PROPOSED APARTMENT DEVELOPMENT 32 & 34 TENNYSON AVE TAKAPUNA INTEGRATED TRANSPORT ASSESSMENT

Transcription

1 PROPOSED APARTMENT DEVELOPMENT 32 & 34 TENNYSON AVE TAKAPUNA INTEGRATED TRANSPORT ASSESSMENT Prepared by E.R Hebner 30 th November 2016 Z:\2015_Projects\ Tennyson Ave\doc\34 Tennyson Ave - Traffic Report proposal.doc

2 CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT DETAILS SUMMARY ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY SITE LOCATION AND SURROUNDING AMENITY Tennyson Ave TRAFFIC IMPACTS OF THE PROPOSAL Vehicle Access Pedestrian & Cycling Access PARKING FIRE APPLIANCE ACCESS, SERVICING AND LOADING CONCLUSION Page 2

3 1. INTRODUCTION This Integrated Transport Assessment (ITA) of a proposed apartment development follows on from a previous ITA prepared for a similar proposal on the site that was recently granted resource consent (previous ITA dated 4 August 2015). The key difference of the current proposal compared to what was previously approved is an increase in apartment numbers from 44 to 53 units (increase in nine units). No change is proposed to access, basement parking or servicing. This ITA investigates the traffic-related implications of an application with particular focus on the development s proposed vehicle access, pedestrian access, parking, and servicing arrangements. An assessment against the Auckland Unitary Plan s (Operative in Part) Terrace Housing and Apartment Building Zoning for the site has also been included. The site area is identified in the following aerial photo by red border. SUBJECT SITE Site Locality As can be seen in the previous aerial photo the site has road frontage on Tennyson Ave (northern site boundary) with access to the wider roading network via Burns Avenue. Burns Avenue is identified as an arterial road in the Auckland Unitary Plan Maps and connects to other significant arterials at Esmond Road and Anzac Ave. The existing immediate area is low density residential. As well as being located in the Auckland Unitary Plan s (Operative in Part) Terrace Housing and Apartment Building Zone, the site is also located within a large Special Housing Area (SHA), refer to the following Council GIS map that show the subject SHA. Page 3

4 SUBJECT SITE Takapuna Special Housing 2. DEVELOPMENT DETAILS SUMMARY The proposed development has a total of 53 apartments consisting of 15xone bedroom units, 29xtwo bedroom units and 9xthree bedroom units. A two-way vehicle crossing is to be established on Tennyson Ave at the western side of the site to provide access to two levels of basement carpark. Parking for 43 resident s vehicles can be accommodated in the two levels of basement carpark (includes six stacked pairs). Also accommodated in the basement are storage lockers, bicycle stands and a rubbish/recycling collection area. The amount of parking provided has been considered against the intentions of the Auckland Unitary Plan s (operative in part) zoning rules, which sets out maximum limits to parking provisions rather than the traditional minimum requirements - the traffic implications of this in respect of the site s accessibility to public transport and the effects to surrounding roads have been assessed. Page 4

5 Computer simulations of a specialist rubbish servicing truck have been undertaken to ensure the site can be serviced by a private contractor and confirmation has also been received by the intended rubbish contractor that the site can be serviced as envisaged. 3. ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY The proposal increases the number of residential units in the area by 50 (three existing dwellings on the site) and provides 43 onsite parking spaces. There will therefore be additional traffic generated by the development, which has been assessed in regard to site access, road capacity and traffic safety. Parking for the development has been analysed both in respect of the Auckland Unitary Plan requirements (operative in part) and actual anticipated outcomes. Pedestrian and bicycle accessibility has been analysed with a focus on convenient amenity for residents to access passenger transport options, shopping, employment, education and recreation. Other assessment considerations have included the internal layout of the site, and how it provides acceptable pedestrian amenity, adequate access to all parking spaces and access for servicing and emergency vehicles. Page 5

