Title
Conduct a public hearing to consider:
a. Traffic volumes on Carmel Valley Road for segments 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10, pursuant to the 2010 General Plan, Carmel Valley area; and
b. If additional road segments need to be evaluated annually.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Accept the traffic volumes on Carmel Valley Road for segments 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10, pursuant to the 2010 General Plan, Carmel Valley area; and
b. Determine that no additional road segments need to be evaluated annually.
SUMMARY:
The 2010 General Plan - Carmel Valley Master Plan (CVMP) 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, plus any other segments within 20% of their thresholds. Although not required by the CVMP, the Resource Management Agency (RMA) generally also monitors the other seven (7) road segments listed in Policy CV-2.17 and is providing that information with this annual report. If the annual monitoring reveals that traffic volumes are exceeding certain criteria, 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. Two (2) segments exceed the Average Daily Traffic (ADT) thresholds, and three (3) segments exceed Percent-Time-Spent-Following (PTSF) thresholds; therefore, a public hearing is required pursuant to Policy CV-2.17 of the 2010 General Plan. Notice of this hearing was published on January 11, 2018, in the Monterey County Weekly.
Additionally, only segments 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of Carmel Valley Road are within 20% of their threshold. The other segments do not meet this criterion and do not need to be evaluated annually. However, segments 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10 will continue to be evaluated annually per the requirements of the policy.
DISCUSSION:
The CVMP includes a policy to monitor the circulation of traffic in Carmel Valley (locations shown in Attachment A). Policy CV-2.17 requires biannual 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 ten (10) segments of Carmel Valley Road plus three additional segments on Rio Road and Carmel Rancho Boulevard, but an evaluation is only required on segments 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10 of Carmel Valley Road plus any others within 20% of their threshold. This year, no other segments were within 20% of their 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 2018.
For the six (6) required segments, we evaluated traffic flow patterns using two (2) methods: Average Daily Traffic (ADT) and Percent-Time-Spent-Following (PTSF). Monitoring in 2017 was conducted between June 13 to 19 and October 17 to 23 with exception of segment 6 in October due to a traffic counter failure. The segment 6 count dates were October 24 to 30.
In addition, this CVMP Policy requires the Board of Supervisors to conduct a public hearing in the year following data collection if the analysis shows that established thresholds are exceeded.
Attachment B displays the ADT volumes for the six (6) required segments, and the threshold value from the CVMP. This year, segments 4 and 7 exceeded their thresholds and trigger the need for the public hearing.
Using peak hour volumes, the PTSF was calculated for segments 3 through 7. Since segment 10 is a four-lane highway, for which the PTSF methodology does not apply, the Level of Service (LOS) is based on volumes only. The PTSF values are also shown in Attachment B. The PTSF of segment 6 exceeds the LOS D threshold established in section 2.17(e)(3)(b). In addition, segments 4 and 7 are within 1% of the threshold. The traffic levels on all three (3) of these segments further trigger the need for the public hearing. Attachment C summarizes all the segment volumes.
Policy 2.17 (d) further requires that every five (5) years, the County of Monterey (County) shall examine the degree to which the estimates of changes to the LOS in the Plan Area may be occurring earlier that predicted in the General Plan Environment Impact Report. This five (5) year analysis was conducted following the data collection of 2015, presented to the Board of Supervisors on October 18, 2016, and determined that no changes to the unit cap were needed.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
This traffic volume analysis was reviewed with the Carmel Valley Road Committee (CVRC) at their December 19, 2017 meeting.
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.
Mark a check to the related Board of Supervisors Strategic Initiatives
__Economic Development
X Administration
__Health & Human Services
__Infrastructure
__Public Safety
Prepared by: Mohammad Qureshi, Ph.D., P.E., TE, (831) 796-3009
Approved by: Donald D. Searle, RMA Deputy Director of Public Works and Facilities
Approved by: Carl P. Holm, AICP, RMA Director
The following attachments are on file with the Clerk of the Board:
Attachment A - Location Map
Attachment B - Average Daily Traffic and Percent Time Spent Following
Attachment C - Percent Under Threshold
Attachment D - Notice of Public Hearing