HomeMy WebLinkAboutState and Regional Roadways MemoMEMORANDU
Date: June 13, 2016
TO: Honorable Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Tom Brymer, Town Manager/Superintendent
SUBJECT: Understanding State and Regional Roadways and Their Impact
on Westlake's Thoroughfare Plan
While the Comprehensive Plan Update Task Force worked last year on the
Thoroughfare Plan Element of our latest Comprehensive Plan, much discussion
centered on whether the need for local roadways could be reduced, or perhaps
eliminated, by improving regional and State roadways like SH114, SH170, and
SH377.
The trip analysis (ATD, average trips per day) performed by our transportation
consultant at that time was based on zoning entitlements then in place. This
vehicle trip analysis showed that Westlake could not rely on State and regional
roadways as a way to avoid a local roadway system, the need for which would be
created by development in Westlake per zoning that was already in place. In
fact, this analysis showed that SH114 was already at capacity.
Recently the North Central Texas Council of Governments' long-range
Metropolitan Transportation Plan, Mobility 2040, was approved. It identifies the
SH 170 corridor from I -35W in Tarrant County to SH 114 in Denton County
ultimately as a four -lane freeway with two tolled, managed lanes. The
suggestion has been made that we should try to get these managed tolled lanes
extended to SH114 at Solana Boulevard, perhaps funding them with a Public
Improvement District (PID) assessment whose revenue stream would be tolls.
asked Robin McCaffrey of MESA Planning to review this idea and he found the
lowing issues with this idea (Le. Robin's comments now follow mine):
1. Managed Vehicle Lanes (also called HOV Lanes) are a circulation option,
not a true capacity builder: Managed Vehicle Lanes (MVL) are devices used to
provide a circulation option and thereby encourage ride share and/generate
revenue used for larger system improvements. When a traffic corridor
approaches capacity (such as Interstate 635 LBJ), the MVL is often added to
encourage ride share and provide an option for those willing to pay. Note that on
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LBJ (after addition of the MVL) the previous levels of congestion still exist in the
main travel lanes. This is because the demand is so great that improvements
within the corridor cannot keep up. This is why newer freeways (like the George
Bush Freeway continually show up...they serve newer and emerging service
areas). Therefore, with the provision MVL's in Highway 114, we will continue to
see congestion because...point 2
2. Regional flow, population growth, and the lack of future options: The
Assessment portion of Westlake's Comp Plan shows ESRI based (a reputable
source) population growth figures for the "15 minute drive time window"
surrounding Westlake to be 260,000 by 2040. If I translate this into households at
an HH occupancy of 2.6 people per house (the Westlake number), I get 100,000
households which, according to ITE, generate 9.8 vehicular trips per house per
day or equate to an overall trip generation of 980,000 trips (in addition to any
non-residential trips). One needs to view the SH114 corridor from a position other
than a Westlake Centric perspective and consider the regional activity...given
even this one aspect of regional perspective, we see that SH114 will never have
unused capacity. The regional view is made worse by the fact that Lake
Grapevine pushes any alternate routes significantly northward and access to
those alternates is hindered by the barrier that the water body creates...meaning
that Highway 114 is particularly constrained going forward. Therefore...point 3
3. Increasing the demand for system access only increases demand on the
supporting system: Highway 114 is a regional corridor, more than a local travel
facility. Therefore, providing travel options (MVL) on SH114 increases the
demand for regional access to it, thereby increasing demand on the supporting
(local systems) serving it...which for Westlake becomes Dove Road (if there is
not a coherent Westlake thoroughfare system at the end of the day).
