MALL CROSSING STUDY One-Year Evaluation Final Report Testing the Effectiveness Of the 4th Street East Crossing For: City of Charlottesville Neighborhood Development Services May 2007 By:
CHARLOTTESVILLE DOWNTOWN MALL CROSSING STUDY ONE-YEAR EVALUATION FINAL REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS... i LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES...ii SUMMARY...iii I. BACKGROUND... 1 II. VEHICLE TRAFFIC COUNTS... 2 III. PEDESTRIAN COUNTS... 4 IV. VEHICLE ORIGIN-DESTINATION (O-D) SURVEYS... 6 AUGUST 2006 O-D SURVEY RESULTS... 7 DECEMBER 2006 O-D SURVEY RESULTS... 13 MARCH 2007 O-D SURVEY RESULTS... 17 APRIL 2007 O-D SURVEY RESULTS... 21 APPENDIX A 24-HOUR VEHICLE TRAFFIC DATA (APRIL 2006, JULY 2006, DECEMBER 2006, JANUARY 2007, APRIL 2007)... APPENDIX B MIDDAY PEDESTRIAN AND VEHICLE COUNTS AT 2 nd STREET WEST AND 4 th STREET EAST (APRIL 2006, JULY 2006, DECEMBER 2006, JANUARY 2007, APRIL 2007)... APPENDIX C ORIGIN-DESTINATION (O-D) TRAVEL SURVEY INSTRUCTIONS AND SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE... APPENDIX D ORIGIN-DESTINATION TRAVEL SURVEY RESULTS (AUGUST 2006, DECEMBER 2006, MARCH 2007, APRIL 2007)... i
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES TABLE 1: VEHICLE TRAFFIC DATA SUMMARY... 3 TABLE 2: 2 nd STREET WEST MIDDAY PEDESTRIAN AND VEHICLE TRAFFIC DATA SUMMARY... 5 TABLE 3: 4 th STREET EAST MIDDAY PEDESTRIAN AND VEHICLE TRAFFIC DATA SUMMARY... 5 FIGURE 1: CHARLOTTESVILLE AREA MAP FOR ORIGIN AND DESTINATION LOCATIONS... 10 TABLE 4: AUGUST 2006 ORIGINS AND DESTINATIONS... 11 FIGURE 2: AUGUST 2006 SURVEY RESULTS FOR NON-MALL VEHICULAR TRAFFIC TRAVEL PATTERNS... 12 TABLE 5: DECEMBER 2006 ORIGINS AND DESTINATIONS... 15 FIGURE 3: DECEMBER 2006 SURVEY RESULTS FOR NON-MALL VEHICULAR TRAFFIC TRAVEL PATTERNS... 16 TABLE 6: MARCH 2007 ORIGINS AND DESTINATIONS... 19 FIGURE 4: MARCH 2007 SURVEY RESULTS FOR NON-MALL VEHICULAR TRAFFIC TRAVEL PATTERNS... 20 TABLE 7: APRIL 2007 ORIGINS AND DESTINATIONS... 23 FIGURE 5: APRIL 2007 SURVEY RESULTS FOR NON-MALL VEHICULAR TRAFFIC TRAVEL PATTERNS... 24 ii
SUMMARY The Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, also named Main Street, is a pedestrian-only street running approximately eight blocks, west-to-east, from near the intersection of Main Street and Ridge Street to its terminus at 6 th Street East. 2 nd Street West, running one-way northbound, has served as the only permanent location where vehicles can cross Main Street within the confines of the Downtown Mall. In 2005, the City of Charlottesville investigated a second permanent Downtown Mall crossing located towards the eastern end of the Downtown Mall to operate as a mirror image to 2 nd Street West, and potentially provide increased circulation and access for the Mall. On May 1, 2006, the City of Charlottesville opened 4 th Street East as a temporary crossing for a one-year trial period. This crossing provides drivers southbound access between Market Street and Water Street and replaces the road closure at 7 th Street East, which was permanently closed due to the expansion of the Mall Pavilion and amphitheater. This Mall Crossing Report details a series of data collection efforts of the new Mall crossing at 4 th Street East. Data was collected both before and after 4 th Street East was opened as a southbound vehicle crossing. Following delivery of the report, the information will be used by the City after the one-year trial period to evaluate merits and determine whether a permanent crossing at 4 th Street East or 5 th Street East has benefits. Key findings from this report are summarized on the following pages by topic: iii
