EXISTING CONDITIONS ASSESSMENT Prepared for: Arapahoe County Public Works and Development 6924 S Lima St Centennial, CO 80112 Prepared by: Felsburg Holt & Ullevig 6 400 S Fiddlers Green Circle, Suite 1500 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 303.721.1440 FHU Reference No. 118294- 01 January 2021 TABLE OF CONTENTS 5. Safety ......................................................... 32 5.1 LRSP Crash History .............................. 32 1. Introduction .................................................. 1 5.2 LRSP Methodology............................... 33 2. Community Profile ...................................... 2 5.3 Summary of LRSP Results .................. 37 2.1 Demographics ......................................... 2 5.4 Existing Safety Summary .................... 37 2.2 Quality of Life ........................................... 8 6. Transit Services ......................................... 38 2.3 Travel Patterns ........................................ 9 6.1 Regional Transportation District ....... 38 3. Roadway System........................................ 10 6.1.1 Bus and LRT Service .......... 38 3.1 Roadway Classification ........................ 10 6.1.2 Bus and LRT Ridership ...... 40 3.2 Express Lanes ........................................ 14 6.1.3 FlexRide .................................. 41 3.3 Roadway Conditions ............................. 14 6.1.4 Park and Rides ...................... 41 3.4 Transportation Technology................. 17 6.2 Bustang ................................................... 42 4. Traffic Conditions ...................................... 19 7. Mobility and Accessibility Services ......... 43 4.1 Traffic Congestion ................................. 19 7.1 RTD Access-a-Ride .............................. 43 4.1.1 Arapahoe Road .................... 22 7.2 Littleton Shopping Cart ....................... 43 4.1.2 Belleview Avenue ............... 22 7.3 Omnibus .................................................. 44 4.1.3 Bowles Avenue/ Littleton 7.4 Via Mobility Services ........................... 44 Boulevard .............................. 23 7.5 Midtown Express .................................. 44 4.1.4 Broadway .............................. 23 8. Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities ............. 45 4.1.5 Buckley Road ....................... 24 8.1 Pedestrian Facilities ............................. 45 4.1.6 Dry Creek Road/Easter Avenue ................................... 24 8.2 Bicycle Networks .................................. 45 4.1.7 Gun Club Road/Aurora 8.3 Pedestrian and Bicycle Crashes ....... 48 Parkway ................................. 25 9. Travel Demand Management Programs . 52 4.1.8 Hampden Avenue ............... 25 9.1 Northeast Transportation 4.1.9 Iliff Avenue/ Jewell Avenue Connections ........................................... 52 .................................................. 26 9.2 Transportation Solutions .................... 52 4.1.10 Mineral Avenue .................... 26 9.3 Denver South ......................................... 52 4.1.11 Parker Road .......................... 27 10. Current County Capital Improvement 4.1.12 Platte Canyon Road/ Federal Program ..................................................... 53 Boulevard .............................. 27 4.1.13 Quincy Avenue .................... 28 Appendices 4.1.14 Santa Fe Drive...................... 28 Appendix A. Arapahoe County Local Road 4.1.15 Smoky Hill Road .................. 29 Safety Plan Executive Summary 4.1.16 University Boulevard .......... 29 4.1.17 Yale Avenue ......................... 30 4.2 COVID-19 Effects .................................. 30 Existing Conditions Assessment i List of Figures Figure 5-3. LRSP Study Intersections – Total (all Crashes) LOSS ............. 35 Figure 2-1. Arapahoe County 2020 Figure 5-4. LRSP Study Intersections – Household Density - Severe (Injury and Fatal Countywide ...................................... 4 Crashes) LOSS .............................. 36 Figure 2-2. Arapahoe County 2020 Figure 6-1. RTD Transit Service ..................... 39 Household Density – West Area ......................................... 5 Figure 6-2. Light Rail Station Average Daily Ridership (pre-COVID) ................ 40 Figure 2-3. Arapahoe County 2020 Employment Density – Figure 8-1. Key Pedestrian Infrastructure – Countywide ...................................... 6 West Area ....................................... 46 Figure 2-4. Arapahoe County 2020 Figure 8-2. Existing and Planned Bicycle Employment Density – Network – West Area ................. 47 West Area ......................................... 7 Figure 8-3. Pedestrian and Bicycle Figure 2-5. Transportation Master Plan Crashes – 2013-2017 .................. 