TO: Mayor Collins and Town Council Members
FROM: Kevin Burke, Town Manager
DATE: September 28, 2017
DEPARTMENT: Town Manager
Staff Contact Kevin Burke, Town Manager
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AGENDA TITLE:
Title
Indian Bend Traffic Calming Measures
Body
Town Value(s):
☐ Primarily one-acre, residential community
☐ Limited government
☒ Creating a sense of community
☐ Partnerships with existing schools and resorts to enhance recreational opportunities
☐ Improving aesthetics/creating a brand
☐ Preserving natural open space
The Palmeraie development by Five Star, connected to the Ritz Carlton, represents a high density land use with significant traffic volumes on the border of Paradise Valley. In order to preserve a sense of community, including the quiet residential feel of Paradise Valley, while maintaining convenient traffic flow for Town residents, requires a well-conceived traffic calming plan on Indian Bend Road. This agenda item attempts to accomplish this objective.
Council Goals or Statutory Requirements:
Infrastructure - For efficient and effective execution, review and seek improvements for the planning, timing and coordination of infrastructure maintenance and enhancement.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends Option B which constructs a roundabout at the entrance to Palmeraie on Indian Bend; however, options A, B, and C all achieve the objective noted above.
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
Background
Traffic calming on Indian Bend Road was part of the January 2016 Development Agreement (D.A.) between the Town of Paradise Valley and Five Star Development concerning what is generally known as the Ritz Carlton parcel. Below is a quick history of related actions:
- Five Star and Town of Paradise Valley (TPV) TPV agreed that Palmeraie (the commercial element of the project split between Paradise Valley and Scottsdale) traffic should be prioritized to enter the development at 6750 N. Scottsdale Road. This is the current signalized intersection that enables movement into and out of the Spectrum. It was projected at time of the D.A. that such entrance would require a double left turn lane.
- City of Scottsdale (COS) did not approve this. They prioritized the Palmeraie traffic to enter at Indian Bend.
- Because COS prioritized Palmeraie traffic to Indian Bend, the “Ritz Carlton Resort Master Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA)” dated November 2015 called for traffic calming on Indian Bend (Executive Summary page 4, first bullet and Future Rodway Improvements page 29-31).
- Per the D.A. (2.3.5.9), Five Star, TPV and COS met to discuss these traffic impacts and possible traffic calming solutions on Indian Bend. In the early summer of 2016, a traffic calming measure called “the Swoop” was identified as the best solution by all parties. This mirrors the street improvement on Chaparral immediately west of Scottsdale Road and represented a similar transition between a commercial use and a residential use. [See Option A drawings]
- The Swoop would be constructed on Indian Bend in the COS by Five Star. Therefore, the COS approved it as part of their TIA in the Spring of 2017.
- In June 2017, the Paradise Valley Town Council reviewed the traffic calming measure. While the Members agreed that the “Swoop” deterred cut-through traffic on Indian Bend, they also agreed that it interrupted the flow of traffic for many PV residents who use this collector street. Therefore, while the swoop was left on the table for consideration, other options were requested with a priority on traffic flow.
Options
This study session item will present two new options in addition to a “no traffic calming” option and the “Swoop” (Option A). A description of the options, their design and their traffic impact analysis can be found in the attached document titled IBR ADT Comparison. In the “no traffic calming” option, traffic on Indian Bend, from Mockingbird to the Town limits, effectively doubles from 3,190 vehicle trips per day to 6,120. The intersection at Mockingbird and Indian Bend reduces from a level-of-service (LOS) A to a LOS C.
Each option is looking to achieve the primary goal of maintaining traffic flow given higher vehicle volumes and achieve the secondary goal of traffic calming through reduced traffic counts and/or lower speeds west of Palmeraie.
Option B, which might be referred to as the Palmeraie Roundabout, presents many of the same traffic calming qualities as Option A (the Swoop). It reduces overall traffic on the western part of Indian Bend by 18% compared to the “no traffic calming” scenario or said differently, rather than a doubling of traffic on this section, traffic only increases 57%. That achieves the secondary goal. The primary goal of traffic flow is achieved with the use of a roundabout at the entrance to Palmeraie. Contrary to the Swoop, which required eastbound traffic on Indian Bend to come to a complete stop at the Palmeraie entrance, Option B has a roundabout which allows for uninterrupted travel if the roundabout is not occupied. This traffic calming option also returns the Mockingbird intersection to a LOS A.
Option C, which could be referred to as the Mockingbird Roundabout with chicanes, constructs a roundabout at Mockingbird and Indian Bend and chicanes from Mockingbird to the existing roundabout at Ritz Carlton Boulevard. The Palmeraie entrance would have a two-way stop for those entering Indian Bend allowing east-west traffic to flow uninterrupted. As evidence by the vehicle count, the flow of traffic is largely unimpeded in this option. Option C reduces traffic by 4% over the “no traffic calming” scenario, but would reduce speeds on Indian Bend significantly with the use of chicanes.
Staff recommends option B due to its ability to flow east-west traffic, reduce traffic volume on the western portion of Indian Bend, and maintain the Mockingbird Intersection at a LOS A.
This agenda item is somewhat time sensitive as the Development Agreement with Five Star requires the Town start design working on street improvement “promptly” upon the issuance of vertical building permit. The permit for the perimeter wall meets this definition and was issued earlier in September.
BUDGETARY IMPACT:
Costs of street improvements on Indian Bend are the responsibility of Five Star according to the Development Agreement.
ATTACHMENT(S):
IBR ADT Comparison