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Building E, Suite 110
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www.SRFA.N 'r 585.272.4660
Trq#ic Eng; coins&Planning Consultants 585.272.4662 f a x
December 10, 2010
Village of Cayuga Heights
836 Hanshaw Road
Ithaca, New York 1,41850
Attn: Mr. Brent Cross
RE: The Parkway-Northway Road- E Upland Road
Village of Cayuga Heights
Transportation Operations and TCAT Bus Route Evaluation
Dear Mr. Cross:
We have completed an evaluation of transportation
operations and conditions in the immediate area , .,
surrounding Cayuga Heights Elementary school in the = " "
Village of Cayuga Heights, New York.
The purpose of this detailed engineering study is to
document the existing characteristics and operations of
t: X
the roadway network and intersections surrounding thej
school, and provide recommendations regarding any °
safety or operational issues pertaining to vehicular and
pedestrian traffic and TCAT bus travel on these Existing TCAT
roadways. The existing route of the TCAT buses is Bus Route
depicted in the graphic to the right. Below that is an - --
alternative route that the TCAT buses used previously.
Alternate T
Our findings are summarized in the letter below.
Bus Route
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Existing Peak Hour Conditions
In an effort to establish existing traffic conditions around
the school, turning movement counts were collected at ;
the following study area intersections.
• The Parkway/Northway Road/School driveway a 'r
• Triphammer Road/Northway Road/Midway Road
• Triphammer Road/E. Upland Road s`
• The Parkway/E. Upland Road
The counts were performed on November 5t" 2010 from 7:15-8:15 AM and 1:45-3:45 PM. The
intersection of The Parkway/Northway Road/school driveway was counted from 1:45-5:30 PM to
Transportation Operations and TCAT Bus Route Evaluation Village of Cayuga Heights,NY
account for driveway traffic associated with the afterschool program. The afternoon peak hour occurred
between 2:45-3:45 PM. Pedestrians and TCAT buses were also counted at the study intersections. The
peak hour turning movement counts are depicted in Figure I. TCAT bus peak hour volumes are
illustrated in Figure 2 and the pedestrian volumes are shown in Figure 3.
24-Hour Traffic Data Collection
Radar-based traffic data collection devices were installed at the following four locations:
• The Parkway north of Northway Road
• The Parkway south of Northway Road
• Northway Road north of The Parkway, and
E. Upland Road between Triphammer Road and The Parkway
Twenty-four hour traffic data was collected October 19th through October 20th, 2010. The device
recorded volume and speed data for a twenty-four hour period. Graphical illustrations of the data
derived from the turning movement counts and twenty-four hour counts are available in the attachment
to this letter. The twenty-four hour count data is depicted in Figure I.
Speed Study
The speed data gathered by the radar devices has been analyzed to determine the 85th percentile speeds
on the The Parkway, Northway Road, and E. Upland Road. The 85th percentile speed is defined as the
speed at which 85% of vehicles are traveling at or under, while only I S% are exceeding that particular
speed. This methodology is commonly used for design and safety monitoring purposes in the traffic
engineering industry. The table below summarizes the 85th percentile speeds at each of the four study
locations. The results indicate that travel speeds on all roadways are under the posted 30 MPH limit:.
TABLE I
SPEED STUDY RESULTS
Location 851h Percentile Speed (MPH)
Eastbound Westbound Northbound :SouthboundParkway N.of Northway i�A 4A 226 6Parkway S. of Northway 1',AA NA 24 4Northway Road 24 24 iJ,1 AE. Upland Road 28 28 ,I n A
Capacity Analysis
Capacity analysis has been performed to assess the operation of each of the four study intersections.
Capacity analysis is a technique used for determining a measure of effectiveness for a section of roadway
and/or intersection based on the number of vehicles during a specific time period. The measure of
effectiveness used for the capacity analysis is referred to as a Level of Service (LOS). Levels of Service
are calculated to provide an indication of the amount of delay that a motorist experiences while
traveling along a roadway or through an intersection. Since the most amount of delay to motorists
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Transportation Operations and TCAT Bus Route Evaluation Village of Cayuga Heights,NY
usually occurs at intersections, capacity analysis typically focuses on intersections, as opposed to highway
segments.
Six Levels of Service are defined for analysis purposes. They are assigned letter designations, from "A"to
"F", with LOS "A" representing the best conditions and LOS "F" the worst. Suggested ranges of service
capacity and an explanation of Levels of Service are included in the Appendix.