6 4. SITE LOCATION AND SURROUNDING AMENITY The following aerial photo shows the location of the subject site in relation to the surrounding transportation network and built environment: TAKAPUNA VILLAGE CENTRE NORTHERN BUSWAY INTERCHANGE SUBJECT SITE, WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE TO TAKAPUNA CENTRE & NORTHERN BUSWAY Site Locality in Relation To Significant Transportation Options As can be seen from the previous aerial photos the subject site is located in an existing residential area on the outskirts of Takapuna s commercial centre. The surrounding area extending to Lake Pupuke in the north and Esmonde Road in the south is a special housing area and therefore the surrounding area is expected to be redeveloped in the future into more intensive mixed use activities. The northern busway interchange located at the Esmonde Road motorway interchange is located one kilometre to the west of the site. A future coastal footpath and cycle route is scheduled to provide a strong footpath and bicycle connection between Takapuna and areas west of the motorway and over the Harbour Bridge. The public bus routes that pass the site are detailed in the following bus information that is available online. The frequency of these buses passing the site and the bus stops located near Page 6

7 to the development on Burns Ave occur frequently and includes an express service to and from the city, refer to the following timetable of this service. SITE 4.1. Tennyson Ave Tennyson Ave is a local street providing access to adjacent properties. The Section of Tennyson Ave adjacent to the subject site ends 125 metres to the west and intersects with Burns Ave 125 metres to the east. The traffic flow on Tennyson Ave is generated by adjacent properties and by Takapuna workers that use Tennyson Ave for weekday parking. The traffic flow is estimated to be in the order of 600 vehicles per day by applying a typical household generation rate to the existing 30 household catchment and allowance for parking use. Tennyson Ave s carriageway width is 9.5 metres, which is sufficient to accommodate parallel kerb side parking on both sides whilst maintain a single traffic lane between parked vehicles, or very slow simultaneous two-way flow between parked vehicles, which is suitable for a slow speed local residential street (50km/hr zoning). The existing street parking has been observed to be in relatively high demand during the weekday as a result of being close to Takapuna Centre and therefore the street is desired by Takapuna centre s office and retail workers for its unrestricted street parking. There are footpaths adjacent to the kerb on both sides of Tennyson Ave that are offset from the property boundary by 4.5 metres. Page 7

8 5. TRAFFIC IMPACTS OF THE PROPOSAL The proposal s dwelling units are envisaged to be a low traffic generator in comparison to an average Auckland household on the basis that onsite parking restraints require 16 of the units to have no parking allocated onsite. Six of the remaining units are allocated a stacked pair of parking spaces (stacked one in front of the other) and the final 31 units are allocated one parking space each. With street parking available on Tennyson Ave residents may have more than one vehicle and can park on the street. This inconvenience of parking on the street discourages car ownership in keeping with the intentions of the zoning. A traffic generation figure for the development has been determined to be 191 traffic movements per day with 24 of these traffic movements occurring during a peak hour period 1. This traffic generation amounts to, on average, one additional vehicle movement every two minutes during the busiest commuter periods of the day, which is not significant and can be accommodated. The characteristics of the passing traffic flow along Tennyson Ave, as detailed in a previous section is slow speed and low volume, can accommodate the proposed additional traffic without adverse impact. The traffic impact on the wider roading network, such as at the Burns Ave intersection, can also be accommodated without adverse impact, with any queues that form limited to only a couple of vehicles maximum and these can easily clear between the gaps created by the phases of the upstream traffic signals. Consequently, the traffic generation of the proposal is acceptable. The proposed vehicle accesses in regards to sightlines and safety is discussed in more detail in the following section Vehicle Access Two existing residential vehicle crossings are to be replaced by a single 6.2 metre wide two-way vehicle crossing located at the western side of the site. 1 A typical residential household traffic generation rate is widely recognised as 8 trips per day. One of these trips occur in each of the commuter peak hour periods. Factoring in a reduction because of a lower vehicle ownership rate compared to the average of 1.8 vehicles per household, as indicated by census data and reported in the New Zealand Transport Authority research document (RR209), it is reasonable to calculate that for the 43 parking spaces proposed a traffic generation of 191 trips per day is expected (8/1.8x43=191). Of this daily traffic generation 24 is expected to occur in each of the commuter peak hour periods (1/8x191=24). Page 8

