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Home My WebLink AboutZMA201900008 Correspondence 2021-06-07 (4)RAMEY KEMP ASSOCIATES Moving forward. May 27, 2021 Mr. Kevin McDermott Albemarle County 401 McIntire Road Charlottesville, Virginia22902 Phone: (434) 296-5832 Subject: Rio Road Multi -Family — Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) Dear Mr. McDermott, T 804 217 8560 4343 Cox Road Glen Allen, VA 23060 Enclosed for your review and approval is the revised Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) we have prepared for the proposed neighborhood located on the southwest comer of the Rio Road at John Warner Parkway intersection. The original TIA was submitted in April 2021. Following is a brief response to each review comment: Comments Provided by VDOT — letter dated May 10, 2021: 1. Signal timing will need to be adjusted to reflect existing timing in the controller at Rio Rd and John Warner Pkwy including Control Type (actuated uncoordinated), minimum green times for all phases, yellow change and all red clearance times for all phases, and flash don't walk time for phase 4. Signal timings for this intersection are attached. The intersection is currently running FYA but that feature is omitted during the peak hours so it should not be included in the Synchro models. • Signal timings have been updated in Synchro analysis. 2. At the intersection of Rio Rd and John Warner Pkwy, the queue length values shown in the Appendix (pg 79) do not match the values listed in the summary Table 7 (pg 7). Given that Synchro was not used to analyze the roundabout at this intersection, the Synchro queue report should be removed, leaving the Sidra report in place. The same is true for the Build condition with Roundabout as well. Also, why is there a reduction in delay in the SBR movement under the 2023 Build condition (with no Roundabout)? • The Synchro/SimTraffic queue report is included as it is used to analyze the queuing at Rio Road and Dunlora Drive for the "with roundabout'' conditions. The report shows the queuing data from Sidra for the Rio Rd and John Warner Pkwy roundabout condition, and any SimTraffic data for this intersection under the "with roundabout" condition should be ignored. The reduction in delay is no longer shown, as all analysis data has been updated with the new timings. The Department is currently running FYA on phases 1 and 5 at the intersection of Rio Rd and Pen Pk but they are not shown in the Synchro models. Please make this adjustment. • The FYA has been added to the Rio Rd and Pen Park intersection. This change to the analysis actual improves certain movements at this intersection. Transportation IM Consulting that moves us {2844532-1, 121567-00004- 14CA forward. rameykemp.com RAMEY KEMP ASSOCIATES Moving forward. Rio Point, Albemarle County Virginia 2 4. It is understood that the proposed roundabout at Rio Road and John Warner Pkwy will not be included in the Rio Point development. Based on RKA's analysis using projected traffic counts for Year 2023, the roundabout is anticipated to operate at LOS C. It is important to note that this proposed roundabout project is not expected to be constructed within the next few years, so the County should anticipate traffic operations to reflect the "no -build" condition in the study. • Noted. This scenario was included to reflect the ultimate operation of the intersection, with the build -out of the proposed neighborhood and the planned roundabout. Comments Provided by the County — letter dated May 10, 2021: Build w/roundabout shows increase in queuing and delay for JWP traffic over the no -build w/roundabout. This is the worst operating movement. Is there any way to address this? Possibly a slip lane. • Additional slip lanes have been added and the suggested design for the roundabout has been revised to provide the optimal configuration that would be possible to build at this intersection with its current layout. 2. A left -in from Rio to Dunlora Drive is shown in the concept plan for the Roundabout. Please address in more detail the removal of this movement from the analysis. Are we confident that will not be included despite the fact that it is shown in the concept, why, how will the desire for that movement be? The left -in from Rio to Dunlora does not seem feasible upon completion of the roundabout. Allowing this movement would require a break in the splitter of the roundabout, and it would leave potential for this movement to queue back into the roundabout, inhibiting its proper operation. However, the left -in movement can be rerouted to a right -in on the northern Dunlora Dr and Rio Rd intersection, using the roundabout for necessary U-turns. The roundabout also allows for left -out traffic to turn right onto Rio Rd and U-turn at the roundabout to head south on Rio Rd. Figures 17 and 21 show the "with roundabout" condition, with all Dunlora left -turn traffic re-routed accordingly. 3. Why show the w/roundabout for the Dunlora Forest Dr intersection? The roundabout improvements at JWP/CATEC/Rio Rd do not appear to have any effect on operations at this intersection. Any recommendation to address the continued issue with the WBL at this intersection understanding that the Rio Point development does not make a noticeable change to that problem, but it is still a problem. • The scenario was shown at all intersections to provide consistency, but it has been omitted from the revised report, as it does not have any impact on the analysis of this intersection. As Mr. McDermott points out, there would be no significant change to the operations at this intersection with a roundabout. �,_ rame kern .com {2844532 1, 121 00 3} Y P Transportation Consulting that moves us forward. RAMEY KEMP ASSOCIATES Rio Point, Albemarle County Virginia 3 Moving forward. 4. Same question on inclusion of the roundabout at Pen Park Rd analysis. It doesn't appear to have any effect on operations. Minor increases in delays for the WB movements at this intersection between the Build and No -build. Any thoughts on ways to address this? • The "with roundabout" scenario does provide the same results for this intersection and has been omitted from the revised report. 5. The Rio Rd intersection at the proposed full movement driveway would operate with a failing movement for vehicles leaving the site wishing to turn left. This issue should be addressed to prevent people from turning right and attempting U-turns somewhere further south on Rio Rd East or taking unnecessary risks to get out between traffic. • While the eastbound left -turn movement shows a level of service - F, the report shows a maximum queue of less than 8 vehicles, and an average delay of 55 seconds, which is less than 1/3 of the cycle length at the Rio Rd and John Warner Parkway intersection. The delay is a measure of the average time it takes for a vehicle to complete the movement. So drivers would stand to wait a shorter amount of time to turn left out of the site than they would pulling up to the Rio Rd and John Warner Parkway signal halfway through the cycle. It is important to point out that this LOS for a side street or entrance to a major collector is not at all unusual. There is no indication from experience that this proposed entrance would pose an undue safety hazard. 6. Staffs only concerns about traffic operations are the JWP, Dunlora Forest Dr, and full movement driveway queuing and delays. As requested above any recommendations to address these issues would be appreciated. Responses and recommendations have been provided for the aforementioned issues. Thanks for your feedback, and let us know if there is anything that still needs to be addressed. We appreciate your time and assistance to this point, and trust that we have addressed all of the review comments. Please contact me if you have any questions or need anything else to complete the review. Sincerely, Ramey Kemp Associates Michael Bailey, P.E., PTOE State Traffic Operations Lead Enclosure Copy to: Mr. Adam Moore, P.E., VDOT Transportation Consulting that moves us forward. (2844532-1, 12100 3) _ rameykemp.com