Title
Conduct a public hearing to receive and accept the 2022 Annual Carmel Valley Traffic Report.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors receive and accept the 2022 Annual Carmel Valley Traffic Report 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 2022 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 6 and 7 exceeded the PTSF threshold set by Policy CV-2.17. Additionally, Segments 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10 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 2023.
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, and the threshold value from the CVMP. For 2022, two of the segments exceeded the established thresholds, and four 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 2022 was conducted in June and October, as required. This report was completed and presented to the Carmel Valley Road Committee on December 1, 2022.
The results of the monitoring, along with the threshold values established by CVMP Policy 2.17(e)(3)(b), are presented on Attachment B. For the six specified segments, data indicates a general decrease in traffic volumes (ADT). 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 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 of the overall circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel behaviors and associated travel patterns are not typical, especially compared to pre-pandemic travel and commuting, as shelter-in-place orders and work-from-home have changed traffic patterns considerably. Transitioning away from remote work, distance learning, modified school bus service, modified work or school schedules, and deliveries associated with home-based online shopping and food/meal orders may have effects on traffic trip distribution and traffic peak hours.
The results were presented to the Carmel Valley Road Advisory Committee (CVRAC) at its December 1, 2022, meeting. Comments received include: PTSF is influenced by vehicles platooning, which makes it easier to get on and off the road; and passing lanes have been eliminated over a set of community meetings.
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 2025.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
This traffic volume analysis was presented to the Carmel Valley Road Advisory Committee (CVRAC) at its December 1, 2022, 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 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 Engineer
Reviewed by: Tom Bonigut, PE, Assistant Director of Public Works, Facilities and Parks
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
(Attachments on file with the Clerk of the Board)