Continuation of Letter to Hearings Officer:
28th Avenue Link between Sandy and Broadway: The study indicates much of the northbound traffic on 28th Avenue is heading towards the Fred Meyer Store (page 5 of the study). There is no traffic count to support this statement. 28th Avenue is the last signalized left turn, when traveling eastbound on Sandy Blvd, until 40th Avenue. There is considerable traffic on this street which is heading to Broadway. The traffic on 28th Avenue is frequently backed up past Weidler Street. The report needs to recognize the importance of this street in providing a link between Sandy Blvd and Broadway.
Trip Distribution Assumptions: The study makes numerous assumptions on page 17 of the study which are not backed by any data and which appear to be erroneous. ''Trips generated to and from offices will be oriented to residential areas to the north and south.'' There is a tremendous amount of housing to the east. Why isn't that being included? ''Trips generated to and from residential dwellings will be oriented to employment centers, mainly toward downtown.'' Why this assumption? Proximity to the freeway may make this site attractive for people employed in many locations. The majority of employment positions do not occur in the downtown area. In general, most new business growth will occur away from downtown Portland . ''Trips generated to and from a specialty retail center will also be oriented to the west, north and south.'' This statement does not seem realistic, given the Hollywood Town Center and Gateway Transit Center, located to the east of this site. There is substantial commercial activity to the east. In addition, the post office, library, park, elementary school, middle school, high school are all located to the east of this site. The Hollywood Transit Center and the east bound freeway on ramp are located to the east. Most discount stores such as Costco, Home Depot, K-Mart, Target are located to the east of this site. It is inconceivable that the traffic study can summarily dismiss all potential traffic to the east.
Access to the Site: The study acknowledges that the only access to this site is from 32nd Avenue, via Broadway. Weidler is scheduled to become westbound only street and thus will only be available for exiting the site (page 45 of study). Westbound Broadway traffic, will need to make a left turn, crossing two lanes of traffic, to gain access into the site. The study notes that a light at this intersection is not recommended because of proximity to the 33rd and Broadway intersection. (page 45) The study does not seem to raise concern over the problem of cars queuing at this intersection, waiting for a break in traffic to make a left turn. This bottleneck will back up to the 33rd Avenue intersection. The study already acknowledges the existing queuing for westbound traffic at 33rd Avenue due to the long left turn phase of eastbound traffic.
Conclusion: The traffic study has made faulty assumptions regarding the amount of proposed development, the type of proposed development and the type of trip distribution. It has failed to provide adequate analysis of the areas to the north and east of the study site. It has also failed to take into consideration the lack of connectivity. These problems need to be addressed by the traffic study, before the zoning decision is made. We need a more accurate determination of the impact this zone change will have on the community.
In the Traffic Study conclusion, it states ''Broadway and 32nd Avenue is currently operating at a Level ''F'' service. ?…After site development, it is assumed that motorists will use alternate routes to access the site.'' Since there is no obvious alternate for westbound traffic on Broadway, I think this issue should be addressed prior to development and an analysis of the traffic impact be done before the rezoning decision.
28th Avenue Link between Sandy and Broadway: The study indicates much of the northbound traffic on 28th Avenue is heading towards the Fred Meyer Store (page 5 of the study). There is no traffic count to support this statement. 28th Avenue is the last signalized left turn, when traveling eastbound on Sandy Blvd, until 40th Avenue. There is considerable traffic on this street which is heading to Broadway. The traffic on 28th Avenue is frequently backed up past Weidler Street. The report needs to recognize the importance of this street in providing a link between Sandy Blvd and Broadway.
Trip Distribution Assumptions: The study makes numerous assumptions on page 17 of the study which are not backed by any data and which appear to be erroneous. ''Trips generated to and from offices will be oriented to residential areas to the north and south.'' There is a tremendous amount of housing to the east. Why isn't that being included? ''Trips generated to and from residential dwellings will be oriented to employment centers, mainly toward downtown.'' Why this assumption? Proximity to the freeway may make this site attractive for people employed in many locations. The majority of employment positions do not occur in the downtown area. In general, most new business growth will occur away from downtown Portland . ''Trips generated to and from a specialty retail center will also be oriented to the west, north and south.'' This statement does not seem realistic, given the Hollywood Town Center and Gateway Transit Center, located to the east of this site. There is substantial commercial activity to the east. In addition, the post office, library, park, elementary school, middle school, high school are all located to the east of this site. The Hollywood Transit Center and the east bound freeway on ramp are located to the east. Most discount stores such as Costco, Home Depot, K-Mart, Target are located to the east of this site. It is inconceivable that the traffic study can summarily dismiss all potential traffic to the east.
Access to the Site: The study acknowledges that the only access to this site is from 32nd Avenue, via Broadway. Weidler is scheduled to become westbound only street and thus will only be available for exiting the site (page 45 of study). Westbound Broadway traffic, will need to make a left turn, crossing two lanes of traffic, to gain access into the site. The study notes that a light at this intersection is not recommended because of proximity to the 33rd and Broadway intersection. (page 45) The study does not seem to raise concern over the problem of cars queuing at this intersection, waiting for a break in traffic to make a left turn. This bottleneck will back up to the 33rd Avenue intersection. The study already acknowledges the existing queuing for westbound traffic at 33rd Avenue due to the long left turn phase of eastbound traffic.
Conclusion: The traffic study has made faulty assumptions regarding the amount of proposed development, the type of proposed development and the type of trip distribution. It has failed to provide adequate analysis of the areas to the north and east of the study site. It has also failed to take into consideration the lack of connectivity. These problems need to be addressed by the traffic study, before the zoning decision is made. We need a more accurate determination of the impact this zone change will have on the community.
In the Traffic Study conclusion, it states ''Broadway and 32nd Avenue is currently operating at a Level ''F'' service. ?…After site development, it is assumed that motorists will use alternate routes to access the site.'' Since there is no obvious alternate for westbound traffic on Broadway, I think this issue should be addressed prior to development and an analysis of the traffic impact be done before the rezoning decision.
