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0195-Zoning-narrative-addition-revised-12-16-11Revised: 12-16-11 Zoning Compliance Narrative: Section 350-11.5 B (3) (b) – Traffic Reduction The proposed addition to the existing Linda Manor Extended Care Facility incorporates several methods to reduce overall vehicular traffic volumes. The following is summary of these measures as outlined in the City Zoning Ordinances. Public Transit, van- and car-pool incentive programs, including parking facilities and weather protected transit shelters. -The proposed site plan includes two (2) parking spaces that will give priority parking location to employees who enroll in a carpooling program. These spaces are directly in front of the employee entrance. Assuming each carpool program participant has two occupants in the vehicle this will eliminate a minimum of 2 round trips from the peak hour traffic counts. -The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) route R42 currently provides service on Route 9 past the site from both the center of Williamsburg and Northampton. Additional transfer routes provide service to numerous surrounding towns. Sage Engineering has made contact with PVTA regarding the creation of new stop at the entrance to the neighboring Zoe facility and we are awaiting approval of the new transit stop. With PVTA approval Chakalos investments would be willing to install a covered transit shelter on the south side of the Zoe driveway to encourage employees and visitors to utilize public transit services. Employees at the proposed addition would have access to the new stop via sidewalks and crosswalks Assuming 15 percent of the anticipated employee and visitor traffic utilize this service, public transit will reduce up to 2.5 (16 peak trips*15%) round trips from the peak hour traffic counts. Encouraging flexible hours and work weeks. -Due to the nature of the proposed facility, allowing flexible shift hours and work weeks is not feasible. Consistent and regulated staff hours are required to provide for the residents. However, according to the Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Handbook, for assisted living facilities typically the majority of the traffic to and from the site is employee traffic. Typical shifts begin at 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. therefore employee commute traffic will not coincide with peak traffic flows on adjacent roadways. This will not reduce the number of trips to the site, but will significantly help reduce impact on adjacent roadways. Encouraging pedestrian and bicycle access to the site. -The proposed project includes provisions to encourage both pedestrian and bicycle access to the site. To encourage pedestrian access, a five foot wide sidewalk is proposed to connect the addition to the neighboring Zoe Senior facility as well as to Route 9. A sidewalk along Route 9 connecting the two driveways has also been included as requested. To encourage bicycle access to the site, an exterior bike rack has been proposed to provide a secure and convenient storage area. Given the close proximity to the center of the Florence and Leeds neighborhoods, assuming 10% of the employees and visitors chose to walk or bike to work this would eliminate up to 1.5 round trips from the peak hour traffic counts. Provisions of integrated land uses, including on-site services, retail, and housing -The proposed facility is classified as an assisted living facility. Residents of the facility will be retirement aged and require general living assistance. The majority will not have vehicles, and will not leave the facility without the company of their guests or facility provided transportation services. The facility includes some on site services including laundry and meal services and an exercise center. The proposed adjacent Zoe Senior Retirement facility will contain additional services within walking distance including, two beauty salons, a convenience store, a café, a wellness center, and a coffee bar, as well. These on site amenities will reduce the number of trips off site for residents, employees and guests. However, it is difficult to quantify the number of trips eliminated. Maximum peak hourly trips occurs on the weekday afternoon and results in a total of 16 trips to and from the site. Estimated reductions for car-pool, public transit, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic is 6 trips or 37.5% of the total trip. This does not include the reduction in peak traffic due to non-peak hour employee traffic and the reduction from the numerous on-site services. Section 350-11.6 B (2) – Traffic Mitigation The offsite traffic mitigation of the fee will be made via payment in-lieu-of off site mitigation. Mitigation Fee: 12 Units x 0.6 trips/unit x $3,000/trip = $21,600 Mitigation: Payment in-liue = $21,600 Waiver Requests: Section 350 11.5 B (3) (c) Traffic Study The applicant is requesting a waiver from the above section requiring a detailed traffic assessment report of the adjacent Route 9(Haydenville Road). The estimated peak hour trip ends generated by this proposed facility, ranging from 3 trips during the weekday morning to 16 trips on a weekday afternoon are very low in relation to the traffic carrying capacity of Route 9. Route 9 is built to Massachusetts Highway Department standards and will not be negatively impacted by the addition of the new trips from this proposed facility. Based on 2009 traffic data obtained from Mass DOT, Route 9 at the Williamsburg Town line carries an average of 9,900 vehicles per day. The typical working shifts for this type of facility begin at 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. which does not coincide with the peak hour of commuter traffic on Route 9. We have prepared a traffic trip generation report to determine the peak hour traffic counts listed above. This report is included in this package.