GEOG 442

1. GEOG 442 Day 9: Transportation/ Traffic Impacts Assessment

2. The Significance of Transportation and Its Impact on Land Use • Land Use Impacts refers to effects transportation activities and facilities can have on land use patterns – on the location, design and use of landscape features such as cities, individual structures, farms, parks and wildlands. • Land use patterns reflect various attributes, including the following (Litman, 2001): -Density - the number of people, jobs or housing units in an area. -Mix - whether different types of land uses are located in the same area. -Clustering - whether related activities are located close together. -Roadway scale and connectivity – the size of roads and city blocks. -Impervious surface coverage – the portion of land that is covered by buildings and pavement. -Greenspace – the portion of land dedicated to lawns, gardens, parks, farms, woodlands, etc. -Accessibility – the ease with which various types of people can reach goods, services and activities (including motorists, non-drivers, people with physical disabilities, etc.).

3. Smart Growth Patterns Higher-density. Infill and brownfield development. Land use mix Smaller buildings, blocks and roads; care to design details for pedestrians. Multi-modal. Supports walking, cycling and public transit. Streets designed to accommodate a variety of activities. Traffic calming. Planned and coordinated between jurisdictions and stakeholders. Emphasizes the public realm (public streets, parks, walking facilities). Sprawl Patterns Lower density Peripheral (greenfield) development Homogeneous land uses. Larger buildings, blocks, wide roads. Less detail, since people experience the landscape at a distance, as motorists. Automobile-oriented. Poorly suited for walking, cycling and transit. Streets designed to maximize motor vehicle traffic volume and speed Unplanned, with little coordination between jurisdictions and stakeholders. Emphasis on private space. Tendency for Over-Reliance on Automobiles to Produce Sprawl

4. What is Transportation? • According to Leung (p. 140), “transportation… [is] a service which enables people, firms, and institutions to carry out activities in separate locations. The emphasis is on coordination of activity patterns, activity centres, and movement systems.” • Transportation planning deals with both land-based (pedestrians, bicycles, autos, taxis, buses and trains) and water-based systems (ferries and freighters, etc.).

5. Land-Based Transportation • The main purpose of land-based transportation is to facilitate access and mobility. The key point is access. If land uses are close together, the need for mobility is reduced. • A key element in land-based transportation is the road system; roads exist in a hierarchy: local roads, collectors, arterials, and freeways (also rural roads) [see description of their characteristics on pp. 70-71 ].

6. Data Needed for Transportation Analysis • Traffic-related- As collected through vehicle counts and observations (volumes, proportion between through and local traffic, kinds of vehicles, congestion or bottlenecks, accident rates, dangerous intersections, and sensitive areas). • Land Use- Types and volumes of traffic generated by different land uses (see p. 72) based on vehicle counts entering and exiting a site. May also look at source of traffic as determined by license plates. Potential for impacts on uses or for conflicts between different users of a road or an area serviced by road(s). What are some examples? • Capacity- Maximum of vehicles that can be accommodated based on number of lanes, road surface, and type and number of intersections. Also: traffic conditions, such as traffic type, speed, volume, direction, and presence of other road users (buses, bikes, and pedestrians). Measured in terms of Level of Service, rated from “A” to “F” (see descriptions on p. 73).

7. A full traffic study should be completed if development will generate 100 or more new inbound/outbound trips during peak hours. The following developments would be expected to generate that much traffic: • 160 Single Family Homes • 200 Multi- Family Units • 60,000 sq. Ft. General Office Space • 10,000 sq. Ft. Retail Space These are general guidelines.

8. Why Is This Traffic Level Significant? • Magnitude can change level of service of an intersection. • Left or right turn lanes may be needed to accommodate site traffic. • An increased intensity of traffic can lead to greater potential for accidents or impacts on adjacent land uses, such as residential.

9. When Should an Impact Study Be Completed? At the following stages of planning process (depending on the scale of the development): • Rezoning applications • Subdivision applications • Building permit applications • Formation of special planning areas • Amendments to the OCP/Neighborhood plans • Permits for major driveways.

10. How Large Should the Study Area Be? • It should include all site access points and major intersections adjacent to site • The first signalized intersection on each street serving the site, within 0.5Km • Additional areas based on local or site specific issues.

