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Churches, temples, and other places of worship have specialized transportation needs
Traditional places of worship typically generate few vehicle-trips during typical weekday morning and afternoon commuter peak hours. Places of worship generate intense traffic demands for short periods of time before and after worship services.
With the advent of “super” churches, places of worship have also become places for day care services, education, religious classes, youth activities, and other events, which affect typical weekday commuter peak hours.
Wells + Associates provides the following services:
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Assessment of existing on- and off-site transportation conditions |
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Transportation impact studies |
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Trip generation studies |
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Circulation and operating plans |
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Queuing studies |
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Parking demand studies |
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Parking lot and garage design |
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Traffic signal, signage, and pavement marking plans |
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Justification of variances from local zoning requirements, as appropriate |
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Presentation graphics |
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Expert witness testimony |
Ideally, places of worship have the following transportation attributes:
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Safe, efficient, adequate vehicular access, egress, and on-site circulation systems |
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Large, regularly-shaped land parcels that can adequately accommodate peak parking demands and expansion plans |
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Direct connections to principal neighborhood, collector, or arterial streets |
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Safe, secure, and direct pedestrian connections |
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No significant vehicle-pedestrian conflicts |
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Adequate, well-organized, well-managed parking for members, staff, and visitors |
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Good emergency vehicle access |
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Appropriate traffic control devices and pavement markings to reduce exit times and minimize disruptions to surrounding neighborhoods |
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High use of carpools, with typical average auto occupancies of 2.5 persons per vehicle |
Common transportation challenges include:
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Small land parcels that cannot accommodate peak parking demands or building expansions |
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Inadequate ingress and egress capacity and traffic controls, causing queues spill over onto adjacent public streets |
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Inadequate parking: member, staff, and visitor parkers spill over into adjacent residential neighborhoods and parking lots |
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Need to operate shuttle bus service between the church and remote parking facilities |
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Poorly organized or poorly managed parking |
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Poor on-site circulation between drop-off/pick-up lanes and parking lots |
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Objectionable traffic impacts in residential neighborhoods |
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Vehicle-pedestrian conflicts on public streets and the church site, which pose safety hazards |
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Low average auto occupancy: families attend services in more than one vehicle |
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Neighborhood perceptions that use is “traffic” intense |
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