Traffic impact studies shall be required, as established by
this article, for all preliminary subdivision and land development
applications under the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance
when the land development is projected to generate 200 new ADT (average
daily trips), or 20 or more new peak-hour trips, as established in
the most recent edition of the Institute of Transportation Engineers
(ITE) publication Trip Generation.
The Board of Commissioners may waive the requirements of a traffic
impact study and require the applicant to contribute to the Township
a sum equal to the cost of a study as determined by the Township to
be used for general Township traffic needs.
When two or more developments are located in the same influence
area, the Board of Commissioners, at its discretion, may request the
applicant to provide a fee in lieu of an individual study, so the
Township can sponsor a joint traffic study. The cost of the joint
study shall be shared among the applicants, and the study will include
a fair-share cost estimate of any recommended off-site roadway and/or
intersection improvements, as well as an assessment of each development's
access(es).
The traffic study shall be conducted under the supervision of
a professional engineer currently registered in the State of Pennsylvania,
preferably one possessing a professional traffic operations engineer
certificate, as all studies must be signed and sealed. The developer
shall reimburse the Township for reasonable fees and expenses incurred
the Township Traffic Engineer for the review of the developer's
traffic impact study and plans.
The traffic impact study shall be submitted to the Township
and the Township Traffic Engineer as part of the preliminary subdivision
and land development application. The submission of the preliminary
plan application shall be deemed incomplete if the required traffic
impact study is not included in the submission.
A traffic impact study shall enable the Township to assess the
likely traffic impact of a proposed development on the various components
of the transportation system. The requirements of this article are
separate from, but function in parallel with, the Township's
adopted Act 209 (transportation impact fee[1]) ordinance and Transportation Capital Improvement Program.
The study shall:
A.
Address
the safe and efficient circulation of both vehicles and pedestrians
on the site;
B.
Identify
the impacts of development traffic at the site's accesses to
public roads within the Township and provide appropriate mitigation
for safe and efficient movement of vehicles and pedestrians thereof;
and
C.
Identify
the development's impact on the surrounding roadway network for
the purposes of establishing the basis of its transportation impact
fee for mitigation of its impacts or, in lieu of the fee, making the
necessary improvements thereof, which shall be at the discretion of
the Board of Commissioners.
[1]
Editor's Note: See § A287-20, Traffic impact fee.
The following terms or phrases shall have the meanings indicated
when used in this article:
This chapter has requirements separate from, but related
to, the requirements of this article. This article, as appropriate,
references specific elements of the adopted Act 209 ordinance, as
follows:
Transportation service area(s): geographically defined portions
of the Township, not exceeding seven square miles in area.
Transportation impact fee(s): the current adopted fee(s) imposed
by the Township in each transportation service area, based upon new
trips generated by the development during the weekday afternoon peak
hour, to fund transportation capital improvements necessitated by,
and attributable to, new development, which are specifically identified
in the Township's Transportation Capital Improvement Plan.
Land use assumptions report: the current adopted development
plan for the transportation service area(s) which forms the basis
of the transportation impact fee(s).
Transportation capital improvement plan: the current adopted
transportation capital improvement program of the Township, containing
both future nondevelopment and development capital improvements identified
in the Township's Roadway Sufficiency Analysis Report.
As defined by the Highway Capacity Manual, levels of service,
ranging from A to F, measure the operational conditions within a traffic
stream in terms of such factors as speed, travel time, delay, freedom
to maneuver, traffic interruptions, comfort, and convenience.
All combinations of intersections of state highway with state
highway or with Township roadways classified as collector roads or
higher.
All designated state highways within the Township, plus Township
roadways with the classification of collector road or higher
Two-way trips added to the roadway network surrounding the
site. New trips are calculated as total trips generated by the development
net of pass-by trips (trips already on the roadway network) to the
development.
An analysis that identifies the maximum stacking of vehicles
in each traffic lane, measured in feet. The analysis shall utilize
a methodology acceptable to the Township and the Pennsylvania Department
of Transportation.
The study area shall be the area of land and specific roadways
and intersections within the Township that are likely to be affected
by the development.
The total count of trips to and from the subject development
per unit of land use (i.e., dwelling unit, square footage, etc.) as
established by the most recent edition of ITE's Trip Generation.
For land uses not listed in this publication, or for those land uses
with limited available trip generation data, the applicant's
traffic engineer shall seek guidance from the Township prior to completion
of the study. For applications involving an expansion or relocation
of an existing facility, actual trip generation characteristics of
the existing land use may be utilized, as appropriate, and subject
to acceptance by the Township. Other local sources of trip generation
data may be acceptable, subject to the approval of the Township.
An analysis that compares the volume of a traffic facility
to its capacity. The methodology for the analysis shall adhere to
the most recent edition of the Highway Capacity Manual or other methodology
acceptable to the Township and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
(PennDOT).
Prior to the initiation of the traffic study, the applicant
shall receive approval of the scope of the study area from the Township
before proceeding. The minimum requirements of the scope of the traffic
study area potentially affected by the proposed development (inclusive
of specific roadways and intersections) are as follows:
A.
Development driveways (accesses): all existing and proposed driveways
(accesses) for the development intersecting public Township and PennDOT
roadways, plus adjacent roadways, intersections, and driveways along
the applicant's property, or adjacent properties, which may be
directly affected by vehicular and pedestrian traffic from the development.
B.
Supplemental study area for developments within a designated transportation
service area.
(1)
Nonresidential developments with significant deviation in density,
intensity, or trip generation from land use assumptions report. If
the Township determines that the applicant's development falls
in this category, the scope of study area shall minimally include
all major roadways and intersections within the transportation service
area where the development is located which accommodates 10% or more
of development traffic and/or 100 or more new peak-hour trips. The
applicant, or its traffic engineer, shall submit a preliminary analysis
of the study area affected by this development to the Township and
its Traffic Engineer for agreement and approval before proceeding.
(2)
Any development which generates more than 1,000 new peak-hour trips.
The scope of study area shall include all major roadways and intersections
outside the transportation service area where the development is located,
but within the municipal boundaries of the Township, which will accommodate
10% or more of development traffic and/or 100 or more new peak-hour
trips. The applicant, or its traffic engineer, shall submit a preliminary
analysis of the study area affected by this development to the Township
and its Traffic Engineer for agreement and approval before proceeding.
At any time, an applicant for a proposed development may prepare
and submit a traffic study 1) to substantiate its opinion that the
development's trip generation is different than that established
by the Township for purposes of determining the development's
transportation impact fee, in accordance with its adopted Act 209
ordinance, or 2) to justify allocation of its impact fee to specific
projects contained in the Township's adopted Capital Improvement
Plan, or to otherwise implement transportation capital improvements
not contained in the adopted Capital Improvement Plan. Please note
that the approval by the Board of Commissioners is required for the
use of any impact fees used for projects not identified in the adopted
Capital Improvement Plan.
Nothing in this article relieves the applicant for a development
which will access a state highway within the Township to comply with
the Department's Policies and Procedures for Transportation Impact
Studies. The Township urges the applicant to coordinate its scope
of any traffic study required by the Township and PennDOT, so that
the study can be concurrently submitted for review.
At the discretion of the Township, a traffic impact study shall
contain, but not be limited to the following:
A.
Executive summary. A brief (maximum two pages) executive summary
shall be provided, summarizing the traffic impact study's findings,
conclusions, and recommendations.
B.
Site and project description. This description shall identify the
site, proposed land use(s), the surrounding area, and the transportation
setting, including:
(1)
A description of the size, location, proposed land uses, construction
staging, and completion date of the proposed development. Also, the
description shall include the characteristics of site users with respect
to their transportation characteristics and needs, including typical
peak periods of travel, use of other travel modes, and vehicle composition.
(2)
The existing and proposed uses of the site shall be identified in
terms of zoning classification.
(3)
A complete description of access and circulation for the development,
including, but not limited to, locations of access points and methods
of traffic control.
(4)
Description of the adjacent external roadway system within the study
area. Major intersections in the study area shall be identified and
illustrated, as applicable.
(5)
All existing and proposed public transportation services and facilities
within the study area and the surrounding area shall be documented.
(6)
A description of all internal roadways, existing and proposed parking
facilities, and traffic control devices on all internal roads and
intersections shall be provided.
(7)
A complete description of the pedestrian environment both internal
to the site as well as possible connections to the existing systems
shall be documented. In addition, linkage to existing bicycle facilities
shall also be documented.
(8)
All future committed or proposed roadway and intersection improvements
within the study area shall be noted. The responsible party and anticipated
project schedule shall be identified for each future improvement.
