1050 Page Mill Road Office Development

Transcription

1 1050 Page Mill Road Office Development Transportation Impact Analysis Prepared for: 1050 Page Mill Road Property, LLC April 15, 2015 Hexagon Office: 2 N. Second Street, Suite 400 San Jose, CA Hexagon Job Number: 13GB31 Phone:

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary... i 1. Introduction Existing Conditions Existing Plus Project Conditions Background Conditions Background Plus Project Conditions Other Transportation Issues Cumulative Conditions Conclusions Appendices Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Volume Spreadsheets Level of Service Calculation Sheets Memo Regarding Typical Usage of Project Site List of Tables Table ES 1 Intersection Level of Service Summary... v Table 1 Signalized Intersection Level of Service Definitions Based on Control Delay... 4 Table 2 Existing Intersection Levels of Service Table 3 Background Intersection Levels of Service Table 4 Project Trip Generation Estimates Table 5 Background Plus Project Intersection Levels of Service Table 6 Vehicle Queuing and Left-Turn Pocket Storage Analysis Table 7 Cumulative Intersection Levels of Service List of Figures Figure 1 Site Location and Study Intersections... 2 Figure 2 Bike Map... 9 Figure 3 Existing Transit Service Figure 4 Existing Lane Configurations Figure 5 Existing Traffic Volumes Figure 6 Background Traffic Volumes Figure 7 Project Trip Distribution Pattern Figure 8 Gross Project Trip Assignment Figure 9 Net Project Trip Assignment Figure 10 Background Plus Project Traffic Volumes Figure 11 Site Plan Figure 12 Cumulative No Project Traffic Volumes Figure 13 Cumulative Plus Project Traffic Volumes P a g e

3 Executive Summary This report presents the results of the traffic impact analysis conducted for the proposed office development located at 1050 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, California. The proposed project consists of constructing four office buildings, which would replace approximately 265,895 square feet of existing development on the site. The existing structures on the site would be demolished. This study is based on an analysis of 285,000 square feet of office space, as originally proposed for the site, although the project as currently proposed would include approximately 276,640 square feet, of which 265,895 square feet would be office space and 10,745 square feet would be space for amenities. The result of this reduction from 285,000 to 276,640 square feet means that the analysis of traffic impacts included in this TIA should be regarded as conservative. By basing the analysis on 285,000 square feet, the evaluation in this report slightly overstates the amount of traffic the project would generate at the study intersections. Access to the site is currently provided on Page Mill Road opposite Hansen Way and on California Avenue via a reciprocal access agreement with the adjacent property to the rear. However, the proposed project would not have direct access to California Avenue, and all of the project-generated trips would enter and exit the site on Page Mill Road. The potential transportation impacts of the project were evaluated following the standards and methodologies set forth by the City of Palo Alto and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). The VTA administers the County Congestion Management Program (CMP). According to the VTA TIA guidelines, a CMP intersection shall be included in the traffic impact analysis if the proposed development project is expected to add 10 or more peak hour vehicles per lane to any intersection movement. The same criterion was used to identify non-cmp intersections to be included in this study. The study included an analysis of AM and PM peak-hour traffic conditions for six signalized intersections and one unsignalized intersection. Project Trip Generation Trip generation estimates were based on rates obtained from the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) published Trip Generation Manual, 9th Edition, Trips that could be (and have historically been) generated by the existing facilities were deducted from the estimated number of trips generated by the proposed office buildings. It is estimated that the proposed project would generate 83 net trips in the AM peak-hour and 81 net trips in the PM peak-hour. Intersection Level of Service Analysis Table ES-1 summarizes the results of the weekday peak hour intersection level of service analysis under the following conditions: existing (Chapter 2), background (Chapter 4), background plus project (Chapter 5), and cumulative with and without project (Chapter 7) conditions. The level of service analysis assumes that under background and cumulative conditions, the project site has access to California Avenue via a P a g e i

