City of Glens Falls School Circulation Study

Resource Systems Group, Inc.
60 Lake Street, Suite 1E

Burlington, VT 05401
TEL 802.295.4999 | FAX 802.295.1006
www.rsginc.com

Glens Falls School District
Traffic Circulation Study

Technical Report
August 9, 2012
Prepared for
Glens Falls School District and
Adirondack / Glens Falls
Transportation Council
Prepared
by
Resource Systems Group, Inc.

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Table of Contents
1 . 0 I n t r o d u c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Study Area …………………………………. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
1.1.1 School Characteristics ………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
1.1.2 Adjacent Street Network ……………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………. 2
1.1.3 Travel Options to School …………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
1.1.4 Pick-up and Drop-off Procedures ………………. ……………………………………………………………………………. 4
1.2 Purpose and Need ……………………………. …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
2 . 0 R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.1 Short Term Recommendations …………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 6
2.1.1 Expand Quade Street Drop-Off Area …………….. ………………………………………………………………………… 6
2.1.2 Shift Sherman Avenue Parking to North Side of Stree t ……………………………………………………….. 7
2.1.3 Encourage Counter Clockwise Circulation ……….. …………………………………………………………………… 8
2.1.4 Increase Temporary Barrier Ballast ……………. ………………………………………………………………………….. 8
2.1.5 Install All-Way Stop Controls at Shippey / Empire . ……………………………………………………………… 8
2.2 Long Term Streetscape Enhancements ……………. ……………………………………………………………………………. 9
2.2.1 Improve City Sidewalk Network ………………… ……………………………………………………………………………. 9
2.2.2 Automatic Quade Street Closure Features ……….. ……………………………………………………………………. 9
2.2.3 Quade Street – Sherman Avenue Loop ……………. ……………………………………………………………………. 10
2.3 Programmatic Strategies ……………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………. 10
2.3.1 Promote Coordination with Transit …………….. ……………………………………………………………………….. 11
2.3.2 Participate in Active Transportation Encouragement Programs …………………………………….. 11
3 . 0 T r a f f i c O b s e r v a t i o n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1
3.1 Observed Traffic Volumes …………………….. ………………………………………………………………………………………… 12
3.2 Tube Count Data Collection …………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 15
3.3 Observed Vehicle Queues ……………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… 15
3.4 Vehicle and Pedestrian Observation Summary …….. ……………………………………………………………………. 16
4 . 0 C r a s h A n a l y s i s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6
4.1 Western Avenue / Sherman Avenue Intersection …… …………………………………………………………………. 17
4.2 Sherman Avenue / Quade Street Intersection …….. ……………………………………………………………………… 18
4.3 Quade Street / West Notre Dame Street Intersection ……………………………………………………………….. 18
4.4 Shippey Street / Empire Avenue / Harrison Avenue In tersection ………………………………………….. 18
4.5 Sherman Avenue Corridor ……………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………. 1 8
4.6 Quade Street Corridor ……………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 19
5 . 0 E f f e c t o f A l i g n e d S c h o o l D a y s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 9
5.1 Approximating the Existing Demand …………….. ……………………………………………………………………………… 19
5.2 Typical Glens Falls Street Traffic Characteristics ……………………………………………………………………….. 20
5.3 Isolating High School Related Traffic …………. …………………………………………………………………………………. 21
5.4 Effect of Aligned School Days ………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 23
5.5 Sherman Avenue & Quade Street Intersection Analysis ……………………………………………………………. 25
5.6 Effect on Observed Vehicle Queuing ……………. ……………………………………………………………………………….. 26
5.7 Summary of Effects of Aligned School Days ……… …………………………………………………………………………. 27

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ii August 9, 2012

6 . 0 C o n g e s t i o n M i t i g a t i o n S t r a t e g i e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 7
6.1 Develop Alternate On-Street Pick-Up and Drop-Off Lo cations ………………………………………………… 27
6.1.1 Encourage the Use of Clayton Avenue and Grant Avenu e Entrance Points …………………… 28
6.1.2 Restrict Parking along Quade Street South of West N otre Dame Street ………………………… 28
6.1.3 Move the parking aisle along Sherman Avenue ……. …………………………………………………………….. 28
6.1.4 Encourage counter-clockwise circulation ……….. …………………………………………………………………… 28
6.2 Restrict Access to School Parking Lots…………. ………………………………………………………………………………. 29
6.3 Enhanced Temporary Street Closure Barriers …….. …………………………………………………………………….. 29
6.4 Construct New Site Circulation Patterns ……….. …………………………………………………………………………….. 30
6.4.1 Alternative 1: Sherman Avenue High School Loop …. ………………………………………………………….. 30
6.4.2 Alternative 2: Quade Street to Sherman Avenue Drop- Off ……………………………………………….. 30
6.4.3 Alternative 3: Grant Avenue Access Road ……….. …………………………………………………………………… 30
6.4.4 Alternative 4: Quade Street Middle School Loop …. …………………………………………………………….. 30
6.5 Increase the Percentage of Students that Walk / Bik e / Bus to School ………………………………….. 30
7 . 0 I m p l e m e n t a t i o n M a t r i x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1

List of Figures
Figure 1: School campus within Glens Falls. ……. …………………………………………………………………………………………… 1
Figure 2: Glens Falls School District High School a nd Middle School Campuses. ………………………………….. 2
Figure 3: Street operational characteristics and in tersection controls near the study area campus. .. 3
Figure 4: Bus staging areas and primary entrances t o the high school and middle school. ………………… 3
Figure 5: Maintained pedestrian paths accessing the school campus. …………………………………………………….. 4
Figure 6: Schematic illustrating on-street parking, assigned student parking, and pick-up and drop-
off designated areas. (Not to scale) ………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
Figure 7: Recommended drop off area expansion, look ing south along Quade Street near High
School entrance. ……………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
Figure 8: Realigned parking on north side of Sherma n Avenue. ………………………………………………………………. 7
Figure 9: Short-term recommendations to enhance saf ety and reduce congestion at the Glens Falls
School District Campus. ……………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8
Figure 10: A view of the recommended automatic gate s at Quade Street and West Notre Dame
Street. Similar treatments are recommended at Quade Street and Shippey Avenue. …………………………… 9
Figure 11: Potential high school drop-off loop. Req uired sidewalk reconstruction not illustrated. .. 10
Figure 12: Clean, colorful, and fun new bicycle rac ks may attract additional bicycle ridership.
Pictured: the Loop Rack from Muchi East. ………. ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
Figure 13: AM peak hour traffic volumes in the stud y area ……………………………………………………………………… 12
Figure 14: PM peak hour traffic volumes in the stud y area ……………………………………………………………………… 13
Figure 15: 15 minute volumes through three studied intersections along Quade Street in the AM
arrival period………………………………. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14
Figure 16: 15 minute volumes through three studied intersections along Quade Street in the PM
arrival period………………………………. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14

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Figure 17: Road volume data from street network adj acent to the school campus from January 18,
2012. ……………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 15
Figure 18: Reported vehicle collisions near the pro ject areas from 2008 to 2011. …………………………….. 17
Figure 19: Lincoln Avenue Traffic Calming Study wee kday traffic calming data, July 28 – August 3,
2011. ……………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 20
Figure 20: One-hour incremental data from other nea rby Glens Falls City streets. ……………………………. 21
Figure 21: Approximate volume of the traffic relate d to the school campus along Quade Street and
Sherman Avenue. …………………………….. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 22
Figure 22: Approximate expected shift in volumes al ong Quade Street and Sherman Avenue under
aligned school days. ………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 22
Figure 23: Approximate anticipated volumes along Qu ade Street and Sherman Avenue under
aligned school days. ………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 23
Figure 24: Approximate anticipated volumes along Qu ade Street and Sherman Avenue under
aligned school days, with specific traffic peaks an notated. ……………………………………………………………………… 25
List of Tables
Table 1: Level-of-Service Criteria for Signalized and Unsignalized Intersections ………………………………. 26
Attachments
Attachment A: Conceptual Cost Estimates for Recomme nded Improvements
Attachment B: Off Street Parking and Drop-Off Expan sion Alternatives and Evaluation Comparison

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Resource Systems Group, Inc. 1
Insights and Solutions for a Better World

1 . 0 IN T R O D U C T I O N
Resource Systems Group, Inc. was contracted by the
Adirondack / Glens Falls Transportation
Council (A/GFTC) to evaluate and address site circu lation, vehicle access, and pedestrian safety
issues around the Glens Falls High School and Middl e School campus. Beginning in the 2012-2013
school year, the arrival departure times of the hig h school and middle school are to be aligned. The
objectives of this study include:

An evaluation of the current access patterns,

A projection of access issues under aligned arrival and dismissal times, and

Proposed short and long term congestion mitigation strategies with improvements to the
circulation patterns and bicycle and pedestrian saf ety considerations.
This report summarizes the methods of data collecti on, the analysis techniques, a review of the
alternatives investigated, and short-term and long- term recommendations. This study has been
organized into the following sections:
Section 1.0 – Introduction : Provides background information, explains the goa ls of this report,
states the formal purpose and need of the study and provides a general description of the campus
area, school characteristics, and adjacent street n etwork within the City of Glens Falls.
Section 2.0 – Recommendations: The short and long term recommendations are present ed early
in this report for those that are most interested i n the conclusions to be able to quickly and easily
reach this information.
Section 3.0 – Traffic Observations: Documents the data collection methodology and pres ents the
observed operational characteristics of the pick-up and drop-off periods.
Section 4.0 – Crash Analysis: Reviews the available crash records and documents a ny safety
hazards near the study area.
Section 5.0 – Effect of Aligned School Times: Discusses the methodology used to project the
resulting traffic under aligned school days and rev iews the resulting data.
Section 6.0 – Congestion Mitigation Strategies:
Presents the investigations into the various short- term
and long-term congestion mitigation strategies.
Section 7.0 – Implementation : Identifies the leader
and other partners that will participate in or supp ort
the implementation of the recommendations.
1 . 1 S t u dy A r e a
The study area for the circulation analysis surroun ds
the Glens Falls School District Campus in west-cent ral
Glens Falls, roughly bounded by Quade Street,
Sherman Avenue, Clayton Avenue, and Grant Avenue,
specifically focusing on the primary school entranc e
locations for the Middle and High Schools along Qua de
Street. Additionally, the intersections of Shippey Street
and West Notre Dame Street with Empire Avenue
were included in the evaluation.
Figure 1: School campus within Glens Falls.