Projects on the Township's adopted Transportation Capital Improvement
Plan should not be listed unless the Township has indicated that the
improvements will be in place before the proposed opening year of
the development.
C.
Existing traffic conditions. Existing traffic conditions shall be
documented for all major roadways and intersections established as
part of the approved study area and shall be based on the following:
(1)
Existing peak-hour turning movement traffic volumes and pedestrian
count data shall be recorded at all study area intersections and shall
encompass both the peak highway and development hours. Daily traffic
volumes on the major study roadways shall be documented in the report.
The report shall provide figures illustrating the peak-hour turning
movement traffic volumes and documentation regarding all traffic counts,
as well as any adjustments to the counts due to seasonal variations
or balancing between intersections.
(2)
A volume/capacity analysis based on existing traffic volumes shall
be performed during the peak highway and development hours for all
study roadways and intersections. The level-of-service results of
the volume/capacity analysis shall be presented graphically.
(3)
A summarization of the most recent accident data for a minimum of
three full calendar years within the study area shall be provided,
at select locations at the discretion of the Township. The applicant
should contact the Township's traffic engineer regarding this
requirement, as it will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Because
of confidentiality and liability issues related to the accident analysis,
this information must be provided in a separate letter and cannot
be referenced or included in the study.
D.
Future conditions without the proposed development. An evaluation
of the anticipated future traffic volumes, and the ability of the
roadway network to accommodate area traffic without the proposed development,
shall be provided for the approved study area roadways and intersections.
The analysis shall be completed for each study peak hour for the development
completion year (design year) and any interim years if development
phases are proposed. This evaluation shall include the following:
(1)
Peak-hour traffic volumes shall be projected for the design year(s)
based on traffic growth information compiled by PennDOT, DVPRC, or
the county for the Township. Projected traffic volumes shall also
include anticipated traffic growth associated with other significant
area proposed developments which will be completed, or partially completed,
by the design year(s), or developments under construction. All assumptions
and methodologies utilized to forecast the future traffic volumes
shall be clearly documented. Figures shall be provided in the report
illustrating the peak-hour turning movement traffic volumes for this
future condition, and trip generation, distribution, and assignment
assumptions shall be provided as well.
(2)
A volume/capacity analysis based on future without-development traffic
volumes shall be performed during the peak highway and development
hours for all study roadways and intersections. The level-of-service
results shall be presented graphically.
(3)
Roadway and intersection improvements committed to implementation
by others prior to the design year(s) shall be included in the future
without-development analysis. The applicant's traffic engineer
shall seek guidance from the Township in determining the appropriateness
of future roadway and intersection improvements, especially those
in the Township's Transportation Capital Improvement Program.
E.
Development trip generation. Estimates of vehicle trips generated
by the proposed development shall be completed for the design year(s)
peak highway and development hours and on a daily basis. A table should
be provided which clearly identifies total trips and total new trips.
Pass-by trip and internalization assumptions, as applicable, should
be clearly identified and discussed. Current versions of ITE's
Trip Generation and Trip Generation Handbook should be utilized, if
appropriate to the development's land uses. Trip generation estimates
based upon alternative sources (e.g., local counts of similar uses)
should be clearly documented, including reasons for their use versus
use of ITE published data.
F.
Development traffic distribution and assignment. Traffic volumes
generated by the proposed development shall be distributed and assigned
throughout the study area for each of the study peak hours. Documentation
of all assumptions used in the distribution and assignment of traffic
shall be provided.
G.
Future conditions with the proposed development and no improvements.
In order to access the magnitude of the proposed development's
impact on the off-site study area intersections and roadways, as well
as the site access(es), an analysis shall be completed for the design
year(s) with development of the site and no improvements.
(1)
Daily and peak-hour traffic volumes shall be projected for the design
year(s). Projected traffic volumes shall be calculated by adding the
assigned development trip generation to the future traffic volumes
with development on the study roadway and intersection network, including
the site access(es). Figures shall be provided in the report illustrating
the resultant peak-hour traffic volumes with the proposed development
with proposed improvements, including all turning movements.
(2)
A volume/capacity analysis based on future with-development traffic
volumes with proposed improvements shall be performed during the peak
highway and development hours for all study roadways and intersections
including the site access(es). The level-of-service results shall
be presented graphically.