This counters the resident desire to limit traffic in Dove. The outcome contradicts
the notion that Westlake can somehow create an island exempt from the
invasions of regional influences. Highland Park is perhaps the most successful
at creating such an island, but its major east/west thoroughfares (Mockingbird
Ln., Lovers Ln., and University) are backed up much of the time and intolerable
at peak demand hours. By contrast, Westlake has only 1 street (Dove Rd.)...so
the effects are amplified. The most significant limiting factor, once one gets to
SH114, is the limited service road capabilities and Level of Service E at the
overpass locations (LOS E at these locations was identified in Hillwood's lower
than actual trip volume projections and would still exist even if the MVL were
provided because access to the MVL remains the same). Bottom line is that
the local system cannot be replaced simply be increasing some aspect of
the regional system. therefore...point 4
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4. What additional capacity are we actually talking about here: The
additional volume that an MVL could accommodate equates to maybe 22,000
cars per day per added lane. We have established that the development in
Westlake alone (as a result of entitlement and not also considering regional
volume increases as a result of growth...point 2, above) is 466,000 vehicles per
day. Theoretically increasing capacity (I say theoretical because other points
demonstrate that this is not really a capacity increase...just assuming it can be
viewed as an increase for this point) by 22,000 ADT when demand exceeds
450,000 ADT is not a meaningful solution. If, as stated in the Comp Plan
Assessments, SH114 is currently at 1,000 vehicles per day over capacity and
growing, it is very likely that the 22,000 theoretical capacity created is already
consumed. For this reason, the regional system cannot be the "local system" for
Westlake. therefore...point 5
5. Town circulation vs regional circulation...where's Westlake?: If one views
an increase in some aspect of the regional system (SH114) as justification for
diminishing the local system, where is the Town of Westlake? This approach
views commercial development of Westlake as something that is not inherently
Westlake (served only by the regional system) and the only real Westlake is the
residential areas which retreat behind a barrier of limited access (which will only
become congested to the point of intolerance). This is not a comprehensive
Township view and directly contradicts the call for an organically integrated
Township as firmly stated by participants in the Comprehensive Planning
process. The civic aspect of the plan engages all citizens of Westlake (including
large property owners) in a holistic view of a common and better future...not a
fatalistic view which isolates portions of the Town and builds barriers around
others. If so, we isolate the residential areas of Westlake from their association
with the most obvious parts of Westlake. Then they are actually west Southlake
and northern Keller which weakens residential value of the future as the
submarket, protecting the high price point, is corrupted. Westlake is a Township
in a constellation of Townships. Therefore...point 6
6. Connectivity and Community: The perception of the Westlake community
does not start at the gate of an individual residential subdivision, it lies within the
connected fabric of the context in which those subdivisions reside. Connection is
the warp and weft of community fabric. What is being proposed is not a
community solution, does not look to future residential development (perhaps
located closer to SH114) as part of a larger community concept. The proposal
has an "isolationist" effect which is never able to internalize the future. Although
Westlake is separate from Keller, Southlake, Colleyville, North Richland Hills,
and Watauga (jurisdictionally and cognitively), it is still an organic member of the
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regional community which stands at the edge of, and portal to, the larger
community's single most important corridor. Therefore, a portion of transit to that
corridor, and the immense development that Westlake has placed along that
corridor by virtue of the entitlements granted, will seek to flow through Westlake
(unavoidable) and Westlake either anticipates its impact or suffers the intolerable
consequences of lacking forethought. Key to that forethought is understanding
the current entitlement. Therefore...point 7
7. The SH 114 concentrated form of development suggested ignores
current entitlement: Our last calculation of entitlement already granted in
Westlake equated to 25 million sf. of non-residential and a significant amount of
residential over a broad area of the city landscape...not gathered along 114.
Therefore, a vision which assumes that all non-residential development will be
along SH114 ignores the actual spatial distribution of entitlement and the extent
to which the traffic volume problem is imbedded into the fabric of the Town. This
makes a single "silver bullet" solution pretty much impossible...it has to be a
system solution (regional AND local).
Added point:
I cannot comment on the financing structure proposed, but it is perhaps missing
recognition of bond interest, maintenance, and other obligatory costs. I do know
it will be politically difficult to convert a cost to property (PID) to a cost to the
driver (toll). Which properties are in the PID...where is the equitable boundary of
the PID, it seems unlikely that it would be located entirely Westlake...from a
property owners perspective...why would I pay X and the guy behind me pays
nothing...I see some difficult politics potentially.
Note: PID assessments cannot be paid for by tolls from a public roadway.
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