11. Traffic Impact Study Will Help To • Identify contribution a particular site makes to the traffic patterns • Provide a credible basis for estimating road improvements required by a project • Assess compatibility with local transportation plans • Provide guidance for short term/long term planning of site access

12. Resources City of Nanaimo: Traffic Access and Impact Study Guidelines Traffic Access and Impact Studies for Site Development, prepared by the Transportation Planners Task Force on Traffic Access/Impact Studies

13. Transit Planning • Transit’s fortunes have risen and fallen with the times, but in general it has been the Cinderella step-sister to the favoured daughter, the automobile. • Transit is more commonly used for trips to work (it is not always as convenient for shopping), and its use is heaviest at peak hours. • Its use is lower on the weekends, and in the summer. • Trips are more common to the CBD because of the disincentives of auto travel there. • Rail trips are the longest, followed by subway, and bus. Trips to the CBD tend to take longer. All transit trips tend to take longer than auto trips, and often involve getting on more than one vehicle, which is a disincentive to its use.

14. Recent Stats on “Modal Split” in the GVRD Modal Share, 1994-1999, and 2004Modal Share Mode of Travel 1994 1999 % change 94-99 1994 1999 Change 94-9 2004 Auto Driver 2,728,500 3,127,600 14.6 57.1% 57.1% 0.0% ---- Auto Passenger 914,100 935,300 2.3 19.1% 17.1% -2.0% ---- Transit 488,200 566,200 16.0 10.2% 10.3% 0.1% 10.8 Walk/Bike 608,300 783,500 28.8 12.7% 14.3% 1.6% 12.8 Other 40,900 65,800 60.9 0.9% 1.2% 0.3% ----- Source: Glen Leicester, Vice-President, Planning. June 16, 2005. Memo, To: GVTA Board of Directors. Subject: Transit Capacity Study. Burnaby: GVTA. In addition, 13.4% of all GVRD residents on average take transit at least once for a one-way trip each week. Dense mixed use areas like the West End and Downtown Vancouver have close to 50% of all trips to work occurring through walking, cycling or transit. Data on modal split is collected by Statistics Canada through the Census. Other data can be generated through trip diaries.

15. Characteristics of Transit Users • Use usually inversely proportional to income with some exceptions (e.g. suburban commuter rail users) • Also inversely related to car ownership, though depends partly on people’s location • More likely to be used by minorities and women, and sometimes seniors • Because of the central location of offices, sometimes more used by white collar than blue collar workers.

16. Attitudes of Transit Users • Desirable qualities of transit: easy access, frequency, reliability, minimum number of transfers, cost (hidden vs. out of pocket), availability of seating and climate control, security, etc. • Priorities vary depending on the class and individual. • Transit agencies faced with challenges, including “bread and butter” service vs. “luxury” transit, and maintaining or establishing service in low-density suburbs. Also: establishing more flexible services, such as mini-buses.

17. Planning for Pedestrians • People tend to walk about 3 mph (or 4.8 kmh), except in conditions of congestion or depending on purpose (e.g. window-shopping, strolling). • Sidewalks optimally require two 3-foot “lanes,” each of which would have a capacity of about 1000 persons per hour. Ideally people should have 15 feet (4.5 metres) clear space in front of them. • People will walk different distances for different purposes, but a five-minute (1300 foot) radius is optimal.

18. Planning for Cyclists • Different types of bike infrastructure: bikeways, bikeway network, bike paths, bike lanes, bike-pedestrian lane, bicycle trail, bike route [see pp. 76-77]. • Other facilities can include: bike parking, bike lockers, showers at destination points. • Cyclists need a 5 foot (1.5 metres) wide space, 10 feet for a two-way path. • Depending on wind conditions and slope, velocity will range from 12 to 30 mph (20 to 50 kph). • Bikes can handle grades of 10%, 15% in the case of touring bikes.

19. Characteristics of Cyclists • More than 75% are under 30, most of them 20 to 29. • Males outnumber women 3 to 1. • Families with older children make more bike trips than those with small children. • Children probably used to bike more when their parents were less concerned about safety issues. • Most cycling trips take place in central city areas, though cycling enthusiasts exist in all different environments. Typically, cycling trips account for only 0.3 of all trips to work.

20. Exercise • Currently, the vast majority of trips to Malaspina occur through single-occupancy vehicle trips. Design a plan whereby this dependence on the automobile could be reduced. Use more than one strategy, and consider possible funding sources for the plan. You can consider only one target group (e.g. students) or all commuters.