| |  Traffic Simulation - May 29, 2009Simulation Analysis (excerpted from Traffic Study)
In order to fully assess the future traffic conditions with the addition of the project and all planned improvements within the project area, a simulation of the roadway network in the vicinity of the project area was created. The purpose of the simulation analysis is to evaluate the effect of adding new development, the proposed traffic signal at the El Camino Real/Cherry Street intersection, and the proposed changes to the Downtown San Carlos roadway network. The analysis was conducted using the Synchro 6 and SimTraffic software packages. Synchro 6 is used to model and optimize traffic signal timings, and employs the 2000 Highway Capacity Manual (2000 HCM) methodology. SimTraffic is a microscopic traffic simulation software package that utilizes input and output data from Synchro 6 to simulate traffic operations on roadway networks.
View the Traffic Simulation Video Below
Transit Villiage - Traffic Report Simulation Video. from City of San Carlos on Vimeo.
The results of the queue analysis show that at the intersection of El Camino/Holly the northbound through traffic currently extends to the south intersection of El Camino/San Carlos during the PM peak hour.
Under both project and cumulative conditions, the northbound through queue would continue to extend beyond the south intersection during both the AM and PM peak hours. Additionally, the southbound left turn queue storage capacity is shown to be inadequate for the expected queue length under project and cumulative conditions. With implementation of the San Carlos Avenue improvements and the shift in eastbound traffic from San Carlos Avenue to Holly Street, the eastbound queue at El Camino/Holly would extend beyond the western intersection of Laurel/Holly under cumulative conditions.
The westbound through traffic on Holly Street at Old County Road is projected to extend beyond the east intersection of Industrial/Holly during the PM peak hour under both project and cumulative conditions.
As the main gateway for the City of San Carlos to and from US 101, Holly Street serves a relatively large amount of traffic. The projected deficiency is due to the increase in future traffic for a movement that is currently reaching capacity.
At the intersection of El Camino Real and San Carlos Avenue, the maximum queue during the AM peak hour on the eastbound approach is shown to be longer than the existing queue storage capacity, causing it to extend back beyond the western intersection of Laurel Street and San Carlos Avenue. Under cumulative conditions, this capacity would be reduced by half with the elimination of one of the eastbound lanes, and although the volume is also projected to decrease by approximately half, this movement would continue to extend beyond the western intersection. The east leg of the intersection is shown to be inadequate to serve the existing queue. However, this leg would be eliminated with the development of the project.
The queue analysis shows extended queues for various movements under project and cumulative conditions. This is expected due to the projected increase in traffic as a result of future growth, including the proposed project, for movements that are currently at or close to be at capacity.
For informational purposes only, a queue analysis of the existing traffic volumes under the proposed future roadway network (with the San Carlos Avenue improvements in place) was performed. This analysis showed that if the San Carlos Avenue improvements were to be implemented today, traffic conditions would slightly improve for some of the movements analyzed, such as the northbound through movement along El Camino Real. This is due to the reduced traffic on northbound El Camino Real as a result of the elimination of the northbound left-turn and one of the northbound right-turn lanes at El Camino/Holly. However, the eastbound movements at El Camino/Holly would extend beyond the western intersection, as projected under cumulative conditions, and the eastbound movement at El Camino/San Carlos also would continue to extend beyond the western intersection.
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