HomeMy WebLinkAboutComments PWT 1/29/2008
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Memorandum
City of Springfield
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Date: January 29,.2008
To: , Steve Hopkins, Planner II
,From: Gary McKenney, P.E., Transportation Engineer
Subject: SUB2007-00077 Thurston Elementary Site Review'
The Transportation Division has reviewed the materials provided with the subject application. '
The recommended findings and conditions outlined below' are provided for yoUr use in preparing
the land-use decision.
General
Finding: The subject property is an 11.4-acre parcel located at 7345 Thurston Road (Map 17-02-
35-00, Tax Lots 02100 and 02600). The existing use is an elementary school. Approval of this'
proposal would allow construction of a replacement school on the site and demolition of the
existing buildings. Site access and parking facilities would be revised.
TransDortation Facilities and ImDacts
Findin{!: Thurston Road abats the school site on the north and provides the primary route of
vehicular and pedestrian access. It is a 36-foot-wide, two-lane, arterial street with on-street
bicycle lanes and a posted speed of 40 MPH. The roadway is improved with paving, curb/gutter,
and a sidewalk on the south side ofthe street that provides pedestrian access to/from developed
neighborhoods to the west. Three 135-watt LPS street lights are located along the south side of
Thurston Road: one each at the east and west site boundaries, and one near the middle of the site
frontage. Traffic volume on Thurston Road is approximately 1,800 vehicles per day. Lane
Transit District Routes 8x and 11 provide bus service via a stop located on 69th Street,
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approximately 600 feet west of the site.
Findim>;: Because the proposed school construction would replace the existing,school building
with no enrollment increase, the overall amount of traffic generated by use of the site would not
significantly change. The applicant submitted a Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) that analyzed
anticipated impacts of the proposed development. The TlA examined school-zone signing,
transit facilities, non-motorized facilities, vehicle crash history on Thurston Road and large.
,vehicle circulation. The TIA conCludes that the proposed school redevelopment will not cause
significant adverse impact to operation of the existing transportation facilities serving the site.
Site Access and Circulation
Findim>;: Existing vehicular access to the school is as follows:
· A 37-foot wide driveway at the western site boundary serves a staff/visitor parking area,
· A 46-foot wide driveway near the middle of the site serves as entrance'to a narrow
parking area along the front of the school building, and
Date Received' ' I : z- q - 0 "6
Plan'ner: SH
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DRC2007-00077 Thurston Elementary Site Review
January 29, 2008 .
Page 2 of2
. A 25-foot wide driveway near the eastern site boundary serves as the parking lot exit and
provides access to the rear portion of the site.
Secondary pedestrian access to the school is provided by a 10-foot wide paved pathway
extending southward across the school site and connecting to 'B' Street in the Beanel Acres
Subdivision.
Findim!: The applicant proposes to construct the new school building with approximately 400
feet of setback from Thurston Road to allow for separation of school bus and staff/visitor access
and circulation. A single 24-foot wide driveway at the western site boundary would provide
ingress/egress for a new staff/visitor parking lot extending along the western edge of the site and
parent pick-up/drop-off space on a loop roadway bordering the west side of the school building.
Bus access is proposed via a 24-foot wide driveway centered on the site frontage. A looped on-
site roadway would provide one-way circulation through the pick-up/drop-off:area. These
facilities would avoid mixing staffYvisitor traffic with school bus traffic.
Recommended Condition: Provide and maintain adequate vision clearance triangles at
the corners of all site driveways per SDC 32.070. {
Findinl!: In addition to vehicular trips, the uses on the site 'will generate pedestrian and bicycle
trips. According to the "Household" survey done by LCOG in 1994, 12.6 percent of household.
trips are made by bicycle or walking and 1.8 percent are by transit bus. These pedestrian and
bicycle trips may create the need for sidewalks, pedestrian crossing signs or signals, crosswalks,
and bicycle lanes.
The applicant proposes to re-align the sidewalk on the south side of Thurston Road toa location
just inside the property boundary, thus creating space for a landscape strip between the sidewalk
and curb. To maintain public access to this sidewalk it will be necessary to provide a Public
Sidewalk Easement over that portion of the realigned sidewalk lying within the school property.
Recommended Condition: Provide a Public Sidewalk Easement over that portion of the
realigned Thurston road sidewalk lying within the school property.
Findinq: Construction of proposed and required public improvements will require permitting,
plan review and approval via the city's Public Improvement Project (PIP) process.
Recommended Condition: Construction of public improvements as proposed and
conditioned' in this decision shall be processed via the city's Public' Improvement Project
(PIP) process.
Findim!: As conditioned, existing and proposed transportation fadlities would be adequate to
safely accommodate the volume of vehicular and pedestrian traffic generated by the proposed
development.
Please provide a copy 'of the draft Decision for my review prior to issuing the final decision.
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Date Received:
Planner: SH