Burning Man Special Recreation Permit/Environmental Impact Statement Traffic Analysis
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SOLAEGUI ENGINEERS June 4, 2018 Peter Gower, AICP CEP EMPSi Environmental Management and Planning Solutions, Inc. 4741 Caughlin Parkway, Suite 4 Reno, Nevada 89519 RE: Burning Man Environmental Impact Statement Traffic Analysis Dear Peter: This report provides an evaluation of traffic operations on Northern Nevada roadways as a result of the Burning Man festival held in the Black Rock Desert in Washoe County, Nevada. Attendance at Burning Man is anticipated to increase and this study provides traffic analysis for the increased traffic generated by the event. PROJECT DESCRIPTION Burning Man is an eight day, annual event held in the Black Rock Desert each summer by Black Rock City, LLC. The event typically begins on the Sunday before Labor Day (Sunday, August 27 for the 2017 event) and ends on Labor Day (Monday, September 4 for the 2017 event). Guests of Burning Man access the event site from County Road 34 via State Route 447 and County Road 447 in Northern Nevada. The 2017 Burning Man event reported a total attendance of 79,454 which includes paid participants and staff. This study analyzes the traffic impacts on the area roadways for an event with a maximum attendance of 100,000 participants and staff. STUDY ROADWAY SEGMENTS AND ANALYSIS SCENARIOS The following study area roadways provide access to the project site. The key roadways are shown on Figure 1 on the following page. • Interstate 580 (I-580) -Interstate 80 to Reno-Tahoe International Airport • Interstate 80 (I-80)- West ofl-580 (in Reno) to Wadsworth, Nevada • State Route 44 7 - SR-427 to Gerlach, Nevada • County Road 447- Gerlach, Nevada to Nevada/California State Line • State Route 445 (Pyramid Highway)- I-80 (in Sparks) to SR-446 • State Route 427- I-80 Wadsworth Exit to I-80 West Fernley Exit • State Route 446- SR-445 to SR-447 ?olaegui Engineers Ltd. • 715 H Street • Sparks, Nevada 89431 • 775/358-1004 • FAX 775/358-1098 Civil & Traffic Engineers e-mail: [email protected] 2 The study area roadways were selected for evaluation because they are expected to carry a significant amount of project traffic and were included in the 2012 Environmental Assessment Traffic Study. The study segments were limited to roadways in Nevada because traffic disperses as it gets further from the event site, and therefore "blends into" the normal traffic volumes. The proposed I-80 study route does not go beyond Reno to the west. The peak daily Burning Man traffic on I-80 in west Reno and I-580 south of I- 80 is anticipated to be a relatively low percentage of the total traffic volume which will further disperse outside of Reno, Nevada. The following scenarios are analyzed in the traffic study: • Existing Conditions - Existing roadway level of service was analyzed based on daily traffic volumes on the study roadway segments. • Existing Plus 2017 Burning Man Conditions - Traffic volumes generated by the 2017 Burning Man event were added to the existing study roadway segment traffic volumes for existing plus 2017 Burning Man conditions level of service analysis. The highest daily traffic volume day was analyzed based on a 2017 Burning Man event population of 79,454 participants and staff. • Existing Plus Future Burning Man Conditions - Traffic volumes generated by a future Burning Man event were added to the existing study roadway segment traffic volumes for the existing plus future Burning Man conditions level of service analysis. The highest traffic volume day was analyzed based on a total future Burning Man event population of 100,000 participants and staff. ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY Transportation engineers and planners commonly use the term level of service (LOS) to measure and describe the operational status of a roadway network. An intersection or roadway segment level of service can range from LOS A (indicating free-flow traffic conditions with little or no delay), to LOS F (representing oversaturated conditions where traffic flows exceed design capacity, resulting in long queues and delays). The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) strives to maintain LOS D or better on their roadways. The key roadway segments were analyzed on a daily basis using daily level of service thresholds formerly used by the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Washoe County, Nevada. Some of the key roadways have Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) collector classifications but will be analyzed as arterials because they are similar to other roadways listed as arterials in the RTC functional roadway classification table. 