The standard procedure for capacity analysis of signalized and unsignalized intersections is outlined in
the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM 2000) published by the Transportation Research Board. Traffic
analysis software, Synchro 7, which is based on procedures and methodologies contained in the HCM
2000, was used to analyze operating conditions at study area intersections. The procedure yields a Level
of Service (LOS) based on the HCM 2000 as an indicator of how well intersections operate. The
intersection of Triphammer Road/Northway Road/Midway Road was evaluated with SimTraffic software
because Synchro is unable to analyze atypical intersection configurations. Both analysis methodologies
are recognized and approved by NYSDOT, and use widely across the country.
Capacity results for existing conditions are listed in Table II. The discussion following the table
summarizes capacity,conditions. All capacity analysis calculations are included in the Appendix.
TABLE II
CAPACITY ANALYSIS RESULTS
EXISTING
INTERSECTION CONDITIONS
AM PM
The Parkway/E. Upland Rd
Eastbound A A
Westbound A A
Northbound A A
Southbound A A
E. Upland Rd/Triphammer Rd
Eastbound B B
Westbound B B
Northbound A A
Southbound A A
Triphammer Rd/Northway Rd/Midway Rd
Eastbound A* A*
Westbound A* A*
Northbound A* A*
Southbound A* A*
The Parkway/Northway Rd/School driveway
Eastbound B A
Westbound B A
Northbound A A
Southbound A A
Resufts derived fi•orn Sim 7'r(iffc sir-m-d rtion due 1:o otypioil roodway geornetry
C — Page 3 of 6
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Transportation Operations and TCAT Bus Route Evaluation Village of Cayuga Heights,NY
The results indicate that all intersections operate at Level of Service (LOS) "B" or better on all
approaches during the AM and PM peak hours. There are no capacity or delay issuers at any of the study
intersections.
Accident Analysis
The three (3) most recent years of accident data were requested from the Cayuga Heights Police
Department. The police department furnished MV-104 forms detailing every accident that occurred at
each of the four study intersections. Each accident report was studied to determine whether any
discernable accident patterns exist at any of the intersections studied.
A total of seven (7) accidents were analyzed. Two of those seven accidents were collisions with deer.
Most notably, there were two (2) right-angle collisions at the intersection of Triphammer Road/E.
Upland Road. These two accidents, dating to 2007 and 2010, were both caused by drivers running the
stop sign at the eastbound approach on E. Upland Road due to driver inattention. One other notable
accident occurred when a large truck attempted to make the eastbound left from E. Upland Road onto
The Parkway. The large vehicle struck a car parked on the northbound side of The Parkway immediately
north of the intersection.
Aside from the three accidents mentioned in the preceding paragraph, no other significant accidents
were identified. No discernable accident patterns can be observed at any of the study intersections.
Based on our review and analysis of accidents on the roadways surrounding Cayuga Heights Elementary
School,there are no substantive safety deficiencies identified along either bus route.
School Zone Considerations
A field investigation of the roadways adjacent to the school revealed that no school zone pavement
markings exist on the northbound and southbound approaches of The Parkway adjacent to the school
driveway. It appeared that The Parkway was in the process of being re-sealed or repaved. It is unknown
whether the markings existed in the past and have been recently paved over. It is recommended that
school zone pavement markings be installed on both the northbound and southbound approaches to the
intersection of The Parkway/Northway Road/school driveway.
The speed study results indicate that the 85t" percentile speed of traffic on The Parkway, south of
Northway Road, is 23-24 MPH during the afternoon school peak hour which exceeds the posted school
speed limit of 15 MPH.
Bus Routing Factors and Considerations
The suitability of the appropriate bus route must take into account the information presented above, as
well as the operational and context components as noted below.
I. There are no substantive safety deficiencies along either route. No egregiouis safety deficiencies
exist at any of the study intersections. However, there may be significant actual or perceived
benefits to relocating the bus route to avoid the intersection of The Parkway/Northway
Road/school driveway.
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Transportation Operations and TCAT Bus Route Evaluation Village of Cayuga Heights,NY
Guiding principles for the national Safe Routes to School Program calls for reducing the amount
of traffic around schools, particularly large vehicle traffic. Another design principle limits
vehicular-pedestrian conflicts at primary pedestrian crossing locations. Relocation of the TCAT
bus route away from The Parkway/Northway/school driveway intersection would minimize the
conflicts between school pedestrians and buses which are considered large vehicles.
Our experience with vehicular and pedestrian circulation and operational plans at many school
facilities, and the "Safe Routes To School' initiative, have proven that separation of bus and
pedestrian traffic provides significant benefits to school-age pedestrians and motorists. Ideally,
the mixing of pedestrians and large vehicles like buses should be minimized to the extent
practicable. This effectively reduces the potential for bus-pedestrian collisions dramatically.
