THE CORNERSTONE APARTMENTS TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDY R&M PROJECT NO

Transcription

1 THE CORNERSTONE APARTMENTS SITUATED AT N/E/C OF STAUDERMAN AVENUE AND FOREST AVENUE VILLAGE OF LYNBROOK NASSAU COUNTY, NEW YORK TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDY R&M PROJECT NO September Elm Street, Huntington, NY Fax

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 3 Existing Land Use 3 Zoning 3 Access 3 Parking 4 STUDY METHODOLOGY 5 EXISTING TRAFFIC CONDITIONS 6 Roadway Network 6 Designated Parking Areas 7 FUTURE PARKING CONDITIONS 10 Parking Generation 10 PARKING ANALYSIS 12 PAGE APPENDICES APPENDIX A APPENDIX B FIGURES AND TABLES I. Figures II. Tables TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH I. Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Table 2.4 II. Landscape and Urban Planning Paper i

3 INTRODUCTION This study was conducted to determine the potential traffic impacts associated with the redevelopment of the premises located at the existing Village of Lynbrook Municipal Parking Field 8, as designated by the Incorporated Village of Lynbrook. The overall parcel is 69, sf (1.59 acre) in size and is located at the southwest corner of the intersection formed by St. James Place and Earle Avenue and the northeast corner of Stauderman Avenue and Forest Avenue. The site is situated within the Commercial zoning district and is represented by Section 38, Block 90, Lots 1, 2, 6 & 10 on the Nassau County Tax Map. The location of the project site within the study area is visually depicted in Figure 1 Location Map contained in Appendix A. Presently, the area to be redeveloped contains an existing municipal parking lot denoted as Field 8. At this time, the applicant is proposing to demolish the existing parking lot and construct a six (6) story 55,560 sf apartment building containing 200, studio, 1 and 2-bedroom, dwelling units (known as the Cornerstone Lynbrook Apartments). In addition to the parking lot to be removed, a one-building development located on St. James Place is also to be removed to peruse the proposed action. Additionally, the structure will provide 200 parking stalls to accommodate the proposed dwelling units. The project is visually depicted on the Conceptual Site Plan prepared by R&M Engineering, dated August 30 th, In addition to the proposed construction of the aforementioned apartment building/parking garage, a parking garage will also be constructed on the existing municipal parking lot denoted as Field 3 within the Incorporated Village of Lynbrook (located approximately 970 feet to the west of the premises). This garage will contain 400+/- parking spaces to accommodate the municipal parking lost by the development of Field 8 while adding to the total municipal parking available within the Incorporated Village of Lynbrook. It is important to note that the proposed Cornerstone Lynbrook Apartments are located within 1000 feet of the Lynbrook Long Island Railroad (LIRR) Station and is substantially contiguous to Merrick Road and Broadway, which provide access to several Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) bus routes. Due to this, the proposed project is considered a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in accordance with the definitions provided by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). Accordingly, the vehicular needs of residents are altered in 1

4 such a way that the parking generation components of this development will be lesser than similarly sized projects not situated with readily accessible public transit. R&M Engineering conducted a detailed investigation of the potential traffic and parking impacts of the proposed project on the surrounding street system. This report reviews the future parking supply/demand, existing roadway and traffic conditions in the area, estimates the volume and pattern of traffic generated by the proposed project, and summarizes the results of the analysis performed. The effect of additional traffic on the surrounding roadway network is also analyzed. 2

5 PROJECT DESCRIPTION Existing Land Use The 69, sf (1.59 acre) overall parcel is located at the southwest corner of the intersection formed by St. James Place and Earle Avenue, in the Village of Lynbrook, New York. The property presently contains an existing municipal parking lot denoted as Municipal Parking Field 8, as designated by the Incorporated Village of Lynbrook. Zoning The subject parcel is situated in the Commercial Zoning District. The proposed action includes a request of inclusion in the Arts & Cultural Overlay District. Access In the existing condition, access to the site is provided via driveways on St. James Place, Forest Avenue and Earle Avenue. These driveways are as follows: An unsignalized site access driveway on St. James Place that allows vehicles to enter and exit the property via left or right turning. An unsignalized site access driveway on Forest Avenue that allow vehicles to enter and exit the property via left or right turning. An unsignalized site access driveway on Earle Avenue that allow vehicles to enter and exit the property via left or right turning As a result of the instant application, the curb cuts will be modified to provide access as follows: There will be a single site access driveway situated on the southern property line, formerly part of Municipal Lot Field 8 that will permit ingress for both directions of travel for traffic traveling east and west and egress for traffic leaving the site turning east and west. The site access modifications are visually depicted on the Conceptual Site Plan prepared by R&M Engineering dated August 30 th,