3 Table 1 shows the daily roadway segment level of service thresholds (both travel directions) for the various functional roadway classifications. TABLE 1 DAILY ROADWAY SEGMENT LEVEL OF SERVICE THRESHOLDS (BOTH DIRECTIONS) DAILY TRAFFIC VOLUME THRESHOLD FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION LOS A LOS B LOS C LOS D LOS E 2-Lane Arterial N/A 5,500 14,800 17,500 18,600 4-Lane Arterial N/A 20,400 36,100 38,400 40,600 4-Lane Freeway 28,600 42,700 63,500 80,000 90,200 8-Lane Freeway 51,100 81,500 121,400 153,200 180,400 10-Lane Freeway 63,800 101,900 151,800 191,500 225,500 The segment of State Route 447 within Empire, Nevada was also evaluated at a more detailed peak hour level for the existing plus 2017 Burning Man and existing plus future Burning Man scenarios. This segment of roadway was further analyzed due to the congestion observed during the peak Burning Man arrival and departure times. The peak hour analysis was based on procedures presented in the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM 2016), prepared by the Transportation Research Board, for two-lane highways. The Highway Capacity Manual indicates that the maximum capacity of a 2- lane highway is 1,700 vehicles per hour in the peak direction. However, this roadway capacity must be adjusted to reflect specific roadway characteristics such as roadway width, shoulder width, no-passing zones, number of access points, terrain type, and vehicle mix. The HCM 2016 indicates that peak hour level of service for 2-lane highways is measured in terms of average travel speed (ATS), percent time spent following (PTSF), and the percent of free-flow speed (PFFS). The average travel speed reflects mobility on two-lane roadways. The percent time spent following represents the freedom to maneuver and the comfort and convenience of travel. It is the average percentage of time that vehicles must travel in platoons behind slower vehicles due to the inability to pass. The percent of free flow speed represents the ability of vehicles to travel at or near the posted speed limit. Table 2 from the HCM 2016 shows the peak hour roadway segment level of service criteria for 2-lane highways. It should be noted that Table 2 shows LOS criteria for three different class of highways. Peak hour level of service for 2-lane highways is also dependent on highway classification. The segment of State Route 447 within Empire will be evaluated as a class III highway as defined by the HCM 2016. 4 TABLE 2 PEAK HOUR ROADWAY SEGMENT LEVEL OF SERVICE CRITERIA CLASS II CLASS III CLASS I HIGHWAYS HIGHWAYS HIGHWAYS LOS ATS (MPH) PTSF (%) PTSF (%) PFFS (%) A >55 ≤35 ≤40 >91.7 B >50-55 >35-50 >40-55 >83.3-91.7 C >45-50 >50-65 >55-70 >75-83.3 D >40-45 >65-80 >70-85 >66.7-75.0 E ≤40 >80 >85 ≤66.7 F DEMAND EXCEEDS CAPACITY Note: For Class I highways, LOS is determined by the worse of ATS-based LOS and PTSF-based LOS. EXISTING CONDITIONS Roadway System A brief description of the key study area roadways used by Burning Man guests is provided below. Interstate 580 (I-580) is a north/south interstate freeway that runs through Reno, Nevada. I-580 (US-395) provides access to Susanville, California to the north and Carson City, Nevada to the south. I-580 is generally a four to ten lane freeway with a 65 mile per hour speed limit through Reno, Nevada. Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east/west interstate freeway that runs through Reno, Nevada. I-80 provides access to Sacramento and San Francisco, California to the west and Salt Lake City, Utah to the east. Through Reno and Sparks, I-80 is a four or six lane roadway with a 65 mile per hour speed limit. East of Sparks to Wadsworth, I-80 is a four-lane freeway with a 70 mile per hour speed limit. State Route 445 (Pyramid Highway) is a north-south roadway that connects to 1-80 at its south end and SR-446 at its north end. Pyramid Highway is generally a four-lane roadway from 1-80 to just north of Egyptian Drive-Sunset Springs Lane and a two-lane roadway from north of Egyptian Drive-Sunset Springs Lane to SR-446. The speed limit varies from 35 miles per hour at its southerly end through downtown Sparks to 65 miles per hour at its northerly end as it approaches Pyramid Lake and SR-446. 5 State Route 446 is an east/west, two-lane roadway that borders the southern part of Pyramid Lake. SR-446 intersects SR-447 at its east end in the town of Nixon and Pyramid Highway at its west end. The speed limit on SR-446 between Pyramid Highway and SR-447 is 65 miles per hour except as it steps down to 45 miles per hour near the SR-447 intersection. The roadway generally contains a ±1 foot wide paved shoulder with sporadic sections of dirt shoulder wide enough for a vehicle to pull off the road. State Route 447 is generally a north-south, rural, two-lane roadway between SR-427 and Gerlach, Nevada.