Manara-CS090518 (2)
i5i HALFF
May 18, 2009
Mr. John Polster
Innovative Transportation Solutions, Inc.
2701 Valley View Lane
Farmers Branch, Texas 75234
RE: T1A review for City of Coppell- Manara Academy
Dear Mr. Polster:
At your request, and on behalf of the City of Coppell, Halff Associates, Inc. (Halff)
conducted a review of a Traffic Impact Analysis (T1A) and Traffic Management Plan
(TMP) produced by Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. (Kimley-Horn) for the proposed
Manara Academy public charter school to be located on the east side of Heartz Road just
south of Sandy Lake Road in Coppell, Texas. The school is scheduled to open in the fall
of 2009 with an approximate enrollment of 350 students in grades K - 5, and reach
maximum capacity of 500 students in grades K - 8 by the 2012 - 2013 school year.
According to the TIA, the site currently houses a church and school with a small student
enrollment. The Manara Academy is requesting a revision to the existing special use
permit, which covered prior school uses on the site up to 400 students.
The school site has three access points along Heartz Road, which runs along the west side
of the site, and one access point along London Way, which runs along the east side of the
site. The London Way access point is gated and will only be used for emergency access.
The north access point on Heartz Road would operate as an entrance only drive serving
the parking lot and student drop-off / pick-up activities, and the middle access point
would operate as an exit only drive. The south access point on Heartz Road serves a
hammerhead fire lane area that covers the south side of the school building.
Traffic Impact Analysis Review
Kimley-Horn used standard traffic engineering methodology to develop the T1A for this
project. The TIA is a comprehensive report that details trip generation and distribution
assumptions, includes current (2009) traffic count data in the study area, evaluates
projected impacts to two nearby intersections, adjacent City streets, and site driveways,
and provides recommendations for accommodating school-related traffic. The TIA also
includes several versions of a TMP for accommodating student drop-off and pick-up
activities on the site.
HALFF ASSOCIATES, INC.
1201 NORTH BOWSER ROAD
RICHARDSON. TX 75081-2275
TEL (214) 346-6200
FAX (214) 739-0095
1
WWW.HALFF.COM
55! HALFF
The trip generation and distribution assumptions prescnted in the report seem valid, based
on the supporting information included in the report. Background traffic volumes at the
study intersections and along Heartz Road adjacent to the school site were estimated
using a 1 % annual growth ratc, which is typical in developed, established neighborhoods
and is supported by historical traffic count data along Heartz Road in the study area.
Total projected traffic volumes were developed for two analysis scenarios, a study year
2009 analysis with a student population of 350, and a study year 2012 analysis with a
student population of 500. Peak period intersection analyses were conducted at two
nearby intersections, Heartz Road at Sandy Lake Road and Heartz Road at Bethel School
Road, during the AM, school PM, and commuter PM peak hours for the background and
total volume (background plus site traffic) scenarios for both study years. Peak periods
intersection analyses were also conducted at the entrance and exit drives along Heartz
Road for the two total volume scenarios. The intersection analyses were conducted using
the Synchro software package, which is based on procedures outlined in the Highway
Capacity Manual.
The results of the intersection analyses indicate that the school traffic will have little
impact on the overall operations of the Heartz Road intersections with Sandy Lake Road
and Bethel School Road. Both intersections are projected to operate at an acceptable
overalllevel-of-service (LOS) C or better for all analysis scenarios, with no geometric or
traffic control modifications needed at either location. Furthermore, all movements at the
study intersection are also projected to operate at a LOS C or better for all analysis
scenarios. At the two major site driveways (north, or entry drive, and middle, or exit
drive), the minor movements are projected to operate at a LOS C or better for all analysis
scenarios.
Kimley-Horn also conducted roadway link analyses along Heartz Road to evaluate the
impacts the school would have over a typical 24-hour weekday period. The results of the
link analyses indicate that Heartz Road has adequate reserve capacity to accommodate
school traffic (500 students) and projected background traffic volumes in the study year
2012 and maintain a LOS C operation.
Traffic Management Plan Review
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Kinley-Horn developed a TMP for the school to manage student drop-off and pick-up
activities. The school is limited to essentially the north and middle drives along Heartz
Road to accommodate school traffic. (As mentioned, the south drive on Heartz Road
serves only a hammerhead fire lane area, and the drive on London Way is gated for
emergency use only.) These limitations mean that all school-related traffic, including
buses, must enter the site at the north drive and exit at the middle drive. The critical time
period for schools is typically the school PM peak hour, when parents and buses queue up
. on-site and around the school to wait for students to be released.
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iii HALFF
The TMP and associated on-site queuing analyses assumc afternoon pick-up operations
are staggered into three shifts, separated 15 minutes apart. The queuing analyses also
assume that bus loading operations are scheduled after the majority of the parent loading
operations have taken place.
