Total n /a The bylaw loading requirement is high for the church and residential uses planned. Loading demands for the church are currently low, where the First Baptist Church staff estimate around three regular deliveries per week with some extra movements for special events. Additionally, UPS delivers almost daily and based on Bunt s experience this is usually with a box van. It therefore suggests one Class-B space can serve the needs of the church and this can also be shared with the residential where another Class-B is planned. Smaller vehicles can be handled in the Class-A space planned. All three spaces would be directly accessed from the laneway. A loading management, if required, can be provided at the DP stage to articulate how the loading arrangements would operate. 4.5 Summary Table 4.9 summarizes the breakdown of the vehicle parking, bicycle parking and loading supply proposed for the development plan. Table 4.9: Summary of Planned Supply for Each Use Land Use Vehicle Parking Bicycle Parking Loading Church Class-A, 6 Class-B 1 Class-B, 1 Class-A Child care 7 Shared with church n/a Market Residential Class-A, 6 Class-B Non-Market Residential Class-A, 6 Class-B 1 Class-B Totals Class-A, 18 Class-B 2 Class-B, 1 Class-A First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 23 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

30 5. TRIP GENERATION 5.1 Introduction The following quantifies the projected new vehicle movements that the development plan could generate, specifically covering the church s activities, child care, and residential elements. Distribution patterns are also developed for the new vehicle demands, specifically focusing on the residential. 5.2 Vehicle Trip Generation Rates Trip rates for residential, child care, and church uses are covered in turn in the following paragraphs Residential Rates Table 5.1 shows vehicle trip rates for market residential developments within the downtown and adjacent areas, and these are essentially market housing projects. Table 5.1: Observed Residential Vehicle Trip Rates Per Hour (two-way weekdays) Location Units AM PM 638 Beach Cres., 628 & 633 Kinghorne Mews False Creek North Survey Milross Street Richards Street (Azura) Average Vehicle trip rates are typically 0.19 to 0.20 per unit in the peak-hour periods and these will be used as a basis for assessing the number new movements for both the market and rental units. The latter has limited data available and therefore applying market rates should provide a very robust proxy as demand would be expected to be lower Child Care Rates Bunt has recorded child care trip rates for urban sites in Vancouver. This is presented in Table 5.2 and rates may be on the high side for a downtown location, but should provide a robust proxy for the analysis. Table 5.2: Observed Child Care Trip Rates per Registered Child (two-way weekdays) Location Children AM PM Quadra Childcare Centre Pooh Corner Child care Montessori Child care Centre Average First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 24 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

31 5.2.3 Church Rates Vehicle trip rates for the church are typically highest on a Saturday (evening) or Sunday but this also coincides with lower background vehicle volumes on the adjacent street network, and as such, these periods are not considered a particular issue from a vehicle capacity perspective. More generally, the church s weekend service activities are not expected to change with the development plan and hence the patterns observed today are expected to continue into the future. With this, the vehicle trip rates for the morning and afternoon weekday peak-hour periods have been considered, and for simplicity the ITE #560 church category was applied for this assessment. Table 5.3: Vehicle Trip Rates for All Uses Land Use Source AM (in/out) PM (in/out) Church ITE 560 Church (per sq. ft.) 0.56 (0.35/0.21) 0.55 (0.26/0.29) 5.3 Vehicle Trip Generation Rate Summary Table 5.4 summarizes the rates for each use and these will be applied to the unit or child numbers and floor areas in Table 5.5. Table 5.4: Vehicle Trip Rates for All Uses Land Use Source AM (in/out) PM (in/out) Child Care Bunt Data Local Data (per child) 0.48 (0.24/0.24) 0.65 (0.32/0.35) Residential Bunt Data Local Data (per unit) 0.19 (0.08/0.11) 0.20 (0.13/0.07) Church ITE 560 Church (per sq. ft.) 0.56 (0.35/0.21) 0.55 (0.26/0.29) Table 5.5: New Development Vehicle Trips Land Use Quantity AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour In Out Total In Out Total Child Care 37 children Residential 360 units Church 45,370 sq. ft Total Note: +floor area is conservatively inclusive of child care Around 110 and 120 two-way vehicle trips could be generated during the weekday AM and PM peak-hour periods, equating to around 2 vehicle trips per minute. It is anticipated the new vehicle demand would be lower, taking into consideration the synergies with the existing church activities; having no deduction for the existing rental units; and the child care rate probably being on the high side. First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 25 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

