Title
Conduct a public hearing to receive and accept the 2024 Annual Traffic Report for Carmel Valley.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors receive and accept the 2024 Annual Traffic Report for Carmel Valley on the traffic volumes for Segments 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10 (on Carmel Valley Road), pursuant to the 2010 General Plan, Carmel Valley Master Plan (CVMP).
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 generally monitors 13 road segments listed in 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 2.17 (a)). The required monitoring was completed for the months of June and October 2024 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 Policy CV-2.17. Segments 5, 6, and 7 exceeded the PTSF threshold set by Policy CV-2.17. Additionally, Segments 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are within twenty percent (20%) of ADT threshold, as shown on Attachment C. Attachment D shows the Traffic Volumes from 2015 to present for all segments. Consequently, pursuant to Policy CV-2.17, a public hearing before the Board of Supervisors is required. The remaining segments do not meet this criterion and generally do not need to be evaluated annually.
DISCUSSION:
The 2010 General Plan - Carmel Valley Master Plan (CVMP) includes a policy to monitor the circulation of traffic in Carmel Valley on 13 established segments on Carmel Valley Road, 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, but per Policy, an 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. 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 2025.
CVMP Policy 2.17 (c) requires the Board of Supervisors to conduct a public hearing in January following data collection if the analysis shows that the established thresholds are exceeded or are within one percent (1%) of the value that would cause a decrease in Level of Service (LOS), or when only 100 or fewer ADT remain before the ADT count for a segment will equal or exceed the indicated threshold. Attachment B presents the ADT volumes for the six required segments, the LOS data, and the threshold values from the CVMP. For 2024, three of the segments exceeded the established thresholds, and three did not exceed the established thresholds, triggering the need for the public hearing.
Traffic flow patterns were evaluated for the six Segments using two methods: Average Daily Traffic (ADT) and Percent-Time-Spent-Following (PTSF). Monitoring in 2024 was conducted in June and October, as required. This report was completed and presented to the Carmel Valley Road Committee on December 11, 2024.
The results of the monitoring, along with the threshold values established by Policy 2.17(e)(3)(b), are presented on Attachment B. For the six specified segments, data indicates a slight increase in traffic volumes (ADT), but overall, volumes were generally similar to the volumes from last year. LOS is based on PTSF, and peak hour volumes are used to determine PTSF. The PTSF was calculated for Segments 3 through 7. PTSF methodology applies only to two-lane roads, and not to four-lane roads, and because Segment 10 is a four-lane highway, Level of Service (LOS) is based on volumes only. Based on the data collected, no monitored segment exceeded the ADT threshold in October or June. Although Segments 5, 6, and 7 exceed the LOS D threshold, the traffic volume levels on both segments did not exceed the ADT volume threshold and are summarized in Attachment C. In addition, the traffic volume data from 2015 to present are shown in Attachment D.
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 travelling to or from construction project work sites, or performing construction work on the roadway. These construction projects included: September Ranch subdivision on-site and off-site storm drain and road improvements; and the County’s Carmel Valley Road Resurfacing Project (Valley Greens Drive to Miramonte Road).
The results were presented to the Carmel Valley Road Advisory Committee (CVRAC) at its December 11, 2024, meeting. Comments received include: there are segments that have consistently exceeded the thresholds at certain sections, and we should take a closer look; and there has been construction occurring the past few years.
Policy 2.17 (d) 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. The five-year analysis was conducted following the data collection of 2020, presented to the Board on January 15, 2021, and determined that no changes to the unit cap were needed. The next 5-year interval will be included with the report in January 2026.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
This traffic volume analysis was presented to the Carmel Valley Road Advisory Committee (CVRAC) at its December 11, 2024, meeting as required in the Carmel Valley Master Plan (CVMP).
FINANCING:
Scheduled traffic monitoring activities for CVMP, estimated at $8,500, 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 INITIATIVES:
By following the policies in the Carmel Valley Master Plan and conducting the required hearing, the County practices accountability and transparency.
__ Economic Development
X Administration
__ Health & Human Services
__ Infrastructure
X Public Safety
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
Attachments:
Attachment A - Location Map
Attachment B - Average Daily Traffic and Percent Time Spent Following
Attachment C - Percent Under Threshold
Attachment D - Segment Traffic Volumes from 2015 to Present
Attachment E - CVMP Policy CV-2.17
(Attachments on file with the Clerk of the Board)