It USED to be True: Melrose Ave. Traffic

Continued from: It USED to be True: OUP Building Height

Then I read the statement "Traffic from OUP will add at least 1500 cars a day to Melrose Ave." This one takes more time to explain.  

According to the latest Iowa DOT traffic counts Melrose Ave. currently carries 13,000 cars per day. Given the reductions in height and length, as well as taking a portion of the commercial space for a community center, the number of total units in One University Place drops and correspondingly the traffic decreases.  The most glaring portion of the statement is “at least.” CURRENT estimated traffic counts, (see below) from MPOjc are 20% below this number. The type of commercial as well as the final occupancy of the residential units could result in even  lower numbers. 1,500 cars daily would represent the upper range of potential traffic rather than the floor. 

So like building height, when talking about a project that is nearly 30% smaller than it was, it used to be true that a prediction of 1500 cars could be made.

Another important factor is WHEN any vehicles from OUP would be entering/exiting. Furthermore one

must also take in to consideration the improvement of the realignment of the Sunset/Melrose intersection in terms of total traffic performance.

The information below comes from the September 13, 2011 MPOjc Traffic report

http://university-heights.org/BuildZoneSanit/OUP/0913council/MPOjcTraffic.pdf

One University Place Daily Trip Summary
Residential condominiums	200 in 200 out
Quality Restaurant	180 in 180 out
Specialty Retail	205 in 205 out
Community Center	30 in 30 out
Total	1230 vehicle trips 615 round trips

MPOjc numbers would represent a 9% increase in total Melrose traffic

Peak hour traffic is very important to study, especially comparing the current load to an increased load                                                  

Current Melrose
Peak Hour traffic	AM hour	PM hour
East bound	756	687
West bound	303	955
Peak Hour Total	1059	1642

                                                                                               

OUP Peak Hour Trip Summary:	AM hour	PM hour
Residential condominiums	6 in 25 out	25 in 11 out
Quality Restaurant	5 in 5 out	20 in 10 out
Specialty Retail	30 in 30 out	11 in 14 out
Community Center	5 in 5 out	5 in 5 out
Peak Hour Total	111 vehicle trips	101 vehicle trips

OUP adds 10% to the AM peak hour

OUP adds 6% to PM peak hour

83% of OUP traffic comes OUTSIDE of peak hour times

The statement below comes from the June 24, 2011 MPOjc Traffic report

http://university-heights.org/BuildZoneSanit/OUP/JulyMPOjcReport.pdf

If the Melrose Avenue and Sunset Street intersection is re-aligned, the north/south split phasing and all-way pedestrian phase could be eliminated. These modifications would allow additional “Green Light” time to eastbound and westbound traffic during peak hours of the day, reducing average vehicular delay and increasing Level of Service. It is recommend to re-align the Melrose Avenue and Sunset Street intersection in conjunction with the proposed development.