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Home My WebLink About5.F Traffic StudyFELSBURG IHOLT & ULLEVIG engineering paths to transportation solutions November 8, 2013 Mr. Joe White Director of Finance Colorado Rocky Mountain School 1493 County Road 106 Carbondale, CO 81623 RE: Pedestrian Volumes through the CRMS Campus FHU Reference No. 113300-01 Dear Mr. White: The following is the summary of the recent count program that was conducted on the Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CRMS) campus to determine the volume of pedestrians and bicyclists that use historic CR 106 through the campus between Satank Road on the north and Main Street (CR 106) on the south. The purpose of the study was to determine the number of individuals that might be affected if the historic CR 106 road right-of-way owned by Garfield County were to be abandoned and reverted to CRMS ownership. This abandonment would allow CRMS to increase the security of the campus and restrict the access of individuals that are not students, faculty, or employees. The study collected pedestrian and bicycle volumes (see Table 1) using video cameras that were placed on the north and south ends of historic CR 106 within the campus. Photographs of the cameras and their placement are shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3. The study was conducted during 14 hours of daylight (6:00 am to 8:OOpm) on Sunday, September 29, 2013 and on Monday, September 30, 2013. Since the campus has few street lights, conditions at night were too dark to get meaningful data. It was felt that representative volumes for both a weekend day and a typical weekday would be necessary to determine if use characteristics vary by day of the week. Both days had very good conditions for active transportation: clear skies, mild winds, and high temperatures between 68°F (Sunday) and 74°F (Monday). A total of 28 hours of video footage was reviewed by CRMS employees to count the number of one-way pedestrian and bicycle trips through the entirety of the portion of historic CR106. Individuals who made a round trip were counted as two. The reviewer(s) noted which direction individuals were traveling and, at the south entrance, whether they came from the west or went west toward the Crystal River bridge (CR 108). The footage was not clear enough to identify individuals. However, it was clear enough to determine if an individual entering at one end was the same one that exited the other end. Anyone who traversed one end or the other but did not travel straight through the campus was not counted. These individuals were considered either CRMS visitors or people cutting across other portions of CRMS property. People using alternate/unauthorized routes through CRMS property would not be affected by the proposed vacation. As shown in Table 1, there were 19 one-way trips through the entirety of the right of way on Sunday (9/29); all were bicyclists except one individual who was a pedestrian. There were 13 one - 6300 South Syracuse Way, Suite 600 Centennial, CO 80111 tel 303.721.1440 fax 303.721.0832 www.fhueng.com info@fhueng.com November 8, 2013 Mr. Joe White Page 2 way trips on Monday (9/30); two walking trips were made by the same individual — southbound initially and a return northbound two hours later. There was only one each day that came from/went toward the Crystal River bridge. As an element of the vacation of historic CR 106 through the campus, CRMS commits to extending the existing paved bike/pedestrian trail along the south side of Delores Way west from the western Town of Carbondale boundary where it currently terminates to the northern point of the portion of historic right-of-way that is the subject of the application. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is currently designing improvements to SH 133, including a bike/pedestrian trail along the west side of the road from Main Street to Delores Way. A comparison of the distances for the existing route from Satank to downtown Carbondale with the proposed new route shows that the proposed new route would be approximately 500 feet shorter. This is a decrease in the overall distance of slightly over nine percent. The only significant out of direction travel would be experience by bicyclists using the Crystal River bridge. However, there was only one individual taking this route each day. My conclusion from the data that was collected is that the abandonment of historic CR 106 through the CRMS campus and replacement with a new bike/pedestrian trail connection would not cause any degradation to current travel by pedestrians and bicyclists and would provide a slightly shorter distance. CRMS is committed to working with CDOT, Garfield County, and the City of Carbondale to provide a suitable alternative route between the Satank area and downtown so the security that they provide for their students and all others with business on their campus can be improved. If you have any questions regarding this information, please do not hesitate to call me at 303-721-1440. Sincerely, FELSBURG HOLT & ULLEVIG g-a14)t,4,Pe i,ht David E. Hattan, P.E., PTOE Associate Table 1 Date Hour Ped/Bike Number of people Heading Description 9/29/2013 09:OOam Bike 1 North from town man w/black puffy with yellow chariot 9/29/2013 09:00am Bike 2 North from town adult in red jacket, smaller person both on bikes 9/29/2013 09:OOam Bike 1 North from town mountain bike with courier bag 9/29/2013 10:00am Bike 3 South toward town woman w/trailer, woman brown puffy, child 9/29/2013 11:OOam Bike 1 South toward town man on cruiser w/dog unleashed 9/29/2013 12:OOpm Bike 1 North from town woman on cruiser w/courier bag 9/29/2013 01:OOpm Ped 1 North from town woman in white 9/29/2013 02:OOpm Bike 1 South toward river woman on cruiser with long puffy 9/29/2013 02:OOpm Bike 1 South toward town road biker purple/white 9/29/2013 02:OOpm Bike 1 South toward town road biker red 9/29/2013 02:OOpm Bike 1 North from town Charles Goure 9/29/2013 02:OOpm Bike 2 South toward town baggy blue coat on cruiser + another person 9/29/2013 03:OOpm Bike 2 North from town girl on cruiser, another with trailer 9/29/2013 04:OOpm Bike 1 North from town woman SS shirt on cruiser with handlebar basket 19 Sunday total 9/30/2013 08:OOam Bike 1 South toward town purple jacket w/red courier bag 9/30/2013 08:OOam Ped 1 South toward town woman in purple w/dog off leash 9/30/2013 08:OOam Ped 1 North from town same woman in purple w/dog off leash 9/30/2013 03:OOpm Bike 2 North from town two mountain bikers with backpacks 9/30/2013 03:OOpm Bike 1 North from town man with tan coat/white sleeves on mountain bike 9/30/2013 04:OOpm Bike 1 North from town road biker dark shorts handlebar bag 9/30/2013 05:OOpm Bike 1 North from town road biker in light blue shirt dark shorts 9/30/2013 06:OOpm Bike 1 North from town man on cruiser with black bag behind 9/30/2013 06:OOpm Bike 1 South toward river lime green jacket 9/30/2013 06:OOpm Bike 1 South toward town white/black checked shirt 9/30/2013 07:OOpm Bike 2 South toward town same two mountain bikers with backpacks 13 Monday total Figure 1 — Video Cameras at South End of Historic CR 106 Figure 2 — Video Cameras at South End of Historic CR 106 Figure 3 — Video Cameras at North End of Historic CR 106