4 driveway that leads to the adjacent property to the rear. Under background plus project and cumulative plus project conditions, it is assumed that the project would not have direct access to California Avenue and that all project-generated trips would enter and exit the site on Page Mill Road. The portions of Page Mill Road and Oregon Expressway that are included in this study are a county expressway and under the jurisdiction of the Santa Clara County Department of Roads and Airports. The County has requested that the intersection level of service analysis in this TIA be as consistent as possible with the analysis in the Countywide Expressway Study that it is currently conducting. Accordingly, this TIA uses the existing traffic volumes for the signalized intersections on that expressway corridor and the signal timing, lane configurations, and many other factors and parameters for the TRAFFIX analysis that were provided to Hexagon by the County. Background Plus Project Conditions Compared to background conditions, the project would have no significant impact on any of the study intersections: 1. None of the study intersections fell from an acceptable LOS under background conditions to an unacceptable level under background plus project conditions. 2. Among study intersections that were at an unacceptable LOS under background conditions, none developed significant increases in critical-movement delay or demand-to-capacity ratio under background plus project conditions. The unsignalized intersection at I-280 SB Off-ramp and Page Mill Road would operate at LOS F during the AM peak hour and LOS C during the PM peak hour. The project would add 12 trips to the I-280 southbound off-ramp (the critical movement at this intersection) during the AM peak hour and one trip during the PM peak hour. The project would also add two eastbound through movements in the AM peak hour and two westbound through movements in PM peak hour at this intersection. The Town of Los Altos Hills, where this intersection is located, does not support the installation of a traffic signal. The City of Palo Alto, the Town of Los Altos Hills, Caltrans, and the County are working together to develop an improvement plan for the I-280/Page Mill Road interchange that includes alternatives to a traffic signal, such as a roundabout, at this intersection. The project will be required to pay a traffic impact fee. This fee could be used to fund the project s fair share cost of improvements to the interchange. Cumulative Plus Project Conditions Compared to cumulative conditions, the project would have no significant impact on any of the study intersections: 1. None of the study intersections fell from an acceptable LOS under cumulative conditions to an unacceptable level under cumulative plus project conditions. 2. Among study intersections that were at an unacceptable LOS under cumulative conditions, none developed significant increases in critical-movement delay or demand-to-capacity ratio under cumulative plus project conditions. Other Transportation Issues The project would not have an adverse effect on existing transit, bicycle or pedestrian facilities in the study area. There is a bus stop along the project frontage on Page Mill Road. It would be desirable for the project applicant to volunteer to add a shelter to the bus stop. P a g e ii

5 Intersection Queuing Analysis Hansen Way/Project Driveway and Page Mill Road - Eastbound Left Turns The queuing analysis indicates that the maximum vehicle queues for the eastbound left-turn pocket at the Hansen Way/Project Driveway and Page Mill Road intersection would exceed the existing vehicle storage capacity with the project during the AM peak hour. Under background and cumulative conditions, the 95th percentile vehicle queue would be 225 feet with the project during the AM peak hour. The existing turn pocket is only 100 feet in length. Hanover Street and Page Mill Road - Westbound Left Turns The eastbound left turn pocket turning into the project site at Hansen Way could be lengthened by shortening the pocket in the opposite direction at Hanover Street. The two turn pockets are back-to-back. The queuing analysis indicates that the maximum vehicle queue for the westbound left turn at Hanover would exceed the existing vehicle storage capacity during the AM peak hour. Therefore, the westbound queue at Hanover and the eastbound queue at Hansen added together would exceed the available storage between the two intersections. Recommendation Part of the reason for the long queues westbound on Page Mill Road at Hanover Street is because of the amount of green time necessary to serve Hanover Street. This signal operates as split phase on Hanover Street, and each phase needs to be long enough to allow pedestrians to get across Page Mill Road. Pedestrians need about 33 seconds to cross Page Mill Road, so just the green time for Hanover alone adds up to over 60 seconds, when the pedestrian signal is activated. Adding the green time necessary to serve Page Mill Road results in a cycle length of 191 seconds. It would be desirable to change the intersection to 8-phase signal operation so that pedestrians could use both crosswalks across Page Mill Road simultaneously. This would shorten the green time for Hanover Street and provide more time to serve left turns on Page Mill Road. The change in signal phasing would require the intersection to be reconfigured to provide separate left turn lanes in both directions on Hanover Street. This change could be accomplished within the existing curb-to-curb street width. It would also be desirable to reconfigure the back-to-back left turn pockets on Page Mill Road at Hansen Way and Hanover Street so as to increase the storage space in both. A reconfiguration of these two intersections is possible that would result in approximately 550 feet of storage space for the westbound left-turn pocket at Hanover Street and 225 feet for the eastbound left-turn pocket at the project driveway/hansen Way. The existing left-turn pockets are 480 feet and 100 feet, respectively. This could be accomplished by reducing lane widths and modifying the center median such that the left-turn pockets are next to each other for a portion of their length, rather than back-to-back. An additional future modification would be to add a second westbound left-turn pocket at Hanover Street. With the addition of a second left-turn lane approximately 310 feet in length, the queuing analysis indicates there would be adequate left-turn storage under cumulative plus project conditions for both eastbound Page Mill Road at the project driveway/hansen Way and for westbound Page Mill Road at Hanover Street. The second left turn lane on Page Mill Road at Hanover Street would require some widening on Hanover Street to provide room for two receiving lanes. The widening requires right-of-way acquisition, out of the scope of responsibility of the applicant, so this solution would be a longer-range improvement. Parking The parking for the proposed project was evaluated based on the City of Palo Alto parking code. The requirement for office space is a minimum parking supply of 1 space per 300 square feet. As previously described, the project was initially proposed to construct approximately 285,000 square feet of new office buildings. As currently proposed, the project would construct 276,640 square feet. City of Palo Alto parking standards require that the project provide a minimum of 950 parking spaces onsite based on the original square footage of 285,000 s.f., and 922 parking spaces for the currently proposed square footage P a g e iii

6 of 276,640 s.f.. Based on the April 18, 2014 site plan, the proposed underground parking garage and the surface parking space would provide a total of 951 parking spaces, which would comply with the minimum parking standards specified by the City of Palo Alto. The City s municipal code requires one bike parking space per 3,000 square feet for office use. This yields a minimum requirement of 95 bicycle spaces. For office uses, the City recommends 80% of the spaces designated as long term parking and 20% of the spaces designated as short term parking. This equates to 76 long-term spaces and 19 short-term spaces. The proposed bicycle parking supply of 80 long-term spaces and 24 short-term spaces complies with the City s standards. P a g e iv

7 Table ES-1 Intersection Level of Service Summary Existing Background Background Plus Project (2) Cumulative Cumulative Plus Project (2) Study Peak Count Avg. Avg. Avg. Incr. In Incr. In Avg. Avg. Incr. In Incr. In Number Intersection Hour Date Delay LOS Delay LOS Delay LOS Crit. Delay Crit. V/C Delay LOS Delay LOS Crit. Delay Crit. V/C 1 Foothill Expwy and Page Mill Road (1) AM 09/17/ F F F F F PM 09/17/ F F F F F Hanover Street and Page Mill Road (1) AM 09/17/ E 67.6 E 67.6 E F 94.4 F PM 09/24/ D 48.4 D 48.6 D D 49.1 D Hansen Way and Page Mill Road AM 09/17/ B 18.3 B 20.2 C C 26.4 C PM 09/19/ B 31.7 C 48.5 D C 54.3 D El Camino Real and Page Mill Road (1) AM 05/08/ E 70.1 E 70.8 E E 73.8 E PM 05/08/ E 69.9 E 70.1 E E 76.2 E Middlefield Road and Oregon Expwy (1) AM 09/12/ E 58.0 E 58.3 E E 65.1 E PM 09/12/ E 63.9 E 64.3 E F F El Camino Real and California Ave AM 01/23/ B 21.2 C 21.2 C C 21.1 C PM 01/23/ C 27.1 C 26.6 C C 26.5 C I-280 SB Off-ramps and Page Mill Road AM 01/23/ F F F F F (Unsignalized) PM 01/23/ C 24.4 C 24.5 C F F Bold indicates LOS worse than the standard for that intersection. (1) Denotes CMP intersection (2) The Background Plus Project and Cumulative Plus Project scenarios assume no direct access to California Ave via a shared driveway. The other scenarios assume that there is direct access to California Ave via a shared driveway. P a g e v

8 1. Introduction This report presents the results of the traffic impact analysis conducted for the proposed office development located at 1050 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, California. The proposed project consists of constructing a total of approximately 285,000 square feet of office buildings. Approximately 265,895 square feet of the existing development on the site would be demolished. Access to the site is currently provided on Page Mill Road opposite Hansen Way and on California Avenue via a reciprocal access agreement with the adjacent property to the rear. However, the proposed project would not have direct access to California Avenue, and all of the project-generated trips would enter and exit the site on Page Mill Road. The project site location and the surrounding study area are shown on Figure 1. Scope of Study The potential transportation impacts of the proposed development were evaluated following the standards and methodologies set forth by the City of Palo Alto and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). The VTA administers the County Congestion Management Program (CMP). According to the VTA TIA guidelines, a CMP intersection shall be included in the traffic impact analysis if the proposed development project is expected to add 10 or more peak hour vehicles per lane to any intersection movement. The same criterion was used to identify non-cmp intersections to be included in this study. The study included an analysis of AM and PM peak-hour traffic conditions for six signalized intersections and one unsignalized intersection. 1. Foothill Expressway/Junipero Serra Boulevard and Page Mill Road (CMP) 2. Hanover Street and Page Mill Road (CMP) 3. Hansen Way and Page Mill Road 4. El Camino Real (SR 82) and Page Mill Road (CMP) 5. Middlefield Road and Oregon Expressway (CMP) 6. El Camino Real (SR 82) and California Avenue 7. I-280 SB Off-Ramp/Arastradero Road and Page Mill Road (Unsignalized) P a g e 1

