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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting - Council Workshop - Agenda - 08/21/2001 KEN T WAS HINGTON COUNCIL WORKSHOP CITY C"""C" August 21 2001 Leona Orr g ' Council President 220 Fourth Ave.S. Kent,WA 98032-5895 The Council Workshop will be held in Chambers East in Kent City Hall at 5:00 PM Phone: 253-856-5712 on Tuesday, August 21, 2001. Fax:253-856-6712 Council Members: President Leona Orr, Tom Brotherton, Tim Clark, Connie Epperly, Judy Woods, Rico Yingling Speaker Time 1. Strategic Plan Quarterly Update Dena Laurent 15 min. 2. Traffic Congestion Steve Mullen 45 min. The Council Workshop meets each month on the first and third Tuesdays at 5:OOPM in Chambers East unless otherwise noted. For agenda information please call Jackie Bicknell at (253) 856-5712. ANY PERSON REQUIRING A DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION SHOULD CONTACT THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE AT (253) 856-5725 IN ADVANCE. FOR TDD RELAY SERVICE, CALL THE WASHINGTON TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY SERVICE AT 1-800-833-6388. A City Council Workshop on: Transportation Engineering Congestion and Planning August 21, 2001, 5:00 PM Concept of Transportation Planning A. Based on adopted Land Use Plan, predict travel demand B. Determine desired performance standard (Level of Service) C. Assuming existing and committed Roadway Network, based on LOS standard, identify need for additional capacity 1. Assuming CTR goals met of reducing SOV travel for commuters 2. Assuming high transit mode split 3. Assuming successful non-motorized implementation D. Determine cost of providing necessary capacity E. Determine funding availability to meet capital improvement demand(what LOS can we afford) F. Adjust LOS Standard, return to Step C G. Program improvements over a financial horizon This process encounters several issues that cause readjustment 1. Funding of particular grant programs can vary the emphasis and opportunities to leverage our investments to get larger projects completed that better match the funding authorities criteria 2. Everyone wants smooth (convenient and quick) travel options—just not next to their neighborhood, or perceived to impact their neighborhood or quality of life 3. Land use patterns and rate of development may not follow the original land use projections One comment has been: We need to have a plan. The response is: We DO have a Plan. The Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan incorporated the information from the draft Comprehensive Transportation Plan update of 1995. History of Transportation Planning in Kent 1984 City adopts the Comprehensive Transportation Plan—a list of projects is identified to complete/expand the City arterial system (May 7, 1984) Green River Valley Transportation Action Plan (1988) (Kent, Tukwila, Auburn, Renton), which "inspired"the first ever King County Comprehensive Transportation Plan (1990) confirmed the earlier Kent studies 1995 City amends the Comprehensive Transportation Plan to comply with Growth Management Act requirements. The results are compiled in the City Comprehensive Plan. The results of these studies is the map in front of you which shows the major projects that have been constructed in the past 20 years, representing over a third of a billion of dollars. It is time again to review the Comprehensive Transportation Plan. This is merely another evolution of the process which began twenty years ago. Signal Timing Studies - On at least two occasions, the City hired consultants to review the traffic signal timing practices and make recommendations as to how greater efficiencies might be realized. On one occasion, the outcome was to suggest overall shorter cycle length On the second occasion, the outcome was some minor tweaking of the signal timings How do we insure optimal traffic signal t_ i_miW We have an ongoing program to gather traffic data Turn Movement Counts 24 Hour Volume Counts Truck Percentage Pedestrian volumes Traffic Collisions (sometimes referred to as "accidents") From the turn movement counts, level-of-service calculations are completed, and signal timing plans are tentatively adjusted to reflect optimal timing for the isolated intersections Using various software programs (Synchro, HCS, etc.,), timing plans are developed for: Individual Intersections Intersection Corridors (a series of signalized intersections along a single routes) Networks (a series of two or more routes that cross one or more other routes) What is Level of Service? Level of service is a measure of how well a transportation facility is working. In general, the more common measures used are determination of delay at signalized intersections, and a volume to capacity comparison for roadways. Level of service is determined for each movement of each leg of an intersection, for each approach, and for each intersection. Level of service is determined for each roadway(link) between intersections (nodes), based on a ration of volume to capacity Desired level of service for transit facilities, and non-motorized facilities are less amenable to calculations, but are listed as thresholds within the Concurrency Management Ordinance, which implemented the growth management provisions that adequate transportation facilities be in place or constructed concurrent with development. How do we mans a Congestions We have established level of service standards for various zones within the city considering the nature of land use in the area, and available roadway network. The City is divided into 22 zones, called Mobility Management Zones (MMZ) Each zone has an established level of service or threshold for intersections and links. The Zone LOS is the total volume of arterials crossing a zone boundary divided by the total capacity on those arterial links. Development proposals are reviewed for consistency with those level of service standards. Transportation staff gather data and evaluate the locations for level of service and propose projects to resolve issues. The Transportation Model used to determine the needed capacity improvements was based on the adopted land use plan. Primarily, corridor improvements in the major east- west corridors (196/200th Street, 212th Street, 2281h Street, and 272/277th Street corridor projects) provided the necessary system capacity to accommodate the development that had been anticipated in the adopted land use plan. How do we eliminate Congestion? Reality says that we are not likely to eliminate congestion. We cannot build sufficient capacity to eliminate congestion. Instead, we adopted a level of service standard that represented a"tolerable" and "affordable" level of congestion. What is THE solution? There is no one solution. It is a combination of various strategies (Commute Trip Reduction, and other education programs) to encourage people to change the way they make trips or decide to make trips. There is no "silver bullet'that will make the problem of traffic congestion go away. Our ability to change driver habits is quite limited. Forcing traffic to another path is effective only when the alternate route has sufficient capacity to absorb the additional traffic. There are few underutilized transportation facilities that are outside residential neighborhoods. We will proceed with updating the Comprehensive Transportation Plan.