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Home My WebLink AboutPZ - Traffic Engineering Report Public Schools January 2, 2024 is TJW ENGINEERING, INC. TRAFFIC ENGINEERING& TRANSPORTATION PLANNING CONSULTANTS Mr. Kent Mussell MUSSELL CONSTRUCTION, INC. PO BOX 3304 Nampa, ID 83642 SUBJECT: 965 E Ustick Road Pathways in Education Focused Traffic Study, City of Merdian, Idaho Dear Mr. Mussell, TJW Engineering, Inc. (TJW)is pleased to submit this Focused Traffic Study for the proposed project located at 965 E Ustick Road in the City of Merdian. The proposed project anticipates the conversion of an existing structure to an 8,000 s.f. charter school land use (Pathways in Education or"PIE").A site plan and a draft of the project narrative are included for reference. The purpose of this memorandum is to respond to the checklist items taken from Idaho Code 67-6519(3). Proposed Project The proposed site is located at 965 E Ustick ---- ------� Road and includes the conversion of the - — - — — — - existing vacant residential land use site to an 8,000 s.f. charter school land use. Site ,e,.a access will be provided via a single --- driveway to/from Ustick Road. A schematic of the proposed project is shown here. Checklist Items-Idaho Code 67-6519(3) Per Title 67, Chapter 65 of the State of - Idaho Statues, code 67-6519 is applicable for the proposed charter school project. The code states: 1123 12th Avenue Road,#425 I Nampa, Idaho 83686 I t:(208)922-7199 www.tjwengineering.com Mr. Mussell 965 E Ustick Rd Pathways in Education Focused Traffic Study January 2,2024 Page 2 When considering an application that relates to a public-school facility, the commission shall specifically review the application for the effect it will have on increased vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian volumes on adjacent roads and highways. To ensure that the state highway system or the local highway system can satisfactorily accommodate the proposed school project, the commission shall request the assistance of the Idaho transportation department if state highways are affected, or the local highway district with jurisdiction if the affected roads are not state highways. The Idaho transportation department, the appropriate local highway jurisdiction, or both as determined by the commission, shall review the application and shall report to the commission on the following issues as appropriate:the land use master plan; school bus plan; access safety; pedestrian plan; crossing guard plan; barriers between highways and school; location of school zone; need for flashing beacon; need for traffic control signal; anticipated future improvements, speed on adjacent highways, traffic volumes on adjacent highways, effect upon the highway's level of service, need for acceleration or deceleration lanes, internal traffic circulation, anticipated development on surrounding undeveloped parcels, zoning in the vicinity, access control on adjacent highways, required striping and signing modifications,funding of highway improvements to accommodate development, proposed highway projects in the vicinity, and any other issues as may be considered appropriate to the particular application. The aforementioned code has been interpreted to include the following checklist items to be responded to satisfactorily as part of the review process for the proposed project. 1. Land use master plan Per the City of Meridian, the future land use for the site is R-8 medium density residential. 2. School bus plan Per the Project Narrative provided in the appendix, no school buses will be in operation as part of this project; no school bus plan is anticipated. 3. Access safety The school will have one driveway access available for all ingress/egress movements. Based on the sight visibility calculations of 530' for left turning maneuvers and 415'for right turning maneuvers, adequate sight visibility will be available for vehicles exiting the site. Especially considering the visibility vertex may be reduced as vehicles often encroach into the roadway prior to making a left/right maneuver, adequate sight visibility would be available. 4. Pedestrian plan The school is designated for a maximum of 40 high-school aged students and 12 staff members, hence pedestrian activity is anticipated to be minimal. Any pedestrian activity would utilize the existing pedestrian facilities adjacent to the site. TJW Engineering, Inc. Pathways School Checklist Report 01022024 Mr. Mussell 965 E Ustick Rd Pathways in Education Focused Traffic Study January 2,2024 Page 3 5. Crossing guard plan The school is designated for a maximum of 40 high-school aged students. Based on the older age of the students, and the large potential that most students will be dropped off or drive to the site, a crossing guard and crossing guard plan is unlikely to be necessary. 