§ 5.05.01. Vehicular traffic impact analysis—Method.

The transportation concurrency review will be made by the county on the basis of the VTIA submitted by an applicant as a part of the transportation concurrency application. The VTIA for a proposed development shall be certified (signed and sealed) by a Florida registered professional engineer or certified professional transportation planner. Adjustments or modifications to the information and analysis presented in the VTIA may be requested by the applicant. The VTIA requirements may be modified or adjusted on a development-by-development basis by the county. All deviations from the above-mentioned VTIA methodology must be made in consultation with and receive approval from the county. A pre-application conference may be requested by the applicant with the county to determine the assumptions of the VTIA.

The VTIA is required to include the following minimum analysis, as well as any additional analysis identified by the county at the pre-application conference.

A.

Trip generation. Trip generation calculations for the proposed development shall be based on rates and equations found within the current version of ITE's Trip Generation Handbook or an independent study in accordance with procedures agreed upon by the county. Trip generation shall be based on a.m. and p.m. peak-hour volumes. The total trips, internal trips, pass-by trips and total external trips are required to be presented in the trip generation analysis. Internalization and pass-by capture shall be calculated in accordance with the methodologies outlined in ITE's Trip Generation Handbook. The trip generation, internalization, and pass-by assumptions must be accepted by the county.

Peak hour trip generation assumptions may be adjusted if the assumptions submitted by the applicant are found by the county to be acceptable. The applicant shall demonstrate that effective measures will be employed that will cause the peak traffic generation characteristics of the proposed development to be significantly lower than the characteristics of a development of the same type on which the peak trip generation factors are based. For the purposes of impacts to the roadway network, a project's trips (net new trips) are equal to the trip generation minus any applicable internal and pass-by capture.

B.

Trip assignment. The assignment of projected trips on the roadway network should be determined by reviewing the existing and proposed land uses in the vicinity of the development through build-out of the proposed development or by use of the County's Florida Standard Urban Transportation Model Structure (FSUTMS). The trip assignment for the development shall be approved by the county.

C.

Study area. The study area for a development shall be all roadway segments whose peak-hour service capacity is impacted by greater than 30 peak-hour two-way trips by the development. A roadway segment that is impacted by more than 30 peak-hour two-way trips is considered a significantly impacted segment.

D.

Level of service standards for roads (peak-hour).

1.

Adopted level of service volumes. Level of service determinations shall be made for the peak-hour, and shall be based on peak-hour, two-way volumes. The minimum acceptable level of service for all roads within the county shall be as identified in the Okeechobee County Comprehensive Plan. The level of service capacity thresholds shall be based on the standards contained in the Florida Department of Transportation's 2002 Quality/Level of Service Handbook (or the most current version) for the appropriate area type as determined by the county. Roadways maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation shall be analyzed using level of service volumes in the "State Two-Way Arterials" section of Tables 4.4, 4.5 or 4.6, depending on area type as determined by the county. All other roadways shall be analyzed using Okeechobee County's 2007 Capacity Analysis Collector Study. All other roadways shall use the most appropriate level of service capacities in the 2002 Quality/Level of Service Handbook (or the most current version) for the appropriate area type as determined by the county. Adjustments shall be made as applicable to the level of service capacities consistent with the "arterial/non-state roadway adjustments" standards referenced above.

2.

Existing plus committed volumes. Trips from approved development within the county that add traffic to the roadway network, as well as trips from development outside of the county that add traffic in excess of five percent of the adopted roadway level of service capacity, shall be included as committed trips. Additionally, an annual ambient growth rate shall be applied to existing traffic volumes until the estimated time of project buildout to create ambient traffic volumes. The county shall supply the roadway growth rates. The remaining capacity on roadways and the level of service determination shall be based on a comparison of background (ambient plus committed) plus project traffic with the level of service capacity as described in this section. Refer to section 5.02.02 for a determination of which committed development is included in the calculation of background traffic volumes.

If the total (background plus project traffic) volumes exceed the level of service standard for one or more segments, the applicant may choose one or more of the following options:

a.

Mitigate the roadway segment by adding lanes as necessary to accommodate total traffic at build-out of the development.

b.

Prepare a more detailed arterial analysis of the failing roadway segments. This detailed analysis shall conform to the methodologies outlined in the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Highway Capacity Manual 2000 or current version and shall account for signal spacing, signal timings, and projected intersection turning movement volumes at each signalized intersection. The limits of a detailed arterial analysis shall be a minimum of two miles in length as determined by the county.

E.

Intersection analysis. Major intersections located on and at the end points of significantly impacted segments shall be analyzed for capacity purposes. A major intersection is defined as the intersection of two or more arterial or collector roadways. The intersections shall be analyzed based on the methodologies outlined in the FHWA's Highway Capacity Manual 2000 or the most current version. Each approach of the intersection shall maintain the level of service of the roadway segment on which it lies.

In the case that the intersection does not operate at an acceptable level of service with the addition of traffic from the development, the applicant may identify potential signal timing, phasing, or geometric improvements that would result in the intersection operating at an acceptable level of service.

F.

Access analysis. Access analysis shall be provided for all proposed site-related driveways. The analysis shall include a review of existing turn lanes and median treatment. The VTIA must demonstrate that proposed turn lanes will accommodate the proposed total queue and deceleration length. The deceleration length shall be based on the 2006 Design Standards or current version published by the Florida Department of Transportation, Index #301. The queue length shall be based on methodologies outlined in the FHWA's Highway Capacity Manual 2000, Florida Department of Transportation's Plans Preparation Manual or current version, or other methods as approved by the county. If the proposed turn lane will not accommodate the future traffic, the TIA shall identify mitigation measures to accommodate the future traffic.

If access is provided via one or more directional median openings or right-in/right-out driveways, a U-turn analysis shall be provided as necessary to identify the impacts of additional U-turns created by the development and potential mitigation measures if necessary.

(Ord. No. 2009-04, § 1(Attch. 1), 12-17-09)