that um photo council this one here no i believe it was 11 where you had the parking in the bike
parking where where they were entering yeah yes so what what exactly where's the exits coming out
What exactly, where's the exits coming out of the parking garage for the vehicles?
of the parking
Yeah, the entrance to the exit.
All on 39th Street.
So the exits and the entrance is coming off of 39th Street?
Correct.
Okay, so what about the congestion of cars going in and out on that busier street?
On 39th Street?
We're going to have our traffic engineer come and testify to that. But we have been obviously we submitted a traffic study and working with the streets department on that as well. But our traffic engineer will testify to that or I can have Mr. Voss answer the question.
I mean, it was designed. The code does encourage to have both ingress and egress in a single drive aisle coming out onto a principal street like this. They try to minimize the amount of curb cuts on the zoning code.
okay so do you want the architect to speak on that or mr voss mr voss if you would like to
try and address it but then i will also have the uh the engineer the traffic engineer testify as
well yeah i would prefer the traffic engineer address the technical issues associated with
the question okay okay all right so we're good you want to go to the traffic engineer next mr
mcclure uh you know i would like to go to i'm going to go to uh the professional engineer who's
going to talk about sight lines which are also addressed mr shaheed's comment and then also
traffic engineers so the testimony will be helpful for mr shaheed or at least i'm hopeful hopeful
that it will be okay thank you thank you thank you i'd like to elevate mr james gleaton
as a panelist. G-L-E-A-T-L-N.
Hi, sir. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
He's coming back in as a panelist now, Chair. Thank you.
Okay. Good afternoon, James. Hi. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court
reporter? James Gleaton, G-L-E-A-T-O-N. Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. Okay. Counsel, proceed. Sure. Mr. Gleaton, could you
please describe your educational background and work experience? Yes. University of Pittsburgh
graduate, civil engineering, master's degree in global energy management. I've been a professional
engineer in the state of pennsylvania since 2001 and for work experience i have done site line
design most recently for the cassidy school here in the city of philadelphia
for a school being constructed wonderful and have you testified before municipal boards
in pennsylvania in the past in zoning matters and been qualified as an expert in civil engineering
yes i have is your cv here on exhibit 21 of the zoning packet which is on the screen
yes it is okay i'd like to offer mr james gleaton as an expert civil engineer
and mr gleam did note his experience in designing site triangles for uh for garages and parking
facilities thank you he's a we admit that mr gleam could you explain your role in the proposed
development i'm the project manager for civil design uh are you um are you familiar with the
the use-specific standards contained in Section 1460310 of the Philadelphia Zoning Code for
Non-Accessory Above-Ground Parking Garages? Yes, I am. Okay. I'm referring to Exhibit 13.
Mr. Gleaton, is that that section I just referenced? Yes, it is. Okay.
And what was your role with the preparation of the plan prepared concerning sight lines for
vehicles exiting the parking garage on 39th Street. I'm going to refer to those two diagrams,
which I believe are relevant to Mr. Shahid's question, 16A and 16B. What was your role?
I was a supervisor engineer for another engineer who designed it at my firm.
Okay. And have you reviewed the plans shown on 16A and 16B? And are you familiar with the
details of the parking garage, including its internal design and details relating to ingress
and egress? Yes, I am. Have you visited the site? Yes, I have. Okay. Do you agree with the methodology
and the conclusions of this plan in 16A and 16B? Yes, I do. Could you explain what they show?
what shows uh they show if a car is coming out on 39th street um yes you're right there
that the driver is able to see um traffic along with pedestrians coming from both the left
traffic along with pedestrians coming from both the left and right side is needed and that's based
on the speed of the traffic which is regulated by the city and also the slope of the street which
is calculated by the engineers. Okay and how about 16B? What is 16B? Yes that is where I said where
you actually have the grade you actually show what the speed limit is and that gives you the
distance you can see, which would be the two numbers there, 148 and 145. And this is a pen
dot form that the state has you fill out or use? Yes. Okay. And in your professional opinion,
do proper sight lines for a driver exiting the parking garage exist across both sides of the
sidewalk such that the driver of a vehicle would be able to see pedestrians on the sidewalk adjacent
into the driveway before any part of the vehicle exits the garage yes i apologize for the long
winded question that is the exact language from the zoning code um um question for um for the
board if there's any specific questions for mr gleaton before i bring up the traffic engineer
any questions no mr chairman not not right now mr chair okay why don't we bring up the traffic
engineer mr chairman i'd like to elevate mr michael davidson thank you mr gleam please stay
online thank you mr davidson please unmute yourself and wait for the day
i could could could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
Michael Davidson, M-I-C-H-A-E-L-D-A-V-I-D-S-O-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Mr. Davidson, can you turn on your camera?