32 5.4 Vehicle Trip Distribution The trip distribution for site s new vehicle movements was based upon existing patterns in the local area as well as the site s location in the context of the existing street network and the various restricted movements. Table 5.6 shows the trip distribution patterns for site-generated vehicle movements by general direction. Table 5.6: Trip Distribution by General Direction Origin/Destination In Out Smithe East 30% n/a Nelson Street east n/a 30% Nelson street west 3% 10% Burrard Street South 17% 20% Burrard Street North 30% 20% Thurlow Street South n/a 20% Thurlow Street North 20% n/a 5.5 Summary In sum, 110 and 120 two-way vehicle trips could be generated during the weekday AM and PM peak-hour periods, equating to around 2 vehicle trips per minute. New vehicle demands could be lower taking into consideration synergies with the existing church activities; having no deduction for the existing rental housing; and the child care rate is probably very conservative given the location. First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 26 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

33 6. OPERATIONAL CAPACITY ANALYSIS 6.1 Introduction This section presents the capacity review for the study network, established in Section 2, and is based on the net change of new vehicle movements generated by the development plan, derived in the previous section. Two scenarios have been considered for the analysis: 1. Existing conditions; and, 2. Full build-out of the development plan. As no vehicle traffic growth has been observed on the adjacent street network (see Section 2), the background movements are assumed to remain constant in the build-out scenario. The changes to the left lane on the Nelson Street approach to Burrard Street adjacent to the church will be tested to see how it influences operations and what supporting measures may be needed. 6.2 Vehicle Flow Diagrams Vehicle flow diagrams for the study network were developed for the following: Existing weekday am and pm peak-hour vehicle flows from surveys (see Exhibit 2.2); and New vehicle movements distributed on the study network (see Exhibit 6.1). 6.3 Percentage Change on the Study Network Before presenting the operational analysis, it is important to first understand the percentage change in new vehicle movements with the development plan in place. This provides context to the capacity assessment on whether changes are required with the respect to the new movements generated and / or contributions to transportation infrastructure. Table 6.1: Changes in Traffic on Network PM Peak-Hour Year Intersection Existing Development Net Volume Percent of Existing Nelson at Thurlow % Nelson at Burrard % Evidently, the percentage change in the new development vehicle movements will be less than 2%, which is well within the day-to-day variations of hourly flows during the peak conditions, and which is therefore not considered to be material. First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 27 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

34 6.4 Capacity Analysis Preamble Vehicle capacity analysis was carried out using Synchro Software (version 9). Results are summarized in the tables provided in this section, covering Volume to Capacity (V/C) ratios and the delay-based vehicle indicator Level of Service (LOS); ranging from ideal A condition, with minimal delay, through to LOS F, over-saturated condition. Main notes for each table summary is presented below: With signalized intersections, the Level of Service ranges from LOS A, ideal conditions with minimal delay (< 10 sec per vehicle), through to LOS E, near capacity conditions (> 55 sec to 80 sec per vehicle) and LOS F, over-saturated conditions (> 80 sec per vehicle). indicates that the 95th percentile queue lengths for a movement at an intersection can be accommodated within the available storage capacity. Bolded results indicate values are above acceptable criteria. Detailed Synchro outputs for all movements and periods can be found at Appendix A. As part of the traffic model calibration work, additional data was collected in November 2015 for queue lengths (over the peak-hour periods) on the Nelson Street approach to Burrard Street along with at the Nelson Street and Thurlow Street intersection, and this is presented at Appendix B. 6.5 Existing Operational Conditions A summary of existing 2015 vehicle capacity operations is shown in Table 6.2. Table 6.2: 2015 Capacity Operations Intersection Nelson and Thurlow Movement V/C AM Peak Hour LOS 95th Percentile Queue (m) V/C PM Peak Hour LOS 95th Percentile Queue (m) Overall 0.56 B B - SW R 0.13 A B 14 SW TL 0.38 B B 50 SW L 0.32 B B 18 SE TR 0.72 C B 55 Overall 0.76 C C - SE L 0.08 B B 10 Nelson and Burrard SE TR 0.64 B C 52 NE T 0.94 D C 59 NE R 0.33 C C 20 SW LT 0.64 B B 86 First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 28 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

