DRAFT TRAFFIC STUDY BOULDER AVENUE BRIDGE REPLACEMENT CITY OF HIGHLAND SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

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1 DRAFT CITY OF HIGHLAND SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA August 8, 2006

2 DRAFT CITY OF HIGHLAND SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Prepared for: City of Highland Baseline Highland, California (909) Prepared by: LSA Associates, Inc Iowa Avenue, Suite 200 Riverside, California (951) LSA Project No. LIM532 July 9, 2007

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY... 1 INTRODUCTION... 2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION... 2 PROJECT LOCATION AND ACCESS... 2 LAND USE AND ZONING... 2 METHODOLOGY... 4 PERFORMANCE CRITERIA... 4 DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE TRAFFIC VOLUMES... 5 TRAFFIC ANALYSIS... 5 EXISTING CONDITIONS... 5 YEAR 2030 TRAFFIC CONDITIONS... 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS... 6 APPENDICES APPENDIX A: APPENDIX B: APPENDIX C: APPENDIX D: APPENDIX E: CONCEPTUAL IMPROVEMENT PLANS CITY OF HIGHLAND GENERAL PLAN GENERALIZED EXISTING LAND USE MAP FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION CAPACITY TABLE EXISTING AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC (ADT) PREFERRED GENERAL PLAN AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC (ADT) FIGURE Figure 1: Regional and Project Location...3 TABLES Table A: Relationship between V/C Ratios and LOS... 4 Table B: Daily Capacities for Roadways... 4 Table C: Existing Daily Traffic Volume, Volume-to-Capacity Ratio, and LOS... 5 Table D: Year 2030 Daily Traffic Volumes, V/C Ratios, and LOS... 5 R:\LIM532\PDF_LSA\IS\ Appendices\Appendix H Draft Traffic Study August 2006.doc (7/9/2007) ii

4 LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. AUGUST 2006 HIGHLAND, CALIFORNIA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The City of Highland (City), in cooperation the California Department of Transportation District 8 (Caltrans), and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), proposes to widen Boulder Avenue from two lanes to four lanes over the City Creek Wash. Adjacent segments of Boulder Avenue to the north and to the south are currently four-lane roadways. The project also includes the installation of bicycle lanes, curbs, gutters, asphalt pavement, streetlights, and traffic signal modifications. This traffic study evaluates the existing and future traffic conditions on Boulder Avenue with and without the widening project. This study focuses on average daily traffic (ADT) volumes, volume-to-capacity (V/C) ratios, and corresponding levels of service (LOS) based on the City of Highland s minimum LOS D (V/C ratio 0.90) standard. Conclusions and recommendations are based on an analysis of 2030 traffic conditions. Year 2030 traffic forecasts are based on ADT volumes reported in City of Highland General Plan Update Draft EIR. Under existing conditions, Boulder Avenue has a V/C ratio of 0.41 (LOS A) which is well below the City s minimum standard. However, the future 2030 V/C ratio is projected to increase to 1.24, which will exceed the theoretical capacity of a two-lane, two-way undivided roadway, resulting in operations of LOS F. The proposed widening of Boulder Avenue to a four-lane divided roadway will result in a V/C ratio of 0.59 (LOS A) for the future year Based on analysis of forecast traffic volumes from the City of Highland s General Plan, implementation of the proposed widening of Boulder Avenue is necessary to maintain the City of Highland s level of service standard. R:\LIM532\PDF_LSA\IS\ Appendices\Appendix H Draft Traffic Study August 2006.doc (7/9/2007) 1

