HomeMy WebLinkAboutZTA200900016 Review Comments Zoning Text Amendment 2010-12-21*-&A
County of Albemarle
Department of Community Development
Memorandum
To: Joan McDowell, Principle Planner
From: Glenn Brooks, County Engineer
Date: 16 Dec 2010
Subject: Montalto (ZTA2009000016)
Current Comments;
The road improvement plan, revised code, traffic management plan, and response letter have been
reviewed. The following comments are offered for your review. These do not need to be addressed by the
applicant, but are given as a response to help in drafting the staff report;
1. It is recommended that approval be conditioned upon clearing and grading for sight distance at the
main entrance. The interim solution of blocking this access and routing vehicles through the
visitors center can be part of the condition, as a temporary arrangement. It is also possible VDOT
may undertake spot improvements on Rt. 53, which would help the situation, but not necessarily
fix it.
2. The proposed improvements to the road will improve safety. As has been discussed with the
applicant's engineer, I would like to present this to the commission and board as a range of options
with competing interests. My recommendations have been to improve safety on the road, while
competing interest are cost, and the visual impact on the mountainside, especially from Monticello.
An example of an option to improve safety is, at the most extreme, extensive realignment and
grading, essentially building a new access to current standards. At the other extreme, the existing
road could be used with provisions to slow vehicles or limit vehicles and otherwise work with the
unsafe turns and hazardous edges. This project currently falls in the middle, with some geometric
improvements at the worst spots, the curves, together with warnings signs and markings. The
commission and board should weigh the competing interests and decide if additional measures,
such as guardrail or walls, would be appropriate.
3. The traffic management plan would need to be more specific if it were to be supplied to a zoning
inspector or police officer, but enough has been provided to proceed with the ZTA.
Comments of 4 Nov 2010;
The road improvement plan, revised code, traffic management plan, and response letter have been
reviewed. The following comments are offered for your review;
1. It is recommended that approval be conditioned upon clearing and grading for sight distance at the
main entrance. If it is a hardship, a reasonable timeline could be part of the condition.
2. The road plan proposes grading, widening and installing run -outs at the curves on Montalto Loop
Road which will improve safety at the turns. Some other improvements which would also improve
safety are, for example, shoulder, and guardrail or a parapet wall along the entire road, a centerline
stripe with warning, speed limit, and no passing signs, and directional reflective signage and
Albemarle County Community Development
Engineering Review comments
Page 2 of 3
maximum safe speed warnings at the curves.
It is recommended that the code not contain the "soft- start" and "hard- start" terminology, or
specific traffic generation numbers. Where the code currently proposes the language;
"Notwithstanding the foregoing, special events at Montalto that meet the following criteria shall be
conducted in accordance with the requirements of an approved traffic management plan on file
with the Department of Community Development; (a) "soft- start" special events that generate
more than 1,576 total vehicle trips (788 entering and 788 existing); (b) "hard- start" events that
generate more than 388 total vehicle trips (194 entering and 194 exiting)."
It is recommended this be replaced with; "All special events at Montalto shall be conducted in
accordance with the requirements of an approved traffic management plan on file with the
Department of Community Development, which may be reviewed on an annual basis at the
discretion of the Zoning Administrator or County Engineer, or the request of the owner."
This would allow much more flexibility. This traffic management plan can apply certain
requirement, or none, on a graduated scale based on the type of event or expected traffic
generation.
4. The traffic management plan strikes me as more of a conceptual scope. I would expect any such
document, which could be reviewed and approved subsequent to this ZTA, to lay out the
placement of cones to direct traffic or block off exit or entry lanes, the placement of warning and
directional signs on Rt. 53 to both sides per MUTCD standards, as well as on -site directional signs
or lane closures, such as at the un -used exits or within the parking areas. (This would be much
like a temporary traffic plan for a road construction project.) It should pinpoint the placement of
personnel to direct traffic and parking, and the training, equipment or qualifications necessary if
any, such as with the police officer on Rt. 53 directing traffic at certain times. The plan would
note the start and end times of all traffic measures and manned stations, with respect to the event
start and end times. It would re- direct traffic when parking is full. As mentioned above, many
measures could be based on the size or timing of an event.
Comments to Traffic Engineer of 28 Jun 2010;
Regarding the May traffic impact analysis for Montalto phase 1, could you provide the specifics of a
Traffic Management Plan? A majority of the results seem to hinge on this aspect, and it is not clear
what will be done and what the mitigating affect will be. The analysis also places some weight on a
"soft start event" where traffic does not arrive in one peak hour, and it would be nice to have more data
on that if available.
Comments of 13 Oct 2009;
The only item of concern would be the steep incline of the roadway and the severe turns. These were
issues during the previous application process, but were approved after consultation with the fire
official. This road is built similar to what might be allowed for a driveway or a rural road meeting the
3 -5 lot standard in the subdivision ordinance. With that in mind, a count of 420 vehicle trips per week
might be a reasonable target. In order to increase the capacity and safety of this road, it would be
advisable to increase the radius of the turns and decrease the grades, as well as provide shoulders,
Albemarle County Community Development
Engineering Review comments
Page 3 of 3
guardrail and /or other safety features, which would involve some realignment and reconstruction.
file: l;3 zma GEB Montalto.doc