Adirondack / Glens Falls Transportation Council
Glens Falls School District Traffic Circulation Stu dy

2 August 9, 2012

1 . 1 . 1 S c h o o l C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
The Glens Falls School District campus serves as th e only public high school and middle school
facility in the City of Glens Falls. The High Schoo l and Middle School serves grades 9 – 12 and 5 – 8,
respectively. The High School serves approximately 770 students and Middle School student
population numbers at around 575 pupils. This
difference in student population is a combination
of unusually high and low class sizes in the High
School and Middle School respectively and not
indicative of a declining population. In recent
years, the population of the city has declined but
is currently stable. Future classes, currently in
grades 1 – 4, total approximately 650 students.
The school campus hosts a variety of facilities for
extracurricular activities. Along with the many
classrooms and academic facilities, the campus
contains a theater, several athletic fields and
practice grounds, including an indoor
gymnasium, a joint football and soccer field, an
outdoor track, a practice baseball diamond, and
batting cages. The nearby Morse Athletic
Complex, west of the campus along Sherman
Avenue, provides additional recreational
opportunities.
1 . 1 . 2 A d j a c e n t S t r e e t N e t w o r k
In the study area, Sherman, Western, and Grant Aven ues operate similarly to minor arterial streets.
As arterials, these roads provide through traffic w ith a route across the project area. In general,
these streets, operating as arterials, focus more o n through traffic mobility then the remaining
streets in the study area.
The remaining streets in the project area, includin g Quade Street, Shippey Street, and Clayton,
Harrison, and Empire Avenues operate most similarly to the collector street classification.
Typically, the corresponding streetscape to this cl assification emphasizes accessibility to
neighboring properties and land uses.
The surrounding street network consists of stop con trolled intersections; there are no stop lights in
the immediate vicinity of the school campus. In gen eral, the arterial streets are free movements,
meaning these streets do not have to stop, at inter sections with the neighborhood streets. When
these arterials intersect, all approaches are gener ally required to stop; the same is generally true
for the intersection of neighborhood streets. The i ntersection controls and road classifications are
presented in Figure 3.
As an urban school district in a neighborhood setti ng, the streetscape generally includes two lanes
of traffic, parking on one or both sides of the roa d, and sidewalks on both sides of the road. There
are no bike lanes or paths near the school. Sidewal ks are notably absent on the south side of
Shippey Street, the south side of Grant Avenue bord ering the school, the east side of Quade Street
north of Shippey Street, and both sides of Clayton Avenue. Additionally, the sidewalk network
bounded by Garfield Street, Shippey Street, and Har rison Avenue has several missing walkway
segments.
Figure 2: Glens Falls School District High
School and Middle School Campuses.

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Insights and Solutions for a Better World

The Glens Falls School District does not provide bu
ssing to a majority of its students. As a walking
school district, bus service is only provided for s tudents with disabilities or for field trips, athletic
events, and other extracurricular activities. The b us staging areas for the high school and middle
school are located within the faculty-only parking lots, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Bus staging areas and primary entrances t o the high school and middle school.
Figure 3: Street operational characteristics and intersection controls near
the study area campus.

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Glens Falls School District Traffic Circulation Stu dy

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1 . 1 . 3 T r a v e l O p t i o n s t o S c h o o l
The available modes of travel to and from
the school include walking, bicycling,
students driving alone or with other
students, public transit through the Greater
Glens Falls Transit system, or students being
driven to or from the campus by a parent,
relative, or other adult.
On-street parking is available on all streets
adjacent to the school campus, including the
south side of Sherman Avenue and both
sides of all other streets. East of Quade
Street, parking is allowed only on the north
side of Sherman Avenue. There are pick-up
and drop-off only parking restrictions along
the west side of Quade Street north of Notre
Dame Street. The on-campus parking lots
are for faculty members only. Assigned
parking is available to High School Seniors
south east of the campus at the Calvary
Assembly of God Church parking lot. A
schematic of the parking inventory is
illustrated in Figure 6.
There are two pedestrian paths accessing the main s chool buildings from the north and west sides
of the campus. One path leads from mid-block along Clayton Avenue, through the football fields
north of the bleachers and to the main buildings. T he second path leads from Grant Avenue across
from Austin Street along a new sidewalk, adjacent t o the practice baseball field and batting cage,
and into the Middle School parking lot. These paths are shown in Figure 5.
Bicycle racks were located at the two primary entra nce points. Due to the cold and windy weather
few bikes were expected during observations. Only o ne bicycle, which appeared to have been
damaged and abandoned, was noted in the racks durin g the day of observations in January. Later
campus observations during the spring noticed a hig her utilization rate of bicycles in the racks
during the school day.
Based upon previous school travel surveys conducted at surrounding elementary schools
1, around
55-60% of the students were picked up or dropped of f at the school by their parents.
Approximately 30-35% walked to and from school, wit h the remaining 10% split by carpooling and
biking. As these results represent the travel chara cteristics of two elementary schools, the drive-
alone option was not available and the older studen ts found at the Middle and High Schools are
likely to exhibit greater independence. However, wi th only a small percentage of students eligible to
drive themselves, and the potential for inclement w eather, a similar mode share could be expected.
1 . 1 . 4 P i c k – u p a n d D r o p – o f f P r o c e d u r e s
Currently, the high school day begins at 7:45 and ends at 2:20. The middle school day begins at 8:30
running to 3:00. Arrivals to the school campus were noted to begin prior to 7:30 AM.

1 Abe Wing and Big Cross Elementary School Access Pl ans, 2010
Figure 5: Maintained pedestrian paths
accessing the school campus.

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Resource Systems Group, Inc. 5
Insights and Solutions for a Better World

With primary entrances to both the high school and
middle school on Quade Street, many students
are dropped off along either side of Quade Street. As a measure to combat congestion, reduce
through vehicles, and separate high school and midd le school traffic, temporary barriers are set up
along Quade Street north of West Notre Dame Street and south of Shippey Street during the arrival
and departure periods. While this has been effectiv e at managing through traffic, considerable
congestion still exists at the peak arrival and dis missal times. When the closest parking spaces to
the school entrances were occupied, double parked v ehicles were observed allowing passengers to
enter and exit the vehicle. In the dismissal peak p eriod, double parked vehicles were waiting for the
students to exit the school, while other vehicles w ere noted parked in unmarked spaces to wait for
the students to exit the building.

Figure 6: Schematic illustrating on-street parking, assigned student parking, and pick-up and
drop-off designated areas. (Not to scale)

Adirondack / Glens Falls Transportation Council
Glens Falls School District Traffic Circulation Stu dy

6 August 9, 2012

In addition to vehicle congestion, many students we re dropped off or picked up from the east side
of Quade Street. This location requires that studen ts cross Quade Street, and many were noted to
forego the marked crosswalk locations in favor of c rossing directly in front of the school in the
straightest line possible. This increased the poten tial for students to enter traffic unexpectedly from
between parked vehicles, contributing to additional vehicle-pedestrian conflicts and potentially
unsafe conditions.
1 . 2 P u r p o s e a n d N e e d
This study was initiated to analyze and address the changing school campus population, operating
characteristics, and arrival and departure patterns . Recently, the middle school has taken on all fifth
grade students in the district, increasing the numb er of students attending the campus. As noted
earlier, the arrival and departure times of the hig h school will be aligned with the middle school
beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, potential ly increasing the peak travel period. Lastly, the
overall pick-up and drop-off operational patterns h ave been evaluated with the recent
implementation of temporary traffic barriers.
As described earlier, the purpose of this study inc ludes:

An evaluation of the current access patterns,

Projection of access issues under aligned arrival a nd dismissal times, and

Proposed short and long term improvements to the ci rculation patterns.
The following section outlines the recommended shor t-term and long-term strategies that address
the identified queuing, congestion, and safety issu es identified during the course of the study. These
issues are documented in Sections 3, 4, and 5.
2 . 0 RE C O M M E N D AT I O N S
The proposed recommendations for the project fall u nder two main categories: modifications to the
streetscape environment to improve vehicle flow, re duce congestion, and enhance bicycle and
pedestrian safety, or programmatic strategies to ch ange behavior, encourage a greater percentage
of walking and biking rates, and reduce the number of vehicle trips to the school.
Additional explanation of the impacts and considera tions of these and other improvements is
presented in Section 6.0. More detailed cost estima tes of several of the more complex
recommendations are included in Attachment A.
2 . 1 S h o r t Te r m Re c o m m e n d a t i o n s
The following four recommendations are immediately implementable at a minimal cost. The
primary goal of these recommendations is to provide additional vehicle queuing capacity, improve
safety of the students walking to school and to and from the pick-up and drop-off vehicles, and to
address the anticipated congestion associated with the aligned school days.
2 . 1 . 1 E x p a n d Q u a d e S t r e e t D r o p – O f f A r e a
Approximate Cost: $1000
To provide more waiting areas near the school, it i s recommended that the long-term parking
spaces on the west side of Quade Street between She rman Avenue and West Notre Dame Street are
converted to pick-up and drop-off spaces only. This designation will be consistent with the existing

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Resource Systems Group, Inc. 7
Insights and Solutions for a Better World

parking restrictions on the west side of Quade
Street from West Notre Dame Street to Grant
Avenue. The vehicles that currently utilize the
west-side Quade Street parking will be dispersed
to other on-street parking locations. Students may
be encouraged to utilize the assigned parking lot a
t
the Assembly of God Church.
2 . 1 . 2 S h i f t S h e r m a n A v e n u e
P a r k i n g t o N o r t h S i d e o f
S t r e e t
Approximate Cost: $2,250
Similar to the counter-clockwise circulation
strategy, parking and waiting areas on the north
side of Sherman Avenue adjacent to the school will reduce the number of pedestrian crossings from
the south side of the street. Additionally, there a re fewer drives on the north side of Sherman
Avenue, allowing for a greater number of spaces tha n the south side. The drop-off area should allow
for parking during off-peak evening hours, weekends , and for special events. Parking restrictions
should only be placed in this alternate drop-off ar ea during school hours.
Along the entire remaining corridor, parking is cur rently allowed on the south side of Sherman
Avenue. On the studied segment of Sherman Avenue, v ehicles will be forced to weave into and out
of the realigned traveled way. Due to the stop-cont rolled intersection entering this segment,
traveling speeds are anticipated to be low and the transition should be acceptable.
It is recommended that the drop off area maintains a 20-foot no parking restriction adjacent to all
driveways, roadways, and crosswalks. The realigned park on the north side of Sherman Avenue is
illustrated in Figure 8.

