If a traffic impact study is required by this Article, it shall contain the following information:
(A) General site description. The site description shall include the size, location, proposed land uses, number of units and gross square footage by land use, existing land use and zoning, construction staging, and completion date of the proposed land to the extent known or able to be described at the time the application is prepared. A brief description of other major existing and approved land within the study area shall be provided. The general site description shall also include probable socio-economic characteristics of potential site users to the extent that they may affect the transportation needs of the site.
(B) Transportation facilities description.
(1) The description shall address the existing external, internal and proposed
. This description shall (1) all proposed ingress and egress locations; (2) proposed internal vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian circulation; (3) all internal roadway widths and
, turn lanes, parking conditions, traffic channelization’s; and (4) any traffic signals or other intersection control devices within the site.
(2) Major intersections in the study area and all intersections or
adjacent to or within one-third of a mile of the site shall be identified and sketched. All existing and proposed public transportation services and facilities within one-mile of the site shall also be documented.
(3) Future highway
, including proposed construction and traffic signalization, shall be obtained from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and noted. Any proposed roadway
due to proposed surrounding
shall also be noted.
(C) Existing traffic conditions.
(1) Existing traffic conditions shall be documented for the identified intersection and roadway and sections in the study area. Manual directional turning movement counts and average daily traffic volumes shall be collected at locations unless recent approved counts are available. Such data should be no more than one year old and approved by the Planning Department prior to use.
(2) Traffic accidents shall be documented as recorded by the NCDOT, municipal or county law enforcement, and the NC State Highway patrol for the past five years.
(3) AM and PM peak hour analysis based upon existing volumes shall be performed for all locations as agreed upon at the scoping meeting.
(4) This analysis will determine the adequacy of the existing
with respect to current traffic demand. Roadways and/or intersections experiencing levels of service E or F shall be noted as congestion locations. Levels of service, delay and 95th percentile queue length shall be reported for each location.
(D) Transportation impact of the
.
(1) The site-generated traffic volumes shall be calculated using the methodology and procedures described in the latest edition of the Institute of Transportation Engineer’s (ITE’s) Trip Generation Manual for the proposed
. Dependent upon
type, projected trips shall be calculated for the peak hour of the adjacent
or peak hour of the proposed
. Project trips shall be based on square footage, number of proposed residential units, etc. per NCDOT standards and guidelines (based on
type). Any characteristics of the site that will cause trip generation to vary significantly from average rates available in published sources shall be documented, including such factors as (1) pass-by trips, (2) internal capture, (3) staggered work hours, or (4) use of transit. All trip generation data (AM and PM peak hour trips and ADTs) is to be documented within the report. These site-generated trips shall be distributed and assigned to the existing roadways and intersections throughout the study area. The site trip distribution and assignment phase shall be provided.
(2) All average daily traffic volumes within the study area shall be shown graphically. Peak hour turning movement volumes shall be shown for signalized and other major intersections, including all access points to the
.
(3) All
related
shall be compliant with NCDOT MSTA section of Congestion Management. Pedestrian and bicycle volumes at
crossings and as otherwise applicable shall be reported.
(E) Analysis of transportation impact. The total traffic demand that will result from construction of the proposed shall be calculated. This demand shall consist of the combination of (1) existing traffic; (2) ambient traffic growth and traffic from approved area and (3), traffic generated by the proposed .
(1) (a) Each traffic impact study at a minimum shall include analyses of the
for the following scenarios:
1. Existing traffic;
2. Off-season background, which includes the sum of existing and 3% ambient growth and approved
.
3. Off-season build, which includes the sum of background and site-generated trips.
4. Seasonal background, which includes the sum of existing and 3% ambient growth and seasonal growth percentage and approved
.
5. Seasonal build, which includes the sum of background and seasonal growth percentage and site-generated trips.
6. Build
, which includes the sum of build and recommended capacity mitigation
.
(b) Notes.
1. The background and build year analyses for all future scenarios shall be one year following the development’s scheduled completion.
2. An ambient compound growth of 3% shall be used unless otherwise approved by the town or town’s Traffic Engineer.
3. Seasonal growth percentage to be provided by the town or town’s Traffic Engineer.
4. Seasonal analysis period is between June 1 and August 31.
(2) If staging of the proposed
is anticipated, calculations for each stage of completion shall be made (off-season and seasonal). This analysis shall be performed for average weekday traffic, the peak highway hour(s) and, if appropriate, peak
-generated hour(s) for all roadways and major intersections in the study area (as defined by the town or town’s Traffic Engineer).
(3) All proposed access points and pedestrian crossings shall be examined for adequate sight distance and if deemed necessary by the town or town’s Traffic Engineer, with the support of NCDOT on state routes the installation of a traffic signal. The traffic signal evaluation shall compare the projected traffic and pedestrian volumes to the warrants for traffic signal installation found in the latest edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). All traffic signal warrants must be approved by the NCDOT Division Traffic Engineer.
(F) Conclusions and recommended
.
(1) The traffic impact study shall report each analyzed condition as required in divisions (A) through (F) and include peak hour delay, levels of service, and ninety-fifth percentile queue lengths for all study area intersections (signalized) or intersection movements (unsignalized) as defined by the latest edition of the Highway Capacity Manual. Should the projected build (off-season or seasonal) level of service for any signalized intersection or unsignalized intersection movement in an urban area defined in division (G) fall below LOS “D” for a 60-minute peak hour, that intersection shall deemed deficient. Should the projected build level of service for any signalized intersection or unsignalized intersection movement in a rural area as defined in division (G) fall below LOS “C” for a 60-minute peak hour, that intersection shall be deemed deficient. Should the build delay at an intersection or intersection approach increase by 25% or more (above and beyond the existing background delay), that intersection approach shall be deemed deficient.
(2) Should an intersection and/or intersection movement be deemed deficient (as outlined in division (F)(1)), the traffic impact study shall provide potential capacity mitigation recommendations to allow the intersection or intersection approach to operate at a LOS “D” (in urban areas) or LOS “C” (in rural areas). Potential capacity mitigation recommendations include, but are not limited to: modifications to internal circulation design; modifications to site access location and/or design; external roadway widening; external intersection modification (turn lane construction and the like); intersection signalization; and/or upgrades to network signal timings. All recommended
shall be designed by a North Carolina Licensed Professional Engineer and provided to the town for review, comment, and approval. All recommended
to state maintained facilities are subject to NCDOT approval. When connecting site driveways to state maintained facilities, the applicant must follow all NCDOT guidelines to acquire a driveway permit.
(3) If it is determined by the town or the town’s Traffic Engineer that the proposed
is only partially responsible for a deficient intersection, intersection movement, or intersection approach, payment of a partial fee-in-lieu may be considered. In this instance, the
shall be responsible for their proportionate share of a required
. A proportionate share is the percentage of a
trips (as compared to the total volume of trips) at an intersection or intersection approach during the worst analyzed peak hour, all as determined by the town or the town’s Traffic Engineer. For example, if a
trips represent 5% of the total traffic at an intersection during the worst analyzed peak hour, that development will be responsible for 5% of the total cost of the required
at that intersection. Any fee-in-lieu consideration will be at the sole discretion of the town or town’s Traffic Engineer. The standards established in § 152.384 shall be followed.
(G) Urban and rural intersections. For the purpose of traffic impact studies, an URBAN INTERSECTION shall be defined as the intersection of any facility with NC-24 (W. Corbett Avenue). All other intersections shall be considered RURAL INTERSECTIONS.
(Ord. 2005-O3, passed 3-15-2005; Am. Ord. 2018-O8, passed 5-22-2018)