Mall Vehicle Traffic Results MIDWEEK DAILY TRAFFIC COUNTS Prior to opening the 4 th Street East crossing, the midweek average daily traffic was approximately 850-900 vehicles per day (VPD) on 2 nd Street West and 4,100 VPD on 10 th Street East (both directions). After opening the 4 th Street East crossing, the midweek average daily traffic is approximately 1,000-1,250 vehicles per day (VPD) on 2 nd Street West, 800-1,000 VPD on 4 th Street East, and 4,800-5,100 VPD on 10 th Street East (both directions). VEHICULAR TRAFFIC VOLUMES (MIDWEEK DAILY AVERAGE) VEHICLES PER DAY (VPD) 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 2719 2353 2351 1781 1155 995 861 0 2617 2465 2503 2336 1144 1032 918 957 2578 2540 1252 1002 Apr-06 May-06 Jun-06 Jul-06 Aug-06 Sep-06 Oct-06 Nov-06 Dec-06 Jan-07 Feb-07 Mar-07 Apr-07 2nd St. West 4th St. East 10th St. East NB 10th St. East SB COUNT DATE iv
MIDWEEK MIDDAY PEAK TRAFFIC COUNTS Average midday vehicle traffic at 2 nd Street West before the opening of 4 th Street East was 55 vehicles per hour (VPH). After the opening of the 4 th Street East crossing, the average midday vehicle traffic at 2 nd Street West is 71 VPH, an increase of 16 VPH over the midday period. Average midday vehicle traffic increased at 4 th Street East from 39 vehicles per hour (VPH) in July 2006 (3 months after this vehicle crossing opened) to 50 VPH in December 2006 (8 months later) to 63 VPH in January 2007 (9 months later) to 72 VPH in April 2007 (1 year later) to 67 VPH in May 2007 (13 months later). Average midday vehicle traffic in January 2007 was similar at 2 nd Street West and 4 th Street East with each having approximately 65 vehicles per hour (VPH). Again, in April 2007, average midday vehicle traffic was similar at 2 nd Street West and 4 th Street East with each having 72 VPH. Thirdly, in May 2007, midday vehicle traffic was 67 VPH at both 2 nd Street West and 4 th Street East. VEHICULAR TRAFFIC VOLUMES (MIDWEEK MIDDAY PEAK) VEHICLES PER HOUR (VPH) 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 55 0 64 39 83 50 66 63 72 72 67 66 2nd St. West 4th St. East Apr-06 May-06 Jun-06 Jul-06 Aug-06 Sep-06 Oct-06 Nov-06 Dec-06 Jan-07 Feb-07 Mar-07 Apr-07 May-07 COUNT DATE v
Mall Pedestrian Count Results Average midday pedestrian street crossings ranged from 380-740 pedestrians per hour at 2 nd Street West and 730-1,250 pedestrians per hour at 4 th Street East, depending on the weather and season. Pedestrian traffic at the crossings was higher (nearly double) at 4 th Street East when compared to 2 nd Street West across all six periods. Before the 4 th Street East vehicle crossing opened, pedestrian traffic at that location was 71% higher than 2 nd Street West. After opening 4 th Street East to vehicular traffic, it was 98%, 85%, 95%, 165%, and 105% higher in July 2006, December 2006, January 2007, April 2007, and May 2007, respectively. For both streets, average pedestrian traffic was lower when comparing April 2006 to April 2007. For 2 nd Street West, average pedestrian traffic dropped 46%. For 4 th Street East, average pedestrian traffic dropped 17%. For both streets combined, average pedestrian traffic dropped 28% when comparing April 2006 to April 2007. After noting the year-over-year (April 2006-April 2007) drop in pedestrian traffic, there was concern that there may have been outside events that could have resulted in skewed data on that particular day. Therefore, another pedestrian count was taken in May 