Figure 8: Realigned parking on north side of Sherman Avenue.
Extend drop-off
area south to
Sherman Avenue
Quade Street School
Campus
Figure 7: Recommended drop off area
expansion, looking south along Quade Street
near High School entrance.

Adirondack / Glens Falls Transportation Council
Glens Falls School District Traffic Circulation Stu dy

8 August 9, 2012

2 . 1 . 3 E n c o u r a g e C o u n t e r C l o c k w i s e C i r c u l a t i o n
Approximate Cost: N/A (Include in existing newslett er mailings)
In the district’s communication to parents, it is recommended that the district encourage
counterclockwise circulation for both the high scho ol and middle school drop off areas. This
circulation pattern provides students access to and from vehicles directly from the sidewalk
adjacent to the school, reducing the number of pede strian crossings. Furthermore, vehicles
approaching the campus from West Notre Dame Street and heading south on Quade Street will have
access to the newly expanded drop-off and pick-up a rea; vehicles traveling northbound would not
have safe and legal access to these spaces. Lastly, by encouraging this circulation pattern, the schoo l
district will be able to promote this additional pi ck-up and drop-off area expansion.
2 . 1 . 4 I n c r e a s e T e m p o r a r y B a r r i e r B a l l a s t
Approximate Cost: $100
During our observations, the temporary barriers wer e noted to blow over in strong gusts. If
possible, increasing the ballast in the bottom of t he barriers may improve their stability. The
increased weight of the barriers will decrease thei r ease of implementation, but it is important for
the temporary barriers to remain visible to be effe ctive.
2 . 1 . 5 I n s t a l l A l l – W a y S t o p C o n t r o l s a t S h i p p e y / E m p i r e
Approximate Cost: $800
Given the neighborhood setting, adjacent school cam pus, localized lack of sidewalk infrastructure,
and crash data, all-way stop control is recommended at the Shippey Street / Empire Avenue /
Harrison Avenue intersection. Warning flags are als o recommended on the new sign for the first six
months after installation.
The four short-term recommendations discussed above are illustrated in Figure 9.

Figure 9: Short-term recommendations to enhance saf ety and reduce congestion at the Glens
Falls School District Campus.

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Resource Systems Group, Inc. 9
Insights and Solutions for a Better World

2 . 2 L o n g Te r m S t re e t s c a p e E n h a n c e m e n t s
The long term streetscape enhancements are larger p
rojects that attempt to address safety issues
and vehicle congestion. The projects typically repr esent a greater capital expenditure and will likely
require significant planning and engineering design , with potential grant funding opportunities.
2 . 2 . 1 I m p r o v e C i t y S i d e w a l k N e t w o r k
Approximate Cost: $100 – $200 per foot of sidewalk
Several critical segments of sidewalk are missing n ear the school campus. It is recommended that
these sidewalks are constructed to emphasize the Ci ty’s commitment to walking and to improve the
pedestrian environment for students en route to sch ool. The three most critical sidewalk segments
include:
1. South side of Shippey Street from Quade Street to L iberty Avenue ($60,000 – $120,000)
2. South side of Grant Avenue from Clayton Avenue to A ustin Avenue ($40,000 – $80,000)
3. Both sides of Harrison Avenue from Garfield Avenue to Shippey Street ($150,000 –
$300,000)
In addition, specific sidewalk treatments such bulb -outs, accessible sidewalk ramps, and detectable
warning surfaces should be installed where feasible .
2 . 2 . 2 A u t o m a t i c Q u a d e S t r e e t C l o s u r e F e a t u r e s
Approximate Cost: $95,000
The intersections of Quade Street at West Notre Dam e Street and at Shippey Street should be
redeveloped for a more automated and visible street closure. Proposed features may include:

Bulb-outs to reduce crossing distance and street cl osure width,

Automatic gates with flashing lights that close at predetermined times, and

Permanent warning signs indicating the street closu re times.

Figure 10: A view of the recommended automatic gate s at Quade Street and West Notre Dame
Street. Similar treatments are recommended at Quade Street and Shippey Avenue.

Adirondack / Glens Falls Transportation Council
Glens Falls School District Traffic Circulation Stu dy

10 August 9, 2012

2 . 2 . 3 Q u a d e S t r e e t – S h e r m a n A v e n u e L o o p
Approximate Cost: $550,000
A one way loop, beginning approximately 75 feet nor th of Sherman Avenue, continuing west with
pick-up and drop-off spaces, turning south and inte rsecting with Stevens Street is proposed as the
most feasible off-street parking and waiting area e xpansion. This alignment provides up to 12
vehicle waiting spaces, plus the greatest coordinat ion within the existing street network, reducing
additional vehicle conflicts as much as possible.
Several immediately identifiable issues include:

Sacrifice of the open green space in front of the school for vehicle waiting areas,

Potential for additional congestion within the new loop, specifically if vehicles double park
to wait, or if left turning vehicles cannot exit th e loop,

Loss of on-street parking / drop-off area queue spa ce if parking is shifted to the north side
of Sherman Avenue,

Two new pedestrian – vehicle conflict areas at loop entrance and exit, and

Significant reconstruction of existing campus walkw ays would be required.
This proposed driveway loop is illustrated in Figur e 8.

Figure 11: Potential high school drop-off loop. Req uired sidewalk reconstruction not
illustrated.
2 . 3 P ro g ra m m a t i c S t ra te g i e s
The following strategies are immediately implementa ble and are intended to change travel
behaviors over the long term, ultimately to increas e the number of students who walk, bike, and
ride the bus to school. These programs may reduce c ongestion while also promoting healthier
lifestyles.

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Resource Systems Group, Inc. 11
Insights and Solutions for a Better World

2 . 3 . 1 P r o m o t e C o o r d i n a t i o n w i t h T r a n s i t
The School District should coordinate with the loca
l transit provider, Greater Glens Falls Transit
(GGFT) to increase bus ridership as much as feasibl e. Potential collaborative programs may include:

At the beginning of every school year, the district should include a bus route map and time
table for the East-West Commuter Route which access es the school site,

Provide and promote school subsidized passes for th e East-West Commuter Route,

Modify the afternoon East-West Commuter Route so th at the bus picks up on Sherman
Avenue directly adjacent to the school, rather than along the existing route along Grant
Avenue,

Construct a waiting shelter for the East-West Route stop at the High School, and

Provide intuitive internet access, including a rout e map, for information on the East-West
Commuter Route.
2 . 3 . 2 P a r t i c i p a t e i n A c t i v e T r a n s p o r t a t i o n E n c o u r a g e m e n t
P r o g r a m s
The purpose of these programs is to incentivize act ive forms of transportation, including walking,
bicycling. These programs may include:

Safe Routes to School events for the Middle School, including Walk to School Day and Bike
to School Day,

Offer students incentives to walk or
bike to school, potentially with prizes
for highest weekly, monthly, or annual
walking or biking trip totals,

Replace old bike racks with new,
functional, well maintained racks in
prominent locations close to the
school entrances. Consider adding
additional bicycle racks, and

Increase awareness amongst students
and parents on the health, lifestyle and
educational benefits of biking and
walking to school; emphasize the
generally lower safety risks on
walking or biking to school as
compared to driving.
The above recommendations discuss the proposed solu tions to address the identified congestion,
queuing, and safety issues observed through this st udy. The following sections describe the site
reconnaissance, background investigations, safety r esearch, analysis methodology, and alternative
assessments.
3 . 0 TR A F F I C OB S E RVAT I O N S
The traffic observations were conducted throughout the day on January 18, 2012. The weather was
cold, clear, and windy, with temperatures around 25 degrees Fahrenheit. To begin observations,
road tube traffic data collectors were placed on Sh erman Avenue, Quade Street, Grant Avenue, and
Clayton Avenue. The high school and middle school p eak arrival and dismissal periods were
Figure 12: Clean, colorful, and fun new bicycle
racks may attract additional bicycle ridership.
Pictured: the Loop Rack from Muchi East.

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12 August 9, 2012

observed from the two intersections nearest the pri mary entrances, with short duration turning
movement counts at adjacent intersections throughou t the day. The resulting traffic volumes,
pedestrian counts, vehicle queues, and general obse rvations were compiled into an overall traffic
model.
3 . 1 O b s e r ve d Tra f f i c Vo l u m e s
The one hour traffic volumes around the school camp us is for the AM and PM school arrival and
dismissal peaks are shown in Figure 13 and Figure 1 4, respectively. Note that Quade Street is closed
to through traffic between West Notre Dame Street a nd Shippey Street during these periods, but
open throughout the rest of the day.