9 The straight alignment of Tennyson Ave provides clear line of sight in both directions sufficient for the approaching traffic speeds that are typically less than the 50km/hr speed. The street footpath is adequately offset from the property boundary by four metres to provide acceptable sight splays, vehicle platform and safety for passing pedestrians. The vehicle crossing provides access for two levels of basement carpark, refer to the following plans that show this together with tracking curves of a 90 percentile sized car demonstrating access and egress for the most constrained parking space. Basement Level 1 Plan Page 9

10 Basement Level 2 Plan As can be seen in the previous illustrations the basement carpark ramp is two-way with single lane entrances to the basement levels. There are sufficient sightlines to enable opposing motorists to manoeuvre into a position to allow passing at the basement level entrances. The maximum ramp gradient is no steeper than 20% percent (1 vertical by 5 horizontal) with transitions to flatter sections at the basement level entrances and platform prior to the street footpath, refer to the following longsection with a vertical clearance simulation of a ninety percentile sized car that shows this. STREET FOOTPATH BASEMENT ENTRANCES Basement Carpark Access Longsection 5.2. Pedestrian & Cycling Access The main pedestrian entrance is located at the western side of the side and provides a direct connection between the street footpath and the lobby/lift for each apartment block (two apartment blocks, one at the front and one at the rear). The ground floor apartments fronting Tennyson Ave have their own separate footpath connection to the street footpath. Page 10

11 A secondary footpath entrance next to the vehicle entrance provides footpath access to the two levels of basement carpark. Each of the two basement carpark levels has their own stair and lift well, which provides convenient pedestrian access between the basement carpark and apartments above. The first level basement carpark has a designated bike parking area able to accommodate 16 bicycles. There are also 21 storage lockers on the first level basement able to store bicycles. The second level basement carpark has 16 storage lockers able to store bicycles. The following map identifies existing cycling routes in the area. In the future a new coastal pedestrian and cycle path is programmed that connects with a Harbour Bridge cycle/pedestrian path. SITE Page 11

12 Overall, the pedestrian and cycling amenity provided within the development and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists external of the site are adequate for the proposed apartment development. 6. PARKING Parking for residents is provided in two levels of basement carpark where there are a total of 43 parking spaces. There are no dedicated visitor parking spaces. Visitors that drive are envisaged to park remotely from the site and walk, or make prior arrangements to use a vacant resident s parking space. All basement parking spaces have been checked to have suitable spatial and manoeuvring dimensions for private residential use. These dimensions are no less than 2.6 metres wide, five metres long and manoeuvring depth of 6.6 metres (compliant with AS/NZS2890). The parking spaces next to walls have additional width of no less than 2.8 metres, and columns are clear of door opening areas, refer to the previous illustrations showing tracking curves of a 90 percentile sized car accessing the most spatially constrained parking spaces in each of the two basement carpark levels. Minimum height clearance in the basement is understood to be 2.2 metres, with additional clearance provided at the entrance for the first basement level carpark to allow a specialist servicing truck to access a rubbish/recycling storage are (2.7 metres height clearance to allow a specialist servicing truck to enter the basement and turn around next to the rubbish/recycling area), refer to the following section that assesses and demonstrates this. The Auckland Unitary Plan (operative in part) specifies larger parking and manoeuvring spaces than what is proposed. In light of the carparks private residential use the smaller parking and manoeuvring dimensions are appropriate and comply with other recognised standards namely AS/NZS2890. Sixteen of the units do not have an allocated parking space, which is in accordance with the Auckland Unitary Plan s (operative in part) zoning for terraced housing and apartments, which is a no minimum and no maximum parking rate criteria. The potential parking effects of the proposal is increased demand for street parking in the area. There is street parking available on Tennyson Ave and therefore increased demand for street parking is to be expected. The increased demand from residents and their visitors is greatest in the evenings and on the weekends, which avoids the current weekday demand from Takapuna Centre workers currently permitted on the street. No disabled parking spaces are proposed. It is noted that the Disabled Persons Community Welfare act does not require private residential accommodation to supply compliant disabled parking spaces. However, it is understood that the Special Housing Area rules do require a Page 12