35 Clearly no operational issues are identified at the study intersections with the existing conditions. In the morning peak-hour period, the Level of Services (LOS) on each movement is either an A or B and in the afternoon peak-hour period this increases to B or C. Typically, many intersections in the downtown are at LOS D or worse and this would indicate therefore there is available vehicle capacity. 6.6 Future Operational Conditions with Development With the development plan vehicle flows, see Exhibit 6.1, added to the background flows in Exhibit 2.1, a capacity assessment was undertaken with the combined flows and this is summarized in Table 6.3 based on the existing travel lane configurations. Table 6.3: Capacity Operations with Development in Place AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour Intersection Movement V/C LOS 95th Percentile Queue (m) V/C LOS 95th Percentile Queue (m) Overall 0.57 B B - Nelson and Thurlow SW R 0.14 A B 14 SW TL 0.40 B B 51 SW L 0.34 B B 19 SE TR 0.72 C B 55 Overall 0.77 B C - SE L 0.09 B B 9 Nelson and Burrard SE TR 0.66 C C 62 NE T 0.95 D C 60 NE R 0.33 B C 21 SW LT 0.66 B C 89 Evidently, the development plan only has a marginal influence on the study network operations and in the busier afternoon peak-hour period the Level of Service is still only a B or C. The following paragraphs now consider possible operational changes with the removal, or partial removal, of the left lane on Nelson Street along the frontage of the church. 6.7 Changes at Nelson Street at Burrard Street One of the key changes to the public realm being considered is the proposed reinstatement of the public realm / boulevard along the church s Nelson Street frontage. This change will reverse the City s decision from a previous era when the focus was on vehicle capacity rather than pedestrians. It will create a comfortable gathering space at the church s main entrance and First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 29 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

36 more generally restore the public realm to one fitting of a landmark building within the downtown. As well, the public realm treatment will be more consistent with the street sections further west on Nelson Street while the pedestrian crosswalk on the west leg at the Nelson Street and Burrard Street intersection (with 400 to 550 pedestrians crossing per hour) would benefit with a shorter crosswalk distance. Clearly it is important to understand how this potential change influences vehicle operations, but before considering this it is important to recap on the vehicle demands on this travel lane. Section 2 highlighted vehicle movements at this intersection have trended down overtime and are now 10% to 12% lower when compared to Another perspective is the City of Vancouver count data at the intersection on Nelson Street approach to Burrard Street over the years (2000 to 2009) and this is presented in Table 6.4 together with Bunt s 2014 count. Table 6.4: Vehicle Turning Movements for Nelson at Burrard (2000 to 2014) Year Left-turn am / pm Straight-through am / pm Right-turn am / pm / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / * 29 / / / 128 Note: * Bunt 2014 count Evidently, the left-turn vehicle volume from Nelson Street to Burrard Street has continued to remain modest during the peak-hour times of operation at around 20 to 30 vehicles per hour, which is equivalent to 1 vehicle per 2 to 3 minutes and the volume has not changed materially over the past 14 years. It is appreciated that during the weekday peak period times the left lane is also used for through vehicle movements; however, the lane utilization is still very low with the vast majority of through movements occuring in the middle two lanes as is evident from Table 6.5. Table 6.5: Vehicle Lane Utilisation - Nelson Street Eastbound Time Period Left lane Middle left Middle Right Right Lane AM 5% 38% 40% 17% PM 5% 33% 42% 20% First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 30 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

