Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout102-Memo from Fehr & Peers.pdf !!!"#$%&"’( MEMORANDUM Date: September 8, 2009 To: John Cherbone, City of Saratoga, Public Works Director From: Franziska Church/Sohrab Rashid Subject: West Valley College Fruitvale Avenue Middle Driveway U-Turn Evaluation Follow-Up 1025-446-1 This memorandum is a follow-up to the West Valley College Fruitvale Avenue Middle Driveway U- Turn Evaluation memorandum that Fehr & Peers submitted on May 11, 2009. Based on the analysis presented in the May 2009 memorandum, Fehr & Peers did not recommend modification of traffic control or movements at any of the West Valley College driveway intersections on Fruitvale Avenue. In response to this memorandum, W est Valley College staff pointed out that the analysis and recommendations did not take into consideration that the northernmost (Career Way) entrance is planned to be closed. As outlined below, we do not anticipate that closure of the Career Way entrance and the existing U-turns from Redwood Middle School traffic will cause substantial delays and queues at the Academic W ay intersection; however, restricting southbound U-turns at the Academic W ay intersection will not substantially alter existing travel patterns. OVERVIEW West Valley College is located at the southeast corner of the Fruitvale Avenue/Allendale Avenue intersection in the City of Saratoga. The campus includes three driveways on Fruitvale Avenue and two on Allendale Avenue. The Career Way driveway on Fruitvale Avenue provides left-in/right-in/right- out access and the other two driveways provide full access to and from the college. Previously the Academic Way driveway only allowed right-in/right-out access, but with the recent renovations at the college the median on Fruitvale Avenue was opened at the driveway to provide full access to the college and a southbound left-turn lane was installed at this location. As part of the college’s renovation project, the Career W ay driveway is planned to be closed to all access. Thus vehicles that previously accessed the college via the Career W ay driveway will now access the college via the Academic W ay entrance. Redwood Middle School is located opposite the college on Fruitvale Avenue. Parents who are dropping-off and picking-up their children in the Fruitvale Avenue passenger loading area are forced to make a right-turn and travel southbound on Fruitvale Avenue when exiting Redwood Middle School. For parents wanting to travel northbound on Fruitvale Avenue the next available intersection for U-turns in the Academic W ay driveway. As discussed in the May 2009 memorandum, the college is concerned that the amount of U-turns from Redwood Middle School parents will interfere with the college’s access and the operations of Academic Way/Fruitvale Avenue intersection. Prior to the recent renovations that opened the median on Fruitvale Avenue and provided full access at Academic Way parents were required to make a U-turn at the Athletic W ay entrance, located approximately 650 feet south of the Academic Way intersection. SITE-ACCESS EVALUATION As part of the May 2009 memorandum Fehr & Peers conducted field observations at the college’s Academic driveway to evaluate the effect of vehicles making U-turns (from Redwood Middle School) on vehicles entering and exiting the college. The observations did show that the southbound left-turn John Cherbone September 8, 2009 Page 2 of 2 lane on Fruitvale Avenue at the Academic W ay driveway is heavily used by parents from Redwood Middle School to make U-turns during the school’s morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up peak periods. However, the observations found that the U-turns did not substantially interfere with college traffic and did not degrade intersection operations at the Academic Way driveway. Fehr and Peers did not recommend any modifications to the intersection. The memorandum did note that the observations showed that most college students and/or staff used the Career Way driveway to access the campus from Fruitvale Avenue. Thus, vehicles that are currently using the Career W ay driveway to access the college are expected to use the Academic W ay driveway once the Career Way driveway is closed. In April 2005 Hexagon Transportation Consultants prepared the Traffic and Circulation Section of the West Valley Community College Long Range Development Plan/Facilities Master Plan EIR (Geier & Geier Consulting, Inc.). As part of the traffic and circulation section, the report evaluated the intersection operations of the driveways on Fruitvale Avenue. The evaluation included the closure of the Career W ay driveway and the shift of traffic volumes to the Academic W ay driveway, as well as overall growth in college traffic due to increased enrollment. The study determined that the southbound left-turn at the Fruitvale Avenue/Academic W ay intersection would operate at acceptable service levels during the morning and evening peak hours. Although the southbound left-turn is projected to operate at acceptable levels and no mitigation was required, the study recommended that signalization of the intersection should be considered. Fehr & Peers assumes that that U-turns from Redwood Middle School are included in the counts conducted at the college driveways and that the projected operating conditions at the Academic W ay driveway reflect traffic that includes vehicles generated by the college, the middle school, and general through volumes. Until recently, parents were required to make a U-turn at the Athletic Way driveway, and restricting U- turns at the Academic W ay intersection would not substantially modify travel patterns for drivers from Redwood Middle School. Instead, the proposed restriction would revert driving conditions back to operations that occurred about six months ago. If the City wants to restrict southbound U-turns at the Academic W ay intersection, then the movement could be restricted under one of the following options: a) All day (24-hours); b) From 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM (this is the same time restriction as currently exists at the Career Way entrance), or c) During the Redwood Middle School’s peak drop-off/pick-up times from 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM and 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm CONCLUSIONS Option A is the most restrictive and would prohibit U-turns for all drivers at the Fruitvale Avenue/Academic W ay intersection. Options B and C provide some flexibility and restrict U-turns either during the daytime when most vehicles are on the road (Option B) or during Redwood Middle School’s peak drop-off/pick up times. If the City wants to restrict U-turns at the Fruitvale/Academic Way intersection then we recommend Option C, since this directly addresses the concern of U-turns from Redwood Middle School raised by W est Valley College. However none of the options are expected to substantially modify travel patterns in the area.