The designated school crossings at the intersection of The Parkway/Northway Road/school
driveway indicate that those particular crossing locations are considered the safest places for
one to cross the road. In addition, pedestrian crossings and potential vehicle/pedestrian conflicts
are the greatest at the intersection of The Parkway/Northway Road/school driveway and on the
north leg of The Parkway at Upland Road based upon the pedestrian crossing volumes shown in
Figure 3. An effort should be made to maintain a high degree of safety; both real and perceived,
at this location. A higher perception of safety by students and parents will increase the
likelihood that children will walk to school and reap the health and environmental benefits from
doing so.
2. The intersection of Triphammer Road/Northway Road/Midway Road is a skewed configuration.
This less than desirable intersection geometry makes it difficult for motorists making the
eastbound-left from Northway to Triphammer to easily and comfortably view the approaching
northbound traffic on Triphammer Road. Large vehicles, in particular, have greater difficulty, and
need more time to make a turning movement, and thus TCAT buses are more vulnerable to the
conditions of cumbersome sight lines at this intersection.
3. The existing intersection geometry, largely the corner radius at Triphammer Road/E. Upland
Road intersection may make it cumbersome for TCAT buses to make the southbound-right
turning movement. The southbound-right movement may require that cars waiting on the
eastbound approach avoid pulling all the way to the stop bar in order to let the bus make its
turn.
4. TCAT buses currently must slow their travel speeds on The Parkway within the school zone to
accommodate the existing 15 MPH speed limit during school times.
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�� A I S 0( I A t1,N
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Transportation Operations and TCAT Bus Route Evaluation Village of Cayuga Heights,NY
Recommendations
Based on our review of the physical and
operational conditions of the study area roadways, Recommended TCAT
MA
it is recommended that the TCAT bus route be Bus Route
shifted to avoid the intersection of The
Parkway/Northway Road/school driveway. The bus
route relocation should prove mutually beneficialto TCAT and Cayuga Heights Elementary School.
The buses should utilize E. Upland Road instead of
Northway Road to travel between The Parkway
and Triphammer Road. The proposed TCAT bus 4t
route is depicted in the graphic to the right. +,
The over-riding reason for bus route relocation is �~
the reduction in traffic and potential conflict
between bus traffic and school pedestrians at The :
Parkway/Northway Road/school driveway
intersection to minimize risk of accidents.
If you have any questions or are in need of additional information, please do not hesitate to contact our
office.
Respectively Submitted,
SRF&Associates
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Amy C. Dake, PE, PTOE
Senior Traffic Engineer
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SCHOOL PM PEAK HOUR(1:45)
15 F 15—►
27 '2 co In
ADT: 217 VPD ADT: 251 VPD
85% SPEED: 26 MPH j 85% SPEED: 26 MPH
BUSES: 7%(14) BUSES: 29(5) x�
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i-. ADT: 197 VPD
to ��. 85% SPEED: 24 MPH 0 -
N 0(3) BUSES: 18%(36) Jsr�J `�
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SCHOOL,DRIVEWAY NORTHWAY RD.
19(9) 1(2)
26(11)—► —� 21(10)�
20(11)--+
r ADT: 189 VPD $(1) q 00
<n Lt7 85% SPEED: 24 MPH v
n Lr) BUSES: 14%(26) W n
ADT: 314 VPD mmomi m ADT: 328 VPD
85% SPEED: 24 MPH 85% SPEED: 24 MPH
BUSES: 1%(1) BUSES: 11%(37)
d
W ADT: 402 VPD
�� 85% SPEED: 28 MPH M N
O M BUSES: 1%(4) v O v 2(2)
o r o '� 9(8) In
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ADT 282 VPD a
: �00
O 85% SPEED: 28 MPH
r- 00 BUSES: 1%(1)
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PEAK HOURS = 7:15 AM(2:45 PM)
VPD = 'VEHICLES PER DAY
85% SPEED IN MILES PER HOUR
X%(X) = PERCENTAGE OF BUSES(# OF BUSES PER DAY)
FIGURE 1
PEAK HOUR & 24 ■e SRF
HOUR VOLUMES, 85TH % SPEEDS ASSOCIATES
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SCHOOL PM PEAK HOUR(1:45)
O O O 0
L 2
0 ;f0 O O N
000
OOo
'� 0(0) ppr�J
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t E.UPLAND RD
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PEAK HOURS = 7:15 AM(2:45 PM)
FIGURE 2
TCAT BUS SRF
PEAK HOUR VOLUMES
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FIGURE 3 SRF
7-T PEDESTRIAN VOLUMES
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X X(X X) = AM(PM) TOMPKINS COUNTY, NEW YORK 3495 WINTON PLACE BUILDING E,SUITE 110
585.272.4660 585.272.4662 fax
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