[Ord. 8-14-1995, § 2500]
a.
Purpose. A traffic impact study shall be required as a prerequisite
to a zoning permit for the following uses:
1.
Residential land development or subdivision of 50 or more dwelling
units.
2.
Shopping Center.
3.
Commercial: A commercial building or buildings consisting of 25,000
square feet or more or total floor area.
4.
Office: A development consisting of 25,000 square feet or more of
total floor area.
5.
Industrial: A development consisting of 50,000 square feet or more
of total floor area or any truck terminal as a principal use.
6.
Institutional Hospital, Nursing Home or Institutional: A development
of 50,000 square feet or more total floor area.
7.
Any other use expected to generate greater than 100 new trips inbound
to the site or out bound from the site in site peak hour traffic,
or 1,000 trips per day.
b.
The traffic study shall be submitted with the preliminary plans.
This study will enable the Township to assess the impact of a proposed
development on highways and public transportation. Its purpose is
to identify any traffic problems and to delineate solutions.
[Ord. 8-14-1995, § 2501]
The traffic impact study shall be prepared by a qualified traffic
engineer and/or transportation planner with previous traffic study
experience. The procedures and standards for the traffic impact study
are set forth in Subsection a of this section.
a.
General Requirements and Standards. A transportation impact study
shall contain the following information:
1.
General Site Description. The site description shall include the
size, location, proposed land uses, construction staging and completion
date of the proposed development. A brief description of other major
existing and proposed land developments for which preliminary plans
have been submitted within the proposed study area shall be included.
The Township reserves the right to determine the study area at a preapplication
conference.
2.
Transportation Facilities Description. The description shall contain
a full documentation of the proposed internal and existing external
transportation system. This description shall include proposed internal
vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian circulation, all proposed ingress
and egress locations, all internal roadway widths and rights-of-way,
parking conditions, traffic channelizations and any traffic signals
or other intersection control devices at all intersections within
the site.
3.
Existing Traffic Conditions. Existing traffic conditions shall be
documented for all major roadways and intersections in the study area
and any other intersections or roadways the Township deems will be
affected by the proposed development. Existing traffic volumes for
average daily traffic, peak highway hour(s) traffic and peak development-generated
hour(s) traffic shall be recorded. Traffic counts at major intersections
in the study area and others which the Township deems will be affected
by the proposed development shall be conducted, encompassing the peak
highway and development-generated hour(s), and documentation shall
be included in the report. A volume/capacity analysis based upon existing
volumes shall be performed during the peak highway hour(s) and the
peak development-generated hour(s) for all roadways and major intersections
in the study area where those intersections which the Township deems
will be impacted by the proposed development. Based upon the Highway
Capacity Manual, Special Report 209 or as amended, this analysis will
determine the adequacy of the existing roadway system to serve the
current traffic demand. Roadways and/or intersections experiencing
levels of service D, E or F shall be noted as congested locations.
4.
Traffic Impact of the Development. Estimation of vehicular trips
to result from the proposed development shall be completed for the
average daily peak highway hour(s) and peak development-generated
hour(s). These development-generated traffic volumes shall be provided
for the inbound and outbound traffic movements as estimated, and the
I.T.E. Trip Generation Manual, 4th edition or as revised. All turning
movements shall be calculated. These generated volumes shall be distributed
and assigned to the existing roadways and intersections throughout
the study area for which existing conditions were identified in Subsection
a.3 above. Documentation of all assumptions used in the distribution
and assignment phase shall be provided. Traffic volumes shall be assigned
to individual access points. Pedestrian volumes shall also be calculated,
if applicable. If school crossings are to be used, pedestrian volumes
shall be assigned to each crossing. Any characteristics of the site
that will cause particular trip generation problems shall be noted.
5.
Analysis of Traffic Impact. The total future traffic demand shall
be calculated. This demand shall consist of the combination of the
existing traffic expanded to the completion year (using an annual
traffic growth rate available from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning
Commission), the development-generated traffic, and the traffic generated
by other proposed developments in the study area. Traffic generation
data shall be developed by the applicant from trip generation rates
or from other traffic impact studies if they are available. A second
volume/capacity analysis shall be conducted using the total future
demand and the future roadway capacity. If staging of the proposed
development is anticipated, calculations for each stage of completion
shall be made. This analysis shall be performed during the peak highway
hour(s) and peak development-generated hour(s) for all roadways and
major intersections in the study area which are deemed to be impacted
by the proposed development. Volume/capacity calculations shall be
completed for all major intersections. All access points and pedestrian
crossings shall be examined as to the feasibility of installing traffic
signals. This evaluation shall compare the projected traffic pedestrian
volumes to the minimum standards as found in the U.S. Department of
Transportation Federal Highway Administration Manual on Uniform Traffic
Control Devices or Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Publication
201, Engineering and Traffic Studies, Subchapter D, "Traffic Control
Restrictions." This shall be done prior to installation of a traffic
signal.
6.
Conclusions and Recommended Improvements. Levels of service for all
roadways and intersections shall be listed. All roadways and/or intersections
showing a level of service below C shall be considered deficient,
and specific recommendations for the elimination of these problems
shall be listed. This listing of recommended improvements shall include,
but not be limited to, the following elements: internal circulation
design, site access location and design, external roadway and intersection
design and improvements and widenings, traffic signal installation
and operation including signal timing, transit design improvements,
and reduced intensities of use. All physical roadway improvements
shall be shown in sketches. The recommended improvements for both
roadways and transit shall include, for each improvement, the party
responsible for the improvement, the cost and funding of the improvement
and the completion date for the improvement.
7.
Implementation. The Township Board of Supervisors shall review the
traffic impact study to analyze the impact of the proposed development.
If major problems are identified by the traffic impact study, or if
any intersection or segment of road would fall below level C as the
result of the proposed development, then the Board of Supervisors
shall:
