kimley-horn.com 1100 W Town and County Road, Suite 700, Orange, CA 92868 714 939 1030 May 9, 2023
Ms. Vital Patel
City of Riverside
Public Works Department, Traffic Engineering
3900 Main Street #4
Riverside, CA 92522
Subject: Vehicle Miles Traveled Memorandum for the Raising Cane’s (Store #820) Project in the City of Riverside
Dear Ms. Patel:
Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. has prepared a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) memorandum, per request from the City of Riverside staff, for the proposed Raising Cane’s (Store #820) Project.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The project site is located southwest of the intersection of Brockton Avenue at Central Avenue in the City of Riverside and is located west of State Route (SR-91). The project site is shown in its regional setting in Figure 1. The project site is currently occupied by an approximately 16,000- square-foot strip retail plaza. The project will involve demolition of the existing strip retail plaza and the construction of a 2,913-square-foot R a i s i n g C a n e ’ s r e s t a u r a n t b u i l d i n g w i t h a d r i v e - through. The operating hours for walk-in and drive-through service will be from 9:00 am to 3:30 am Monday through Sunday. The project site plan is provided in Figure 2.
Vehicular access provisions for the project site would be provided via one full-movement driveway on School Circle Drive and one left-in restricted driveway on Central Avenue. Both driveways would be unsignalized. As a part of the project, long-term and short-term bicycle parking will be available to both employees and customers. Pedestrian access will be available from Central Avenue to the restaurant.
The proposed project would provide a drive-through lane with two order boards. The drive- through would provide one entry lane that splits just before the dual order boards and continues as two side-by-side drive-through lanes to the pay and pick up window.
Exhibit 10 - Traffic Report
Jurupa AvenueCentral AvenueArlington AvenuePalm Avenue
Riverside AvenueProjectSiteBrockton AvenueMagnolia Avenue CALIFORNIA91
SchoolCircleDrive
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Exhibit 10 - Traffic Report
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Exhibit 10 - Traffic Report
Ms. Patel, May 9, 2023, Page 4
kimley-horn.com 1100 W Town and County Road, Suite 700, Orange, CA 92868 714 939 1030
VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED (VMT) ASSESSMENT
Senate Bill (SB) 743 was approved by the California legislature in September 2013, requiring changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) methodology, specifically directing the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to develop alternative metrics to the use of vehicular “level of service” (LOS) for evaluating transportation projects. OPR published the Technical Advisory on Evaluating Transportation Impacts in CEQA (Technical Advisory) in December 2018 providing recommendations for the preparation of transportation impact analysis under SB 743, suggesting Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) to replace LOS as the primary measure of transportation impacts.
The City of Riverside’s DRAFT Traffic Impact Analysis Guidelines for Vehicle Miles Traveled and Level of Service Assessment (July 2020) provide details on appropriate screening thresholds that can be used to identify when a proposed land use project is anticipated to result in a less-than- significant impact without conducting a more detailed level analysis. Screening thresholds are broken down into the following five criteria:
1. Transit Priority Area (TPA) Screening
2. Low VMT Area Screening
3. Project Type Screening
4. Mixed-Use Projects
5. Redevelopment Projects
Land development projects that meet one or more of the above screening thresholds may be presumed to create a less than significant impact on transportation and circulation. The following screening thresholds were reviewed and evaluated for this project.
Transit Priority Area (TPA) Screening
CEQA Guideline Section 15064.3, subdivision (b)(1), states that lead agencies generally should presume that certain projects (including residential, retail, and office projects, as well as projects that are a mix of these uses) proposed within one half (½) mile of an existing major transit stop or an existing stop along a high-quality transit corridor will have a less than significant impact on VMT.
Review of the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG) VMT Screening Tool, the project is located within a Transit Priority Area. Results of the WRCOG VMT Screening Tool are provided in Attachment A.
The TPA screening threshold is met.
Exhibit 10 - Traffic Report
Ms. Patel, May 9, 2023, Page 5
kimley-horn.com 1100 W Town and County Road, Suite 700, Orange, CA 92868 714 939 1030 Project Type Screening by Land Use Type
Local serving retail projects less than 50,000 square feet may be presumed to have a less than significant impact absent substantial evidence to the contrary. The proposed 2,913-square-foot fast-food restaur ant with drive-through is less than 50,000 SF and is not anticipate d to lead to longer local trips, thus reducing or maintaining regional VMT. Additionally, Raising Cane’s restaurants get involved in the communities in which they are located through fundraisers and hiring local employees. As more Raising Cane’s are anticipated in the coming years, the proposed Raising Cane’s (820) will have more localized patrons. As such, the project may be presumed to create a less-than-significant transportation impact.
The Project Type Screening by Land Use Type screening threshold is met.
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
Based on review of the City’s VMT screening thresholds, the project meets the Transit Priority Area and Project Type screening thresholds; therefore, the project would result in a less-than- significant transportation impact, and no additional VMT analysis is required.
Please contact me if you have any questions or if you need additional information.
Sincerely,
KIMLEY-HORN AND ASSOCIATES, INC.
Trevor Briggs, P.E (C87664)
Exhibit 10 - Traffic Report
ATTACHMENT A – WRCOG VMT SCREENING TOOL
Exhibit 10 - Traffic Report