AgdaPkt 2016-11-07 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 9 OBJECTIVE 3: Ensure there are not substantial increases to vehicle corridor travel times and/or significant intersection delays Why: Although increasing safety for everyone is the overarching goal, the Council was concerned that the vehicle travel times could increase substantially as a result of the pilot. Analysis before the pilot predicted that the longest average delays would occur during peak commute times, and could result in an increase in average delay of 1-2 minutes. Measurement: Multiple criteria were used to assess delays along the corridor: average peak period travel time, average off‐peak travel time, and average intersection vehicle delay. Travel Times TJKM Traffic Consultants conducted travel time surveys for the corridor, before, during and after the pilot project. The purpose of a travel time study is to evaluate the quality of traffic movement along a route and to determine the locations, types, and extent of traffic delays by using a moving test vehicle (a travel time “run”). This study method can be used to compare operational conditions before and after roadway or intersection changes. Travel time runs were performed on Farm Hill Boulevard/Jefferson Avenue between Woodhill Drive and Alameda de las Pulgas during the morning, midday and evening periods. TJKM used the Tru‐Traffic software system with a GPS unit to collect the travel times. Travel times were initially collected for the Post-Pilot in July 2016, exactly one year after the Pre-Pilot data, but supplemental travel time surveys were collected in September 2016 to determine if the travel times increased once local schools were back in session. Travel time data was collected from 7:00 AM ‐ 9:00 AM, 1:00PM ‐ 3:00 PM, and 5:00 PM ‐ 7:00 PM for the AM, midday, and PM peak periods, respectively. It should be noted that a small sample size was collected with approximately 20 runs total (10 in each direction) being completed during each period and then averaged. Table 6 summarizes the findings of the travel time study. Outcome: The largest change in travel time from July 2015 to July 2016 was in the midday period, heading towards downtown, where the average run was 33 seconds less after the pilot. Generally, the average travel times decreased for all time periods in both directions, which was unexpected. The pilot project reduced the number of lanes along Farm Hill Boulevard/Jefferson Avenue which was anticipated to increase the travel time. However, the travel time surveys showed a decrease in the intersection delay, which is the main reason for the decrease in average travel time. This decrease in intersection delay was due to improvements in the signal timing operations at the signalized intersections. Supplemental travel time surveys were collected in September 2016 to determine if travel times decreased once local schools were back in session. As shown in Table 6, the average travel time decreased for a majority of the time periods in both directions, with exception to the westbound direction in the AM peak. The average travel time increased by 42 seconds, which was due to the increased signal delay. 8.A. - Page 20