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Background
On Emmet Street / Ivy Road Traffic Study March 26, 2003-- In August, the University accepted the city of Charlottesville’s recommendation that the University pay for a new traffic study to be done before the Emmet Street parking garage opens.
On Tuesday, March 25, Kimley-Horn will make a presentation of the findings and steering committee recommendations to the community. Overview of consultant’s findings: 1. This second traffic study looked at the cumulative impact of the University’s proposed projects in the North Grounds area on the metropolitan road network. 2. The study showed that the traffic at the intersection of Emmet and Ivy is presently at or near failure during the rush hours between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. and that the traffic would continue to be in failure at those times in the future -- whether the garage was built or not. 3. In order to isolate the effect of the University’s new development projects from the impact of general regional growth patterns, the consultants studied a “no build” condition in 2003 and 2006 as well the impact of garage, arena and arts precinct projects. 4. From a slate of possible improvements suggested by the consultant, the steering committee has developed a set of mitigation measures that they recommend the University undertake to mitigate the traffic impacts of the new garage. These include:
Construction costs for these items is approximately $1.2 million, and the University is committed to taking care of them. "The University is committed to paying for all traffic and safety improvements directly related to the construction of the Ivy Road/Emmet Street garage that have been recommended by the traffic study steering committee. We intend to go beyond the minimum required. To that end, we also are providing funding for the synchronization of 11 traffic lights and the improvement of the turn radius on the eastern corner of Copeley Road. We will continue to work with the City to find ways to make other changes that will improve traffic conditions in our community,” said Leonard W. Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer at U.Va. “We are grateful to the traffic study steering committee and Kimley-Horn for their excellent work and the recommendations that they have presented. This has been an extraordinary example of how representatives of the City of Charlottesville, the neighborhood, the business community and the University can work together to improve the quality of life we all enjoy. This community is the University's home and the home of our faculty, students and staff -- it is critically important that we and our neighbors work together to address our common challenges.” 5. The cumulative effect of these measures prevents the intersections from getting worse after the garage opens. 6. The reason why the recommended improvements do not have a greater impact due to the fact that there simply are not enough lanes to handle the traffic – a fact that can be seen at numerous intersections in the study, not just at Ivy-Emmet. 7. The committee accepted the notion that the University’s responsibility is to keep conditions from getting worse because of development projects, not to improve an already bad situation. 8.
The final report will provide recommendations for long-term improvements
for all the 17 intersections that the city can use as a basis for
budgeting and planning purposes.
Statement from Leonard W. Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer, University of Virginia. "The University is committed to paying for all traffic and safety improvements directly related to the construction of the Ivy Road/Emmet Street garage that have been recommended by the traffic study steering committee. We intend to go beyond the minimum required. To that end, we also are providing funding for the synchronization of 11 traffic lights and the improvement of the turn radius on the eastern corner of Copeley Road. We will continue to work with the City to find ways to make other changes that will improve traffic conditions in our community. "We are grateful to the traffic study steering committee and Kimley-Horn for their excellent work and the recommendations that they have presented. This has been an extraordinary example of how representatives of the City of Charlottesville, the neighborhood, the business community and the University can work together to improve the quality of life we all enjoy. This community is the University's home and the home of our faculty, students and staff -- it is critically important that we and our neighbors work together to address our common challenges." Contact: Carol Wood, (434) 924-1400 |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Contact the Office
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