13 proportion of housing to be suitable for disabled (universally accessible), in which case disabled residents are envisaged to be those that do not have parking allocated and will be reliant on alternative transport options such as bus, walking or wheel chair etc. It is noted that the Council s evidence before the Auckland Unitary Plan Hearing Panel has proposed to delete the universal access requirement and this has been approved by the Council s PAUP committee. Overall, the proposed parking arrangements provide parking in a restrained manner in accordance with the proposed Auckland Unitary Plan s maximum limit criteria. There however is sufficient parking provided to enable residents to utilise car travel if needed. The basement carparking levels have been checked to comply with recognised parking standards and to be appropriate for the intended user. The proposed parking arrangements are therefore acceptable from a traffic engineering perspective. 7. FIRE APPLIANCE ACCESS, SERVICING AND LOADING The Building Code C/AS1 document requires residential developments to provide fire appliance access to within 75 metres of any point in any unit contained within a building except if there is a sprinkler system. If there is a sprinkler system access to within 20 metres to the sprinkler system inlets is needed. It is no known at this stage if a sprinkler system is to be provided, but if one where it is anticipated that inlet is likely to be positioned next to the buildings main entry on Tennyson Ave. If no sprinkler system is to be provided a fire truck is able to access the rear apartment block via the basement carpark ramp to potentially get within 75 metres of any point in any apartment unit. The rubbish and recycling storage area is located in the first level basement carpark. A specialist rubbish truck will be engaged to service the site, refer to the following tracking cuve illustration of this specialist rubbish truck. Also refer to the waste management plan prepared by Rubbish Direct that provides specific details about rubbish/recycling collection and the intended service truck. Page 13

14 Specialsit Rubbish Truck Tracking Curve The height clearances along this tracking path have been restricted to no less than 2.6 metres to accommodate a specialist truck, which has a height of 2.4 metres (Isuzu Elf rubbish collector truck). The following vertical clearance simulation shows a comparable sized vehicle travelling down the ramp and entering the basement where the rubbish/recycling storage area is located. Specialsit Rubbish Vertical Clearacne Simulation Overall, the fire appliance, servicing and loading arrangements of the proposal have been assessed and are acceptable from a traffic engineering perspective. Page 14

15 8. CONCLUSION The proposed 44 apartment development has been assessed in regard to its traffic impact, which includes consideration of vehicle access, parking, traffic generation, pedestrian amenity and servicing aspects of the development. In considering each one of these aspects there have been no adverse impacts highlighted that are cause for concern from a traffic engineering perspective. In summary, the vehicle access arrangements provided through a new vehicle crossing satisfactorily accommodates the sites expected traffic movements. The resulting traffic impact on existing footpaths and traffic on Tennyson Ave are acceptable. The on-site parking provisions are congruent with the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan s (PAUP) and Special Housing Area maximum criteria. The parking impacts associated with restrained parking supply have been assessed to be acceptable on the basis that other transport modes can be adopted such as walking, cycling and passenger transport an area in the basement designated for bicycle parking has been provided for this reason. Restrained parking is therefore anticipated to suppress parking demand and is a permitted activity. The traffic generation of the proposal has been assessed to be insignificant in regard to local and wider roading network effects. Pedestrian amenity within the development is provided by footpaths that connect the street footpath directly to ground floor apartments and to lift and stair wells for the remaining apartments. The servicing arrangements provided by a private rubbish and recycling collection service have been checked by simulating the swept path of a specialised rubbish truck accessing the basement rubbish storage area. The inlets to a fire sprinkler system are envisaged to be located along Tennyson Ave, or alternatively a fire appliance can access the rear apartment building via the basement access ramp, and therefore the building Code s fire appliance truck access requirement can be satisfied in this regard. On this basis, the proposed residential apartment development is expected to operate as intended and have acceptable impacts on the surrounding traffic environment. The proposed development is therefore acceptable from a traffic engineering perspective. Page 15