6 Parking As mentioned in the introduction, the Cornerstone Lynbrook Apartments is considered a Transit Oriented Development based on the definition presented by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) due to its proximity to the Lynbrook LIRR station and various NICE bus stops. The most prevalent source of information regarding the traffic characteristics of a TOD is presented by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) via the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) in Report 128 titles Effects of TOD on Housing, Parking, and Travel (published in 2008). Based on the information presented in the aforementioned report and the professional opinion of R&M Engineering, we believe that the proposed action will generate activity at a level of 1 parked vehicle for each dwelling unit. A more detailed parking analysis has been included later in this report. 4

7 STUDY METHODOLOGY R&M s approach to conducting this investigation involved the following: 1. A detailed review of existing land use, roadway characteristics and traffic conditions in the vicinity of the project site. 2. R&M Engineering conducted parking observations of the areas surrounding the subject property on Friday, September 7, 2018 from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM and on Saturday, September 8, 2018 from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. 3. The parking demand as a result of the proposed design was calculated based on industry standard data compiled by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and information available from the files of R&M Engineering and information published regarding Transit Oriented Developments. 4. An assessment was prepared between the available capacity of parking within the Village and the parking demand as a result of the design to the proposed apartment building. An analysis was then performed to determine the ability for the Village to accommodate the predicted parking demand and anticipated traffic generation. 5

8 EXISTING TRAFFIC CONDITIONS Roadway Network Current roadway conditions in the study area are summarized below: 1. Merrick Road: This is an east-west roadway under the jurisdiction of the Nassau County Department of Public Works (NCDPW) in the vicinity of the subject property. It consists of two lanes in either direction, with dedicated turn lanes where appropriate. The posted speed limit is 30 mph within the study area. 2. Hempstead Avenue: This is a north-south local roadway under the jurisdiction of the Nassau County Department of Public Works (NCDPW) in the vicinity of the subject property. It consists of one lane in either direction, with dedicated turn lanes where appropriate. The posted speed limit is 30 mph within the incorporated Village of Lynbrook. 3. Peninsula Boulevard: This is a northeast-southwest roadway under the jurisdiction of the Nassau County Department of Public Works (NCDPW) in the vicinity of the subject property. It consists of two lanes in either direction, with dedicated turn lanes where appropriate. The posted speed limit is 30 mph as the roadway approaches and departs the village. 4. Sunrise Highway (NYS Route 27): This is an east-west roadway under the jurisdiction of the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) in the vicinity of the subject property. It consists of 3 lanes in either direction with dedicated left turn lanes where appropriate. The posted speed limit is 30 mph within the study area. 5. Earle Avenue/Stauderman Avenue/Atlantic Avenue/Forest Avenue/Broadway: These are local roadways within the Incorporated Village of Lynbrook (which provide access to the municipal parking lots and uses located in the area) which connect to the primary thoroughfares. These roads consist of one lane in either direction of travel, but are restricted to one-way traffic where appropriate. The posted speed limit is 30 mph within the incorporated Village of Lynbrook. 6

9 Designated Parking Areas The following are the current vehicular parking lots available for public use in the Incorporated Village of Lynbrook, along with the posted regulations for each area. All lots are numbered below as depicted on the Parking Area Exhibits EX-1 to EX-3 contained within Appendix A, attached. 1. Municipal Field 1 Village Hall: 109 spaces provided. Overnight parking permit required, 7PM-7AM Sunday Friday. 45 minute parking without commuter permit, 6AM-4PM Monday Friday, except holidays. Closed Mondays, 2AM-7AM for field cleaning. 2. Municipal Field 2 Langdon Place and Columbus Drive: 55 spaces provided. Commuter/Overnight parking 4 hour limit without commuter license 5AM-2AM Monday to 4PM Friday. Overnight license required 7AM-7PM Sunday Friday. No parking Tuesday 2AM-7AM. 3. Municipal Field 3 Broadway and Langdon Place: 132 spaces provided. Commuter/Overnight 4 hour parking with license after Friday 5AM-2AM. Overnight parking license required 7AM-7PM Sunday Friday. Closed Wednesdays 2AM-7AM for field cleaning. 4. Municipal Field 20 West Side of Forrest Avenue, South of Merrick Road: 125 spaces provided. No commercial vehicle parking. Closed Tuesdays 2AM-7AM for field cleaning. 5. Municipal Field 8 Between Forest Avenue and Earle Avenue: 151 spaces provided. Thursday no parking 2AM-7AM for field cleaning. Employee commuter permit parking permitted 4 hour parking without permit. Overnight parking allowed 9PM-8AM. 6. Municipal Field 13 Between Peninsula Boulevard and Merrick Road: 42 spaces provided. 12 hour meter parking 6AM-6PM except Sundays and holidays. 7