Figure 13: AM peak hour traffic volumes in the stud y area

30 438 0
6 00 26 0
21 0
0
31 70 86 79
36 22 182
39 00
58 155167 141
19 0 26
57 177
39 237 97 19 12
7 49 49
11 8
23
185 118
0
97
3 84
125 351 18 9 13 24 22 50
15 19 20
135 214 165
74 19
101 12 23
244 398
252
95 12
143 256 149 18 44 28
School Campus
MS Parking Lot
HS Parking Lot
HS Entrance
MS Entrance
Grant Ave Ext
Sherman Ave
Cortland StS Western Ave
Western AveAustin StGoodmanSt
Sherman Ave
Grant
Ave
Shippey St
W Notre Dame St
Quade St
Clayton AveWestern Ave

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Figure 14: PM peak hour traffic volumes in the stud
y area
The volumes illustrated in Figure 13 and Figure 14 represent the peak hour volumes through the
studied intersections. Operating most nearly as art erial streets, Sherman Avenue, Western Avenue
and Grant Avenue are expected to have a greater pro portion of through vehicles and trips unrelated
to the school traffic, and would be less likely to be affected by the sudden peak in traffic due to
school arrivals and departures. As local collector roads directly serving the school entries, Quade
Street, Shippey Street, and West Notre Dame Street are likely to be more affected by these sudden
traffic peaks.
The peaking behavior caused by the arrival and dism issal of students is best illustrated when
viewing the data in 15-minute periods. Along Quade Street, the southern intersections at West
Notre Dame Street and Sherman Avenue more directly serve the High School, and the northern
intersection at Shippey Street more directly serves the middle school. With High School classes
beginning at 7:45 and ending at 2:20, the Sherman A venue and Notre Dame Street intersections are
expected to experience peak traffic related to the school from 7:30 – 7:45, and 2:15 – 2:30.
Similarly, the peak traffic related to the Middle S chool would be expected in the period prior to the
19 284 0
5 00 12 0
23 0
0
34 67 77 71
40 15 82
19 00
29 7797 85
10 0 12
6 100
19 194 48 29 20
6 41 41
23
12 5
112 69
1
82
0 104
84 237 12 6 9 29 15 38
21 29 27
181 295 245
99 22
68 20 29
165 257
196
64 18
96 173 100 16 48 25
School Campus
MS Parking Lot
HS Parking Lot
HS Entrance
MS Entrance
Grant Ave Ext
Sherman Ave
Cortland StS Western Ave
Western AveAustin StGoodmanSt
Sherman Ave
Grant
Ave
Shippey St
W Notre Dame St
Quade St
Clayton AveWestern Ave

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14 August 9, 2012

beginning and after the commencement of classes, or approximately 8:15-8:30 and 3:00 – 3:15.
During the observations conducted January 18, the t raffic data collected at these intersections
followed that pattern.

Figure 15: 15 minute volumes through three studied intersections along Quade Street in the
AM arrival period.
As expected, the observed volume through these inte rsections along Quade Street show a clear,
short duration increase in the traffic from 7:30 – 7:45 for the Notre Dame Street and Sherman
Avenue intersections. The increase in traffic at th e Shippey Street intersection includes the two 15-
minute periods prior to the first class from 8:00 – 8:30.

Figure 16: 15 minute volumes through three studied intersections along Quade Street in the
PM arrival period.
Also as expected, the observed volume through the N otre Dame Street and Sherman Avenue
intersections along Quade Street show a clear, shor t duration increase in the traffic from 2:15 –
2:30, and the Shippey Street intersection peaks at 3:00 – 3:15.
It should be noted that in past mode share surveys, the walking and biking percentage often
increases and the pick-up percentage decreases in t he evening as many parents are still working,

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Resource Systems Group, Inc. 15
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and many students participate in extracurricular ac
tivities. This indicates that the afternoon peak
period is expected to be less pronounced than the m orning peak.
3 . 2 Tu b e C o u n t D a t a C o l l e c t i o n
Tube counters were placed on the streets adjacent to the school to collect traffic data over the
course of the day. The resulting data are shown in Figure 17.

Figure 17: Road volume data from street network adj acent to the school campus from January
18, 2012.
As expected, all neighboring streets display two di stinct peak periods in the morning and afternoon
hours. This AM and PM peaking behavior is common on many streets as residents commute to and
from work. However, the peak is particularly notice able along Quade Street and Grant Avenue,
likely due to traffic related to the schools.
Between 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM, the daytime average v ehicle count on Quade Street and Sherman
Avenue was approximated to be 16 and 103 vehicles p er 15 minutes. These averages are illustrated
by the dashed lines in Figure 17.
3 . 3 O b s e r ve d Ve h i c l e Q u e u e s
As demonstrated by the above figures, the vehicle t ravel patterns to and from the school are
characterized by sharp, short duration increases in traffic for drivers to pick up or drop off
students. In both the morning drop-off and afternoo n pick-up periods vehicle queues were
observed. When no street parking space was availab le, drivers were noted to momentarily double-
park and allow the student to enter or exit the veh icle. Depending on the amount of time used in
this process, a queue would often form behind the o bstructing vehicle. The maximum observed
queue was approximately five vehicles.
In addition to blocking traffic, the double parking created a rushed atmosphere in which students
hurried to or from the vehicles. In several instanc es, students were observed to cross the roadway
at unexpected locations, entering traffic from with in the vehicle queues.

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16 August 9, 2012

Fortunately, as Quade Street is a low volume neighb orhood street, almost all traffic observed near
the school during the arrival and dismissal periods was associated with the school. In this case,
most drivers were aware of the potential for pedest rians, were prepared for expected queues, and
generally operated appropriately.
3 . 4 Ve h i c l e a n d Pe d e s t r i a n O b s e r va t i o n S u m m a r y
The following summarizes the general traffic and tr avel characteristics observed on January 18,
2012:

The two primary modes to and from the school were w alking and being driven / dropped
off and picked up. Some students drove themselves a nd with others.

Considerable traffic related to the dropping-off an d picking-up of students can be expected
30 minutes prior to and following the beginning and ending of the school day, respectively.

Many students cross Quade Street in the most direct path between their destination and the
school entrance.

Queue lengths were reasonable, and it appeared that most drivers understood that a
significant number of students and pedestrians woul d be present.

The temporary barriers used to close off Quade Stre ets were blown over in strong gusts of
wind.
4 . 0 CR A S H AN A LY S I S
All traffic collisions reported to the Glens Falls Police Department were compiled within the study
area. From 2008 to 2011, there were 35 collisions r esulting in two injuries and zero fatalities. There
were no reported collisions involving pedestrians. There was one collision involving a bicyclist
resulting in injury. All reported collisions are il lustrated in Figure 18.
The collision involving the bicyclist occurred outs ide the school peak hours and is unlikely to be
related to school transportation. In addition, this collision occurred at Morton Street and Sherman
Avenue, generally outside the project area. It is i llustrated in the far southeast corner of Figure 18 .

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Figure 18: Reported vehicle collisions near the pro
ject areas from 2008 to 2011.
From Figure 18, several areas appear to have a high number of collisions, including:

The Western Avenue / Sherman Avenue intersection,

The Sherman Avenue / Quade Street intersection,

The Quade Street / Notre Dame Street intersection,

The Shippey Street / Empire Avenue / Harrison Avenu e intersection

The Sherman Avenue corridor, and

The Quade Street corridor.
4 . 1 We s te r n Ave n u e / S h e r m a n Ave n u e I n t e r s e c t i o n
There were seven collisions at this intersection. S ince the intersection is all-way stop controlled, the
predominant crash type would be expected to be rear end collisions common at locations where
vehicles are often changing speed. However, six of the seven collisions were reported as right angle
crashes, indicating that the vehicle did not stop a nd yield at the intersection. Sight distance is not
limited at this location. Advance warning signs or enhanced visibility treatments at the stop sign,
such as a retroreflective post, may reduce the numb er of collisions at this intersection. Two of the
seven collisions took place during the school peak hour, and none of these crashes resulted in
injury.
Crash
Investigation Area

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18 August 9, 2012

4 . 2 S h e r m a n Ave n u e / Q u a d e S t r e e t I n te r s e c t i o n
Five collisions were reported at this intersection, one of which took place during the peak hour of
school traffic. No injuries resulted from the colli sions. Four of the five collisions were right angle
collisions from Cortland Avenue or Quade Street. Th is may indicate that the offset geometry of the
intersection may be adding to confusion.
Although not recommended in this study, the offset entrances to the intersection and the
availability of public right of way to the northwes t may indicate that this may be an acceptable
location for future construction of a roundabout. D ue to the operating characteristics of
roundabouts, right-angle collisions would likely be reduced significantly. If this collision scenario
continues, additional study may be required to dete rmine if a roundabout would improve the safety
and operation of this intersection.
4 . 3 Q u a d e S t re e t / We s t N o t r e D a m e S t r e e t I n t e r s e c t i o n
Four collisions were reported at this intersection, three of which occurred during the school peak
hour with one injury resulting. Two of the four col lisions appeared to be between a vehicle
performing a parallel parking maneuver and the adja cent parked vehicles. A third collision,
resulting in an injury, was reported to have been l eaving a parked position with a contributing
factor listed as driver inexperience. The fourth co llision took place outside of the normal school day .
The collisions were recorded before May of 2010. Th e current practice of closing Quade Street
between West Notre Dame Street and Shippey Street w ill likely have an impact on collision rates
into the future.
4 . 4 S h i p p ey S t re e t / E m p i re Ave n u e / H a r r i s o n Ave n u e
I n t e r s e c t i o n
Five collisions were recorded at this intersection, two of which occurred during the school peak
hour, none of which resulted in injury. Four of the five causes of the crashes are reported as failure
to yield right of way. At this intersection, the Em pire and Harrison Avenue approaches are stop
controlled, while the Shippey Street approaches are free. Providing stop control on all approaches
will likely correct this collision type.
In addition, an all-way stop controlled intersectio n is warranted based on MUTCD criteria
2B.07.05B:
“The need to control vehicle/pedestrian conflicts n ear locations that generate high pedestrian
volumes;”
And criteria 2B.07.05D: “An intersection of two residential neighborhood co llector (through) streets of similar design and
operating characteristics where multi-way stop cont rol would improve traffic operational
characteristics of the intersection.”
4 . 5 S h e r m a n Ave n u e C o r r i d o r
Outside of the Quade Street and Western Avenue inte rsection collisions, there were seven collisions
along this length of street. Two of these seven occ urred during the school peak hours and were
recorded as vehicles performing parallel parking ma neuvers. The remaining five do not appear to
be related to school traffic.

