Irmo/Dutch Fork Sub-Area Transportation Study June 2010 IRMO/DUTCH FORK SUB-AREA PLAN FINAL REPORT April 2010 Prepared for: Central Midlands Council of Governments Columbia Area Transportation Study Metropolitan Planning Organization Prepared by: Wilbur Smith Associates In association with: Kublins Transportation Group, Inc. And Maxim Communications Group "The preparation of this report has been financed in part through grant[s] from the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, under the State Planning and Research Program, Section 505 [or Metropolitan Planning Program, Section 104(f)] of Title 23, U.S. Code. The contents of this report do not necessarily reflect the official views or policy of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Table of Contents 1. Project Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Existing Study Area Characteristics ......................................................................................................... 1 2.1 Data Sources ........................................................................................................................................ 4 2.2 Land Use ............................................................................................................................................. 4 2.3 Population Growth .............................................................................................................................. 5 3. Existing Roadway Conditions ................................................................................................................... 6 3.1 Roadway Classification ....................................................................................................................... 6 3.2 Roadway Statistics .............................................................................................................................. 7 3.2.1 Traffic Volumes ............................................................................................................................ 7 3.2.2 Level of Service (LOS) ............................................................................................................... 13 3.2.3 Vehicle-Miles and Vehicle-Hours of Travel .............................................................................. 15 3.2.4 Journey-to-Work Census Data .................................................................................................... 16 3.2.5 COATS 2035 LRTP Improvements ........................................................................................... 17 4. Existing Transit Service .......................................................................................................................... 17 4.1 Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority ................................................................................... 17 4.1.1 Existing Routes ........................................................................................................................... 18 4.1.2 Route Travel Times and Frequency ............................................................................................ 18 4.1.3 Socio-economic Data .................................................................................................................. 20 4.1.4 Ridership Levels ......................................................................................................................... 21 4.1.5 Major Stop Locations ................................................................................................................. 22 4.2 SMARTRIDE .................................................................................................................................... 22 4.3 Other Transit Providers ..................................................................................................................... 22 5. Existing Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities .............................................................................................. 23 5.1 Bicycle Facilities ............................................................................................................................... 23 5.2 Pedestrian Facilities ........................................................................................................................... 23 5.3 Greenway Trail Facilities .................................................................................................................. 25 5.4 Suggested Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements ............................................................................. 26 6. Development Trends ............................................................................................................................... 26 6.1 Existing Land Use ............................................................................................................................. 26 6.2 Population Projections ....................................................................................................................... 27 6.3 Future Land Use Classes ................................................................................................................... 27 6.4 Infrastructure Issues .......................................................................................................................... 27 6.5 Development Impacts on Transportation .......................................................................................... 31 6.6 Potential New Developments ............................................................................................................ 31 6.7 School Development ......................................................................................................................... 31 6.8 Park Developments ........................................................................................................................... 32 6.9 Development Implications ................................................................................................................ 32 7. Public Input ............................................................................................................................................. 33 7.1 Project Facebook Page ...................................................................................................................... 33 7.2 Survey Results ................................................................................................................................... 33 8. Needs ...................................................................................................................................................... 36 8.1 Future Non-Highway Needs .............................................................................................................. 37 8.2 Public Transit Needs ......................................................................................................................... 41 8.2.1 Park-and-Ride Service ................................................................................................................ 41 8.2.2 Encouraging Additional Ridership ............................................................................................. 44 8.3 Road and Intersection Needs and Improvements .............................................................................. 45 8.3.1 Intersection Needs ...................................................................................................................... 45 i 8.3.2 Access Management ................................................................................................................... 48 8.3.3 New Facilities ............................................................................................................................. 48 8.3.4 Roadway Widening .................................................................................................................... 49 8.3.5 Model Results of Improvement Projects .................................................................................... 50 8.4 Freight Corridor Needs ...................................................................................................................... 52 8.4.1 Tier I ........................................................................................................................................... 52 8.4.2 Tier II .......................................................................................................................................... 53 8.5 Policy Needs and Recommendations ................................................................................................ 53 9. Multimodal Improvement Cost Estimates .............................................................................................. 55 List of Tables Table 1: Population growth .......................................................................................................................... 5 Table 2: Major Roadway Traffic Volumes ................................................................................................. 10 Table 3: Ten Highest Non-interstate Roadway Traffic Volumes for 2005 Model Year ............................. 11 Table 4: Ten Highest Non-interstate Roadway Traffic Volumes for 2035 Model Year ............................. 12 Table 5: SCDOT Volume-to-Capacity Ratios