LTC 038-2005 Traffic Impact Study for the Meridian Project
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
Letter to Commission No. 038-2005
m
To:
From:
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. GonzalezJ' "-- /'
City Manager i.V ()
TRAFFIC IMPA . T STUDY FOR THE MERIDIAN PROJECT
Date: February 7,2005
Subject:
After being brought to our attention by Commissioner Gross that the developer of The
Meridian project at 2001 Meridian Avenue had not completed a Traffic Impact Study for
such development, the developer was directed to conduct a study prior to completion of the
project. The traffic analysis was completed, the developer was directed by City staff to
make some changes and the final version has been reviewed and approved by our Public
Works Department.
The Level III Traffic Impact Analysis concludes that there will be no change to the Level of
Service (LOS) of Dade Boulevard and Meridian Avenue; however, there would be
additional delay at the intersection of Dade Boulevard and Meridian Avenue that can be
corrected by signal optimization. If necessary, once the project is completed, the City will
request the County to make the appropriate traffic signal timing adjustment.
In summary, the Traffic Impact Study concludes that the levels of service are within the
adopted City standard and standard for non-state roads and, therefore, the project does
not contribute any significant traffic impact to the existing roadway capacity. Based on the
foregoing conclusions, the Public Works Department has approved the study.
A copy of the Traffic Impact Study withoutthe appendixes which contain the technical data
is provi d a;!~hment.
\~I
rt C. Middaugh, Assistant City Manager
H. Beckmann, Director of Public Works
F:IWORK\$ALLI(1) EMPLOYEE FOLDERSIOLUCY LLOPISIL TCIThe Meridian Project.doc
THE MERIDIAN
Level 111- Traffic Impact Study
2001 Meridian Avenue
Miami Beach, Florida
By:
~'."" A./.,.
r\~
RICHARD GARCIA a. ASSOCIATES, INC.
Revised
December 2004
----
ENGINEER'S CERTIFICATION
I, Richard Garcia, P.E. # 54886, certify that I currently hold an active Professional
Engineers License in the State of Florida and am competent through education
and experience to provide engineering services in the civil and traffic engineering
disciplines contained in this report. In addition, the firm Richard Garcia &
Associates, Inc. holds a Certificate of Authorization # 9592 in the State of Florida. I
further certify that this report was prepared by me or under my responsible charge
as defined in Chapter 61 G 15-18.001 F.A.C. and that all statements, conclusions
and recommendations made herein are true and correct to the best of my
knowledge and ability.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
PROJECT LOCATION:
Level III TIS- The Meridian
2001 Meridian Avenue Miami Beach, FL.
/z(z7~
Date
The Meridian
Traffic Impact Study
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................ ....... ...................... ........................ ............................ 1
2.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION / LOCATION ...................................................................................... 2
3.0 TRI P GEN ERA TlON ............................... ..................................................................... ................. 3
3.0 TRI P GENERATION ......... ................... .............. ........................................ .................. ................. 4
4.0 TRAFFIC DISTRIBUTION .............................................................................................................. 5
5.0 TRAFFIC ASSIGNMENT .............................................................................................................. 6
6.0 TRAFFIC COUNTS ...................................................................................................................... 7
7.0 LEVEL OF SERVICE ANALYSIS ................................................................................................... 9
8.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................... 12
~~ RICHARD GARCIA & ASSOCIATES, INC.
The Meridian
Traffic Impact Study
1.0 Introduction
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the associated traffic with the
proposed development of the Meridian project located at the Northeast
corner of Meridian Avenue and Dade Boulevard in the City of Miami Beach,
Florida. Additionally, the traffic impacts to the adjacent roadways were
evaluated for the existing and proposed conditions for the Daily and PM
Peak Hour conditions.
This report follows the methodologies adopted by the Institute of
Transportation Engineer's (ITE) Trip Generation, and Traffic Impact Studies
Manual. Lastly, this report has evaluated the following:
. Trip Generation
. Traffic Distribution
. Traffic Assignment
. Traffic Counts
. Existing Condition Level of Service
. Proposed Condition Level of Service
. Conclusions & Recommendations
Lastly, this revised report addresses the comments made by the City of
Miami Beach's traffic consultant.
~~ RICHARD GARCIA & ASSOCIATES, INC.
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The Meridian
Traffic Impact Study
2.0 Project Description I Location
The subject project is located on the Northeast corner of Meridian Avenue
and Dade Boulevard in the City of Miami Beach. Meridian Avenue is a two-
lane undivided local road. Dade Boulevard is a four-lane local road with
exclusive and shared left turn lanes.
The following land use, as identified by the Institute of Transportation
Engineers (ITE), most closely resembles the proposed development. This land
use is as follows:
. Land Use 231: Low-rise Residential Condo w/111 DU (Dwelling Units)
Previously the site was a vacant lot. Site access is provided via a full
ingress/egress driveway which is located to the north of the property on
Meridian Avenue. This driveway is located approximately 300 feet north of
the referenced intersection, respectively. Figure 1 depicts the site's location
map.