5 LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. AUGUST 2006 HIGHLAND, CALIFORNIA INTRODUCTION Project Description The City of Highland, in cooperation with the California Department of Transportation (Department) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), proposes to improve the Boulder Avenue. The existing Boulder Avenue Bridge is a two (2) lane bridge over City Creek. The bridge has a Sufficiency Rating (SR) of 47.8 and has designated as structurally deficient. Local scour has been observed at Pier No. 6. and Caltrans has recommended performing bridge analysis to provide mitigations for the scouring issue. The roadway section approaching the bridge from both the north and the south is four (4) lane roadway, therefore this two lane bridge becomes a bottleneck for traffic. In order to resolve these problems with the existing bridge, the City of Highland intends to replace the existing two (2) lane Boulder Avenue Bridge with a four (4) lane bridge. The proposed action will include, but not be limited to, the following improvements: 1. Replace the Boulder Avenue Bridge over City Creek. The widened bridge will span 385 feet across City Creek and will be 110 feet wide. 2. Construct roadway approaches, approximately 190 feet to the north and 1,430 feet to the south, to tie into the existing four (4) lane roadway section. 3. Construction of street improvements include; utility construction, pavement widening, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and decorative street lighting 4. Construct/modify the levee at the bridge abutment corners to protect the bridge abutments. 5. Improve the roadway to provide the clearance for multiuse-trail under the bridge, and the freeboard in accordance to the hydraulic analysis as required. 6. Extend two existing culverts, located approximately 600 feet and 1,000 feet from the south abutment, to accommodating four (4) lane roadway sections. 7. Extend Bledsoe Creek double-cell Reinforced Concrete Box (RCB). 8. Relocate/modify MWD overflow outlet, located adjacent to the Bledsoe Creek RCB if required. 9. Relocate utilities as needed. 10. Other miscellaneous improvements. Project Location and Access Boulder Avenue is a north-south arterial that traverses the City of Highland in San Bernardino County. The project extends from the north bank of the City Creek Wash on the north to Eucalyptus Avenue on the south (Figure 1). Land Use and Zoning The proposed project will widen the Boulder Avenue from two (2) lanes to four (4) lanes to tie into existing four (4) lane improvements before and after the project limits 200 feet north of the Boulder Avenue Bridge over City Creek to 1,400 feet south of the bridge. Existing land uses in the area of the proposed roadway widening and bridge replacement consist of undeveloped land on the east and west of proposed roadway improvements. Further to the northeast and east is residential development. R:\LIM532\PDF_LSA\IS\ Appendices\Appendix H Draft Traffic Study August 2006.doc (7/9/2007) 2

6 330 þ } CHURCH AVENUE Project Location BASELINE STREET ty BO Cr e ek 30 þ } DE UL Ci R EN AV UE 5TH STREET Regional Location Los Angeles County San Bernardino County! $ a " $ a "! ORANGE STREET $ % "! ( h & q?» A» A Project Area q? $ "! Riverside County $ a "! San t S N! Orange County A ( h & % 0 10 a An a R i ver 20 A Miles FIGURE 1 S N! 0 1,000 2,000 FEET METERS SOURCE: USGS 7.5' Quads: Redlands and Harrison Mtn. (1988), CA; Thomas Bros., R:\LIM532\G\Reports\Traffic\reg_loc.mxd (08/02/06) Boulder Avenue Bridge Replacement Traffic Study Regional and Project Location

7 LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. AUGUST 2006 HIGHLAND, CALIFORNIA Farther to the south is a mixture of residential and commercial development with a new middle school built to the east of Boulder Avenue, south of Eucalyptus, outside of the project limits. On the west bank of City Creek, west of the bridge is a commercial storage facility and residential units. At the north end of the proposed improvements, south of Baseline Street, are new commercial developments that include a video store, fast food establishment and a pharmacy. The area is designated on the City s General Plan Map as open space and general commercial. The General Plan Land Use Map is provided in Appendix B. METHODOLOGY Performance Criteria According to San Bernardino County s Congestion Management Program (CMP) 2003 Update, the level of service (LOS) at an intersection or roadway is considered to be unsatisfactory when the volume-to-capacity ratio (V/C) exceeds 1.00 (LOS F). Therefore, for CMP purposes, LOS E is the standard for roadway operations. However, the CMP allows local jurisdictions to adopt a more stringent LOS standard, and the City of Highland has established LOS D as the applicable standard for this project. The relationship of V/C ratio to LOS is demonstrated in Table A. Table A Relationship between V/C Ratios and LOS Level of Service V/C Ratio Level of Service V/C Ratio A D B E C F > 1.00 The San Bernardino County CMP provides peak hour capacity tables based on the Quality/Level of Service Handbook published by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT); however, it does not provide daily capacity tables. Therefore, daily roadway capacities were determined using the FDOT Generalized Annual Average Daily Volumes for Florida s Urbanized Areas (Appendix C). The existing facility is classified as a Class II, two-lane, two-way undivided arterial. The proposed project will improve the roadway to a four-lane divided arterial. Table B demonstrates the theoretical daily capacities at LOS E for a two-lane undivided arterial and a four-lane divided arterial. Table B Daily Capacities for Roadways Class II 1 Facility Type Number of Lanes Capacity at LOS E Undivided 2 16,300 Divided 4 34,500 Source: Florida Department of Transportation (2002) 1 Class II is defined as having 2.00 to 4.50 signalized intersections per mile. R:\LIM532\PDF_LSA\IS\ Appendices\Appendix H Draft Traffic Study August 2006.doc (7/9/2007) 4

