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Attachment 8 - Project Information Sheet from Engineering DivisionParks and Public Works Department • Engineering Division • 41 Miles Ave, Los Gatos, CA 95030 408.399.5771 • www.losgatosca.gov • www.facebook.com/losgatosca TOWN OF LOS GATOS PARKS AND PUBLIC WORKS PROJECT INFORMATION SHEET Engineering Division August 6, 2019 ITEM: 16212 Los Gatos Boulevard; APN: 523-06-010 and 523-06-011 Planned Development Application PD-17-002 Requesting approval of a Planned Development to re-zone two properties from CH to CH:PD to allow for construction of a new commercial building. PROPERTY OWNER/APPLICANT: 16212 Los Gatos Blvd., LLC Q: Where is the development project? A: The proposed development project is located at the northeastern corner of the intersection of Los Gatos Boulevard and Shannon Road. Q: What is the proposed use? A: The proposed development would construct a new two-story mixed-use commercial building with a total of 11,317 square feet of commercial space in addition to the existing commercial building which will remain. Q: How many additional trips will be generated by the project? A: Utilizing data from the Institute of Transportation Engineering’s (ITE) Trip Generation Manual, the project would generate 335 new average daily trips as compared to the current use as vacant land. This number includes 14 new trips during the AM peak hour and 34 new trips during the PM peak hour. Q: Did the proposed project complete a traffic study? A: Yes. In accordance with Town’s Traffic Impact Policy, a traffic impact analysis (TIA) is required for any private development projects that are expected to add 20 or more trips in the AM or PM peak hours. Q: How are AM and PM peak hours selected for any given intersection? A: The Town’s traffic consultants conduct traffic counts between 7:00 AM and 9:00 AM and between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM during weekdays when schools are in session for studied intersections. The one-hour duration with the highest traffic concentration (based on traffic counts) during both these morning and evening periods are selected as the peak hours. Q: How is the number of vehicle trips calculated? A: The number of vehicle trips generated by a development project is determined by using the applicable trip generation rate from the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual or alternative sources in accordance with the Town’s Traffic Impact ATTACHMENT 8 Parks and Public Works Department • Engineering Division • 41 Miles Ave, Los Gatos, CA 95030 408.399.5771 • www.losgatosca.gov • www.facebook.com/losgatosca TOWN OF LOS GATOS PARKS AND PUBLIC WORKS Policy. Use of the ITE trip generation rates for estimating the number of vehicle trips is a standard practice, and is also consistent with the VTA’s traffic impact analysis guidelines. Q: What can be done to reduce the number of vehicle trips generated by the project? A: Even though the project is not expected to cause significant traffic impacts, a TDM (Transportation Demand Management) plan would be required for the development. The TDM plan would include a list of measures for reducing single-occupant vehicle trips and encourage alternative transportation modes such as riding bicycles, carpooling, and riding transit. Q: Is any increase in traffic from a new development considered a significant impact to the nearby traffic intersections and surrounding area? A: No. The Town’s General Plan (GP) and Traffic Impact Policy define a significant traffic impact based on changes to the intersection’s Level of Service (LOS). Q: What is LOS and how does it determine the impacts of project traffic on the Town? A: Traffic engineering standards use LOS (Level of Service) to determine project traffic impacts. LOS represents traffic intersection congestion by a letter scale that ranges from LOS A to LOS F, with LOS A representing the least or no congestion. The Town’s Traffic Impact Policy and General Plan (GP) do not allow for developments to drop the LOS at an intersection by more than one level or below LOS D without requiring the development to mitigate or provide a “fix” for the increased traffic delay. A project TIA analyzes LOS at impacted intersections as a function of the average vehicle delay and determines the impact significance and any required mitigation. The impacts are only considered significant if the LOS drops more than one level or below a LOS D. Q: What are the TIA’s findings of the LOS impact for this project? A: For the currently proposed project, the TIA concluded that the intersections would not drop more than one level or below a LOS D. Therefore, the project would not create a significant impact on traffic. The intersections that were included in the analysis are: Blossom Hill Road and Roberts Road; Los Gatos Boulevard and Blossom Hill Road; Los Gatos Boulevard, Roberts Road and Shannon Road; and Los Gatos Boulevard and Nino Avenue. Q: Does this project trigger traffic impact mitigation fees to be