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 (5) Year Interval Report.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Accept the 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 (5) 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.
The required monitoring has been completed and an evaluation report of traffic volumes on Carmel Valley Road and Rio Road has been prepared. No segments exceed the Average Daily Traffic (ADT) thresholds, and no segments exceed Percent-Time-Spent-Following (PTSF) thresholds. Although no public hearing is warranted pursuant to Policy CV-2.17 of the 2010 General Plan, this information is being provided as part of this report.
Every five (5) 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. Segments that are currently reported in the yearly evaluation report are not within a twenty percent (20%) margin of the listed threshold. Based on the data, staff recommends making no changes or additions of road segments to the yearly traffic evaluation report.
At five (5)-year intervals, the County is also required to examine changes in levels of service which may cause consideration of an adjustment of the cap on new units or other measures that may reduce traffic impacts. In addition to staff’s recommendation that no segments be added to the annual monitoring and reporting of traffic volumes on Carmel Valley Road, staff finds that no change to the unit cap is warranted at this time.
DISCUSSION:
The 2010 General Plan - Carmel Valley Master Plan (CVMP) includes a policy to monitor the circulation of traffic in Carmel Valley. The CVMP Policy CV-2.17 requires twice yearly monitoring (in June when school is not in session, and in October when school is in session) of peak hour traffic volumes and daily traffic volumes on six (6) roadway segments (Segments 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10 of Carmel Valley Road), and an evaluation of traffic flow patterns using two (2) methods - Average Daily Traffic (ADT) and Percent-Time-Spent-Following (PTSF).
Although not required by the CVMP, the County monitors all 13 road segments listed in Policy CV-2.17 (ten [10] segments of Carmel Valley Road and three [3] segments on Rio Road and Carmel Rancho Boulevard, shown on Attachment A). Monitoring information regarding these 13 segments is included in this annual report. Every five (5) 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. Monitoring in 2020 was conducted June 18 and October 8. This year, stay-at-home- orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic were in place during the 2020 monitoring; however, traffic counts were performed as required by the applicable policies. The traffic volumes counted during 2020 may not reflect those of a typical year. As required, the annual monitoring report, along with the five-year evaluation, was completed and presented to the Carmel Valley Road Advisory Committee in December 2020.
The Average Daily Traffic (ADT) volumes for all the thirteen (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 Percent Time Spent Following (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 no segments exceed PTSF thresholds.
CV 2.17 (d) requires that at five (5) 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 segments other than those already on the required-monitoring list were within twenty percent (20%) of the established thresholds. Therefore, no additional segments need to be evaluated for this year’s report, and the list of segments subject to annual evaluation does not need to be amended.
Policy CV 2.17 (e) requires that the County examine if the level of service (LOS) for the road segments is changing earlier than forecasted in the General Plan Environmental 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 2.17(e). The next 5-year interval will be included with the annual report in January 2026.
Intersection LOS was also evaluated as part of this report, as related to Policy CV 2.18(f). All signalized intersection studied operate at acceptable LOS. All unsignalized intersections studied, except for one, operate at acceptable LOS or do not meet traffic signal warrants. The intersection that operates at an unacceptable LOS is the intersection of Carmel Valley Road and Laureles Grade. A summary of intersection LOS is presented on Attachments E and F.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
This traffic volume analysis was presented to the Carmel Valley Road Advisory Committee (CVRAC) at their December 17, 2020 meeting as required in the Carmel Valley Master Plan (CVMP).
FINANCING:
Scheduled traffic monitoring activities for CVMP, estimated at $8,000, are funded by the Carmel Valley Traffic Impact Fee Program. Sufficient funds are available in the Road Fund 002, Unit 8195, Appropriation Unit RMA0012 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, Senior Civil Engineer (831-755-4937)
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 2020
Attachment F - Intersections - October 2020
Attachment G - Carmel Valley Road Five-Year Traffic Monitoring Report