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10 Traffic conditions at the intersections were analyzed for the weekday AM and PM peak hours of traffic. The AM peak hour of traffic is generally between 7:00 and 9:00 AM, and the PM peak hour is typically between 4:00 and 6:00 PM. It is during these periods that the most congested traffic conditions occur on an average weekday. Traffic conditions were evaluated for the following scenarios: Scenario 1: Scenario 2: Existing Conditions. Existing traffic volumes were obtained from the Santa Clara County Department of Roads and Airports and 2013 manual turning movement counts conducted for another study. At the time that both the County s counts and Hexagon s counts were conducted in 2013, the project site was vacant. Background Conditions. Background traffic volumes were estimated by adding to existing peak-hour volumes the projected volumes from approved but not yet constructed and occupied developments. The approved but not yet completed development list was obtained from the City of Palo Alto. Background conditions also include occupancy of the existing buildings as 67 percent office use, 17 percent manufacturing use, and 16 percent research and development (R&D) use, based on historical usage on the site. Scenario 3: Scenario 4: Background Plus Project Conditions. Background plus project traffic volumes were estimated by adding to background traffic volumes the net additional traffic generated by the project. Background plus project conditions were evaluated relative to background conditions in order to determine potential project impacts. Cumulative (Year 2025) No Project Conditions. Cumulative conditions represent traffic conditions that would occur in the future year The cumulative no project condition traffic volumes were obtained from the County Expressway Study provided by Santa Clara County. Scenario 5: Methodology Cumulative (Year 2025) Plus Project Conditions. Cumulative traffic volumes with the project were estimated by adding to cumulative no project traffic volumes the net additional traffic generated by the project. Cumulative with project conditions were evaluated relative to cumulative no project conditions in order to identify whether the project s contribution to potential cumulative impacts would be significant. This section presents the methods used to determine the traffic conditions for each scenario described above. It includes descriptions of the data requirements, the analysis methodologies, and the applicable level of service standards. Data Requirements The data required for the analysis were obtained from the City of Palo Alto, VTA, Santa Clara County, field observations, and new traffic counts. The following data were obtained from these sources: existing traffic volumes intersection lane configurations signal timing and phasing approved project trips cumulative no project volumes Analysis Methodologies and Level of Service Standards Traffic conditions at the study intersections were evaluated using levels of service. Level of Service, or LOS, is a qualitative description of operating conditions ranging from LOS A, or free-flow conditions with little or no delay, to LOS F, or jammed conditions with excessive delays. The various analysis methods are described below. P a g e 3

11 City of Palo Alto Signalized Intersections All signalized study intersections are located in the City of Palo Alto and are therefore subject to the City of Palo Alto level of service standards. The City of Palo Alto evaluates level of service at signalized intersections based on the 2000 Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) level of service methodology using TRAFFIX software. This method evaluates signalized intersection operations on the basis of average control delay time for all vehicles at the intersection. Since TRAFFIX also is the CMP-designated intersection level of service methodology, the City employs the CMP default values for the analysis parameters. The City of Palo Alto level of service standard for signalized non-cmp intersections is LOS D or better. For CMP intersections, the City s level of service standard is LOS E or better. Table 1 shows the level of service definitions for signalized intersections. CMP Intersections The designated level of service methodology for the CMP also is the 2000 HCM operations method for signalized intersections, using TRAFFIX. The CMP level of service standard for signalized intersections is LOS E or better. Table 1 Signalized Intersection Level of Service Definitions Based on Control Delay Level of Service Description Average Control Delay Per Vehicle (Sec.) A Operations with very low delay occurring with favorable progression and/or short cycle lengths. Up to 10.0 B Operations with low delay occurring with good progression and/or short cycle lengths to 20.0 C D E F Operation with average delays resulting from fair progression and/or longer cycle lengths. Individual cycle failures begin to appear. Operations with longer delays due to a combination of unfavorable progression, long cycle lengths or high V/C rations. Many vehicles stop and individual cycle failures are noticeable. Operations with high delay values indicating poor progression, long cycle lengths, and high V/C ratios. Individual cycle failures are frequent occurrences. This is considered to be the limit of acceptable delay. Operations with delays unacceptable to most drivers occurring due to over saturation, poor progression, or very long cycle lengths to to to 80.0 Greater than 80.0 Source: Transportation Research Board, 2000 Highway Capacity Manual, (Washington, D.C., 2000) Unsignalized Intersection The unsignalized intersection at the I-280 Southbound Off-Ramp/Arastradero Road and Page Mill Road is in the Town of Los Altos Hills. This intersection currently has 4-way stop control. Los Altos Hills has informed the County and Caltrans that it does not support installation of a traffic signal at this location. A planning process is currently underway to consider other alternatives for improving this intersection. P a g e 4

12 Intersection Operations The analysis of intersection level of service was supplemented with an analysis of traffic operations for intersections where the project would add a significant number of left turns. The operations analysis is based on vehicle queuing for high demand left-turn movements at intersections. Vehicle queues were estimated using a Poisson probability distribution, which estimates the probability of n vehicles for a vehicle movement using the following formula: P (x n) n! Where: n e ( ) P (x=n) = probability of n vehicles in queue per lane n = number of vehicles in the queue per lane Avg. # of vehicles in the queue per lane (vehicles per hour per lane/signal cycles per hour) The basis of the analysis is as follows: (1) the Poisson probability distribution is used to estimate the 95 th percentile maximum number of queued vehicles per signal cycle for a particular movement; (2) the estimated maximum number of vehicles in the queue is translated into a queue length, assuming 25 feet per vehicle; and (3) the estimated maximum queue length is compared to the existing or planned available storage capacity for the movement. This analysis thus provides a basis for estimating future leftturn storage requirements at signalized intersections. The 95 th percentile queue length value indicates that during the peak hour, a queue of this length or less would occur on 95 percent of the signal cycles. Or, a queue length larger than the 95th percentile queue would only occur on 5 percent of the signal cycles (about 3 cycles during the peak hour for a signal with a 60-second cycle length). Therefore, left-turn storage pocket designs based on the 95th percentile queue length would ensure that storage space would be exceeded only 5 percent of the time. The 95th percentile queue length is also known as the design queue length. The 95 th percentile queue lengths presented in this report were calculated by the TRAFFIX software in accordance with the 2000 Highway Capacity Manual. Report Organization The remainder of this report is divided into seven chapters. Chapter 2 describes existing conditions, including the existing roadway network, transit service, and existing bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Chapter 3 discusses existing plus project conditions, in light of the fact that the project site was vacant when the existing traffic counts were conducted. Chapter 4 presents the intersection levels of service under background conditions. Chapter 5 presents the intersection operations under background plus project conditions and describes the method used to estimate project traffic. The project impact on the transportation system and the recommended mitigation measures under background plus project conditions are also presented in this chapter. Chapter 6 presents the analysis of other transportationrelated issues, including site access and circulation. Chapter 7 presents the intersection operations under cumulative conditions with and without the project. Chapter 8 presents the conclusions of the traffic study. P a g e 5