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4 . 6 Q u a d e S t r e e t C o r r i d o r
Outside of the Quade Street intersections with Sher
man Avenue and West Notre Dame Street, there
were six collisions along the corridor, five of whi ch occurred during the school peak hour. Of these
five, all were related to vehicle overtaking maneuv ers, indicating that a vehicle was blocking the
traveled way. This is potentially due to double par ked vehicles waiting for children to enter or exit.
These types of collisions may be corrected if addit ional convenient queue space is available.
5 . 0 EF F E C T O F AL I G N E D SC H O O L DAY S
The current staggered high school and middle school arrival and departure times have the effect of
distributing the school related traffic impact over two distinct peaks, separated by 45 minutes. By
aligning the school days, these peaks will effectiv ely be combined into one, as students from both
schools arrive and depart from at the same time.
5 . 1 A p p ro x i m a t i n g t h e E x i s t i n g D e m a n d
During the 2012-2013 school year, the high school a rrival and departure times will be aligned with
the middle school. In effect, the days for both sch ools will begin at 8:30 AM and end at 3:00 PM. To
determine the anticipated change in traffic due to this alignment, the vehicle trips associated with
the high school arrival patterns need to be isolate d, and combined with the middle school traffic.
Several key assumptions to assist in this analysis follow:

Families with students in both the high school and middle school are assumed to not
currently be making two separate drop-off and pick- up trips. This will result in a
conservative traffic estimate, as the aligned times will allow for one of these trips to be
removed.

The mode share of high school students will be appr oximated at:
50% – Driven By Parents / Other
25% – Walk / Bike / Bus
25% – Drive alone or with student-aged family / fri ends
This mode share is important. The 25% of high schoo l students (approximately 190 students) that
walk, bike, or take the bus to school do not signif icantly contribute to vehicle congestion. Another
25% of the high school students, again approximatel y 190 students, park off site or along the side
streets, resulting in two vehicle trips over the co urse of the day: to the school in the morning, and
away from the school in the afternoon. The remainin g 50% of the high school population, or
approximately 385 students, are being driven by a p arent or other person. These students are
responsible for four trips each, to and from the sc hool in the morning and again in the afternoon.

All vehicles will be assumed to be carrying two stu dents. This assumption, based on the
mode share above, indicates that approximately 195 vehicles will be dropping off and
picking up high school students, and 95 vehicles wi ll be driven and parked near the school.
This results in approximately 290 vehicles related to the high school student travel patterns
expected to access the school campus.

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20 August 9, 2012

5 . 2 Ty p i c a l G l e n s Fa l l s S t r e e t Tra f f i c C h a ra c te r i s t i c s
To approximate the traffic demand related to the school, the observed traffic on the adjacent street
network was compared to similar streets in Glens Fa lls. A previous study
2 produced the tube count
data illustrated in Figure 19 on Lincoln Avenue, Ho ricon Avenue, and Coolidge Avenue in Glens
Falls. Operating similarly to a combination of arte rial streets (Horicon Avenue) and local collector
streets (Coolidge Avenue and Lincoln Avenue), these streets are representative of the mixture of
roadway classifications found adjacent to the schoo l campus.

Figure 19: Lincoln Avenue Traffic Calming Study wee kday traffic calming data, July 28 – August
3, 2011.
As shown above, the daytime average volume of vehic les for Lincoln, Horicon, and Coolidge
Avenues is 16, 29, and 18 vehicles per 15 minutes r espectively. Relating these averages to the
observed morning and afternoon maximums, the peak 1 5-minute volume to average 15-minute
volume ratio is shown in the table below.

Other similar streets within the city were also com pared to the traffic volumes measured adjacent
to the school. While the general characteristic sha pe is similar, the data analyzed were only
available in one-hour increments. As this study is specifically interested in short-duration peaks
caused by the school arrival and dismissal periods, the broad, one-hour increment data is too blunt
to be applied to this study.
This one-hour increment data is presented in Figure 20 .

2 Lincoln Avenue Traffic Calming Study, October 2011 . Traffic data taken from 7/28/11 to 8/3/11, excluding the weekend dates of 7/30/11 and
7/31/11.
AM Peak*PM Peak*
Lincoln Avenue
16 16 20 1.00 1.25
Horicon Avenue29 41 37 1.41 1.28
Coolidge Avenue18 23 27 1.28 1.50
*Vehi cl es per 15 mi nutes
Daytime
Average*
AM Peak :
Average Ratio
PM Peak :
Average Ratio

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Figure 20: One-hour incremental data from other nea
rby Glens Falls City streets.
5 . 3 I s o l a t i n g H i g h S c h o o l Re l a te d Tra f f i c
Using the peak to average ratio calculated on similar streets, we can approximate the volumes on
Sherman Avenue and Quade Street that are assumed to be independent of the school campus. Since
Sherman and Horicon Avenues behave as arterial stre ets, the peak : average ratios obtained from
Horicon Avenue are the most appropriate comparison analytic for Sherman Avenue. Similarly, the
ratios from Lincoln and Coolidge Avenues, both oper ating similar to local collector streets, were
averaged to be used in approximating the vehicle vo lumes along Quade Street. These approximated
volumes are shown in the table on the following pag e.

These approximate “normal” peaks shown in the table above are plotted with the observed volumes
along Quade Street and Sherman Avenue. The effect o f the school campus is approximated by the
difference in this “normal” peak and the observed p eak, illustrated by the shaded area shown below
in Figure 21.
Approx. Approx.
AM Peak* PM Peak*
Quade Street
1.14 1.38 16 18 22
Sherman Avenue1.41 1.28 103 146 131
*Vehi cl es per 15 mi nutes
Daytime
Average*
AM Peak :
Average Ratio
PM Peak :
Average Ratio

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22 August 9, 2012

Figure 21: Approximate volume of the traffic relate d to the school campus along Quade Street
and Sherman Avenue.
The shaded regions above illustrate approximately 6 70 vehicles traveling to the school campus on
an average day.
To approximate the traffic shift that will likely o ccur when the school days are aligned, the
difference in the observed vehicles and the indepen dent vehicles arriving from 7:15 – 7:45 and
from 2:00 – 2:30 should be shifted and added to the observed vehicles from 8:00 – 8:30 and 2:45 –
3:15. This shift is illustrated below in Figure 22.

Figure 22: Approximate expected shift in volumes al ong Quade Street and Sherman Avenue
under aligned school days.

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Insights and Solutions for a Better World

The shaded regions illustrated above from 7:15 to 7
:45 and 2:00 – 2:30 represent approximately
300 vehicles traveling to and from the school campu s along Quade Street and Sherman Avenue
every day. This is similar to the approximate deman d calculated by the assumptions outlined in
Section 5.1.
The approximate traffic resulting from the alignmen t of the Middle School and High School day
along Quade Street and Sherman Avenue is illustrate d on Figure 23.

Figure 23: Approximate anticipated volumes along Qu ade Street and Sherman Avenue under
aligned school days.
5 . 4 E f f e c t o f A l i g n e d S c h o o l D ays
The overall effect of aligning the High School and Middle School days is best illustrated in Figure 23 .
The total number of vehicles accessing the school c ampus is assumed to remain the same, however
the time period in which these vehicles arrive and depart will be shortened. The peak periods
shown above have been condensed from 7:15 AM – 8:30 AM and 2:15 – 3:15 PM to 7:45 – 8:15 AM
and 2:45 – 3:15 PM. This results in a more pronounc ed, sharper morning and afternoon peak traffic
volume. The changes in these peak 15-minute volumes are illustrated in the table below.

AM / PM 15- Minute Vehicle Peak: Separate AM / PM 15-
Minute Vehicle Peak: Aligned AM / PM% Change
Sherman Avenue 209 / 159 218 / 201 +4.8% / +26.4%
Quade Street 103 / 82 132 / 100 +28.2% / +21.6%

The effect of the aligned school days is not expect
ed to significantly change the maximum hourly
volume of vehicles through the street network, but it is anticipated to create a spike in the peak 15-
minute volume. The relationship between the peak 15 -minute period within the peak hour of traffic
is represented by the Peak Hour Factor (PHF). The P HF is a measure of the fluctuation of traffic

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24 August 9, 2012

demand within the peak hour. A PHF equal to 1.0 ind icates that there is no fluctuation in the 15
minute intervals within the peak hour. As the PHF d ecreases, the variation between the peak 15
minute interval and the average 15 minute interval becomes greater.