37 These proportions confirm few vehicles use the left lane for a through movement with the majority using the middle two lanes. Outside the weekday peak periods, the left lane function s essentially as a left-turn lane. From the queue length data collected in November 2015, the Nelson Street approach to Burrard Street is summarized in Figures 6.1a and b for the 50 and 95 percentile queue levels using data for each traffic signal cycle period. Figure 6a: Nelson Street Approach to Burrard by Lane AM Left Mid Left Mid Right Right 50% ile 95% ile Figure 6b: Nelson Approach to Burrard by lane PM Left Mid Left Mid Right Right 50% ile 95% ile First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 31 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

38 This review of the queue lengths confirms the left lane vehicle queue is by far the lowest and could be added the middle left lane and it would still be less than the middle right lane in the busier afternoon pm period. There is variability in the queue length over the peak-hour periods, but as the 99 percentile queue shows, the maximum queue is just over 80-metres. In assessing the left travel lane change on Nelson Street, the following scenarios have been considered and the analysis is summarized in Tables 6.6A to 6.6C: Complete removal of left lane; Complete removal of left lane and left-turn movement restricted at peak times; and Partial removal of left lane with a 15-metre pocket at Burrard Street. Table 6.6A: Burrard Street & Nelson Street - Left Lane Removed Movement AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour v/c LOS 95 th Q (m) v/c LOS 95 th Q (m) Overall 0.78 C C - SE LTR (Nelson) 0.68 C C 56 NE T (Burrard) 0.95 D C 60 NE R (Nelson) 0.33 B C 20 SW LT (Burrard) 0.64 B C 89 Table 6.6B: Burrard Street & Nelson Street - Left Lane Removed (left-turn movement restricted) Movement AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour v/c LOS 95 th Q (m) v/c LOS 95 th Q (m) Overall 0.78 C C - SE TR (Nelson) 0.68 C C 56 NE T (Burrard) 0.95 D C 60 NE R (Nelson) 0.33 B C 20 SW LT (Burrard) 0.66 B C 89 First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 32 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

39 Table 6.6C: Burrard Street & Nelson Street Reduced left-lane length Movement AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour v/c LOS 95 th Q (m) v/c LOS 95 th Q (m) Overall 0.77 C C - SE L (Nelson) 0.09 B B 10 SE TR (Nelson) 0.66 C C 54 NE T (Burrard) 0.95 D C 60 NE R (Nelson) 0.33 B C 20 SW LT (Burrard) 0.64 B C 89 In all three scenarios, the intersection operations does not materially change and this can be attributed by the low utilization of the left lane (by through and left-turn vehicles). This analysis provides a strong operational case for the City to consider removal of the left lane on Nelson Street adjacent to the church. It is appreciated that more information / discussion may be needed and Bunt would engage with the City through the application review process. One of the test options could be temporarily closure of the lane as part of the church s seismic upgrade for working space (which may be required as part of the construction management plan). 6.8 Summary Further analysis work has been undertaken in the operational assessment to ensure the traffic model was calibrated based on the existing queue lengths observed on-site to improve confidence with the results. This demonstrated that with the removal of the Nelson Street left lane on the approach to Burrard Street would not materially influence capacity operations given the light vehicle movements on this lane, i.e. 5% of the total volumes, and there is sufficient capacity on the adjacent travel lanes to accommodate these movements. Additionally this analysis is focused on the weekday peak-hour periods and benefits of the change will be seen throughout each day, including at weekends. It is also in a backdrop of lower background vehicle movements in the City as it moves toward its 2040 targets for travel modes. First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment Draft Report 33 bunt & associates Project No December 2015

40 Scale: NTS (0) 0 (20) 5 40 (25) (35) 20 BA W LA Y LO R U (0) 0 RC ST TH (10)15 ST (10) 20 5 (15) 0 (0) LA N SITE (10) (5) 15 (15) 7 25 SM EW IT A Y H E ST N EL (2) 1 SO (0) 0 N ST A RD ST (10) 15 (2) 4 RR CO M O X BU S:\PROJECTS\PD\ First Baptist Church\7.0 Deliverables\7.1 Draft Reports\Graphics\Updated Graphics N ST (2) 1 (15) 25 (0) (0) (10) Unsignalized Traffic Signal 000 (000) AM PM Intersection Volumes Exhibit 6.1 Development Peak Hour Traffic Volumes First Baptist Property Master Plan Transportation Assessment, Vancouver, BC December &