Mr. Davidson, could you please describe your educational background and work experience?
I apologize.
eyes. I thought my camera's on. Don't worry about the camera. It's all right. Could you describe
your educational background and work experience? Yes, I have a Bachelor of Science degree in
Civil Engineering from Penn State University and a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering
from the University of Texas at Austin. I have a little over 15 years of experience
in traffic engineering, and I'm a registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania.
And you not only studied traffic congestion, you studied traffic engineering as well as the effect
on the streets as well as pedestrians, correct? Correct. And yeah, for over 15 years, I've been
performing traffic analysis, collecting traffic data. I've done this for multiple state departments
of transportation so you've worked for government agencies mr davidson yes i have okay and could
you refer i'm referring to exhibit 20 can you see that on on your screen mr davidson yes i can is
that your curriculum vitae yes it is i'd like to offer mr davidson as an expert in traffic engineering
mr chairman thank you that's fine thank you could you explain your your role in the proposed development
yes i'm the traffic engineer for the project okay and are you familiar with the use specific
standards contained in section 14 16 14 603 10 of the zoning code for non-necessary above
ground parking garages yes i am okay i'm referring to exhibit 13s on the screen is that that section
yes it is okay and what is your role in the preparation
in this project did you prepare a traffic study yes i prepared the transportation impact study
report i performed traffic analysis and i oversaw all work performed by others for the study
and there's a study not only the impact on vehicle traffic but also on pedestrian traffic correct
Yes, he incorporated pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
Excellent. And you studied both the impact. You studied 39th Street and 38th Street, as well as Ludlow and Market Street, correct?
Correct.
Okay. I'm going to refer to Exhibit 14, which is the TIS.
Okay, I'm bringing up the screen. Can you tell us more about the study area that was used for the traffic study on Exhibit 14? I'm going to move down to page two of your report, okay?
Yep, so prior to beginning work on the study.
Yep. So prior to beginning work on the study, we met with PennDOT District 6 in the City of Philadelphia just to coordinate on the scope of work for the study.
And we came to a consensus on the study intersections that would be included and that is shown on the map that's on the screen.
The intersections highlighted with the green dot are signalized intersections, and the red dots signify unsignalized intersections.
And so it was eight intersections surrounding the proposed development.
Okay. And can you tell us a little bit about the existing conditions, though, when it comes to the level of service in those areas?
Sure. Obviously, this is an urban core area with a considerable amount of pedestrian and bicycle traffic in addition to the vehicular traffic.
There are several different public transportation options in the area, including SEPTA bus lines
and SEPTA subway line, the station located at 40th and Market Street.
After we performed the existing conditions analysis, we found that there is some congestion
at the study intersections, but it is an acceptable amount of congestion.
And the acceptable amount of congestion is determined by the the ITE manual, International Traffic Engineering Manual.
Yeah, so correct. And there's what we call level of service in the traffic engineering world to simplify traffic conditions at an intersection.
And it's a letter grade from A to F. A signifies best operations and F signifies the worst operations.
And what we found is, for the existing conditions, each intersection operates at a level of service C or better.
Okay. Do the traffic impact study incorporate other developments existing or proposed within the vicinity of the project when doing not only figuring out what the current conditions are, but what the proposed will be and the likely impact when this project comes online with the other projects?
And I'm going to refer to page three of Exhibit 14.
Yes, we incorporated traffic due to the development of the other pieces of the U-City Square Master Plan.
We also incorporated traffic associated with the new parking garage that's being constructed to serve the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
In addition to that, PennDOT publishes growth rates to account for any unforeseen growth in traffic, and we incorporated those growth rates into our future analysis.
Okay. Anything else that you want to talk about the methodology that you use for analyzing the traffic information for the study?
Sure. So we collected traffic data on Tuesday, April 5th, 2022.
And how do you do that?
We deployed cameras that recorded traffic from 6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m.
And then after the cameras were done recording, we processed that data, and we got vehicular turning movement counts, bicycle turning movement counts, and pedestrian crossings at each of the study intersections.
And that was April 2022?
Correct, April 5, 2022.
So schools were operating in April 2022, as well as the neighboring universities?
correct okay go on mr go on mr davidson sure so we use that data along with intersection
specific information such as traffic signal timings and we analyze the am and pm peak hours
for existing conditions and future conditions we incorporated the future traffic from the
other developments that we just talked about. And in addition, we forecasted future trips
associated with the proposed development. That's the subject of the study. And we used
standard traffic engineering software to perform the analysis.
perform the analysis. Could you explain how the project will impact the level of service
Could you explain how the project will
at the intersections within the study area? And those are the ones that were shown in the
beginning of the TIS and 14. And could you refer to the chart that's on page four of existing 14,
which I believe is your summary of both the existing conditions and the resulting conditions,
correct? Correct. So, in total, we analyzed five different scenarios, the existing conditions.