Separate School Days Aligned School Days
Peak Hour
Volume (veh) Peak 15
Minute
Volume (veh)

Peak Hour Factor (PHF) Peak Hour
Volume (veh) Peak 15
Minute
Volume (veh)

Peak Hour
Factor (PHF)
AM
Sherman Avenue

647 208 0.78 667 219 0.76
Quade
Street

303 103 0.74 310 132 0.59
PM
Sherman
Avenue

590 159 0.93 606 201 0.75
Quade
Street

211 82 0.64 229 100 0.58
PHF = Peak Hour Volume / (4 x Peak 15-Minute Volume )
As expected, the peak hour factor dropped along bot h Quade Street and Sherman Avenue under the
aligned school times, most notably along Quade Stre et in the morning from 0.74 to 0.59, a -20%
change, and Sherman Avenue in the afternoon from 0. 93 to 0.75, a change of -19%.
In practical terms, the decrease in the PHF indicat es that about the same number of vehicles will be
accessing the school campus in a shorter window of time, likely leading to increased congestion.
From a visual perspective, the peak represented by (1) in Figure 24 is shifted about 45 minutes
later in the day to peak (2). There is no change in the size from (1) – (2) because the middle school
has little effect on the traffic along Sherman Stre et in the morning. However, in the evening, the hig h
school peak (3) compounds with the middle school pe ak to create a significantly larger 15-minute
traffic demand at 3:00 PM represented by peak (4). This is also represented by the change in the
PHF discussed above.

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Figure 24: Approximate anticipated volumes along Qu
ade Street and Sherman Avenue under
aligned school days, with specific traffic peaks an notated.
Similarly, the high school peak compounds the middl e school peak on Quade Street in the morning
(5) but appears to have a relatively minor effect i n the afternoon (6). This is also demonstrated in
the change of the PHF. Overall, the data suggest th at congestion will be worsened during the arrival
and dismissal periods with the aligned school times , particularly during the peak 15 minutes in the
morning drop off period along Quade Street and the afternoon pick up period along Sherman
Avenue.
5 . 5 S h e r m a n Ave n u e & Q u a d e S t r e e t I n te r s e c t i o n A n a lys i s
The intersection at Sherman Avenue, Quade Street, and Cortland Street was analyzed using traffic
simulation software under the existing separate sch ool days. The existing traffic operation
characteristics were then compared to the anticipat ed conditions under aligned school days. The
analytical software used was Synchro Version 7. The primary measure of traffic operation is Level-
of-service (LOS), which is a qualitative measure de scribing the operating conditions as perceived by
motorists driving in a traffic stream. LOS is estim ated using the procedures outlined in the 2000
Highway Capacity Manual.
The 2000 Highway Capacity Manual defines six qualit ative grades to describe the level of service at
an intersection. Level-of-Service is based on the a verage control delay per vehicle. Table 1 shows
the various LOS grades and descriptions for signali zed and unsignalized intersections.

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26 August 9, 2012

Table 1: Level-of-Service Criteria for Signalized and Unsignalized Intersections
Unsignalized Signalized
LOS Characteristics Total Delay (sec) Total Delay ( sec)
A Little or no delay ≤ 10.0 ≤ 10.0
B Short delays 10.1-15.0 10.1-20.0
C Average delays 15.1-25.0 20.1-35.0
D Long delays 25.1-35.0 35.1-55.0
E Very long delays 35.1-50.0 55.1-80.0
F Extreme delays > 50.0 > 80.0
For stop-controlled intersections such as the Sherman Avenue / Quade Street intersection, the LOS
provides a tool to compare the existing traffic ope rations to future, aligned school day traffic
operations. Typically, LOS C or above is considered acceptable.
As discussed earlier, the only change in the antici pated traffic characteristics will be the
concentration of vehicles into a shorter 15-minute period. This is represented by the peak hour
factor. The level-of-service results for the Sherma n Avenue / Quade Street intersection is presented
in the table below.

Since the morning peak hour factor at this intersection was relatively stable, the AM peak period
level-of-service essentially remained unchanged. In the afternoon, the peak hour factor dropped
from 0.93 to 0.75 and the resulting intersection de lay is increased as expected. In all aligned cases
the delay for each specific entrance into the inter section, as well as the delay for overall
intersection, is below 15 seconds, with a resulting acceptable LOS B.
5 . 6 E f f e c t o n O b s e r ve d Ve h i c l e Q u e u i n g
During the observation period, vehicle queuing was cited as a significant issue adding to congestion
along Quade Street. With the aligned school days, q ueuing is expected to increase as more vehicles
arrive in the condensed 15-minute peak. This partic ular queuing is difficult to anticipate as it is
based on driver behavior (i.e. double parking, slow ly creeping, etc.) and student behavior (time
taken to enter and exit vehicle, walking speed, etc .). As queuing has been identified as an issue
under the existing drop-off and pick-up patterns, i t is evident that the short-term parking supply
AM
Sherman Ave/Quade
St/Cortland StLOS Delay (s) LOS Delay (s)
OverallB12B12
EB, Sherman Ave B 13 B 14
WB, Sherman Ave B 11 B 11 NB, Cortland St A 10 B 10SB, Quade St B 10 B 10 PM
Sherman Ave/Quade
St/Cortland StLOS Delay (s) LOS Delay (s)
OverallB10B13
EB, Sherman Ave B 10 B 13
WB, Sherman Ave B 11 B 14 NB, Cortland St A 9 B 10
SB, Quade St A 9 B 10 Separate School Days
Separate School Days
Aligned School Days
Aligned School Days

Technical Report

Resource Systems Group, Inc. 27
Insights and Solutions for a Better World

near the school has been exhausted. With aligned sc
hool days, the additional vehicles will add
further demand to this limited supply and queuing w ill likely increase substantially.
5 . 7 S u m m a r y o f E f f e c t s o f A l i g n e d S c h o o l D ays
The anticipated effects of shifting the start and end times of the High School to align with the Middl e
School are summarized below:

No additional increase in total traffic is anticipa ted with the school alignment; a slight
decline is possible as some parents may combine two trips into one.

Traffic will be condensed primarily into one 30-min ute period before school begins and as
school ends, resulting in an increase in the peak 1 5-minute traffic, but no significant change
in the peak hour traffic.

The Sherman Avenue / Quade Street / Cortland Street intersection will likely continue to
operate acceptably under the proposed aligned schoo l day.

Queuing along Quade Street is anticipated to increa se substantially as vehicles may double
park to drop students off or allow students to ente r the vehicle.
6 . 0 CO N G E S T I O N MI T I G AT I O N ST R AT E G I E S
The primary issues that have arisen out of this study are summarized below:

A high percentage of students in the school distric t are dropped-off and picked-up at both
schools.

Many of these pick-ups and drop-offs occur along Qu ade Street, and the aligned school days
will likely condense the current hour of minor cong estion into 30 minutes of greater
congestion.

Several complaints arose about parents waiting in t he Middle School Parking Lot, although
it is clearly marked for “Authorized Vehicles Only” .

The existing temporary barriers used to block of Qu ade Street between West Notre Dame
Street and Shippey Street were noticed to be easily blown over.
The following sections discuss the potential strate gies that may be employed to address these
issues.
6 . 1 D e ve l o p A l t e r n a te O n – S t r e e t P i c k – U p a n d D r o p – O f f
L o c a t i o n s
The most effective congestion mitigation and safety enhancement strategy would involve
increasing the number of students that walk and bik e to school. However, it is unrealistic to expect
considerable change in school commuting behavior be fore the next school year when school days
will be aligned. Until more active modes of transpo rtation are the dominant transportation choice,
additional on-street waiting areas may alleviate so me queuing and congestion in the short term.
The following potential alternatives may be employe d to distribute traffic and provide additional
queue storage.

Adirondack / Glens Falls Transportation Council
Glens Falls School District Traffic Circulation Stu dy

28 August 9, 2012

6 . 1 . 1 E n c o u r a g e t h e U s e o f C l a y t o n A v e n u e a n d G r a n t A v e n u e
E n t r a n c e P o i n t s
The pedestrian access points at Grant Avenue to the north and Clayton Avenue to the west were
underutilized. Both streets had ample on-street par king and maintained paths leading to school
entrance points. However, neither street had a cove red waiting area or sidewalks along the street,
amenities that would likely be needed for the area to be fully utilized. Additionally, the path to
Clayton Avenue crosses athletic fields, is not a pa ved or concrete surface and may be difficult to
maintain in the winter, and may not be suitable for pedestrian traffic at all times.
This alternative may be popular with parents as stu dents will be directly dropped off to and picked
up from the school campus, yet these parents will n ot have to navigate the more congested Quade
Street and Sherman Avenue.
6 . 1 . 2 R e s t r i c t P a r k i n g a l o n g Q u a d e S t r e e t S o u t h o f W e s t N o t r e
D a m e S t r e e t
The majority of parking along Quade Street is being used throughout the day by students.
Restricting parking along one or both sides of Quad e Street during the primary start and end times
for picking-up and dropping-off only will provide a great deal additional queue storage. The
displaced students will likely park on nearby neigh borhood streets, and many residents may resist
this daily influx of vehicles.
6 . 1 . 3 M o v e t h e p a r k i n g a i s l e a l o n g S h e r m a n A v e n u e
The existing parking aisle on the south side of She rman Avenue does not directly serve the High
School. By moving the parking aisle to the north si de of Sherman Avenue, westbound vehicles may
be able to drop off and pick up students directly t o the campus, eliminating the need for students to
have to cross Sherman Avenue. Additionally, the sou th side of Sherman Avenue has 11 driveways
and two roads intersecting the street between Clayt on Avenue and Cortland Street. Each roadway
and driveway breaks up the parking aisle, reduces t he number of parking spaces, and limits sight
distance. On the north side of Sherman Avenue, ther e are only three curbs to the school campus in
the same block: two for the high school parking lot and one for access to the athletic fields. Placing
the parking aisle on the north side of the street w ould maximize both pedestrian safety and queue
capacity.
The transition along Sherman Avenue from parking on the south side to parking on the north side
of would need to be thoroughly reviewed and coordin ated with neighboring property owners. Signs
would need to be placed and it may be appropriate t o coordinate the change in parking with a
paving project in order to place centerline and par king aisle pavement markings to clearly delineate
the change in traffic pattern. It would be advisabl e to continue the north side parking west to the
next four-way stop intersection at Western Avenue.
Lastly, this adjustment in parking may be combined with hardscape treatments such as bulb-outs to
shorten crossing distances and deflect vehicles int o the newly realigned driving lane. Bulb-outs may
also be helpful at the midblock crosswalks between Larose Street and Cortland Street. At all school
driveways parking should be restricted within 20-fe et to provide for adequate sight distances.
6 . 1 . 4 E n c o u r a g e c o u n t e r – c l o c k w i s e c i r c u l a t i o n
Parents should be educated to encourage counter clo ckwise circulation along West Notre Dame
Street – Quade Street – Sherman Avenue and Grant Av enue – Quade Street – Shippey Street. This

