Far Rockaway Central Business District (CBD) – Traffic Study Draft Report January 2014 Far Rockaway Central Business District (CBD) Traffic Study PIN# X760.79 The preparation of this report has been financed in part through funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration under the Federal Act of 1965, as amended, and the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, as amended. This document is disseminated by the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) in the interest of information exchange. It reflects the views of the NYCDOT which is responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented. The report does not necessarily reflect any official views or policies of the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, or the State of New York. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. Prepared by: New York City Department of Transportation Polly Trottenberg, Commissioner Lori Ardito, First Deputy Commissioner Bruce Schaller, Deputy Commissioner Ryan Russo, Assistant Commissioner Dalila Hall, Queens Borough Commissioner Naim Rasheed, Project Director Michael Griffith, Deputy Project Director Eva Marin, Project Manager Hau Cho Li, Highway Transportation Specialist Carren Simpson, Highway Transportation Specialist Ali Jafri, Highway Transportation Specialist Harvey LaReau, City Planner Md Sharif Al Kamal, Highway Transportation Specialist Milorad Ubiparip, Highway Transportation Specialist TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ____________________________________________________________________________________ S.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... S-1 1.0 INTRODUCTION............. ....................................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Setting the Context ............................................................................................................. 1-1 1.2 Study Area .......................................................................................................................... 1-2 1.3 Goals and Objectives .......................................................................................................... 1-4 2.0 DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS............. .................................................................................. 2-1 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 2-1 2.2 Population Trends .............................................................................................................. 2-2 2.3 Household Characteristics .................................................................................................. 2-5 2.4 Journey to Work ................................................................................................................. 2-8 3.0 LAND USE AND ZONING ..................................................................................................... 3-1 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 3-1 3.2 Zoning ................................................................................................................................ 3-1 3.3 Land Use ............................................................................................................................ 3-7 4.0 TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION ................................................................................. 4-1 4.1 Street System and Roadway Characteristics ...................................................................... 4-3 4.2 Trip Generators and the transit Hub ................................................................................... 4-5 4.3 Traffic Data Collection ...................................................................................................... 4-6 4.4 Network Traffic Volumes .................................................................................................. 4-9 4.5 Street Capacity and Level of Service (LOS) .................................................................... 4-11 4.6 Existing Traffic Conditions .............................................................................................. 4-14 4.7 Corridor Travel Speeds .................................................................................................... 4-18 4.8 Goods Movement ............................................................................................................. 4-19 5.0 PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION .............................................................................................. 5-1 5-1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 5-1 5.2 Bus Service ........................................................................................................................ 5-1 5.3 2011 and 2012 Bus Ridership ............................................................................................ 5-3 5.4 Rail Service ........................................................................................................................ 5-5 5.5 2011 and 2012 Subway Ridership ...................................................................................... 5-5 6.0 PARKING ................................................................................................................................. 6-1 6.1 Off-Street Parking .............................................................................................................. 6-1 6.2 On-Street Parking ............................................................................................................... 6-5 7.0 PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS ......................................................................................... 7-1 7.1 Far Rockaway Urban Design Initiatives ............................................................................ 7-1 7.2 Existing Conditions Pedestrian Analysis ......................................................................... 7-13 7.3 Bicycle Facilities .............................................................................................................. 7-21 i 8.0 CRASHES AND SAFETY ...................................................................................................... 8-1 8.1 Study Area – Reportable Crashes Analysis (2010-2012) ................................................... 8-1 8.2 Crash Analysis Using KSI & Corridor Traffic Safety Software (2007-2011) ................... 8-3 9.0 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND COMMUNITY INPUT ................................................. 9-1 10.0 PRELIMINARY RECOMENDATIONS ............................................................................ 10-1 11.0 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 11-1 ii LIST OF TABLES Page _____________________________________________________________________________________ Table 2-1: Population by Area .......................................................................................................... 2-2 Table 2-2: Study Area Population by Census Tracts (1990-2010) ................................................... 2-3 Table 2-3: Study Area Demographic/Socio-Economic Data ............................................................ 2-5 Table 2-4: Queens Demographic/Socio-Economic Data .................................................................. 2-5 Table 2-5: New York City Demographic/Socio-Economic Data ...................................................... 2-5 Table 2-6a: 1990 Journey to Work by Mode ...................................................................................... 2-9 Table 2-6b: 2000 Journey to Work by Mode .................................................................................... 2-10 Table 2-6c: 2010 Journey to Work by Mode .................................................................................... 2-11 Table 3-1: Zoning Districts within the Study Area ........................................................................... 3-3 Table 4-1a: Unsignalized Intersection Level of Service (LOS) Criteria ........................................... 4-12 Table 4-1b: Signalized Intersection Level of Service (LOS) Criteria ............................................... 4-13 Table 4-2a: Traffic Capacity Analysis for Signalized Intersections - 2012 EX Conditions ............. 4-15 Table 4-2b: Traffic Capacity Analysis for Unsignalized Intersections - 2012 EX Conditions ......... 4-16 Table 4-3: Corridor Travel Speeds PM Peak .................................................................................. 4-18 Table 4-4: Truck Volumes by Peak Hour ....................................................................................... 4-20 Table 5-1: 2011 & 2012 Bus Ridership ............................................................................................ 5-4 Table 5-2: Average Frequency (in minutes) ..................................................................................... 5-4 Table 5-3: 2011 & 2012 Study Area Subway Ridership ................................................................... 5-6 Table 6-1: Off-Street Parking Facilities Capacity & Utilization ....................................................... 6-3 Table 6-2: On-Street