6. Barriers between highways and school There will be a privacy fence that bounds the east, west and south property limits of the site, no barriers will be present between the highway and the school. There will be an approximately 30- foot setback from the back of sidewalk to the edge of the nearest. As mentioned previously, it should be noted that the school would service high-school aged students. 7. Location of school zone School zone signage and pavement markings are currently not present. The appropriate school zone designation signs and pavement markings should be installed as part of the project. School zone designation should be per MUTCD. 8. Need for flashing beacon Flashing beacons are not anticipated due to the minimal pedestrian activity expected. Users of the site are expected to ride their bikes or be dropped off, hence, they will utilize the existing infrastructure. In addition, an existing flashing beacon exists approximately a quarter-mile west of the site. 9. Need for traffic control signal A traffic control signal is not anticipated due to the minimal pedestrian and vehicular activity expected. The driveway configuration will allow for full ingress and egress movements to/from the site (right-in/out and left-in/out movements). 10. Anticipated future improvements There are no future improvements anticipated for the project with the exception to school zone related modifications to Ustick Road. 11. Speed on adjacent highways Current posted speed limit on E Ustick Road is 40mph. TJW Engineering, Inc. Pathways School Checklist Report 01022024 Mr. Mussell 965 E Ustick Rd Pathways in Education Focused Traffic Study January 2,2024 Page 4 12. Traffic volumes on adjacent highways Per latest available traffic count data on the ACHD website (October 2021), Ustick Road east of Meridian Road has the following traffic volumes: Roadway Location City Date ADT EB AM EB PM 793 893 Ustick Road East of Merdian Rd Meridian 1012012021 22,653 WB AM WB PM 625 1,109 13. Effect upon the highway's level of service The school is designated for a maximum of 40 high-school aged students and 12 staff. The operating hours for the school will be between Sam to 4pm (closed on weekends) and most student appointments are typically between 1 to 1.5 hours, twice a week, either on Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays. Based on the school's operational plan, the overall effect on the highway's level of service is anticipated to be minimal. 14. Need for acceleration or deceleration lanes Based on the school's operational plan, the overall peak hour ingress/egress of vehicles and the traffic count data shown under item 12 above, the need for acceleration or deceleration lanes is not anticipated. 15. Internal traffic circulation The proposed layout of the school would allow vehicles the enter the site from Ustick Road for drop- off/pick-up activities to/from the school site. On-site parking will be limited to staff use only and the minimal congestion anticipated would be captured on-site. 16. Anticipated development on surrounding undeveloped parcels There are no surrounding developments anticipated. 17. Zoning in the vicinity The current zoning in the vicinity is R-8, medium density residential. TJW Engineering, Inc. Pathways School Checklist Report 01022024 Mr. Mussell 965 E Ustick Rd Pathways in Education Focused Traffic Study January 2,2024 Page 5 18. Access control on adjacent highways Ustick Road at the project driveway is uncontrolled (ie. free flowing) while traffic control at the driveway, although a STOP sign is not erected, will operate as a stop-control as vehicles enter the public ROW. 19. Required striping and signing modifications Signing and striping modifications would be installed based on appropriate MUTCD school zone signage and striping requirements. On-site striping, related to parking, directional pavement markers etc. would be captured on-site. 20. Funding of highway improvements to accommodate development As no highway improvements are anticipated as part of this development, no funding will be required. 21. Proposed highway projects in the vicinity There are no significant highway projects anticipated in the near term. 22. Any other issues as may be considered appropriate to the particular application. There are no other issues readily anticipated as part of the proposed project. Summary This focused traffic study provides an overview of the proposed project and its potential effects on the local highway infrastructure. This study has been completed in response to the checklist requirements per Idaho Code 67-6519930. Please contact us at (208) 922-7199 if you have any questions regarding this study. Sincerely, AL 20918 Thomas J. Wheat, PE CFO e Gene Kim Principal JOSIF Principal Engineer Registered Civil Engineer#20918 Attachments TJW Engineering, Inc. Pathways School Checklist Report 01022024 L%0' MUSSELL qFO CONSTRUCTION INC. 965ustick@mussellconstruction.com PO Box 3304,Nampa,ID 83642 208.466.3331 Project Narrative Project: 965 E Ustick Road, Meridian, ID