10 7. Municipal Field 14 Peninsula Boulevard between Hempstead Avenue and Irwin Court: 51 spaces provided. Overnight parking permit required Monday Friday 12AM-6AM. No commercial vehicles allowed. 8. Municipal Field 15 Peninsula Boulevard between Irwin Court and Earle Avenue: 42 spaces provided. Overnight parking permit required Monday Friday 12AM-6AM. No commercial vehicles allowed. 4 hour parking without employee permit Monday Saturday 5AM-6PM. Saturday no parking 7:30AM-9:30AM for field cleaning. 9. Under Track Railroad Parking RR-1 Under Railroad Tracks West of Forest Avenue: 68 spaces provided. Parking by permit only 24 hours per day. 10. Under Track Railroad Parking RR-2 Under Railroad Tracks East of Forest Avenue: 38 spaces provided. Parking by permit only 24 hours per day. In total, the municipal parking fields within our study area of the Incorporated Village of Lynbrook provide 739 available parking stalls subject to the various regulations listed above. During the observations conducted on Friday, September 7 th, 2018, a peak demand of 573 parking stalls were occupied during the peak hour at 11:00AM. This translates to a 78% occupancy of the available stalls. Similarly, during the observations conducted on Saturday, September 8 th, 2018, a peak of 290 parking stalls were occupied during the peak hour at 8:00PM. This translated to a 39% occupancy of the available parking stalls. On-street parking is also available throughout the Village of Lynbrook. These parking areas fall under various regulations. These regulations are summarized within the Parking Regulations Exhibit, EX-3 located in Appendix A. Throughout the study area, there were 218 on-street parking stalls available. During the peak hour on Friday, September 7 th, 2018, 105 vehicles were parking on-street at 11:00 AM. This translates to an 48% occupancy of the available on-street parking. During the peak hour on Saturday, September 8 th, 2018, 161 vehicles were parked on-street at 8:00 PM. This translate to a 72% occupancy of available on-street parking. 8

11 In addition to the on-street parking and the Municipal Parking Fields, there is also parking available under the LIRR tracks. These parking areas are restricted to permit holder parking 24 hours per hour. Throughout the LIRR parking areas, there are 106 parking stalls available. During the peak hour on Friday September 7 th, 2018, 54 vehicles were parked at 11:00 AM. This translates to a 51% occupancy of available LIRR parking stalls. During the peak hour on Saturday, September 8 th, 2018, 27 vehicles were parked at 8:00 PM. This translates to a 25% occupancy of available LIRR parking stalls. This information has been summarized and included in Tables 1-6 and Exhibits EX-1 to EX-3, located in Appendix A. 9

12 FUTURE PARKING CONDITIONS Parking Generation 1. In accordance with industry standard data and observed data from other existing locations, the parking demand for a Low/Mid-rise apartment building is typically predicted based on the number of dwelling units contained within the building. The proposed apartment building is to have 200 dwelling units. 2. As mentioned earlier, the proposed apartment complex is considered a Transit Oriented Development (TOD). The most prevalent source of information regarding the traffic characteristics of a TOD is presented by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) via the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) in Report 128 titled Effects of TOD on Housing, Parking, and Travel (published in 2008). This report (which has been further corroborated since its publication by other research such as the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) Trip and Parking Generation at Transit-Oriented Developments, published in 2017) was prepared based on an assessment of data from numerous metropolitan areas and focused on the typical modes of transportation available at each and how the vehicular traffic, and hence parking generation characteristics would compare to the industry standard data. In addition, research provided in the Landscape and Urban Planning Journal, Volume 160, was consulted. The research paper entitled Trip and Parking Generation at Transit-Oriented Developments: Five US Case Studies (published in April 2017) provides an analysis of existing TODs and how their operating conditions compare to ITE recommended data. This information was utilized in order to generate a more accurate estimation of the parking demand that will be generated by the proposed action. 3. In accordance with the information included in the TCRP research, the trip and parking rates for Transit Oriented Developments in urban environments can decrease the vehicular activity for residential developments by as much as 50%, resulting in a much lesser impact upon the operation of the roadway network and a reduced parking demand. This information has been summarized in Table 2.4 of the TCRP Report 128, which has been included in Appendix B, attached. Based on the information summarized in the table, the TOD peak demand (occupied spaces per unit) on average of the TODs studied in the TCRP research was 0.88 vehicles per dwelling unit. On average these 10