13 2. Existing Conditions This chapter describes the existing conditions for all of the major transportation facilities in the vicinity of the site, including the roadway network, transit service, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Existing Roadway Network Regional access to the project site is provided via US 101, I-280 and SR 82 (El Camino Real). These facilities are described below. US 101 is a primarily north-south freeway extending north through San Francisco and south through San Jose and Gilroy. In the vicinity of the project area, US101 provides four travel lanes (with one HOV lane) in each direction. Access to the site from US 101 is provided via Oregon Expressway to Page Mill Road. Interstate 280 (I-280) is a north-south freeway extending from the US 101 interchange in the City of San Jose in the south to San Francisco in the north. The freeway includes four to five mixed-flow lanes per direction with HOV lanes north of the I-280/Interstate-880/State Route (SR) 17 interchange and south of the Magdalena Avenue interchange. Access to the site from I-280 is provided via its interchange with Page Mill Road. SR 82 (El Camino Real) is a six-lane, north-south arterial street that extends south towards Mountain View and Santa Clara and north towards Redwood City, Millbrae, and San Bruno. El Camino Real provides access to local and regional commercial areas. Access to the site is provided via its intersection at Page Mill Road. Local access to the site is provided by Oregon Expressway, Page Mill Road, California Avenue and Hansen Way. These roadways are described below. Page Mill Road is a four-lane, east-west divided arterial road that extends west into Los Altos Hills and connects with Oregon Expressway at Birch Street, between El Camino Real and the Alma Street underpass. Between I-280 and US 101, Page Mill Road and Oregon Expressway are part of the County Expressway system under the jurisdiction of the Santa Clara County Department of Roads and Airports. Page Mill Road provides access to local commercial and industrial areas as well as access to I-280. In the vicinity of the project site, the roadway includes two lanes in both the eastbound and westbound directions. The intersection of Page Mill Road and Hansen Way is signalized and allows all movements. The north leg of the intersection is a full access driveway into the project site. Oregon Expressway is a four-lane, east-west expressway that extends between Birch Street and US 101. Oregon Expressway becomes Page Mill Road west of Birch Street, between El Camino Real and the Alma Street underpass. Page Mill Road/Oregon Expressway is part of the County expressway system and provides access to local residential areas as well as access to US 101 from the project site. P a g e 6

14 Foothill Expressway is a four-lane north-south expressway that extends from Page Mill Road in Palo Alto south to Cupertino. At the Page Mill Road intersection. it becomes Junipero Serra Boulevard, a two-lane road that continues north to Menlo Park. California Avenue is a two-lane east-west roadway in the vicinity of the project. It extends from Amherst Street eastward to Middlefield Road. Access to the site is currently provided (and historically has been provided) via a driveway on California Avenue through another parcel, but that access would not be permitted for the proposed project. Hansen Way is a two-lane local road. It extends from Page Mill Road southward and then eastward to El Camino Real. Access to the site is provided via a driveway that is the north approach of the intersection of Page Mill Road and Hansen Way. Existing Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities According to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency (VTA) Bikeways Map, there are numerous bike lanes in the vicinity of the project site (see Figure 2). The following roadways contain bike lanes: Page Mill Road, between Foothill Expressway/Junipero Serra Boulevard and El Camino Real Foothill Expressway/Junipero Serra Boulevard California Avenue, between Hanover Street and Middlefield Road Hanover Street, between Stanford Avenue and Porter Drive Hansen Way, between Page Mill Road and El Camino Real Deer Creek Road, between Page Mill Road and Arastradero Road Pedestrian facilities in the project area consist of sidewalks and crosswalks. Sidewalks are found along all previously described local roadways in the study area. Page Mill Road includes sidewalks on both sides between El Camino Real and Foothill Expressway. The Matadero Creek Trail parallels Page Mill Road between Foothill Expressway and Deer Creek Road, where it transitions to the Matadero Creek Hiking Path. Crosswalks are located across all of the legs of the signalized intersections in the vicinity of the project site. Existing Transit Service Existing transit service to the study area is provided by the VTA, AC Transit, Stanford Marguerite Shuttle, and Caltrain. The transit service is described below and shown on Figure 3. There is a bus stop in front of the project site along westbound Page Mill Road. There is another bus stop for eastbound buses across from the site, accessible via the crosswalk at Hansen Way. VTA Bus Service Route 89 provides service between the California Avenue Caltrain Station and Palo Alto Veterans Hospital. Within the study area, Route 89 operates along California Avenue and Hanover Street with 30- minute headways during commute hours. The bus stops closest to the project site are on California Avenue. Route 104 provides service between the Penitencia Creek Transit Center in San Jose and Deer Creek Road in Palo Alto, with 40-minute headways during commute hours. Within the study area, Route 104 operates along Page Mill Road with 40-minute headways during commute hours. The bus stops closest to the project site are located on Page Mill Road just in front of the project site. Route 182 provides service between Palo Alto and IBM/ Bailey Ave via California Avenue and Page Mill Road in the vicinity of the project site, with one peak hour trip service. The bus stops closest to the project site are at the intersection of El Camino Real and Page Mill Road. P a g e 7