Halff has several concerns with the TMP developed for Manara Academy, which are
summarized below:
· The TMP as presented is very labor intensive and requires a significant amount of
coordination between school staff. Nine staff members are shown on the TMP
exhibits. An additional staff member is recommended at the north (entry) drive '< b", ~
intersection with Heartz Road to ensure that buses could exit the drive without a ) W\o()~
vehicle entering in the double-stack queue lane and blocking the bus's egress. All
of the staff members would need to be in constant contact through thc use of two-
way radios. With a projected staff of 40 by the build out year 2012, the proposed
plan requires at least 25% of the school staff to operate the loading operations
each day.
· The TMP requires staff members to be well-trained in the traffic management .
plan, and able to identify problems and make adjustments to the loading
operations quickly. These staff members must also execute the plan every day,
regardless of the weather conditions, in order for it to operate successfully.
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· The plan mixes parent and bus traffic, and routes them in opposing directions on
the site. Buses would have to cross over the parent queue in order to reach the
bus loading area on the east side of the school building, and would then be forced
to wait at the loading area until the double-stacked queue lane was cleared, before
exiting out of the north (entry) drive. Full-size buses may have trouble turning
the corners on the southeast and northeast sides of the drive aisle (parallel to
London Way), especially if parents queued in the primary queue lane are in large
SUV s or are queued towards the middle of the drive aisle. Parking along the far
north side of the site nearest to London Way may have to be restricted in order to
allow buses to make the turn from the north-south drive aisle paralleling London
Way to the east-west drive aisle along the north side of the site. (Placing a
turning template for a 30-foot long single-unit vehicle on the plan, these turns will
be very tight for the SU, and will thus be even tighter for a full-size bus.)
· The TMP indicates that up to 18 parking spaces on the north side of the site would ,
have to be restricted to off-peak use only, in order to accommodate the proposed
traffic shift in the near-term management plan. The school must be diligent in
enforcing the peak period parking restrictions in order to have room for the
proposed traffic shift.
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iii HALFF
. The TMP requires parents to be educated and cognizant of the plan, and to abide
by the proposed pick-up time schedules. Parents could add to the projected
queues presented in the report if they choose to enter the site before their
scheduled pick-up time. The proposed staggered pick-up times could pose a
problem for parents that are picking up multiple students that have different
designated pick-,up times.
. Kimley-Horn presents an alternate bus access plan that utilizes the existing
hammerhead fire lane at the south driveway along Heartz Road. This would
require buses to execute three-point turns on the site, and would only provide
enough on-site stacking space for two to three buses. A dedicated bus lane could
be constructed in this area by shifting the existing drive further south towards the
school's property line and looping the drive around to the north and west, along
the southwest side of the school building. A new drive along Heartz Road would
be constructed between the relocated south drive and the existing middle drive so
that the south drive would operate as "entrance only" and the.new drive would
operate as "exit only". This dedicated bus lane could still be designated as a fire
lane, with only buses allowed to drop off and pick up students during the peak
periods, and the lane could be constructed to store up to five buses. During the
rest of the school day use of the drive would be restricted. This would separate
the buses from the parents during peak school times, and would simplify the TMP
operations.
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Based on a thorough review of the TIA for Manara Academy, there appears to be
adequate reserve capacity along Heartz Road and at the Heartz Road intersections with
Sandy Lake Road and Bethel School Road to accommodate the projected school traffic in
the build out year 2012 and still maintain acceptable LOS C operations. The proposed
TMP included in the TIA does present some concerns, which have been outlined above.
I f you have any questions regarding these issues, please contact me at (214) 217-6441.
Sincerely,
~~/L-
Stephen Moore, P .E.
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Estimate of Probable Construction Cost for the Horseshoe Bus Drive
From:
Woodard. Paul (PWoodard@Halff.com)
Wed 5/20/09 5:30 PM
Sadak Shaik (sadak.shaik@gmail.com)
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Michelle Alkhatib
(michelle@manaraacademy.org)
Attachments:
Halff Standard.gif (1.2 KB), 20090520162903.pdf (292.5 KB)
,...\~~
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Sadak,
Attached is a small sketch of the horseshoe bus drive.
Stephen Moore reiterated that the horseshoe was recommended.
I have used unit costs which were recently included in a March 2009 estimate for a separate project of Halffs.
Costs include the following:
Existing paving demolition, 4500sf x $2.75/sf = $12,375
Bus Drive Subgrade preparation, 7500sf x $1. 75/sf = $13,125
New Bus Drive Paving, 7500sf x $7.00/sf = $52,500
New Walkway, 800sf x $7.00/sf = $4,200
.
Walk Repair, 200sf x $7.00/sf = $1,400
Erosion Control Measures, Lump sum of $5,000.
Sub - Total Cost: $88,600
Contractor's OH & P at 18%: $15,948
Total Cost: $104,548
Thank you - good luck with the P&Z presentation.
.=....= HALFF
Paul Woodard, AlA
Project Manager
I
HALFF ASSOCIATES, INC.
.
1201 North Bowser Road
Richardson, Texas 75081
Phone 214-217-6651
Fax 214-739-0095
www.halff.com
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5/21/2009 4:27 PM