2007. For both streets, average pedestrian traffic was again lower when comparing April 2006 to May 2007. For 2 nd Street West, average pedestrian traffic dropped 31%. For 4 th Street East, average pedestrian traffic dropped 17%. For both streets combined, average pedestrian traffic dropped 22% when analyzing April 2006 data to May 2007. PEDESTRIAN VOLUMES CROSSING STREET (MIDWEEK MIDDAY PEAK) PEDESTRIANS PER HOUR 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 12 54 735 508 1005 468 868 377 734 1044 1042 394 509 2nd St. West 4th St. East Apr-06 May-06 Jun-06 Jul-06 Aug-06 Sep-06 Oct-06 Nov-06 Dec-06 Jan-07 Feb-07 Mar-07 Apr-07 May-07 COUNT DATE vi
Mall Origin-Destination (O-D) Travel Survey Results Four surveys were conducted in August 06, December 06, March 07, and April 07. Each survey was conducted similarly in a questionnaire format during the midweek beginning in early morning and ending in late afternoon. As drivers stopped at the Mall crossings, they were asked 1) whether or not they were coming to or leaving from the Downtown Mall, 2) their trip origin and destination, and 3) other general comments regarding transportation around the Mall area. In addition, partial license plate numbers were recorded for all vehicles at both vehicle crossings. OVERALL COMBINED RESULTS FOR FOUR SURVEYS For all four surveys combined, 3,358 vehicles were recorded at the two crossings and 1,897 of them (56% of total) were surveyed. An average of results from all four surveys shows that 8% of all vehicles circulated around the Downtown Mall by using both crossings within a ten-minute period. This activity was noted to attempt to capture vehicles potentially searching for parking or using the pair of streets to circulate around the Downtown Mall. An average of results from all four surveys indicates that 76% of 1,897 drivers responded that their trip started or ended at the Downtown Mall. vii
The pie chart shows travel patterns for non-mall vehicle traffic. Information was based solely on those surveyed who answered NO to the question regarding traveling from or going to the Downtown Mall. Other Zones, 37, 11% Zone 2&4, 7, 2% Zone 4&5, 8, 2% Zone 1&7, 12, 4% Zone 1&9, 16, 5% Zone 1&2, 19, 6% Zone 1&8, 20, 6% Zone 1&3, 22, 7% Zone 1&4, 26, 8% Zone 1&1, 77, 24% Zone 1&6, 38, 12% Zone 1&5, 44, 13% NOTE: Results are based on 326 records from all 4 surveys for 2 nd Street and 4 th Street combined. Example: Zone 1&5 includes both trips starting in 1 and ending in 5 or starting in 5 and ending in 1. The second number is the number of results for this zone-tozone match. The third number is % of total. viii
INDIVIDUAL SURVEY RESULTS Survey Date August 2006 Dec. 2006 March 2007 April 2007 Total Vehicles Recorded [A] % of [A] Circulating Within 10 Min. Total Vehicles Surveyed [B] & as % of [A] 731 6% 419 (57%) 75% 857 8% 508 (59%) 80% 842 7% 502 (60%) 70% 928 10% 468 (50%) 78% % of [B] Starting or Ending Trip at Downtown Mall Popular comments (as % of [B]) *** 28% : Poor available parking 10% : Like 2 vehicle 4% : Like Mall area 1% : Dislike 2 vehicle 22% : Poor available parking 16% : Like 2 vehicle 6% : Like Mall area 2% : Dislike 2 vehicle 16% : Poor available parking 14% : Like 2 vehicle 2% : Dislike 2 vehicle 18% : Poor available parking 7% : Like 2 vehicle 2% : Dislike 2 vehicle 2% : Like Mall area 2% : Loading zones blocked by non-deliveries *** Note: Percentages are a combination of 2 nd Street West and 4 th Street East comments reported in the body of the report. ix
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