15 AC Transit Service One AC Transit bus line Dumbarton Express (DB1) serves the project site. The DB1 line provides service between Union City Bart Station and Stanford Oval, with 20-minute headways during commute hours. The DB1 line has bus stops located on Page Mill Road just in front of the project site. Stanford Marguerite Shuttle Service There are two Stanford Marguerite Shuttle lines serving the project area: Line RP and Line V. Line RP provides service between the downtown Palo Alto Transit Center and Deer Creek Road, with 20- minute headways during commute hours. Within the study area, Line RP operates along El Camino Real and Page Mill Road with bus stops located on Page Mill Road just in front of the project site. Line RP provides service from the project site to the Caltrain Station in downtown Palo Alto. Live V provides services between Stanford Medical Center and VA Hospital, with 30-minute headways during commute hours. Line V operates along California Avenue and Hanover Street in the study area with bus stops located at Hanover Street/Page Mill Road and Hanover Street/California Avenue. Commuter Rail Commuter rail service between San Francisco and Gilroy is provided by Caltrain. The closest Caltrain station to the project site is the California Avenue station, located less than one mile east of the project site, with local-stop service and limited-stop service only The California Avenue Caltrain station provides Park-and-Ride lots, bike lockers, and 7-day service. The California Avenue Caltrain station is served by bus route 89 to and from the project site. Another nearby Caltrain Station the Downtown Palo Alto Station -- provides Baby Bullet Expressway Service as well as local-stop service and limited-stop service. The AC Transit line DB1 and the Stanford Marguerite Shuttle line RP provide service between the downtown Palo Alto Caltrain Station and the project site. Existing Traffic Volumes and Lane Configurations The existing lane configurations at the study intersections were determined by observations in the field and are shown on Figure 4. Recent improvements to the intersection of Middlefield Road and Oregon Expressway, including dedicated left turn lanes on both of the Middlefield Road approaches and 8-phase signal operation, have also been included in the existing conditions analysis. Existing peak-hour traffic volumes for five of the study intersections (#1 - #5) were obtained from the County Department of Roads and Airports, which conducted new counts in 2013 for a Countywide Expressway Study. New peak-hour counts for the intersection of El Camino Real and California Avenue (#6) and the unsignalized intersection of I-280-Arastradero Road and Page Mill Road (#7) were conducted in 2013 for another study. The existing peak-hour intersection volumes are shown on Figure 5. The County Department of Roads and Airports, which has jurisdiction over the portions of Page Mill Road and Oregon Expressway included in this study, requested that Hexagon replicate the existing conditions analysis that the County prepared for its Countywide Expressway Study. Accordingly, Hexagon has not only used the turning movements counts but also the lane geometry, signal timing, and numerous other TRAFFIX factors and parameters used by the County in order to precisely match the County s existing conditions evaluation at the five signalized study intersections along Page Mill Road and Oregon Expressway (#1 - #5). Four of those five intersections are CMP intersections, and Hexagon is well aware that traffic studies that include CMP intersections typically use existing PM peak hour count data and other inputs from VTA s CMP database. The use of the County s volume data and other TRAFFIX inputs for the four CMP intersections in this study was based on the County s request that this TIA be as consistent as possible with its expressway study. In addition, because the 2012 CMP count data are now more than two years P a g e 8

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20 old and the new 2014 data are not yet available, use of the County s 2013 count data allows this study to be based on more recent traffic volumes. It should be noted that the project site was vacant when traffic counts were collected at all of the study intersections. Since late 2013, existing buildings at the project site have been leased and occupied. Existing Intersection Levels of Service The results of the existing intersection level of service analysis are summarized in Table 2. The level of service, average delay, and delay for each turning movement for the following intersections under existing conditions precisely match the level of service, average delay, and delay for each turning movement calculated by the County Department of Roads and Airports for its Countywide Expressway Study: 1. Foothill Expressway/Junipero Serra Boulevard and Page Mill Road (CMP) 2. Hanover Street and Page Mill Road (CMP) 3. Hansen Way and Page Mill Road 4. El Camino Real (SR 82) and Page Mill Road (CMP) 5. Middlefield Road and Oregon Expressway (CMP) Local Intersection Analysis The results of the analysis show that the two non-cmp signalized study intersections (Hansen Way & Page Mill Road and El Camino Real & California Avenue) currently operate at an acceptable level of service (LOS C or better) during the AM and PM peak hours of traffic. The unsignalized intersection of I- 280 Southbound Off-ramp-Arastradero Road and Page Mill Road currently operates at LOS F during the AM peak hour of traffic. CMP Intersection Analysis The results show that three of the four CMP study intersections operate at an acceptable LOS E or better during the AM and PM peak hours of traffic. The intersection of Foothill Expressway and Page Mill Road currently operates at LOS F during the AM and PM peak hours. The level of service calculation sheets are included in Appendix B. P a g e 13

