Title
Receive and accept a report on:
a. Traffic volumes on Carmel Valley Road for all segments, pursuant to the 2010 General Plan, Carmel Valley Master Plan area; and
b. The Five-Year Interval Report.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Accept the report on traffic volumes on Carmel Valley Road for all segments, pursuant to the 2010 General Plan, Carmel Valley Master Plan area; and
b. Accept the Five-Year Interval Report.
SUMMARY:
The 2010 General Plan includes policies that require annual monitoring and reporting of traffic volumes and travel times on segments 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10 of Carmel Valley Road. If the annual monitoring reveals that traffic volumes are exceeding certain thresholds, the Board of Supervisors must conduct a noticed public hearing.
Public Works, Facilities and Parks (PWFP) generally monitors 13 road segments listed in Carmel Valley Master Plan (CVMP) Policy CV-2.17 annually (refer to Attachment A for map). Only six of those segments are required to be reported on for the annual report (Policy CV-2.17 (a)). The required monitoring was completed for the months of June and October 2025 for Segments 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10 of Carmel Valley Road. The Average Daily Traffic (ADT) and Percent Time Spent Following (PTSF) results are shown in Attachment B. For this monitoring period, the ADT for all reportable segments are below the thresholds set by the Policy. Segments 5, 6, and 7 exceeded the PTSF threshold set by the Policy. Additionally, Segments 4, 5, 6 and 7 are within twenty percent (20%) of ADT threshold, as shown on Attachment C. The remaining segments do not meet this criterion and generally do not need to be evaluated annually. Attachment D shows the Traffic Volumes from 2015 to present for all segments. Consequently, pursuant to this Policy, a public hearing before the Board of Supervisors is required.
Every five years an additional analysis must be performed on all segments of Carmel Valley Road to determine if additional road segments need to be added to the yearly evaluation report. Because no segments other than those that are already monitored annually are within a twenty percent (20%) margin of the listed threshold, staff recommends making no changes or additions of road segments to the yearly traffic evaluation report.
At five-year intervals, the County is also required to examine changes in levels of service (LOS) which may cause consideration of an adjustment of the cap on new units or other measures that may reduce traffic impacts. A comparison of LOS from 2020 and 2025 is presented on Attachment D.
DISCUSSION:
The 2010 General Plan - CVMP includes a policy to monitor the circulation of traffic in Carmel Valley on established segments numbered from east to west (locations shown in Attachment A). Segments 1-10 are located along Carmel Valley Road and segments 11-13 are located on Rio Road and Carmel Rancho Boulevard. Policy CV-2.17 requires bi-annual monitoring of peak hour traffic volumes, once while school is not in session (June) and once while school is in session (October). The counts are conducted on all 13 segments. Per Policy, an annual evaluation is only required on Segments 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10 of Carmel Valley Road, plus any others that fall within 20% of the established threshold.
However, CV-2.17 (d) requires that at five-year intervals, all segment volumes are analyzed and compared to the ADT thresholds. If a segment is within twenty percent (20%) of the listed ADT threshold, then it shall be added to the list of roads that are evaluated annually. Attachment B presents a comparison of current volumes, threshold volumes and the percent-of-threshold values. This year, no other segments were within 20% of the established thresholds thus no additional segments need to be evaluated this year, and the list of required segments for evaluation does not need to be amended for 2026.
Policy CV-2.17 (e) further requires that every five years, the County shall examine the degree to which the estimates of changes to the LOS in the Plan Area may be occurring earlier than predicted in the General Plan Environment Impact Report (EIR). Evaluation and comparisons of the five-year data demonstrate that traffic volumes are generally trending lower than forecasted in the General Plan EIR (Attachment D). None of the five-year monitoring segments exceeded criteria, and therefore no changes to the unit cap are needed, pursuant to Policy CV-2.17(e). The next five-year interval will be included with the annual report in January 2031.
The ADT volumes for all 13 segments in the CVMP area and the threshold value from the CVMP are presented in Attachment B. The ADTs do not exceed the threshold, nor are they within 100 ADT of the threshold.
