Cherokee County Comprehensive Transportation Plan WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff February 2016 Final Report Cherokee County Comprehensive Transportation Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Context .......................................................................................... 1-1 1.2 Purpose .......................................................................................... 1-1 1.3 Study Area ...................................................................................... 1-1 1.4 Overview of Plan Development Process .................................................... 1-2 2 DEMOGRAPHICS – HISTORICAL & FORECAST ..................................................... 2-1 2.1 Historical Population Growth ................................................................ 2-2 2.1.1 Historical Population Growth Comparison ............................................ 2-3 2.1.2 Post-Recession Growth .................................................................. 2-3 2.1.3 Summary of Historical Population Growth ............................................ 2-4 2.2 Current Demographic Statistics .............................................................. 2-4 2.2.1 Population Density and Distribution ................................................... 2-4 2.2.2 Age ......................................................................................... 2-5 2.2.3 Average Household Size ................................................................. 2-9 2.3 Environmental Justice Populations .......................................................... 2-9 2.3.1 Race ........................................................................................ 2-9 2.3.2 Household Income .......................................................................2-13 2.3.3 Poverty Status ...........................................................................2-14 2.3.4 Minority in Poverty Maps ...............................................................2-17 2.4 Future Population Projections ..............................................................2-20 2.4.1 Total Population .........................................................................2-20 2.4.2 Number of Households ..................................................................2-25 2.4.3 Average Household Size ................................................................2-26 2.4.4 Summary of Forecasted Population Growth .........................................2-28 2.5 Existing Employment Base ...................................................................2-28 2.5.1 Employment Status .....................................................................2-29 2.5.2 Number of Jobs by Industry ............................................................2-29 2.5.3 Jobs by Employer Type .................................................................2-31 2.5.4 Top Employers in Cherokee County ...................................................2-31 2.6 Future Employment Projections ............................................................2-32 February 2016 i Final Report Cherokee County Comprehensive Transportation Plan 2.6.1 Total Employment .......................................................................2-32 2.6.2 High Paying Jobs .........................................................................2-37 2.6.3 Low Paying Jobs .........................................................................2-38 2.6.4 Ratio of High to Low Paying Jobs .....................................................2-40 2.6.5 Summary of Forecasted Employment Growth .......................................2-42 2.7 Urban Versus Rural ...........................................................................2-43 3 EXISTING CONDITIONS .............................................................................. 3-1 3.1 Land Use and Development .................................................................. 3-1 3.1.1 Existing Land Use Characteristics ...................................................... 3-1 3.1.2 Future Land Use Characteristics ....................................................... 3-4 3.1.3 Community Resources ................................................................... 3-7 3.1.4 Developments of Regional Impact ....................................................3-12 3.2 Previous Planning Studies and Programs ..................................................3-12 3.2.1 ARC FY2014-2019 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) ...................3-13 3.2.2 ARC PLAN 2040 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) ...............................3-16 3.2.3 ARC Strategic Regional Thoroughfare Plan ..........................................3-19 3.2.4 Cherokee County Comprehensive Plan ...............................................3-22 3.2.5 Municipal Comprehensive Plans .......................................................3-24 3.2.6 Large-Scale Development Plans .......................................................3-26 3.2.7 LCIs ........................................................................................3-32 3.2.8 SPLOST Projects .........................................................................3-40 3.3 Public Transportation ........................................................................3-40 3.3.1 CATS Local Transit Services ............................................................3-41 3.3.2 GRTA Regional Services ................................................................3-43 3.3.3 Cherokee County Senior Services .....................................................3-44 3.3.4 Commuter Rail ...........................................................................3-44 3.4 Commuter Patterns and Transportation Options .........................................3-45 3.4.1 Work & Home Locations ................................................................3-45 3.4.2 Commute Statistics .....................................................................3-47 3.5 Freight Movement ............................................................................3-49 3.5.1 Freight Rail Facilities ...................................................................3-50 3.5.2 Over-the-Road Freight Facilities ......................................................3-50 February 2016 ii Final Report Cherokee County Comprehensive Transportation Plan 3.5.3 Georgia Statewide Freight & Logistics Plan 2010-2050 ............................3-52 3.5.4 ARC Atlanta Regional Freight Mobility Plan .........................................3-52 3.5.5 ARC Atlanta Strategic Truck Route Master Plan (ASTRoMaP) .....................3-53 3.6 Rail Crossings ..................................................................................3-54 3.6.1 Rail Accident Prediction ................................................................3-55 3.7 Airport Facilities ..............................................................................3-55 3.8 Pedestrian, Bicycle and Trail Facilities ....................................................3-58 3.8.1 Non-Motorized Attractions .............................................................3-58 3.8.2 Pedestrian Network (Sidewalks) ......................................................3-58 3.8.3 Bicycle Network .........................................................................3-59 3.8.4 Multi-Use Trail Network ................................................................3-59 3.8.5 Existing Pedestrian, Bicycle and Trail Plans .........................................3-61 3.8.6 Existing Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Trail Studies .....................................3-64 3.8.7 Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Data ...................................................3-66 3.9 Bridges .........................................................................................3-69 3.9.1 Inventory of Existing Bridges ..........................................................3-69 3.9.2 East-West Mobility & I-575 Bridges ...................................................3-73 3.10 Safety ..........................................................................................3-73 3.10.1 Active Crash Road Segments ...........................................................3-76 3.10.2 Active Crash Intersections .............................................................3-79 3.11 Roadway Characteristics .....................................................................3-83 3.11.1 Functional Classification ...............................................................3-83 3.11.2 Lanes ......................................................................................3-86 3.11.3 Surface Type .............................................................................3-86 3.11.4 Signals & ITS .............................................................................3-88 4 GOALS, OBJECTIVES & PERFORMANCE MEASURES .............................................. 4-1 4.1 Transportation and the Comprehensive Plan .............................................. 4-2 4.1.1 Community Vision ........................................................................ 4-2 4.1.2 Core Issues ................................................................................ 4-2 4.1.3 Preserve and Enhance Sense of Place and Historic Character ..................... 4-3 4.1.4 Land Use Definitions & Character Areas .............................................. 4-3 February 2016 iii Final Report Cherokee County Comprehensive Transportation