I apologize, four scenarios. The existing conditions, the two different opening years
of the two phases, and then a design horizon year of 2032. So, in that design horizon year,
all but one intersection operates at level of service with and without the development.
So what we did was we forecasted future traffic conditions with the development constructed
and without, and we compared the two results. The one intersection where the level of service
does change is at 38th Street and Market Street, and that changes during the PM peak hour from a
level of service c to a level of service d um so while that does change from a c to a d
it is within the acceptable thresholds as defined by the pendot standards and in addition it is
would not be considered an unacceptable level of congestion thank you and mr davison the board
had a specific question regarding the entrance and exit on 39th Street, both having the same
point being an ingress and egress point and the driveway. Could you talk a little bit about how
you believe that will operate and how you can validate your conclusions? Sure. So we did
considered the existing traffic into and out of the surface parking lot. So we did incorporate
that traffic. We grew that traffic in accordance with the PennDOT background growth rate. Now we
added the additional trips that we forecasted due to the proposed development and the other
developments in the area. And then we performed the analysis. We also
used some of the PennDOTS tools to analyze whether or not that proposed driveway intersection
would warrant separate turning lanes on 39th Street, and they would not be warranted. And
And as you can see, they operate, the intersection operates fairly well at level of service A in the design horizon year of 2032.
And do you believe that the existing of that driveway will not have a negative, a material negative impact on South 39th Street?
Does the traffic impact study propose any improvements to the study area?
and I'm referring to page four of the TIS. Yes, so in conjunction with our coordination
with PennDOT and the city, we propose to upgrade the curb ramps at two of the study intersections
in upgrading to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards. We also propose to increase
increase the traffic signal cycle length at the intersection of 39th Street and Market Street, which is at the northwest corner of the proposed development site.
And that increase in the traffic signal cycle length will provide more green time to left turning vehicles traveling westbound on Market Street and progressing on to southbound 39th Street.
Thank you. I'm going to read to you the question, but it comes from the zoning code.
In your professional opinion, will the project materially degrade the level of service at any signalized intersection within 400 feet of the project during any 15-minute period between 7.30 a.m. and 9.30 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m. to an unacceptable level of congestion as determined by professional engineering standards?
okay and so you believe that in a high high degree of certainty professional certainty yes
mr davis mr davis i guess i have one question uh so when you took the uh traffic
So when you took the traffic numbers into account, there is another curve cut along that block.
Am I correct?
I'm sorry.
Can you be more specific as to which curve cut?
yeah so on on the 3900 block uh between chestnut and market there should be another curve cut
along that block at the at the boston market
trying to get a plan mr shaheed one second
here's the 39th block i'm pointing to exhibit 10a
mr shaheed the the curb cut that you're talking about is on the the block of the south
yes okay here
yes that was not within the scope of the transportation impact study
and i think but i actually think yeah
so i thought the presenter before you said in the study it was from uh from chestnut
to market um in that study of the traffic that was going in and out of the streets
along with the bike controlled traffics with pedestrians
we did analyze one intersection on chestnut street the intersection of 38th street and chestnut street
mr if maybe if i can ask a question of mr davison i think can get to your to your point i i think
If I may, Mr. Shahid, Mr. Davison, I think Mr. Shahid is saying there is an existing curb cut at Boston Market between Ludlow and Chestnut.
And I think what you said is you did not study that specific curb cut, but have you studied that length of street and are you comfortable to believe that the garage that you're putting on 39th Street will not adversely impact either that driveway or the operations of 39th Street in general?
we studied 39th street ludlow street and it will not um you know materially degrade
operations at that intersection we did not specifically study the curb cut that's located
on 39th street between uh ludlow street and chestnut street so i cannot speak to that
curb cut specifically understood which way does 39th street go
north south goes from goes from north to south so you you have studied the intersection
and the traffic at ludlow and 39th street correct correct how is that intersection operating today
39th and ludlow operates at a level of service a for both the a.m. and p.m. peak hours okay
And how did you take into account the level of service of that intersection?
For existing conditions, we incorporated the vehicle turning movement counts, pedestrian traffic at the intersection, and bicycle traffic, along with other intersection-specific information to perform the analysis.
And you predicted traffic based upon peak periods, right?