Using these volumes, the PTSF was calculated for Segments 1 through 13. Segments 9, 10, 11, and 13 are four-lane highways, and because the PTSF methodology does not apply to four-lane roadways, the LOS determination is based on Volume. PTSF and LOS is shown on Attachment C. The analysis indicates Segments 5, 6, and 7 exceeded the PTSF threshold.
Intersection LOS was also evaluated as part of this report, as related to Policy CV-2.17 (f). All signalized intersection studied operate at acceptable LOS. All unsignalized intersections studied, except for three, operate at acceptable LOS. The intersections are: Carmel Valley Road/Village Park Road; Carmel Valley Road/Valley Greens Drive (analyzed in a separate traffic study); and Carmel Valley Road/Laureles Grade. Improvements at Carmel Valley Road/Village Park Road were recently completed, and a roundabout is currently under construction at Carmel Valley Road/Laureles Grade. Improvement options are being analyzed at Carmel Valley Road/Valley Greens Drive in a separate study. All unsignalized intersections studied, except for three, do not meet traffic signal warrants. The intersections are: Carmel Valley Road/Valley Greens Drive; and Carmel Valley Road/Schulte Road and Carmel Valley Road/Ford Road, both of which operate at acceptable LOS. A summary of intersection LOS is presented on Attachments E and F.
For this monitoring year, the data and observations may not be typical, primarily because there were several construction activities along the Carmel Valley Road corridor that may have affected traffic flow along Carmel Valley Road. As an example, observations showed vehicles platooned behind construction vehicles that were likely traveling to or from construction project work sites or performing construction work on the roadway. Traffic control related to construction activities also affected traffic observations along the corridor. These construction projects included: Carmel Valley Road/Laureles Grade Roundabout; Carmel Area Wastewater District (CAWD) Sewer Project; and the Carmel Valley Road/Village Park Road intersection improvements.
As required, the report and results were presented to the Carmel Valley Road Advisory Committee (CVRAC) at its January 8, 2026, meeting. Comments received include: the summary table [in the report] shows that the traffic numbers from 2008, 2020, and 2025 have not ballooned as forecasted and are relatively stable; and that use of 24-hour counts is totally erroneous, and should count only during morning hours, and not at night when there is no traffic. PWFP-Public Works staff responded to the CVRAC that the data presented in this report is per the requirements of the Policies. PWFP-Public Works staff also stated that technical analyses for road operations use standard methodologies and peak hour traffic volumes, which represents the period during which traffic volumes are highest during the day.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
This traffic volume analysis was presented to the CVRAC at its January 8, 2026 meeting as required in the CVMP.
Due to late submission of this Board Report, the CAO Budget and Analysis Division was not provided adequate time to fully review for potential fiscal, organizational, policy, or other implications to the County of Monterey.
FINANCING:
Scheduled traffic monitoring activities for CVMP, estimated at $10,000, are funded by the Carmel Valley Traffic Impact Fee Program. Sufficient funds are available in the Road Fund 002, Unit 8558, Appropriation Unit PFP004 to finance this work.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS:
The recommended action is in compliance with the Board of Supervisors’ policies established in the County General Plan and supports the Board of Supervisors’ Strategic Initiatives for Infrastructure and Public Safety as the report provides data relative to the prioritization of resources to help maintain operations of County roadway infrastructure.
__X_ Well-Being and Quality of Life
__X_ Sustainable Infrastructure for the Present and Future
__X_ Safe and Resilient Communities
____ Diverse and Thriving Economy
Prepared by: Chad Alinio, PE, Senior Civil Engineer
Reviewed by: Lindsay Lerable, Assistant Director of Public Works, Facilities and Parks
Reviewed by: Enrique Saavedra, PE, Chief of Public Works
Approved by: Randell Ishii, MS, PE, TE, PTOE
Director of Public Works, Facilities and Parks
The following attachments are on file with the Clerk of the Board:
Attachment A - Location Map
Attachment B - Carmel Valley Road Volumes
Attachment C - Level of Service and Percent Time Spent Following
Attachment D - 5-Year Traffic Volumes
Attachment E - Intersections - June 2025
Attachment F - Intersections - October 2025
Attachment G - Carmel Valley Road Five-Year Traffic Monitoring Report