The Essex at Central Park Development Project Traffic Impact Analysis Prepared for: City of San Mateo February 1, 2018 Hexagon Transportation Consultants, Inc. Hexagon Office: 4 North Second Street, Suite 400 San Jose, CA 95113 Hexagon Job Number: 14GB23 Phone: 408.971.6100 Client Name: City of San Mateo The Essex at Central Park Development Project February 1, 2018 Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................... i 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Existing Conditions ......................................................................................................................... 7 3. Background Conditions ................................................................................................................. 17 4. Project Conditions ......................................................................................................................... 20 5. Cumulative Conditions .................................................................................................................. 29 6. Other Transportation Issues ......................................................................................................... 32 Appendices Appendix A Traffic Counts Appendix B Volume Summary Appendix C Level of Service Calculations Appendix D Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan List of Tables Table ES-1 Intersection Levels of Service Summary ............................................................................ vi Table 1 Signalized Intersection Level of Service Definitions Based on Control Delay ..................... 5 Table 2 Unsignalized Intersection Level of Service Definition Based on Average Delay ................. 6 Table 3 Existing Conditions Intersection Levels of Service Summary ........................................... 12 Table 4 Background Conditions Intersection Levels of Service Summary ..................................... 19 Table 5 Project Trip Generation Estimates .................................................................................... 22 Table 6 Existing plus Project Conditions Intersection Levels of Service Summary ....................... 27 Table 7 Background plus Project Conditions Intersection Levels of Service Summary ................. 28 Table 8 Cumulative Conditions Intersection Levels of Service Results ......................................... 30 Table 9 Queuing Analysis Results ................................................................................................. 35 Table 10 City of San Mateo Off-Street Parking Requirements ........................................................ 40 Table 11 Accessible Parking Spaces Evaluation ............................................................................. 41 Table 12 Compact Parking Spaces Evaluation ................................................................................ 41 Table 13 City of San Mateo Bike Parking Requirements ................................................................. 42 The Essex at Central Park Development Project February 1, 2018 List of Figures Figure 1 Site Location and Study Intersections ................................................................................. 2 Figure 2 Project Site Plan .................................................................................................................. 3 Figure 3 Existing Bicycle Facilities .................................................................................................... 9 Figure 4 Existing Transit Services ................................................................................................... 11 Figure 5 Existing Intersection Lane Configurations ......................................................................... 13 Figure 6 Existing Traffic Volumes .................................................................................................... 14 Figure 7 Background Traffic Volumes ............................................................................................. 18 Figure 8 Project Trip Distribution Patterns ...................................................................................... 23 Figure 9 Project Trip Assignment .................................................................................................... 24 Figure 10 Existing plus Project Traffic Volumes ................................................................................ 25 Figure 11 Background plus Project Traffic Volumes ......................................................................... 26 Figure 12 Cumulative Conditions Traffic Volumes ............................................................................ 31 The Essex at Central Park Development Project February 1, 2018 Executive Summary This report presents the results of the traffic and parking study prepared for the proposed Essex Apartments project at the northwest corner of E. Fifth Avenue and S. San Mateo Drive in San Mateo, California. The 1.2-acre project site is currently occupied by an at-grade parking lot. The proposed project would remove the existing parking lot (97 spaces) and build an 80-unit residential apartment development with 38 1-bedroom, 22 2-bedroom, and 20 3-bedroom units. The project also proposes a 7,084 s.f. ground floor retail space and underground, ground, and above ground parking for a total of 236 parking spaces. The project would provide parking for its residential and retail uses and would replace the 97 parking spaces currently on the site. Removal and reconstruction of an access ramp to the adjacent roof top parking lot is part of the project. Access to the project site would be provided via two driveways to the alley adjacent to the project site. The alley currently operates one-way westbound. The project proposes to convert the alley to two-way operation along its edge. The portion from the project site to El Camino Real would remain one-way westbound. The traffic study was conducted for the purpose of identifying potential traffic impacts related to the proposed development. The impacts of the project were evaluated following the standards and methodologies set forth by the City of San Mateo. Project impacts on other transportation facilities, such as bicycle facilities and transit services, were determined on the basis of engineering judgment. The study determined the traffic impacts of the proposed development on nine signalized study intersections and one unsignalized intersection during the weekday AM and PM peak periods of traffic. None of the study intersections is part of the CMP roadway network. Project Trip Generation Daily and peak-hour trip generation estimates for the proposed project were based on trip rates published in the ITE Trip Generation Manual, 9th Edition for a general apartment building and shopping center. Since this project is located within the San Mateo central business district, and has adequate pedestrian facilities as well as transit services, Hexagon has estimated that approximately 8% of all apartment trips and 50% of all retail trips would be accomplished by alternative modes of transportation, including walking, biking, and taking transit. After applying the trip reduction factors, the proposed project is expected to generate a total of 640 daily trips with 41 trips (9 in and 32 out) during the AM peak hour and 59 trips (36 in and 23 out) during the PM peak hour. Intersection Levels of Service The results of the intersection level-of-service analysis show that all study intersections are expected to continue to operate at an acceptable level (mid-LOS D or better) under all study scenarios. Table ES-1 presents a summary of the intersection levels of service with and without the proposed project. The intersection levels of service calculation sheets for all scenarios are all included in Appendix C. Page | i The Essex at Central Park Development Project February 1, 2018 Vehicle Queuing Field observations indicate that neither queuing on northbound nor on southbound S. San Mateo Drive would block the alley. Field observations also indicate that the signals on El Camino Real between E. Fifth Avenue and E. Third Avenue are coordinated. As a result, the alley exit on El Camino Real northbound is usually not blocked during the red phase for northbound El Camino Real at the intersection of E. Fourth Avenue. Based on the calculated queue length, vehicles exiting the alley would typically not be blocked. Northbound left-turns into the alley on S. San Mateo Drive were analyzed to determine the extent to which vehicles entering the project site would block the through movement traffic. There currently exists no northbound left-turn pocket on S. San Mateo Drive at the alley. The vehicle queue estimates shown on Table 9 indicate that project-related vehicles would temporarily block northbound traffic on S. San Mateo Drive. Hexagon recommends the project coordinate with the City of San Mateo to restripe S. San Mateo Drive to include a 25-foot northbound left-turn pocket at the alley, which would require removal of one existing on-street parking space along southbound San Mateo Drive. Alternately, striping “KEEP CLEAR” at the intersection of the alley and S. San Mateo Drive would prevent queuing on northbound San Mateo Drive and would provide clear visibility for cars exiting the alley. Vehicular