HomeMy WebLinkAbout0.8.20 Traffic & Access4.08.05 (7) (f) ACCESS
(f) Easements showing vested legal access for ingress and egress from a public road to the PUD and/or
documentation demonstrating access shall be acquired across a public right-of-way or easement
within two (2) years of any PUD approval and said access shall be vested prior to final platting of
any property subject to the easement across the right-of-way; (A. 97-109) and
TRAFFIC and ACCESS REPORT — Sopris Engineering
NOTE: The complete Traffic Report prepared by Felsburg, Holt and Ullevig is contained in the
Appendix to this application.
56
May 23, 2006
Ronald B. Liston
Land Design Partnership
918 Cooper Avenue
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
RE: Reserve at Elk Meadows, Traffic and Road Report
SE Job #25019.01
Dear Ron:
This letter has been written as requested to represent our findings for Traffic and Roads at Reserve at Elk
Meadows. Reserve at Elk Meadows is located in Garfield County, about 11/ miles south of Glenwood
Springs, Colorado. The project's access is primarily from the north via Four Mile Road (County Road
117), which connects to Highway 82. The project is divided by Four Mile Road. The western portion of
the project, South Meadow and Upper Meadow, represents 117 lots and the portion of the project east of
Four Mile Road (East Meadow) represents 72 lots and a community facility. The existing and proposed
traffic and levels of service have been thoroughly assessed by Felsburg Holt and Ullevig (FHU). Refer to
their Traffic Impact Study dated January 2006.
Traffic and Access
The proposed access location is a four way intersection with a boulevard entry to both the west and east
portions of the project. By minimizing the number of access points along Four Mile Road, the long-term
impact on the capacity and safety of Four Mile Road is much less. A boulevard type of entrance
eliminates the necessity for a secondary access on to Four Mile Road. In other words, if some type of
vehicle accident happens at one of the entrances, only one lane would be blocked during an emergency
(ambulance, fire or evacuation) and the other lane would remain open acting as a secondary access point.
All internal roads are looped or provided with an emergency access drive except one road in the East
Meadow that is a cul-de-sac, which is 600 feet in length or less, which complies with Garfield County
design criteria.
The project proposes to re -align Four Mile Road to the East of the existing location to improve the safety
and increase the sight distance as Four Mile Road nears the Four Mile Creek Crossing (Bershenyi Dip).
Also, a south bound left turn lane is proposed along Four Mile Road to enter the East Meadow.
The traffic volumes estimated to be generated by the project are based upon the 6`h Edition 11'h manual.
The entrance to the west serves 117 lots, which generates 1120 ± Average Daily Trips (ADTs). The
entrance to the east provides access for 72 lots, which generates 689 ADTs. The Garfield County Street
and Roadway Design would classify the road to the west and east as Minor Collection. Based upon our
experience, review of the site and preliminary road design, we recommend a road section of two 11'
asphalt lanes with a one foot concrete shoulder. Our recommendation is intended to reduce the cut and fill
conditions and to minimize the disturbance to native vegetation. The concrete shoulder will help the
durability of the asphalt edge. The total width of the road including the shoulder is 24 feet. It is our
- pinion that any additional width beyond 22 to 24 feet reduces the safety of the road. The typical driver
.lcreases speed as the road gets wider. We also have recommended that the emergency access roads have
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Sornis ENGINEERING • LLC
civil consultants
Reserve at Elk Meadows
Page 2 of 3
May 23, 2006
SE Job # 25019
a total width of 14 feet. I have discussed the proposed road widths and emergency access roads with the
Glenwood Springs Fire Department and they have indicted both of these widths are adequate for their
needs.
Improvements
The proposed plan calls for the realignment of Four Mile Road and the addition of a southbound left turn
lane into the subdivision to a provide a safer travel way and to increase visibility approaching the
subdivision entrance. The re -alignment of Four Mile Road improves the existing road by providing a
smoother vertical curve and by increasing the driver's sight distance.
Variances
The proposed subdivision road section differs from the Garfield County Standard for a minor collector
which requires a 12' travel lane, a 4' shoulder and a 10' wide ditch. The proposed road section has 11'
travel lanes with a 1' flush concrete shoulder and a ditch centerline that is 4' away from the edge of the
concrete shoulder. This road section will provide a more aesthetically pleasing feel to the subdivision
while providing structural support to the asphalt edge and minimizing the impact of scaring on the existing
slopes.
Trail System
The three types of trails proposed for the project are an 8' wide asphalt trail, a 6' wide asphalt trail and a 6'
wide gravel trail. The purpose of the trail system is to provide connectivity to the existing trail system
along Four Mile Road and provide access to Open Spaces within the PUD and to the proposed Mountain
Parks west of the PUD. The 8' asphalt trail will start from the trail that dead ends at the northern boundary
between Elk Meadows and Four Mile Ranch and continues south along the east side of Four Mile Road
bridging Four Mile Creek and continuing to the southern boundary of the project. A 6' asphalt trail will be
used to connect the Elk Meadows Community Center with the Mountain Park. This trail generally follows
the proposed road system and emergency access roads but goes through open space in some areas. The 6'
gravel trails will generally be used to interconnect the subdivision while providing access to open spaces
and natural features. These trails will be located along the north side of Four Mile Creek continuing up
through the East Meadow and connecting to the existing community trail system at the north boundary of
the Four Mile Ranch subdivision. The location of all the trails can be found on the "Reserve at Elk
Meadows P.U.D. Master Plan" and the "Reserve at Elk Meadows PUD Trail Plan" both found in Tab 6 of
this binder.
Revegetation
All disturbed areas shall be successfully revegetated and maintained in a predominately weed free
condition. Permanent erosion control will be placed after cut and fill slopes are in place. Engineer will
designate areas for erosion control and type of erosion control prior to construction. Engineer will field
verify during construction erosion control methods and extents. The contractor shall maintain sediment
and erosion protection throughout the construction operation. Silt fences or other necessary erosion
502 Main Street • Suite A3 ■ Carbondale, CO 81623 • (970) 704-0311 • Fax (970) 704-0313
SOPRIS ENGINEERING • LLC
civil consultants
Reserve at Elk Meadows
Page 3 of 3
May 23, 2006
SE Job # 25019
protection shall remain in place until all disturbed areas have been revegetated. Detailed erosion control
plans and details will be provided with the preliminary plan submission for the project.
Summary and Recommendations
I have reviewed the Elk Meadows Traffic Impact Study (dated January 2006) by Felsburg Holt and Ullevig
in detail and agree with all of the general assumptions for modeling the traffic conditions and issues. The
improvements to Four Mile Road (mentioned above in Improvements section) would mitigate traffic
impacts created by this project within the Garfield County road system.
Other traffic impacts created by this project are on existing roads and intersections within the city of
Glenwood Springs and any traffic improvements within the Glenwood Springs city limits would be
addressed in the pre -annexation agreement for sanitary sewer service.
If you have any questions or need any additional information, please give me a call.
Sincerely,
Sopris Engineering, LLC
ancy Nichol, P.E.
Principal
502 Main Street • Suite A3 • Carbondale, CO 81623 • (970) 704-0311 • Fax (970) 704-0313 1
SOPRIS ENGINEERING • LLC
civil consultants