13 developments provided 1.18 spaces per dwelling unit and experienced a peak demand of around 70% occupancy of the provided spaces. This translates to a demand of 0.83 spaces required per dwelling unit to accommodate the generated activity. As a result, in order to conservatively estimate the parking demand generated by a TOD, R&M Engineering applied a 20% reduction to the ITE data presented below. 4. In order to estimate the parking demand generated by the proposed action utilizing industry standard data, the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Parking Generation Manual, 4 th Edition was consulted. A Low/Mid-rise apartment building (ITE Land Use Code 221) will generate an average parking demand of 1.20 vehicles parked per dwelling unit during the weekday peak hour and an average parking demand of 1.03 vehicles parked per dwelling unit during the Saturday peak hour. By this method, the parking demand during the weekday peak hour would be a maximum of 240 vehicles parked and 206 maximum vehicles parked during the Saturday peak hour. It should be noted however, that this assessment does not account for any reduction for the TOD. 5. As indicated above, information presented in the industry research paper was consulted to determine a 20% reduction factor to the generated parking activity. When we apply the 20% reduction factor, it was calculated that a 200 dwelling unit TOD would generate 180 vehicles parked at a maximum during the peak hour on a typical weekday and 155 vehicles parked at a maximum on a typical Saturday. 6. Based on the industry standard data and the reduction parking generation for a TOD, it is our opinion the parking demand generated by the proposed project will be contained within the areas on-site. 7. In the future condition, Municipal Parking Field 3, presently containing 132 parking stalls, will be redeveloped as parking garage containing approximately 400+/- parking stalls. However, with the construction of the proposed apartments, Municipal Parking Field 8, currently containing 151 municipal stalls, will no longer be available as public parking. During our field observations, Municipal Field 8 had a maximum of 105 stalls occupied during the weekday peak period at 11:00AM, and 14 stalls occupied during the Saturday peak at 8:00 PM. Additionally, Municipal Field 3 had a maximum of 123 parking stalls occupied during the weekday peak period at 11:00 AM and 90 parking 11

14 stalls occupied during the Saturday peak period at 8:00 PM. Combined, the two fields had a total of 228 stalls occupied during the weekday peak period can be accommodated within the proposed public parking garage with additional municipal parking available with said structure compared with that which presently exists. Accordingly, the 228 parking parked vehicles offset from the municipal parking fields during the weekday peak period and 104 parking stalls will be occupied during the Saturday peak period. This information is summarized in Tables 8 and 9 located in Appendix A. 8. After the completion of the redevelopment of Municipal Parking Field 8, there will be a total of 1,148 parking stalls available to the public. Upon a review of the information contained in Tables 1 through 9, it can be seen that upon the introduction of the proposed apartment building and the construction of the proposed parking garage on Lot 3 there will be ample space to accommodate the redistributed level of traffic. The following can be stated with regards to the study area: At 11:00 AM on a typical Friday (the time if the existing peak parking demand), 732 vehicles are parked in the various on and off street areas within the Incorporated Village of Lynbrook translating to an occupancy of 71% of the 1031 available spaces. Upon the redistribution of the parking demand from the occupation of Municipal Field 8 and the construction of the parking garage on Municipal Field 3, the parking demand will remain at 732 vehicles parked, however the study area will now have 1148 available spaces. This translates to an occupancy of 64% of the available spaces in the future condition. At 8:00 PM on a typical Saturday (the time if the existing peak parking demand), 478 vehicles are parked in the various on and off street areas within the Incorporated Village of Lynbrook translating to an occupancy of 46% of the 1031 available spaces. Upon the redistribution of the parking demand from the occupation of Municipal Field 8 and the construction of the parking garage on Municipal Field 3, the parking demand will remain at 478 vehicles parked, however the study area will now have 1148 available spaces. This translates to an occupancy of 42% of the available spaces in the future condition. 12

15 9. Based upon the analysis presented herein, the parking generated by the proposed project will not create any adverse traffic condition or hazards in the vicinity of the site. Based on the fact that the proposed Cornerstone Apartments is a Transit Oriented Development, it is reasonable to assume that all of the parking demand generated by the site will be contained on site. Additionally, based on the available data and observations, it has been demonstrated that there is ample space within the Incorporated Village of Lynbrook to accommodate the redistributed parking demand as a result of the construction of the apartment complex/parking garage. It should be noted that during the construction of the proposed apartment complex/parking garage on Municipal Field 8 and the parking garage on Municipal Field 3, vehicles that currently utilize other parking areas within the Village. During this time, there will be a higher occupancy of the other parking area, however, it is our opinion that there will be ample parking to accommodate the redistributed parking during construction. Upon the review of the information presented in our analysis of the future condition presented in this report, we believe there is ample parking to accommodate the proposed action such that there will not be undue hazard in the vicinity of the site. 13