8 LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. AUGUST 2006 HIGHLAND, CALIFORNIA Development of Future Traffic Volumes Forecast 2030 ADT volumes were taken from the City of Highland General Plan Environmental Impact Report (hereinafter General Plan EIR ). Pages from the General Plan EIR showing daily traffic volumes are included in Appendix E. Year 2030 volumes were analyzed using the capacities of a two-lane undivided arterial (without project) and a four-lane divided arterial (with project). TRAFFIC ANALYSIS Existing Conditions Boulder Avenue through the project area is currently a two-lane, two-way undivided arterial with minimal development surrounding it. The adjacent segments of Boulder Avenue to the south and to the north are four-lane divided roadways. Year 2004 and year 2030 average daily traffic for the roadway segment of Boulder Avenue between Eucalyptus Avenue and Baseline Road were taken from the General Plan EIR. Pages from the General Plan EIR showing daily traffic volumes are included in Appendix D. Existing (2006) average daily traffic was developed based on growth between year 2004 conditions and forecast year 2030 conditions. For this purpose, linear growth between the 2004 conditions and the forecast 2030 conditions was assumed. Since the increment between 2004 and 2006 is 2 years of the 26-year time span, 2004 volumes were increased by 7.69 percent (i.e., 2/26) of the total growth from 2004 to 2030 to develop 2006 conditions. Existing daily traffic volumes, along with volume-to-capacity ratios and corresponding LOS, are listed in Table C. Table C Existing Daily Traffic Volume, Volume-to-Capacity Ratio, and LOS Roadway Segment Volume (ADT) Capacity V/C Ratio LOS Boulder Avenue from Eucalyptus Avenue to Base Line Road 6,630 16, A As Table C illustrates, the daily traffic volume on Boulder Avenue between Eucalyptus Avenue and Base Line Road is currently well below the theoretical capacity of the roadway per the Florida Department of Transportation. Year 2030 Traffic Conditions The daily traffic volumes, V/C ratios, and corresponding LOS for the roadway segment with and without widening are listed in Table D. Table D Year 2030 Daily Traffic Volumes, V/C Ratios, and LOS Roadway Segment Volume (ADT) Capacity V/C Ratio LOS Boulder Avenue Two lanes undivided 20,200 16, F Four lanes divided 20,200 34, A R:\LIM532\PDF_LSA\IS\ Appendices\Appendix H Draft Traffic Study August 2006.doc (7/9/2007) 5

9 LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. AUGUST 2006 HIGHLAND, CALIFORNIA As Table D illustrates, without the proposed project, the V/C ratio in the project area will exceed 1.0, resulting in operations at LOS F, which does not meet the City of Highland standard of LOS D. With the proposed project, the V/C ratio will be less than 0.60, resulting in operations at LOS A and maintaining the City s standard. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the analysis of forecast traffic volumes from the City of Highland General Plan EIR, implementation of the proposed widening of Boulder Avenue is necessary to maintain satisfactory traffic operations. R:\LIM532\PDF_LSA\IS\ Appendices\Appendix H Draft Traffic Study August 2006.doc (7/9/2007) 6

10 LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. AUGUST 2006 HIGHLAND, CALIFORNIA APPENDIX A CONCEPTUAL IMPROVEMENT PLANS R:\LIM532\PDF_LSA\IS\ Appendices\Appendix H Draft Traffic Study August 2006.doc (7/9/2007)

16 LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. AUGUST 2006 HIGHLAND, CALIFORNIA APPENDIX B GENERAL PLAN LAND USE MAP R:\LIM532\PDF_LSA\IS\ Appendices\Appendix H Draft Traffic Study August 2006.doc (7/9/2007)

18 LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. AUGUST 2006 HIGHLAND, CALIFORNIA APPENDIX C FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION CAPACITY TABLE R:\LIM532\PDF_LSA\IS\ Appendices\Appendix H Draft Traffic Study August 2006.doc (7/9/2007)

20 LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. AUGUST 2006 HIGHLAND, CALIFORNIA APPENDIX D EXISTING AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC R:\LIM532\PDF_LSA\IS\ Appendices\Appendix H Draft Traffic Study August 2006.doc (7/9/2007)

22 LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. AUGUST 2006 HIGHLAND, CALIFORNIA APPENDIX E PREFERRED GENERAL PLAN AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC R:\LIM532\PDF_LSA\IS\ Appendices\Appendix H Draft Traffic Study August 2006.doc (7/9/2007)

TABLE TRAFFIC ANALYSIS SCENARIOS

TABLE TRAFFIC ANALYSIS SCENARIOS 4.11 TRANSPORTATION The potential traffic impacts of the proposed project are evaluated in the Buena Park Beach/Orangethorpe Mixed Use Project Traffic Analysis (Traffic Analysis) by Austin-Foust Associates