~~~ RICHARD GARCIA & ASSOCIATES, INC.
2
TIle MerIilJJm Traftk Impact Study
FIgure 1: Location Map
~ RIctwm GAItctA & Assoc:lATES, INC.
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The Meridian
Traffic Impact Study
3.0 Trip Generation
The trip generation characteristic for the subject project was obtained from
ITE's Trip Generation Manual, 7th Ed. ITE's Land Use 231: Low-Rise Residential
Condominium was used to determine the trip generation rates and totals for
the proposed development.
The Trip Generation calculations results of the proposed improvements are
summarized below. The ITE rates and percentages for both the Average
Weekday Two-way Volume and PM Peak Hour Trips are included in
Appendix A. Table 1 below summarizes the greatest traffic impact
associated with the subject development, which occurs during the PM peak.
Table 1: Trip Generation
PM PEAK HOUR TRIPS
ITE ITE TRIP IN OUT TOTAL
LU GENERATION
Land Use (LU) Units CODE RATE
Low-Rise Residential
Condo 111 DU 231 0.78 50 37 87
Gross Vehicle Trips 50 37 87
~ RICHARD GARCIA & ASSOCIATES, INC.
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The Meridian
Traffic Impact Study
4.0 Traffic Distribution
The Traffic Analysis Zone (TAl) for the subject development is TAl 617 as
assigned by the Metropolitan Planning Organization's (MPO). The County's
TAl are included in Appendix B.
The corresponding traffic distribution being assigned to the following
directions are outlined in Table 2. Appendix B includes a TAZ Map and the
corresponding Direction Distribution Summary for this zone.
~~A RICHARD GARCIA & ASSOCIATES, INC.
Table 2: Cardinal Distribution
DIRECTION
DISTRIBUTION %
NHE
ENE
E$E
SSE
saw
WSW.
wNW,
',..,
15.43
1.29
1.49
8.45
14.92
26.99
15.69
15.72
TOTAL
100.00
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The Meridian
Traffic Impact Study
5.0 Traffic Assignment
The PM peak hour trips as well as the daily trips from Table 1 have been
distributed and assigned to the existing adjacent roads. As evident from trip
generation calculations, the PM peak hour represents the worse case. Table
3 was developed to depict the PM Peak Hour Assignments. Appendix C
includes the ingress and egress traffic distribution with the corresponding
assignments to the North, South, East and West for the PM peak hour and
Daily Trips. Table 3 is the cardinal traffic assignment which are further
grouped as indicated into the four primary quadrants. This assignment was
further modified by reducing the loading to the North by 50% as instructed
by the City.
Table 3: PM Peak Hour Traffic Assignments
PM Peak Trips
DIRECTION
IN
NNE
ENE.
IS$E
SSE
SSW.
.~.
WWi.
N,.w
8
1
1
4
7
13
8
8
TOTAL
50
OUT
6
1
1
3
5
10
6
6
38
Assignment:
North
East
South
West
~~ RICHARD GARCIA & ASSOCIATES, INC.
Total
14
2
2
7
12
23
14
14
88
7+7=14
2+2=4
7+12=19
30+21=51
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The Meridian
Traffic Impact Study
6.0 Traffic Counts
Traffic data collection consisted of 48-hour Automatic Traffic Recorders (ATR)
also referred to as "tube counts". Additionally, peak hour traffic with the
subject development and within the existing roadway network was during
the PM peak hour. As such, a two-hour Turing Movement Count (TMC) was
conducted at the intersection of Meridian Avenue and Dade Boulevard.
The following is a summary of the data collection efforts. Table 4 shows the
Average Annual Daily Traffic on the two links analyzed. Similarly, Table 5 has
the existing PM Peak Hour TMC's totaled by approach and intersection.
Table 4: AADT Calculations
ROADWAY
AVE AADT
NAME AT DIR ADT Calculation AADT
EXISTING CONDmON 'seasonallY Adlusted)
WB 10753 10860
Dade Blvd West of Meridian Avenue EB 12888 13016 24,000
LINK 23640 23876
NB 747 755
Meridian Avenue North of Dade Blvd. SB 935 945 1,700
LINK 1683 1699
Appendix D contains Tables T-l, T-2 and T-3 which includes a summary of the
counts taken and the volume adjustments made to the data collection as
well as the proposed traffic volumes for the Daily and PM peak hour.
~~~ RICHARD GARCIA & ASSOCIATES, INC.
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The Meridian
Traffic Impact Study
Appendix E contains the 48-hour Automatic Traffic Recorder (ATR) volume
counts made at Dade Boulevard and Meridian Avenue in 15-minute
intervals. This is often referred to as "Raw Data".