paid to the Town? A: Yes. The Developer is required per Condition of Approval 92 to pay the project's proportional share of transportation improvements needed to serve cumulative development within the Town of Los Gatos as calculated using a comparison between the existing and proposed uses. The current amount based on the project plans is $311,550.00. Q: The plans show extensive changes to the offset intersection of Los Gatos Boulevard (LGB), Shannon Road and Roberts Road – why is that? Parks and Public Works Department • Engineering Division • 41 Miles Ave, Los Gatos, CA 95030 408.399.5771 • www.losgatosca.gov • www.facebook.com/losgatosca TOWN OF LOS GATOS PARKS AND PUBLIC WORKS A: The development plans include changes to the intersection recommended by the Town’s 2016 Safe Routes to School (SR2S) Report. These recommendations were included in the Town’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, which was adopted by the Town Council in March of 2017. The goal of the Master Plan improvements is to increase safety for the public and for schoolchildren who are walking and biking to Van Meter and Blossom Hill Elementary, Fisher Middle and Los Gatos High Schools. Town staff has also required added safety improvements where needed. Q: Will the lane removed along the Los Gatos Boulevard (LGB) project frontage, with turn lanes remaining for Magneson Loop and Blossom Hill Road, result in the same functionality of the roadway as currently exists? A: Yes. Los Gatos Boulevard (LGB) has two northbound through lanes coming up to the intersection with Shannon and these two through lanes continue past Blossom Hill Road. The existing lane on LGB next to the project frontage is called a “receiving lane” that effectively acts as an extension of the right turning lanes for both Magneson Loop and Blossom Hill Road. It does not add capacity for through traffic on Los Gatos Boulevard. Q: Will removing the northeast “pork chop” island at Los Gatos Boulevard (LGB) and Shannon Road affect the right turn traffic flow from Shannon Road to Los Gatos Boulevard? A: No. Currently, the right turn lane from Shannon has a “No Right on Red” sign posted so it provides no traffic flow benefits beyond what is proposed with the project. The “No Right Turn on Red” sign will remain after project completion. The project improvements include a new dedicated right turn lane from Shannon to LGB. Q: Why is the crosswalk across Los Gatos Boulevard being moved from Shannon Road north to Roberts Road? A: This change will increase pedestrian safety by moving the crosswalk from a busy crossflow traffic intersection to a higher visibility, lower crossflow intersection. Additionally, the change will reduce the crosswalk’s length, which increases pedestrian safety. The new 10’ sidewalk will provide a safe place for pedestrians to cross the street, with the extra space helping for a.m. school time periods. Q: What additional public improvements will be completed with the project? A: Additional public improvements include the following: • Widening of the sidewalk along northbound Los Gatos Boulevard to a width of ten (10) feet between Shannon Road and Magneson Loop and separating the sidewalk from traffic with a planter strip for safety. • Widening of the sidewalk along the westbound Shannon Road frontage and separating the sidewalk from traffic with a planter strip for safety. • Installing a protected green bike lane along the project’s Los Gatos Boulevard frontage. Parks and Public Works Department • Engineering Division • 41 Miles Ave, Los Gatos, CA 95030 408.399.5771 • www.losgatosca.gov • www.facebook.com/losgatosca TOWN OF LOS GATOS PARKS AND PUBLIC WORKS • Installing a bike box on westbound Shannon Road to allow for bicyclists to queue ahead of vehicular traffic for left turns onto southbound Los Gatos Boulevard. • Removing and replacing the existing pavement section along the project’s Shannon Road frontage with a traffic-appropriate engineered structural pavement section from centerline to the lip of gutter on the north side of the street, or alternative pavement rehabilitation measures as approved by the Town Engineer. • Removing and replacing the existing pavement section along the project’s Los Gatos Boulevard frontage with a traffic-appropriate engineered structural pavement section from centerline to the lip of gutter on the east side of the street. The following schematic diagram of the improvements was included in the Town’s 2016 SR2S Report: Figure 1: Concept Plan Line drawing, Safe Routes to School Report; accepted by Council 10/18/2016 Q: Does the Town Engineering staff or the Town's engineering consultants have concerns with the proposed project creating safety issues regarding traffic? A: No. The project analysis for traffic was conducted by the developer’s traffic consultant and subsequently reviewed by Town’s engineering staff and the Town’s traffic consultant. As currently designed, the proposed project meets the Town Code requirements as well as accepted engineering standards.