(3)
A queuing analysis (maximum queues) shall be performed during the
peak highway and development hours for each study intersection, including
the site access(es). The results of the queuing analysis shall be
presented graphically, and the available storage lengths for all existing
and proposed intersection approach lanes shall be identified to determine
the adequacy of these facilities to accommodate the anticipated future
vehicular traffic queues.
(4)
All movements at all site accesses shall function at level-of-service
D or better with future with-development traffic volumes. If signalized,
the intersection(s) overall shall also function at level-of-service
D or better.
H.
Mitigation criteria. Based on the results of the future conditions
with the proposed development and no improvements, the need for mitigation
improvements will then be evaluated further based upon the following
criteria:
(1)
Intersections and/or roadways involving state highways. At all state
highways and intersections involving state highways, the need for
mitigation will be based on PennDOT's criteria as contained in
its Policies and Procedures for Transportation Impact Studies and
shall follow PennDOT's mitigation policy.
(2)
Township-maintained intersections and/or roadways. Improvements at
study area intersections and/or roadways, other than the proposed
site access(es), shall be presented for future with-development traffic
volumes as noted below:
(a)
If the future without-development conditions function at LOS
D or better overall and on all individual lane groups, then the future
with-development conditions shall be mitigated to operate at level-of-service
D or better overall and on all movements.
(b)
If future without-development conditions function at level-of-service
E overall or on any individual lane groups, then improvements shall
be identified such that future with-development level-of-service conditions
will be no worse than level-of-service E.
(c)
If future without-development level-of-service conditions are
F, future with-development level-of-service F conditions shall have
no greater volume/capacity ratios and delays than future without-development
conditions.
(d)
If the existing storage lengths or spacing between intersections
is inadequate to accommodate the anticipated vehicular queue with
development of the site, then appropriate mitigation measures shall
be provided.
I.
Proposed improvements. A description of improvements proposed to
remedy and otherwise mitigate traffic deficiencies and traffic impacts,
as established by the analyses, shall be provided as follows:
(1)
The description of improvements shall describe their location, nature,
and schedule, as well as the party responsible for the improvements.
The listing of recommended improvements shall include improvements
both internal and external to the site, as appropriate.
(2)
All design recommendations shall be consistent with the design requirements
of Hatfield Township and/or the guidelines of PennDOT, as appropriate,
including the following:
(a)
Available safe stopping sight distance measurements shall be
performed for each access, and recommendations shall be provided for
any access location that does not provide sufficient sight distance
in accordance with the applicable requirements, which may include
relocation of the proposed access, specific traffic controls, provision
of separate turn lanes, roadway geometric improvements, or turning
restrictions;
(b)
The necessity for auxiliary turn lanes at each site access intersection
shall be identified based on the current design guidelines of the
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation; and,
(c)
All access points and pedestrian crossings shall be examined
as to the need for, and feasibility of, installing traffic signals
or other traffic control devices, pursuant to the guidelines and traffic
signal warrants of PennDOT.
J.
Future conditions with the proposed development and recommended improvements.
A description of the adequacy of the study area roadways and intersections
to accommodate future traffic with development of the site with proposed
improvements shall be provided. The analysis shall be completed for
each study peak hour for the development completion year, and any
interim years, if development phases are proposed. The evaluation
shall include the following for any study area intersections and/or
roadways where mitigation is required:
(1)
A volume/capacity analysis based on future with-development traffic
volumes with proposed improvements shall be performed during the peak
highway and development hours for all study roadways and intersections
including the site access(es). The level-of-service results shall
be presented graphically.
(2)
A queuing analysis (maximum queues) shall be performed during the
peak highway and development hours for each study intersection, including
the site access(es). The results of the queuing analysis shall be
presented graphically, and the available storage lengths for all existing
and proposed intersection approach lanes shall be identified to determine
the adequacy of these facilities to accommodate the anticipated future
vehicular traffic queues.
K.
Conclusions and recommendations. This last report section shall include
a matrix comparing levels of service on each study roadway, site access
intersection, and other study intersections, if appropriate, for existing
conditions, future conditions without development, and future conditions
with development with improvements. If the development is to be phased,
all interim future conditions should be summarized. A summary of all
recommended improvements should also be provided, including the party
responsible for each. Appropriate summaries should be provided indicating
that all future vehicular queues can be provided within existing intersection
approach lane limits or with the future improvements to be provided
by the applicant or others.
