HomeMy WebLinkAbout111721 Comment Response DPS Comments1533 Crescent Road
Clifton Park, NY 12065
Phone: 518.371.0799
mjelspc@mjels.com
mjels.com
Fishkill, NY • Long Island, NY • Sewell, NJ • Melbourne, FL
November 17, 2021
Susan B. Barden, AICP
Principal Planner
City of Saratoga Springs
474 Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY
518-587-3550 ext. 2493
Re: 20210755 – 269 Broadway Review for Planning Board
Dear Ms. Barden,
MJ Engineering is in receipt of comments dated August 11, 2021 and November 10, 2021 from the City of Saratoga
Springs Dept. of Public Safety regarding the 269 Broadway Project. We offer the following, displayed in blue italics, in
response to open comments listed below:
August 11, 2021
1. A majority of the comments similar with the public comment document that submitted to the planning board on
July 12th, 2021(below)
https://lf.saratoga-springs.org/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=332521&page=1&dbid=0&repo=SaratogaSprings
Response: Comment noted.
2. The provided traffic study does not appear to provide any analysis to the impact on the parking in this area. The
current available parking on Hamilton Street is heavily used by the existing property owners, business, residents,
and the school. A parking survey should have be conducted to determine what the existing parking demand is and
what it would be with this project.
Response: Parking analysis was included in the updated Traffic Impact Analysis
3. They study did not include truck deliveries or garbage pick, review of plan set it does not appear they have the
ability for these to be done on site. So all deliveries and pickups will have to be done from the street and being that
this is proposed as mixed use with a restaurant, these stop will be frequent.
Response: Trucks will access the building from Hamilton Street utilizing the loading zone created by shifting
the curb line back 8 feet from its current location toward the proposed building. This will allow delivery and
garbage trucks to service the site without impeding traffic or pedestrian crossing visibility. Hatched roadway
striping will be added to the loading zone where no standing is to occur to maintain the 20 feet required
separation from the crosswalk to the north of the driveway per MUTCD standards.
4. The project's driveway location and projected trip generations could create potential conflicts with the SPA Catholic
school during the arrival and dismissal times and the heavily used pedestrian mid-block crossing for the students
and faculty. No impact analysis of this was included in the study.
Response: Discussion of the crosswalk is included in Section 6 of the TIS dated October 13, 2021. Based on the
proper signage included at the crossings that include flashing beacons and directing exiting traffic to the
north, there will be minimal impact to this crossing location.
269 Broadway Comment Response Letter
November 17, 2021
Page 2 of 3
November 10, 2021
The traffic study states that the proposed mitigation at intersection 2 and 3 were discussed and deemed acceptable
by the Department. This is not accurate as nothing has been provided or discussed with MJ Engineering other than
providing them with the requested signal timings for the studied intersections prior to the study.
Response: These items were discussed over the phone with the Department of Public Safety Traffic
Maintenance Manager, Andy Krupski, over the summer and on Friday, November 12, 2021. A follow-up email
was sent to Mr. Krupski on Friday, November 12, 2021. These improvements are acceptable with proposed
plans attached as requested for review.
The study states that by restricting the exiting vehicle movement from the property to right-turn only, the impacts to
intersection 1 will be minimized. How will the driveway be constructed to ensure this? Static signage will just be
ignored.
Response: Please see attached revised Layout Plan and Signage Plan which shows striping within the exit lane
of the parking garage, signage within the garage and opposite the driveway on Hamilton Street, and a raised
mountable curb to direct vehicles to turn right out of the garage.
The study provides a concept site plan to modify the curb line along Hamilton St to provide a commercial load zone
for deliveries. Will the proposed space be able to accommodate a full sized delivery vehicle(s) and still maintain the
minimum 20 foot clearance from the marked crosswalk?
Response: Please see attached revised Layout Plan which shows the modified loading zone and marked 20
foot clearance from the marked crosswalk. Additionally, Prime will dictate to the vendor, garbage company,
shipping companies, and other delivery vehicles regarding the allowable size, location of delivery, and time.
Deliveries will be limited to single unit trucks not exceeding 35 feet in length.
The study provided a parking analysis that identified the parking demand generated by proposed project and
identified the available parking within the request 1,000 ft of the project location.
• They identified that the project will generate a demand of 392 spaces of which 70 will be provided on site in
the parking garage; needing 322 off-site.
• They identified there is average of 83 available spaces within 1,000 ft of the proposed property with a
maximum of 109 available spaces during the AM peak hour.
• They identified that within a 1,000 ft of the project site there would be an average shortfall of 239 space and
minimum of 213.
Response: The pedestrian shed is considered to be the distance people are willing to walk before opting to
drive. Some urbanists and urban planners have accepted the concept of the 5-minute pedestrian shed for a
normal walking pace. The 5-minute pedestrian shed typically covers 1/4 mile or 1,320 feet. The 5-minute walk
can be traced back to the “neighborhood unit” conceived in the 1920’s by Clarence Perry, a NYC urban
planner, and was published in the 1929 Regional Survey of New York City. The book Suburban Nation
reintroduced the pedestrian shed concept and is becoming an integral part of urban planning. However, this
distance can be extended when people can walk safely and conveniently.
When the walking environment is safe and attractive, like it is in a walkable community such as the City of
Saratoga Springs, people are willing to walk up to 10 minutes, or 1/3 of a mile (1,760 feet), or more to get to
their destinations. Additionally, current Prime employees park in this 1/3 mile range from their current office
location where parking is available at the time of arrival and will continue to do so at the proposed location.
Drivers will often park where it is convenient to find available spaces even if it means walking a little further.
This proposed mixed-use development will also utilize shared parking for the spaces provided on-site. As the
269 Broadway Comment Response Letter
November 17, 2021
Page 3 of 3
day progresses, the office users will be leaving the area and vacating parking spaces both on-site and off-site
that will be used by patrons for the restaurant and retail land uses.
See the attached table for a breakdown of parking usage throughout a typical day. As you will see, parking
within the 1,000 feet range is not available, but is available when that range is increased to 1,700 feet. As
detailed above, 1/3 mile or 1,760 feet is an acceptable distance to walk in a walkable, safe, and attractive
urban area like Saratoga Springs.
Although this project is within the T-6 Zone where developers are not required to provide parking, this is not to say
that the City cannot and should not restrict the size and scope of lane development to fit within the existing
infrastructure capacity, including parking.
Response: As shown above and in the attached table, parking is available within a radius of 1,700 feet to
support the proposed building and uses.
Sincerely,
Alison Yovine, PLA
Project Manager