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t¥iY-04-1999 14:57 BENSHOOF & RSbUC.blei IbYl t-'.eU/'kJY <br />Woodhill Avenue Residents May 4,1999 <br />INSUFFlCa:NT STUDY BEGABDING ADEQUACY OF ACCESS ON COUNTY <br />HIGHWAY IS <br />In my earlier review letter tn you dated May 26,199S, we nused a seiious issue that the <br />Country Club had not submitted to the City prior to that date any report justifying their <br />proposed access to Woodhill Avenue. For land uses like the Country Club that generate <br />significant traffic volumes, we indicated that when an access change is proposed, it is <br />standard practice to complete a traffic study to address the needs and implications of such <br />an access change. Five key questions which need to be addressed and which I stated in <br />my May 26.1998, letter are: <br />• What are the principal issues and needs influencing the potential change in <br />access? <br />• What are the possible solutions to fulfill the needs? <br />In evaluating the candidate solutions, what factors are p^eularly importwt <br />to address in terms of potential impacts on users of the development, on <br />nearby property owners, and on the public roadway system? <br />• What are the advantages and disadvantages of the candidate solutions in <br />terms of the pre%dously identified factors? <br />• Can any of the candidate solutions be implemented in a manner to benefit <br />users of the development and to avoid significant negative impacts on nearby <br />property owners and/or the public roadway system? If so, what is the <br />preferr^ solution? <br />• , • <br />Materials included with the Country Club’s current application, including the traffic <br />study report by the Parsons firm, provide a partial response to ffie above questions. These <br />items, however, fall for short of a complete response to the questions listed above. Three <br />serious weaknesses of the traffic comments provided by the Country Club are; <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />* I <br />! <br />t i <br />1. The Country Club’s application does not acknovdedge the benefits that will be <br />accomplished to their access on County Highway 15 through the <br />improvements presently being construaed on County Highway 15. These <br />improvements include an eastbound left turn laiie and a westbound right turn <br />lane so that all motorists turning into the Country Club from County Highway <br />15 will have a protected turn lane. <br />.2. Neither the Country Club’s application nor the Parsons report provide any <br />actual data or technical analyses regarding the level of service for their users <br />to gain access to County Highway IS at Woodhill Road. In other words, they <br />have not documented whether serious delays actually are encountered in <br />. gaining access to County Highway 15 during any particular hours or days. <br />3 . The Parsons report refers to traffic counts conducted on Woodhill Road at the <br />end of September and beginning of October 1998. It is important to recognize <br />that this is an off-peak period for the Country Club. As such, we believe that <br />it is invalid to rely upon such off-peak data for the purpose of evaluating the <br />impacts of the proposed access to Woodhill Avenue. <br />• I <br />V I <br />r t <br />► < <br />I <br />• f