48 Survey - Responses ....................... 9 Figure 8-4. Pedestrian Crash Locations – Figure 3-1. Existing Roadway Information – 2013-2017 ....................................... 49 Countywide ..................................... 12 Figure 8-5. Bicycle Crash Locations – 2013- Figure 3-2. Existing Roadway Information – 2017 .................................................50 West Area ........................................ 13 Figure 8-6. Bicycle & Pedestrian Fatal Figure 3-3. Planned Future Express Crash Locations 2013-2017 ........ 51 Lanes ................................................ 15 Figure 3-4. Existing Roadway Conditions – Countywide ..................................... 16 List of Tables Figure 3-5. County Transportation Table 2-1. American Community Survey Technology Inventory .................. 18 (2014–2018) ..................................... 3 Figure 4-1. Roadway Traffic Counts – Table 2-2. Arapahoe County Origins and West Area ...................................... 20 Destinations (2017) ........................ 9 Figure 4-2. Roadway Traffic Counts .............. 21 Table 6-1. Park and Ride Utilization ............. 41 Figure 4-3. Weekday Traffic Travel Time Table 10-1. County Capital Improvement Index Comparison ......................... 31 Program – through 2025 ........... 53 Figure 4-4. Weekend Traffic Travel Time Index Comparison ......................... 31 Figure 5-1. Crash Types (All Crashes) .......... 32 Figure 5-2. Crash Types (Severe Crashes) . 33 Existing Conditions Assessment ii 1. INTRODUCTION Growing population, funding realities/opportunities, and rapidly changing technologies continuously affect transportation in Arapahoe County. The County is geographically and demographically diverse. The western portion of the County is where congestion, delay, and bottlenecks have the most impact on vehicular travel, and multimodal infrastructure and programs present opportunities for travel mode choice. The central portion of the County is where new development is occurring and the transportation network is transitioning from rural to suburban/urban, so planning and integrating transportation and land use needs are essential. Further east, the rural area of the County will require new transportation facilities and connections for pockets of growth and development, additional mobility options, and design focused on increased safety. This existing conditions report provides an overview of current travel patterns and trends within Arapahoe County, the condition of transportation infrastructure, current safety conditions, transportation services, and projects in the current County Capital Improvement Program. Existing Conditions Assessment 1 population is approximately 637,000, with most 2. COMMUNITY PROFILE of the population found within the incorporated Arapahoe County varies significantly in terms of county land (85.2 percent) and only 14.8 percent land use. From a west side that is mostly urban found within the unincorporated land (based on and suburban with residential, schools, retail, Colorado Department of Local Affairs [DOLA] office, and industrial areas, to the wide-open, 2018 estimates). Most of the population agricultural, and sparsely populated rural areas identifies as White, but less so than other areas on the east side. The county has an elongated when compared to the whole state of Colorado. east-to-west form, spanning 806 square miles. Conversely, African Americans and Asian Unincorporated land makes up 79 percent Americans have a higher share of the population (635 square miles) of the county, found in Arapahoe County than in the state of predominantly within the rural east side. Out of Colorado. the 13 incorporated communities within the county, 11 are located within the western Vehicle availability stays in par with the state’s one-third. These are Littleton, Sheridan, share, with 5 percent of households having no Englewood, Aurora, Foxfield, Glendale, Cherry vehicle available. Travel to work by driving alone Hills Village, Columbine Valley, Bow Mar, is higher in the County compared to that of the Greenwood Village, and Centennial. The rural region. Around 85 percent of commuters use a eastern portion has the incorporated towns of personal vehicle for driving to work, either by Bennett and Deer Trail, while the towns of driving alone (77.6 percent) or by carpooling Byers, Strasburg, and Watkins are currently (8.4 percent). About 7 percent of the population unincorporated. works from home and 4.2 percent takes transit, a higher proportion than the rest of Colorado. 2.1 Demographics Conversely, fewer people walk or bike when traveling to work (Table 2-1). Based on the latest American Community Survey (2014–2018) Arapahoe County Existing Conditions Assessment 2 Table 2 -1 . American Community Survey (2014–2018)