1.0 INTRODUCTION

Watt Consulting Group was retained by HFT Ventures Ltd to provide a transportation review (Level 1 TIA) for the proposed 12-unit townhouse development at Helmcken Road / Camden Avenue in the Town of View Royal. This memo summarizes a review of transportation impacts to adjacent roads and access safety as per the Town’s TIA Guidelines. See Figure 1 for the site location and adjacent roadway network.

Figure 1: Site Location and Roadway Network

2.0 EXISTING CONDITIONS

Helmcken Road is a two-lane urban arterial road with a centre lane that is a combination of raised center median and dedicated left turn lanes. This road provides a key connection between View Royal, Saanich, and the Peninsula. There are painted bicycle lanes on both sides of Helmcken Road in the vicinity of the development. There is currently a sidewalk and boulevard on the opposite side of Helmcken to the site; however, there is no sidewalk along the development frontage.

Camden Avenue is a 30km/h (posted) two-lane local road that is transitioning from rural to urban. The frontage along the site is rural (no sidewalk / curb and gutter) while the opposite side of the road has curb/gutter, boulevard and sidewalk. Camden Avenue connects to Helmcken Road and the residential neighbourhood to the south and has a connection to the Galloping Goose Trail.

Conrad Street is a two-lane urban/rural local road running parallel to Helmcken Road. Conrad Street connects Camden Avenue to Chancellor Avenue.

The intersection of Helmcken Road / Camden Avenue is stop-controlled on Camden Avenue. This intersection is 150m from the Helmcken Road / Burnside Road signal which provides an alternative route to / from the area. There are left turn lanes on Helmcken Road at Camden Avenue / Townhouse Development Driveway. The exiting movement (from Camden Avenue onto Helmcken Road) is restricted to right turn only (through use of ‘no left turn’ signs). There is a zebra marked crosswalk on the Camden Avenue leg of the Helmcken Road / Camden Avenue intersection. The intersection of Camden Avenue / Conrad Street is a stop-controlled intersection with the stops on Conrad Street.

There are transit stops located within 100m of the site on Helmcken Road. These stops are serviced by the #22 route which travels between the Victoria General Hospital, Downtown, and Hillside Shopping Centre. Service on this route is approximately every 30 minutes on weekdays. The #22 connects with the #14 and 53 at the Victoria General Hospital stop. The #14 has service every 15 mins or less through View Royal, Victoria West, Downtown, Oak Bay and UVic. The #53 has service every 20 minutes to the Westshore ending at the Langford Exchange. From the Victoria General transit stop it is an approximate 400m walk to the stops at the Helmcken interchange which provides access to eight more transit routes.

3.0 PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT

3.1 LAND USE

The development site is located 150m east from the Eagle Creek Village which is a retail, office and residential hub for this area of View Royal. The proposed land use is 12 townhouse units (two buildings: one with 7 units and the other with 5 units).

4.0 TRIP GENERATION

Trip generation rates were estimated using the ITE Trip Generation Manual, 11th Edition. ITE’s single family attached housing rates were used for a conservative estimate as the single family attached rates are slightly higher than multi-family (low-rise) and are more reflective of the large sized units planned for the site. Trip generation rates for the weekday AM and PM peak hours are shown in Table 1. Table 2 shows the estimated trips generated by the development. The proposed development will generate 6 vehicle trips during the AM peak hour and 7 vehicle trips during the PM peak. Based on the estimated site trips, the development will not impact traffic operations at the transportation network surrounding the site including the Helmcken Road / Camden Avenue intersection.

TABLE 1: PEAK HOUR TRIP GENERATION RATES

TABLE 2: PEAK HOUR TRIP GENERATION

5.0 SITE ACCESS REVIEW

A single site access is proposed on Camden Avenue 25m from Helmcken Road and 30m from Conrad Street. See Figure 2 for the site plan and access. This access is appropriately spaced from both Helmcken Road and Conrad Street. No sight distance issues were found as there is a clear sight line from the access to Helmcken Road (where turning vehicles will be travelling at less than 25km/h) and along Camden Avenue. Minimum stopping sight distance (at 20-25km/h) is provided for vehicles approaching the accesses.

Figure 2: Site Plan and Access

6.0 PARKING FACILITY REVIEW

The proposed vehicle parking is 13 spaces which meets the bylaw requirements (1 space per dwelling unit and 1 visitor space). The proposed bicycle parking (18 spaces) meets the bylaw requirements of 1 bicycle parking space per residential unit (Class 1) and a 6 space rack (Class 2).

7.0 CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION

The estimated development trips are less than 7 vehicles per hour during the AM and PM peak hours which does not impact the traffic (vehicle) operations in the area. The proposed access is appropriately located based on the intersection spacing and sight distance review. The provided on-site parking for bicycles meets the bylaw requirements.

Overall, the site is well suited for use of active transportation in place of vehicle trips. There is access to the Galloping Goose multi-use trail within 250m (straight along Camden Avenue), painted bicycle lanes on Helmcken Road for confident cyclists, and transit stops within 100m that provide access to the #27 transit route and multiple transit options at the Victoria General Hospital mini ‘exchange’ 500m to the west. Although there are gaps in the sidewalk along Helmcken Road (between Burnside Road and Watkiss Way) residents will have the option of using the sidewalk on the quieter Conrad Street to access the signalized crosswalks at Helmcken Road / Watkiss Way. The site is in close proximity to many amenities at the Eagle Creek development including groceries, a pharmacy, medical offices, pet store, liquor store and many more stores.

The development is to provide sidewalks along the development frontages of Helmcken Road and Camden Avenue. The Helmcken Road sidewalk will support improve walkability to / from the amenities at the Eagle Creek development and start to complete the gaps in sidewalk along Helmcken Road.

Sincerely,

Watt Consulting Group

MJ Oh Transportation Technologist

Nadine King, P.Eng., PTOE Senior Transportation Engineer