21 Table 2 Existing Intersection Levels of Service Study Peak Count Avg. Number Intersection Hour Date Delay LOS 1 Foothill Expwy and Page Mill Road (1) AM 09/17/ F PM 09/17/ F 2 Hanover Street and Page Mill Road (1) AM 09/17/ E PM 09/24/ D 3 Hansen Way and Page Mill Road AM 09/17/ B PM 09/19/ B 4 El Camino Real and Page Mill Road (1) AM 05/08/ E PM 05/08/ E 5 Middlefield Road and Oregon Expwy (1) AM 09/12/ E PM 09/12/ E 6 El Camino Real and California Ave AM 01/23/ B PM 01/23/ C 7 I-280 SB Off-ramps and Page Mill Road AM 01/23/ F PM 01/23/ C Bold indicates LOS worse than the standard for that intersection. (1) Denotes CMP intersection P a g e 14

22 3. Existing Plus Project Conditions At the time that this project was initiated in 2013 and the Notice of Preparation (NOP) was released, the project site was briefly vacant as the prior tenant was completing their exit of the site. All of the existing traffic counts, including those done by the County Department of Road and Airports, were conducted in 2013 during that relatively short period of vacancy. As can be seen from the existing traffic volumes at the north approach of the intersection of Page Mill Road and Hansen Way (the north approach is the project driveway; see Figure 5 in the preceding chapter), the traffic entering and exiting the site was extremely low and was likely attributable to the adjacent parcel on California Avenue. Therefore, the traffic volumes used in the existing conditions analysis do not include any of the traffic that has historically been generated by the existing buildings on the site. The project site had been continuously and fully occupied by Beckman Coulter, Inc. (formerly known as Beckman Instruments) between 1955 and January 2008, a period of 53 years. The site was re-occupied in 2009, but was vacant again when the traffic counts were conducted in The site was gradually leased and re-occupied again, starting in late 2013 and was fully occupied again in As of the date of this TIA (April 2015), the site is 54% occupied. All of the existing leases for the site are short-term with flexible terms, so that the project planning can continue. Since the project has historically had -- and continues to have -- direct access to California Avenue, the traffic volumes on California Avenue related to the project site have fluctuated between 2012 and 2015 as the occupancy levels have fluctuated. A memo documenting the typical usage of the site in the past and the trip generation associated with that usage ( 1050 Page Mill Road Study Assumed Baseline Conditions ) in included in Appendix C. Typically, the Existing Plus Project scenario of a traffic impact analysis is provided to assist communities in evaluating what a project s traffic impact would be in comparison with existing traffic conditions, provided that the existing traffic conditions represent an appropriate baseline. The purpose of an Existing Plus Project scenario is generally to provide such a baseline comparison in conformance with recent California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) court cases. Court cases have stated that the project must be compared to a baseline that exists now or has typically existed over time. Because the site was vacant in 2013 when the traffic counts were conducted, the existing traffic conditions do not represent an accurate baseline since they do not incorporate the trip generation typically associated with the project s two access points, on Page Mill Road and on California Avenue, and the distribution of that traffic onto other streets in the community. Adding the traffic that would be generated by the proposed project to the 2013 traffic levels would result in a false comparison between existing conditions and existing plus project conditions. In other words, an appropriate comparison would add only the net increase in trips (between the existing land uses and the proposed project) to the correct baseline, not the gross number of trips generated by the proposed project. For this reason, following discussions with the City, an Existing Plus Project conditions scenario was not included in this study. P a g e 15