Pathways in Education Applications: Annexation under L-O (Limited Office) Zone Reduced Landscape buffer along west boundary Conditional Use Permit for property use by Pathways in Education Project Overview Mussell Construction proposes to convert the existing structure at 965 E Ustick Road into an 8,000 s.f. building to be used by Pathways in Education (PIE). PIE has recently been approved for a charter in West Ada School District, which will be the organization's second charter in Idaho (after the existing location in Nampa Idaho).This public charter school caters to high-school-aged students and educates students in small groups or 1-1 support sessions.The nature of the school's operations makes it a good low-impact fit for the area:The school features a (very) low student-to-teacher ratio, and no extracurricular activities, and no outdoor activities. Cohort start times are varied throughout the day, and the campus is closed during the times that the adjacent homes are most likely to be occupied. The proposed applications involve the following: • To Annex the property into the City of Meridian, under the L-O zone. • To reduce the landscape buffer requirement along the property's west-boundary to 11'-8" • A Conditional Use Permit, allowing the property to be developed for Pathways in Education's use. City of Meridian Comprehensive Plan The development aims to annex the property into Meridian City in a way that is compliant with the City's comprehensive plan.The property has a future land-use designation as Medium Density Residential, which normally requires 3-8 residential dwelling units per acre. If left as a residential use,the property will likely never achieve the intended density, because the number of possible units is too small to justify the utility upgrades needed, which would require waterline and sewer mainline taps in Ustick Road. Accordingly,the property's best compliant zoning under the comprehensive plan is as Limited Office (L-O). L-O zoning can be granted by City Council when (See Comp. Plan Pg. 3-11): • The property frontage is along an arterial road. This property abuts Ustick Road and nothing else. • The parcel size is under 2 acres. This property is 0.9 acres. School Operations Hours: The school is open from 8AM until 4PM,year-round, and is closed Saturdays and Sundays.There are no regular student appointments on Fridays. The majority of students leave the campus by 3PM each day. Pathways in Education Narrative Letter 1 1 Number of Students: On average, approximately 30 students at a time, with a max capacity of 40 students. Student appointments are normally 1-1.5 hours in length and occur twice per week (Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday). Means of Transport: Students and their parents are responsible for transportation to and from the site—busses will not service the campus. Based on historic activity at PIE's existing campuses (10 nationwide), it is expected that nearly all students will be dropped-off by family. It is expected that a minority of students will drive themselves to the campus. Number of Staff: Approx. 12 Staff Members. Traffic Mitigation The first batch of students (approx. 30) arrive to the property for class by 8AM. Parking spaces along the west-boundary will be designated as staff-only to provide ample room for student drop-offs. Parking spaces adjacent to the building will be reserved for accessible parking and student drop offs to facilitate the best traffic flow of students arriving to the campus. After 8AM,the campus's impact on local traffic will be minimal, since no other class start times occur during rush hour, and the last batch of students leave the campus at 3PM, before the evening rush hour. The project is 1900 feet from Locust Grove and 3000 feet from Meridian Road, which precludes the project's impact on traffic at those intersections.The speed limit along Ustick Road is 40 MPH, which further minimizes concerns about entrance and exit traffic from the property. Impact/Buffering from Adjacent Uses Mussell Construction has intentionally designed the landscaping around the perimeter to provide year-round screening and sound buffering to the adjacent properties which consist mostly of single-family homes.The proposed landscaping plans/renderings are enclosed in our application. Our plans consist of dense perimeter landscaping, with a mix of trees and shrubs, as well as an attractive privacy fence.These plans are based on discussions with the project's neighbors and their expressed desires. Tree Mitigation The proposed project involves the removal of 10 healthy trees (137 caliper inches in total) of trees, which are to be mitigated by the protection of the remaining 8 mature trees totaling 268 caliper inches. In addition to the required tree mitigation,we are planting a total of 16 new trees. We appreciate your consideration of our application. 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