Requirement. The maintenance of a safe transportation
network is important to the public safety and welfare. The need to
identify all hazards or problems created by proposed development is
an essential step for the protection of the public and the assurance
of orderly land development patterns.
Traffic studies will be required for all fast-food
stores, convenience stores, banks and any facilities with a drive-in
window, other commercial facilities of over 20,000 square feet, housing
developments of over 50 houses, developments with 95 parking spaces
or more or other developments as reasonably required by the Consolidated
Land Use Board of Mansfield Township.
The transportation impact report is designed to identify
the traffic impacts that are generated by a proposed use or uses and
to identify all improvements required to ensure safe ingress to and
egress from, maintenance of adequate roadway capacity and elimination
of hazardous conditions as related to proposed development or developments.
A detailed description of the highway network
within the study area, a description of the proposed land uses, the
anticipated stages of construction and the anticipated completion
date of the proposed land development shall be provided. This description,
which shall be in the form of a map at a scale of at least one inch
equals 400 feet, shall include the following terms: all major intersections,
all proposed and existing ingress and egress locations, all existing
roadway widths and rights-of-way, all existing and proposed public
transportation services and facilities within the study areas and
the eighty-fifth-percentile speed.
In addition, any changes to the highway network
within the study area project shall be mapped and described. This
description shall include the above items, as well as any proposed
construction project that would alter the width and/or alignment of
the present highway. All sources of such information shall be identified
with reference to the title, author, date and publisher.
The study area shall include areas that are
impacted by the development. The study area should be confirmed with
the traffic consultant for the Consolidated Land Use Board of Mansfield
Township consultant prior to beginning the traffic study.
A twenty-four-hour traffic count shall be conducted
for a period of three weekdays (Monday to Friday) on all roadways
which have direct access to the proposed development site. Prior to
conducting traffic counts, the applicant shall submit a map identifying
the location(s) for said site to the traffic consultant and seek approval
to conduct counts at the specified locations. The existing average
daily traffic volume and the highest average peak hour volume for
any weekday hour between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and
6:00 p.m. shall be recorded. Where such counts are conducted at intersections,
delineation of all turning movements shall be made on fifteen-minute
intervals. These traffic volumes shall be averaged to determine the
average hourly peak traffic volumes and a projection of the thirtieth-highest
hour volume for the three days between Monday and Friday. The applicant
shall make available, upon request, all worksheets and field data
used to generate figures documenting existing traffic conditions.
Alternate traffic counts may be required during weekend or other peak
time periods to anticipate seasonal variations in recreational traffic
or other peaking characteristics. This requirement will be at the
discretion of the traffic consultant, based upon the use proposed.
All commercial activities will require Saturday
hourly directional counts and will require manual turning movement
counts between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Proposed plan. The transportation impact of
the proposed project shall provide accurate data on the traffic conditions
of roads in the immediate vicinity of the proposal at the time it
is actually developed.
Transportation impact of the development. The
average weekday trip generation rates and the highest average hourly
a.m., p.m. and Saturday trip generating rates for the proposed use
shall be determined from the Institute of Transportation Engineers'
trip generating report of comparable source information recognized
by the traffic engineering profession. (Note: For most highways in
Mansfield Township, the peak hours occur between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00
p.m., except as required for seasonal evaluations. On such roads,
the worst time condition of the road is unlikely to change solely
because single use has different peak hours. Large development of
regional impact may, however, alter this generalization; hence, data
for both time periods must be provided.)
Calculate roadway levels of service. Roadway
service volumes shall be calculated for all roadways in the study
area utilizing the latest Highway Capacity Manual and the New Jersey
Department of Transportation (NJDOT) approved software.
Levels of service shall be calculated for existing
conditions, future conditions without site traffic and future (build
out) conditions with site traffic.
Calculated intersection levels of service. Intersection
levels of service shall be calculated for all intersections in the
study utilizing the latest Highway Capacity Manual and NJDOT approved
software.
Levels of service shall be calculated for existing
conditions, future conditions without site traffic and future (build
out) conditions with site traffic.
Analysis of transportation impact. The future
projected traffic, as determined above, will be assessed on the area
transportation network. The analysis will determine the existing level
of service, the future level of service in the year of build out and
the future level of service at build out. In addition, improvements
that may be required to determine an adequate level of Service C in
the future will be determined. The applicant will determine the percent
impact of the site on the various impacted roadways and intersections,
any improvements needed to achieve level of Service C in the future,
the cost of these improvements and the developer's fair share contribution
for these improvements.
If violation of state or federal air quality
standards is found to exist or will result from the proposed development,
the applicant will be required to pay a pro rata share of the cost
necessary to make the required improvements to meet the state or federal
air quality standards. Since development will not be allowed without
this improvement in place, the developer that causes this violation
may have to stage development or pay for the entire improvement to
be allowed to develop fully.
Traffic control devices. Whenever, as a result
of additional traffic generated by a proposed development, the Manual
on Uniform Traffic Control Devices determines the need for traffic
signals or regulatory signs, the developer shall be responsible for
securing all permits prior to obtaining final approval of all traffic
devices and signs. If the traffic signal is warranted by the traffic
that is produced by the development or would not be required without
this development, the applicant shall be required to provide the traffic
signal or bond for the full cost of the construction of
the traffic signal.
Pedestrian circulation plan. A pedestrian circulation
plan shall be created indicating the route and volume relationships
of pedestrian traffic from sources such as recreation, work, schools,
churches, etc., within the project boundary and within one mile of
the project boundary and shall be assessed for adequacy.