Technical Report

Resource Systems Group, Inc. 29
Insights and Solutions for a Better World

counter clockwise circulation will allow students t
o directly access the school campus to and from
the vehicles without having to cross the street, el iminating many jaywalking instances.
6 . 2 Re s t r i c t A c c e s s to S c h o o l Pa r k i n g L o t s
Congestion within the existing school parking lots was cited as a concern. Currently, the school
parking lot entrance is signed to restrict unauthor ized vehicles. Beyond educating parents that the
lot is not for picking-up or dropping-off students, additional measures may be warranted such as
automatic gates further restricting access to the l ot, or potential officer enforcement of restrictions.
6 . 3 E n h a n c e d Te m p o ra r y S t r e e t C l o s u re B a r r i e r s
The temporary street closure barriers were effectiv e at keeping most
traffic from driving through the closed portion of Quade Street
between Shippey Street and West Notre Dame Street. This closure is
valuable in the reduction of through traffic and it s ability to create a
slower vehicle environment, allowing for enhanced p edestrian
circulation. Since these effects are only desired d uring the arrival and
dismissal periods, it is imperative that the barrie rs be temporary and
portable. The current temporary barriers, marketed as the Multi-
Gate Extendable Barricade and pictured at left set up on Quade
Street, suit this application.

According to the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices
(MUTCD), the temporary closure of the roadway for
approximately one hour would fall into a Category D , or short
duration, temporary traffic control situation (Sect ion 6G.02).
Under these circumstances, “simplified control proc edures may
be warranted”. A typical duration road closure invo lves advance
warning signs and type 3 barricades. However, given the short
duration of the closure, the amount of time to set up and remove
these control devices would be too difficult to reg ularly
implement. Additionally, the slow-speed neighborhoo d
environment, coupled with low traffic volumes and g eneral
driver familiarity with the devices allows drivers greater time to process the non-traditional traffic
control setup. The pedestrian benefits of the road closure outweigh the potential risks associated
with this method of street closure.
While the current barriers are acceptable for short term closures on these low volume streets, the
barriers were noted to be light and unstable. The b arriers were observed to be easily blown onto
the ground. The Multi-Gate Extendable Barricade pro duct specification indicates that these barriers
may be stabilized with up to 20 pounds of sand or w ater ballast in the base of the devices, and it is
recommended that this feature is utilized.
Based on the observed operation of Quade Street und er aligned school days and road closure
between West Notre Dame and Shippey Streets, more p ermanent, automated, and standard road
closure devices should be used. These devices may i nclude changeable LED “DO NOT ENTER” signs,
railroad-style gates, and flashing red lights that are activated during the arrival and dismissal
periods. Additionally, regulatory road signs may ne ed to be installed indicating the closure periods.
A more formal evaluation of the effectiveness of th e current practices under the aligned school days
is advised prior to the installation of these devic es.

Adirondack / Glens Falls Transportation Council
Glens Falls School District Traffic Circulation Stu dy

30 August 9, 2012

6 . 4 C o n s t r u c t N e w S i t e C i r c u l a t i o n Pa t te r n s
Four new site circulation patterns have been prelim inarily developed to review the potential
impacts to circulation. These alternatives are illu strated as attachments to this memorandum.
These hardscape enhancements would generally repres ent large investments. Illustrations of the
alternatives, including cost estimates and an alter natives evaluation chart, are presented in
Attachment B.
6 . 4 . 1 A l t e r n a t i v e 1 : S h e r m a n A v e n u e H i g h S c h o o l L o o p
The Sherman Avenue loop would build a new one-way d rop off roadway, intersecting with Stevens
Street. The loop may provide queue storage for 10 v ehicles. Additional congestion issues may arise
as eastbound Sherman Avenue vehicles queue to turn left, not allowing vehicles from the loop to
exit, which may create gridlock conditions as the l oop fills up. The entrance to the loop is close to
the Quade Street / Cortland Street intersection.
6 . 4 . 2 A l t e r n a t i v e 2 : Q u a d e S t r e e t t o S h e r m a n A v e n u e D r o p – O f f
The Quade to Sherman Drop-Off is similar to Alternative 1 but avoids some of the potential gridlock
conditions. The drop off drive may provide queue st orage for 12 vehicles. The entrance to the drop-
off drive is notably close to the Quade Street / Sh erman Avenue intersection.
6 . 4 . 3 A l t e r n a t i v e 3 : G r a n t A v e n u e A c c e s s R o a d
The Grant Avenue Access Road would create a one-way roadway from the Austin Street / Grant
Avenue intersection into the rear of the Middle Sch ool parking lot. The roadway would bisect some
athletic fields and provide queue storage for 5 veh icles. This access road would provide additional
vehicle access to the currently access restricted a nd congested Middle School Parking Lot.
6 . 4 . 4 A l t e r n a t i v e 4 : Q u a d e S t r e e t M i d d l e S c h o o l L o o p
The Quade Street Loop would create a one-way loop s outh of the Middle School entrance north of
Shippey Street. The southern exit from the loop wou ld intersect offset from Shippey Street. The
loop may potentially provide queue storage for 6 ve hicles.
6 . 5 I n c re a s e t h e Pe rc e n t a g e o f S t u d e n t s t h a t Wa l k / B i k e
/ B u s to S c h o o l
Increasing the number of students that utilize acti ve transportation as their primary transportation
method to school will decrease the number of vehicl es accessing the campus, thereby reducing
congestion and queuing. As described by the Centers for Disease Control, the National Center for
Safe Routes to School, and other advocacy groups ci te additional benefits to active commutes to
school, including:

Increased levels of physical activity,

Improved alertness,

Heightened self-image and independence,

Contribution to healthy social and emotional develo pment, and

Increased likelihood of future active lifestyles.
To increase the mode share of active transportation , the following actions are recommended:

Technical Report

Resource Systems Group, Inc. 31
Insights and Solutions for a Better World

Walk / Bike Bus
Educate parents on the health, lifestyle and
educational benefits of biking and walking to
school; encourage students to walk or bike to
school on their own. Increase awareness of bus route and schedule,
and encourage greater bus ridership in
district newsletter.
Educate parents on reality of safety risks on
walking or biking to school, and compare to
the generally higher risk of driving.
Subsidize free or reduced student boarding
passes to East-West Commuter Route serving
the School.
Participate and register for Safe Routes to
School events, such as the annual Walk to
School Day and Bike to School Day (available
only for middle school). Construct / install a shelter for students to
wait protected from the elements.
Offer students incentives to walk or bike to
school, potentially with prizes for highest
annual weekly or monthly walking or biking
trip totals. Offer students incentives to ride the bus,
potentially with prizes for highest annual
weekly, monthly, or annual ridership
Replace old bike racks with new, functional,
well maintained racks in prominent locations
close to the school entrances.

Work with the City and A/GFTC to prioritize,
seek funding for, and construct missing
sidewalk segments, particularly the missing
curb ramps at new crossing locations and the
missing sections to the east of campus.
7 . 0 IM P L E M E N TAT I O N MAT R I X
The following implementation task schedule for the
recommended enhancements described in
Section 2.0 follows below:
Short Term Improvements:
Recommendation Description and Responsible Party (R P) Approximate Cost
Expand Quade Street Drop Off
Area Striping and signs between Sherman
Avenue and West Notre Dame Street
RP: Coordination between City of Glens
Falls DPW, School District $1,000
Shift Sherman Avenue Parking to
North Side of Street
New striping and signs, removing old
signs
RP: DPW, School District $2,250
Encourage Counter Clockwise
Circulation
Temporary signs and mailers
RP: School District N/A

Adirondack / Glens Falls Transportation Council
Glens Falls School District Traffic Circulation Stu dy

32 August 9, 2012

Recommendation Description and Responsible Party (R P) Approximate Cost
Increase Temporary Barrier
Ballast Sand bags placed in barrier ballast
containers
RP: School District $100
Install All-Way Stop Control at
Shippey Street and Empire Avenue
Installation of signs and striping, plus
temporary warning flags
RP: DPW, Glens Falls Police
Department (GFPD) $800

Long Term Improvements:
Recommendation Description and Responsible Party (R
P) Approximate Cost
Improve City Sidewalk
Network Sidewalk and curb construction
RP: School District, DPW, A/GFTC $100 – $200 per
foot of sidewalk
Automatic Quade Street
Closure Features
New gates, signs, curbing, bulb-outs, and
crosswalks
RP: School District, DPW $95,000
Quade Street to Sherman
Avenue Loop Waiting Area
New curb, asphalt, sidewalk and drive
entrances
RP: School District, DPW $550,000

