Ordinance 3010-07 - Laserfiche WebLink

EVERETT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 2. Traffic Demands Existing daily and peak hour traffic volumes were assembled from the City of Everett, WSDOT, and Snohomish County records in 2005. The existing average daily traffic volumes on the freeways, principal arterials, secondary arterials, and collector arterials are shown on the preceding tables and on Figure 2.4. The traffic demands on I-5 currently range between 139,000 to 169,000 vehicles per day with up to 8,700 vehicles per hour in the northbound direction between SR 526 and 41 st Street in the afternoon peak hour. Traffic on US 2 averages about 68,000 vehicles per day with up to 3,800 vehicles per hour in the eastbound direction in the afternoon peak hour. And traffic along SR526 averages between 37,000 and 49,000 vehicles per day with up to 3,700 vehicles per hour in the eastbound direction in the afternoon peak hour. The traffic demands on principal arterials vary significantly as the service area and the number of travel lanes vary. For example Mukilteo Boulevard with two lanes carries only about 8,100 vehicles per day and Evergreen Way with seven lanes carries up to 36,600 vehicles per day. Everett Mall Way carries up 34,000 vehicles per day and Broadway carries about up to 30,000 vehicles per day in the downtown area. The traffic demands on the secondary arterials also range from less than 3,000 vehicles per day on the Lowell-Larimer Highway to more than 20,000 vehicles per day on 112th Street SW at 7th Avenue SW. Traffic volumes on collector arterials range from 2,600 vehicles per day on 36th Street to 14,800 on West Casino Road. 3. Levels of Service The methodology used to evaluate the traffic conditions of the arterial system is based on the Level of Service (LOS) of the roadway corridors and key intersections. Levels of service provide a measurement of the quality of service provided by the transportation system. Evaluating the level of service on the arterial road system is typically described in terms of congestion, which can be measured by average vehicle delay, travel speed, vehicular density, or volume -to -capacity ratio. A volume -to -capacity ratio (V/C) is the ratio of traffic volumes to the capacity of the roadway or an intersection to carry traffic. The level of service analysis conducted for existing traffic conditions were based on a generalized V/C ratio for roadway corridors to be compatible with traffic estimates for future years using travel demand models. The resulting levels of service are rated with a value between A and F, where "LOS A and B" represent fairly free flow conditions and where "LOS E and F" represent severe congestion or over -capacity conditions. The existing levels of service on the freeways, principal arterials and secondary arterials are shown on Figure 2.5 during the afternoon peak commuting hour. TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT 11