23 As noted above, the trip generation associated with the historical uses of the site was documented in the memo 1050 Page Mill Road Study Assumed Baseline Conditions and agreed upon by the City (see Appendix C). The trip generation estimates in that memo, which are based on the land uses that occupied the site for most of its history, are used in the proposed project s net trip generation estimates and the development of a Background scenario in Chapter 4. California Avenue Traffic Levels Even though it was not possible to conduct a valid Existing Plus Project evaluation of the study intersections level of service, it is possible to compare the changes in traffic levels on California Avenue as a result of the proposed project s elimination of the California Avenue access point. As noted previously, under existing conditions, the site has access to California Avenue via a shared driveway with the adjacent parcel that fronts on California Avenue, near Oberlin Street. In 2014, when the site was 100% re-occupied with short-term tenants, the California Avenue driveway was once again in use, and it continues to be in use now. Based on the trip generation associated with the historical uses of the site (presented in Table 4 in Chapter 5), Hexagon estimates that there are approximately 372 daily trips on California Avenue going to or from the 1050 Page Mill Road site when it is fully occupied. Of these, there are an estimated 54 trips in the AM peak hour (47 heading inbound to the site and 7 heading outbound from the site) and 52 trips in the PM peak hour (10 heading inbound to the site and 42 heading outbound from the site). Under Existing Plus Project conditions, all of those trips on that residential segment of California Avenue (between the shared driveway and El Camino Real) would be eliminated. By eliminating the California Avenue access point, the proposed project would reduce the traffic volumes on that segment of California Avenue by an estimated 372 daily trips, 54 AM peak hour trips, and 52 PM peak hour trips. Because all of the trips that would be eliminated from California Avenue under Existing Plus Project conditions would instead need to access the site from Page Mill Road, there would be an increase in traffic turning right from southbound El Camino Real onto westbound Page Mill Road (Intersection #4), and then turning right from westbound Page Mill Road into the project driveway across from Hansen Way (Intersection #3) in order to enter the site. We estimate the additional traffic making these right turns at these two intersections would be 47 trips in the AM peak hour and 10 in the PM peak hour. In order to leave the site, the elimination of California Avenue access under Existing Plus Project conditions would result in drivers turning left out of the project driveway onto eastbound Page Mill Road and then turning left from Page Mill Road onto northbound El Camino Real. We estimate the additional left turn movements at these two intersections would be 7 trips in the AM peak hour and 42 in the PM peak hour. The total number of vehicles using the intersection of California Avenue and El Camino Real (Intersection #6) would not change, although the specific turning movements would change as a result of the proposed change in site access. P a g e 16

24 4. Background Conditions This chapter presents background traffic conditions, which are defined as conditions just prior to completion of the proposed project. Traffic volumes for background conditions comprise volumes from existing traffic counts plus traffic generated by other approved developments in the vicinity of the site. Background conditions also include re-occupancy of the existing buildings on the site as 67 percent office use, 16 percent manufacturing use, and 17 percent R&D use, based on historical usage on the site. This chapter describes the procedure used to determine background traffic volumes and the resulting traffic conditions. The background scenario predicts a realistic traffic condition that would occur as approved developments get built and occupied. Background Transportation Network It was assumed in this analysis that the transportation network under background conditions would be the same as the existing network. Accordingly, all the lane geometry, signal timing, and other factors provided by the County for the existing conditions analysis were retained in the background conditions. Background Traffic Volumes Background peak hour traffic volumes were estimated by adding to existing peak hour volumes (1) the trips associated with the re-occupancy of the existing buildings on the site and (2) the estimated traffic from approved but not yet constructed developments Trip Estimates for Re-Occupancy of the Project Site As noted earlier, the existing traffic volumes were collected while the project site was vacant. However, since then, the existing buildings at the project site have been leased and occupied. To account for traffic from existing uses, background conditions include occupancy of the existing buildings on the site as 67 percent office use (approximately 177,520 square feet), 17 percent manufacturing use (approximately 45,375 square feet), and 16 percent R&D use (approximately 43,000 square feet), based on historical usage on the site. Trips generated by the re-occupancy of the existing buildings on the project site and how these trips were distributed to surrounding roadway system and assigned to study intersections are described in detail in the Project Trip Estimates section in Chapter 5 below. As shown in Table 4, existing uses at the project site were estimated to generate 362 trips during the AM peak hour and 344 trips during the PM peak hour. The trips were estimated using standard trip generation rates published in the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) publication entitled Trip Generation Manual, 9th Edition. P a g e 17

25 The peak-hour trips generated by the existing uses at the project site were then assigned to the roadway system based on existing traffic patterns and the location of complementary land uses (see Figure 7 in Chapter 5). Because the project site currently has (and historically has had) access to California Avenue via a driveway through an adjacent parcel, the trip distribution and assignment under Background Conditions include that access point. Accordingly, trips that are coming from or going to the north on El Camino Real (14% of total trips, as shown on Figure 7) or to the commercial district on California Avenue (1% of total trips, as shown on Figure 7) were assumed to use the California Avenue access point and assigned accordingly. All trips related to the re-occupancy of the project site were added to existing intersection traffic counts to derive the traffic volumes that reflect the typical traffic conditions when the existing buildings are fully occupied. Approved Projects List The approved but not yet completed developments list was obtained from the City of Palo Alto. The approved projects that would add traffic to the intersections that were studied are listed below El Camino Real: Mixed-Use Development 195 Page Mill Road (Park Plaza): Mixed-Use Development 1701 Page Mill Road: Research and Development Buildings 2555 Park Boulevard: Office Building 385 Sherman Avenue: Mixed-Use Development For each of the approved projects, the trip generation estimates, trip distribution patterns, and trip assignments onto the study intersections were obtained from the traffic study conducted for each project, when available. If the original traffic study was not available, Hexagon developed trip generation estimates based on standard ITE rates for each land use included in the project and assigned trips to the study intersections based on existing traffic patterns and the location of complementary land uses. Background traffic volumes are shown graphically on Figure 6. Traffic volumes for all components of traffic are tabulated in Appendix A. P a g e 18