Programmatic Improvements:
Recommendation Description and Responsible Party (R
P) Approximate Cost
Promote Coordination with
Transit Publish transit maps and timetables with
school flyers; re-route PM East-West
Corridor route; waiting shelter at school on
Sherman Avenue; potential fare subsidies
RP: School District; GGFT; A/GFTC annual expenses to
promote activities
Participate in Active
Transportation Encouragement
Programs
Participate in national and statewide
events when possible; incentivize and
promote highest rider- / walker-ship
RP: School District; A/GFTC annual expenses to
promote activities

PROJECT:
CALCULATED BY:DATE:08/09/12
CONCEPTUAL COST ESTIMATE FOR RECOMMENDED IMPROVEMENTS
Short Term Improvements
Expand Quade Street Drop-Off AreaItem UnitQuantity
Unit Price Item Price
4″ YELLOW STRIPING LF 835 0.25 208.75 $
STREET CLEANING LS 1 250 250.00 $
TRAFFIC SIGNS EA 3 50 150.00 $
SIGN POSTS EA 3 100 300.00 $
Subtotal 908.75 $
Contingency (10%)90.88$ TOTAL 999.63$
Shift Sherman Avenue Parking to North Item UnitQuantity
Unit Price Item Price
4″ WHITE STRIPING LF 440 0.25 110.00 $
STREET CLEANING LS 1 250 250.00 $
REMOVING SIGNS & POSTS EA 5 35 175.00 $
TRAFFIC SIGNS EA 10 50 500.00 $
SIGN POSTS EA 10 100 1,000.00 $
Subtotal 2,035.00 $
Contingency (10%)203.50$ TOTAL 2,238.50$
Stop Signs at Shippey and Empire Item UnitQuantity
Unit Price Item Price
24″ STOP BAR LF 24 5 120.00 $
“STOP” MARKING EA 2 100 200.00 $
TRAFFIC SIGNS EA 2 100 200.00 $
SIGN POSTS EA 2 100 200.00 $
Subtotal 720.00 $
Contingency (10%)72.00$ TOTAL 792.00$
Long Term Improvements
Automatic Quade Street Closure FeaturesItem UnitQuantity
Unit Price Item Price
SIDEWALK SF 1200 30 $36,000.00
CURB LF 350 35 $12,250.00
CROSSWALK STRIPING LF 48 10 $480.00
TURF / ESTABLISHMENT / LANDSCAPING LS 1 5000 $5,000.00
DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS LS 1 15000 $15,000.00
AUTOMATIC VERTICAL SWING GATES EA 4 10000 $40,000.00
MOBILIZATION / DEMOBILIZATION LS 1 10900 $10,900.00 Subtotal 70,900.00$
Engineering (20%)14,180.00$
Contingency (10%) 7,090.00 $
TOTAL 92,170.00 $
Quade Street to Sherman Avenue Loop Item UnitQuantity
Unit Price Item Price
SITE PREPARATION LS 1
20000 20,000.00 $
ASPHALT ROADWAY SF 6670 35 233,450.00 $
SIDEWALK SF 2801 30 84,030.00 $
CURB LF 665 50 33,250.00$
4″ WHITE STRIPING LF 240 0.25 60.00 $
CROSSWALK STRIPING LF 32 10 320.00 $
TURF / ESTABLISHMENT / LANDSCAPING LS 1 15000 15,000.00 $
DRAINAGE MODIFICATIONS LS 1 15000 15,000.00 $
TRAFFIC SIGNS EA 3 50 150.00 $
SIGN POSTS EA 3 100 300.00 $
MOBILIZATION / DEMOBILIZATION EA 1 40200 40,200.00 $
Subtotal 421,760.00 $
Engineering (20%) 84,352.00 $
Contingency (10%)42,176.00$ TOTAL548,288.00$
Assumptions for all short term
improvements: No paving is
necessary, only street cleaning,
striping, and signs
CDM
A/GFTC – GFSD Traffic Circulation Study

SHERMANXAVENUE

SHERMANXAVENUE
SHERMANXAVENUE

SHERMANXAVENUE

SHERMANXAVENUE

SHERMANXAVENUE

SHERMANXAVENUE

SHERMANXAVENUE

SHERMANXAVENUE

SHERMANXAVENUE
SHERMANXAVENUE
SHERMANXAVENUE
SHERMANXAVENUE
SHERMANXAVENUE
SHERMANXAVENUE
SHERMANXAVENUE

STEVENSXSTREET

CORTLANDXSTREET
CORTLANDXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL

sq.ft.

1891

1609

5763
SidewalkX(removed)

SidewalkX(new)

PavementX(new)
AlternativeX1

SHERMANXAVENUE

SHERMANXAVENUE
SHERMANXAVENUE

SHERMANXAVENUE

SHERMANXAVENUE

SHERMANXAVENUE

SHERMANXAVENUE

SHERMANXAVENUE

SHERMANXAVENUE

SHERMANXAVENUE
SHERMANXAVENUE
SHERMANXAVENUE
SHERMANXAVENUE
SHERMANXAVENUE
SHERMANXAVENUE
SHERMANXAVENUE

STEVENSXSTREET

CORTLANDXSTREET
CORTLANDXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL
HIGH

SCHOOL

sq.ft.

1926

2801

6669
SidewalkX(removed)

SidewalkX(new)

PavementX(new)
AlternativeX2

GRANTXAVENUE

GRANTXAVENUE
GRANTXAVENUE
GRANTXAVENUE
GRANTXAVENUE
GRANTXAVENUE
GRANTXAVENUE
GRANTXAVENUE
GRANTXAVENUE

GRANTXAVENUE
GRANTXAVENUE
GRANTXAVENUE
GRANTXAVENUE
GRANTXAVENUE
GRANTXAVENUE
GRANTXAVENUE
SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL

QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET

AUSTINXSTREET
AUSTINXSTREET
sq.ft.

94

2303

8120
SidewalkX(removed)

SidewalkX(new)

PavementX(new)

SCHOOL

MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL

MIDDLE

SCHOOL

MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL

MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL

MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL

MIDDLE

SCHOOL

MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL

MIDDLE

SCHOOL
MIDDLE

SCHOOL

MIDDLE

SCHOOL

MIDDLE

SCHOOL

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET

QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET
QUADEXSTREET

sq.ft.

195
919
5660

SidewalkX(removed)

SidewalkX(new)

PavementX(new)

AlternativeX4

PROJECT:
DATE:08/09/12
ATTACHMENT BOFF STREET PARKING AND DROP-OFF EXPANSION ALTERNATIVES AND EVALUATION COMPARISON
Alternative 1: Sherman Ave Loop
Approximate Cost:Evaluation of Features:
Site Preparation: LS 1 5000 5,000.00 $ Add. Parking 200′ (10 vehicles)
New Sidewalk: SF 1609 35 56,315.00$ Convenience Good
New Roadway: SF 5763 45 259,335.00 $ Circulation Good
Landscaping: LS 1 5000 5,000.00$ Safety Fair
Drainage: LS 1 10000 10,000.00$ Incidentals:LS120002,000.00$
Subtotal: 337,650.00$ Notes:
Engineering (10%): 33,765.00 $ Drive entrance close to Quade/Cortland and Stevens;
Contingency (20%): 67,530.00 $ Requires substantial landscaping to school green
Total: 438,945.00$
Alternative 2: Quade St to Sherman Ave Loop – PREFE RRED ALTERNATIVE
Approximate Cost:
Evaluation of Features:
Site Preparation: LS 1 8000 8,000.00 $ Add. Parking 240′ (12 vehicles)
New Sidewalk: SF 2801 35 98,035.00$ Convenience Good
New Roadway: SF 6609 45 297,405.00 $ Circulation Good
Landscaping: LS 1 7000 7,000.00$ Safety Good
Drainage: LS 1 10000 10,000.00$ Incidentals:LS130003,000.00$
Subtotal: 423,440.00$ Notes:
Engineering (10%): 42,344.00 $ Requires substantial landscaping to school green;
Contingency (20%): 84,688.00 $ Creates break in extended Quade St drop off zone
Total: 550,472.00$
Alternative 3: Grant Ave to Middle School Parking L ot
Approximate Cost:
Evaluation of Features:
Site Preparation: LS 1 5000 5,000.00 $ Add. Parking 320′ (16 vehicles)
New Sidewalk: SF 2303 35 80,605.00$ Convenience Fair
New Roadway: SF 8120 45 365,400.00 $ Circulation Fair
Landscaping: LS 1 5000 5,000.00$ Safety Fair
Drainage: LS 1 10000 10,000.00$ Incidentals:LS11500015,000.00$
Subtotal: 481,005.00$ Notes:
Engineering (10%): 48,100.50 $ Encourages access to Middle School lot, which has be en
Contingency (20%): 96,201.00$ identified as congested; Impacts to athletic fields
Total: 625,306.50$
Alternative 4: Quade Street Loop Approximate Cost:Site Preparation: LS 1 3000 3,000.00 $
Evaluation of Features:
New Sidewalk: SF 919 35 32,165.00$ Add. Parking 216′ (10 vehicles)
New Roadway: SF 5660 45 254,700.00 $ Convenience Good
Landscaping: LS 1 3000 3,000.00$ Circulation Fair
Drainage: LS 1 10000 10,000.00$ Safety Fair
Incidentals:LS150005,000.00$
Subtotal: 307,865.00$ Notes:
Engineering (10%): 30,786.50 $
Contingency (20%): 61,573.00 $
Total: 400,224.50 $
Overall: Safety concerns with the drive entrance
proximity to adjacent intersections discounted this
alternative as preferred
Overall: Reduced conflict with adjacent drives
enhances the viability of this alternative
Overall: Safety concerns with additional traffic through the congested Middle School lot, plus the
impacts to the athletic fields reduce the viability of
this alternative
Overall: Safety concerns with offset intersection
reduce the viability of this alternative
Creates new offset intersection at Quade and Shippe
y;
Potential impacts to bike racks and Middle School
entrance
A/GFTC – GFSD Traffic Circulation Study