Table 5: Turning Movement Counts
INTERSECTION
NAME APPROACH MOVEMENT PM PEAK HR COUNT
SBR 246
SOUTHBOUND SBT 57
SBl 249
TOTAL 500
WBR 325
WESTBOUND WBT 890
WBl 20
MERIDIAN AVE & TOTAL 1235
DADE BLVD. NBR 92
NORTHBOUND NBT 26
NBl 3
TOTAL 121
EBR 3
EASTBOUND EBT 695
EBl 144
TOTAL 842
TOTAL 2698
IR~ RICHARD GARCIA & ASSOCIATES, INC.
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The Meridian
Traffic Impact Study
7.0 Level of Service Analysis
Two Level of Service (LOS) Analyses were performed to assess the impacts of
the proposed development. The first was a link LOS and the second was an
intersection LOS. The link LOS was performed on Dade Boulevard and
Meridian Avenue consistent with the data collection for the existing and
proposed condition. Tables 6 and 7 depict these results, respectively.
Table 6: Existing Link LOS
ROADWAY
Jurisdictional
NAME AT AADT Classification LOS
EXISTING CONDIOON (Seasonally Adlusted)
Dade Blvd West of Meridian Avenue 24,000 Non-State D
Meridian Avenue North of Dade Blvd. 1,700 Non-State C
As evident from the results in these tables the link LOS does not change and
remains at LOS D for Dade Boulevard and LOS C for Meridian Avenue for
both the seasonally adjusted existing condition as well as the proposed
conditions with the development's project traffic. Lastly, these LOS results
are consistent with LOS standards for these types of roads.
~~ RICHARD GARCIA & ASSOCIATES, INC.
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The Meridian
Traffic Impact Study
Table 7: Proposed Link LOS (with project traffic)
ROADWAY
Jurisdictional PROPOSED
Link NAME AT AADT Classification LOS
PROPOSED CONDIOON (WIth Project Traffic)
1 Dade Blvd West of Meridian 25,900 Non-State D
Avenue
2 Meridian North of Dade Blvd. 2,100 C
Avenue Non-State
Notwithstanding the link LOS analysis results, an intersection analysis was
performed for the same conditions. Appendix F contains the signal timing
obtained from Miami-Dade County Signal and Signs Division while Appendix
G contains the Signal2000-Capacity Analysis Summary. The intersection
most impacted by this development is the intersection of Dade Boulevard
and Meridian Avenue. As such a PM peak hour analysis was performed for
the following conditions:
~ Seasonally Adjusted Existing Conditions
~ Proposed Condition (Background & Project)
~ Optimized Proposed Condition
The existing conditions yielded an LOS C with 33.2 seconds of delay. The
proposed condition resulted in a LOS E+ with a corresponding delay of 59.0
seconds. Finally, while maintaining the existing 100 second cycle length, the
Signal Optimization yielded an LOS D with a delay of 50.9 seconds.
~~ RICHARD GARCIA & ASSOCIATES, INC.
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The Meridian
Traffic Impact Study
Although all conditions meet the LOS standards for this roadway it is clear
that sufficient capacity exist to accommodate this development. Therefore,
it is not recommended that the signal timing be modified at this time. We
merely ran the optimization condition to demonstrate that improvements
can easily be made should the need arise.
~~ RICHARD GARCIA & ASSOCIATES, INC.
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The Meridian
Traffic Impact Study
8.0 Conclusion and Recommendations
The Trip Generation calculation results of the proposed development are 87
vehicles per hour (VPH) in the PM peak, and 870 trips during an Average
Weekday. The Daily and Peak hour trips have been distributed and
assigned to the adjacent roadways. The link Level of Service (LOS) analysis
yielded no change from the existing condition to the proposed condition.
That is, Dade Boulevard remained at LOS D and Meridian Avenue at LOS C
for both the seasonally adjusted existing condition as well as the proposed
conditions.
The intersection analysis of Dade Boulevard and Meridian Avenue had some
additional delay that resulted in the LOS C for the existing condition to
become LOS E+ for the proposed conditions. However, a signal optimization
yielded an LOS D which is indicative of reserve capacity. That being said, it
is not recommended that the signal timing be modified at this time. We
merely ran the optimization condition to demonstrate that improvements
can easily be made should the need arise. Moreover, the cycle length
could be increased along this section of roadway to obtain additional
capacity.
These Levels of Service are within the acceptable LOS standard for Non-
State roads. As such, this project does not contribute any significant traffic
~~~ RICHARD GARCIA & ASSOCIATES, INC.
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The Meridian
Traffic Impact Study
impact, as sufficient roadway capacity exist. Therefore, this development
should be granted development approval.
~~ RICHARD GARCIA & AsSOCIATES, INC.
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