Transportation System Plan 2018-2038

volum e does not alway s represent a consecutive one-hour period, but is rather the “shoulders” of the two-hour tim e period. After considering factors such as the cost of improvem ents needed to m eet each standard, potential impacts on adjacent property due to the im provem ents, the difference in congestion and travel tim e at key intersections and along m ajor travel corridors within the city , potential land use im pacts, im pacts on alternative m odes, and other key impacts associated with the expected congestion problem s, the City Council provided prelim inary direction on a level of service standard to be used in the TSP planning process. Adoption of this standard will occur sim ultaneous with adoption of the TSP after public review and com ment. The LOS standard is discussed later in this chapter under “Strategies”. Summary results of the traffic operations and im pact analy sis from the LOS Study are presented below. Summary of LOS Strategy Analysis Results Table 5-1 summarizes the results of the LOS Study for the planning horizon y ear 2023. For each LOS strategy , the table identified both the expected inter section level of service during the PM peak period in 2023 and the intersection m itigation that would be required under each LOS strategy . Appendix G contains m ore detailed inform ation about the methods and results of the LOS Study including identification of anticipated street sy stem deficienci es for each analy sis location. Figure 5-1 illustrates the location of intersections expected to operate at LOS E or F, or to exceed ODOT’ s volum e-to-capacity standard during a single peak hour in 2023. It should be noted that the use of LOS to evaluate the need for improvem ents at State highway intersections is inconsistent with the standards adopted in the Oregon Highway Plan. ODOT standards for determ ining needed im provem ents are based on volum e-to-capacity ratios. Accordingly , the level of service results presented in this chapter for State highw ay intersections are not relevant to the discussion of alternative LOS standards for the City . Howe ver, these results are relevant to understanding the general nature and location of expected congestion problem s in the Medford UGB. Further discussion of im provem ent needs on state highway s based on volum e-to-capacity ratios is presented later in this chapter (see Table 5-5) and in more detail in Table G-4 of Appendix G. According to the inform ation sum marized in Table 5-1, a strategy based on achieving LOS D or better during the 2023 PM peak hour would require that fifteen intersections be improved to m eet this standard. A more relaxed standard of LOS E reduces the num ber of inte rsections requiring im provem ent to ten. The third LOS strategy , which would consider the second-high est hour volum es during the PM peak period instead of the single highest PM peak hour, requires m itigation at a total of eleven intersections. In addition to the locations projected to exceed one or m ore of the LOS thresholds strategies being considered for im provem ent, several intersections ar e projected to have volum e-to-capacity (v/c) ratios near or exceeding 1.00, including som e on state highway intersections. A high volum e-to-capacity ratio is indicative of traffic conditions that are operating cl ose to capacity . Minor growth in traffic volum es can quickly result in a failing level of service at such an intersection. To ensure that level of service standards are not exceeded, the City may also want to consider undertaking operational im provem ents at these locations such as traffic signal upgrades or refinem ents, additional turn storage, or provision of new turn lanes. Medford Transportation System Plan 5-5 Street Plan