Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 01/18/2017

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Item-by-item guidance Chapter 18. Transportation The EAW must provide a reasonable estimate of the impacts on transportation and traffic associated with the proposed project. For projects with only minor traffic generation,it is not necessary to provide the maximum peak hour traffic generated.The trip generation rates used to estimate traffic, (such as trips per household,) and their sources should be identified. It is recommended that the Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Manual be used,unless other numbers are justified for the particular project. The level of detail of the analysis should be commensurate to the amount of traffic generated and the existing level of traffic congestion. Therefore,the more likely the traffic impacts from the project will contribute to a growing transportation problem,the more detail that should be provided in the EAW. The analysis should consider not only the adjoining roads near the project site,but also other connecting roads that may be adversely impacted. One commonly accepted measure of congestion is the level-of-service and delay times.The EAW must also address the project's potential impact on the regional transportation system. If a traffic analysis is being prepared because of the requirements of the local unit of government,that analysis should also be used or included in the EAW,provided that it is based on generally accepted principles of traffic analysis.The RGU for the EAW should be consulted before the EAW analysis is prepared. If vehicular air quality impacts are assessed, as described in EAW Item 16.b,the vehicle air quality analysis method used in the EAW should be consistent with the assumptions of the traffic analysis,including mitigation. Regardless of location,if the peak hour traffic generated by the project exceeds 250 vehicles or the total daily trips exceeds 2,500, a traffic impact study must be prepared as part of the EAW.Use the format and procedures described in the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Traffic Impact Study Guidance or a similar local guidance. If the RGU is pursuing a traffic study,they may want to consider including crash data or other traffic safety issues, even though they may not be "environmental"under the definition included in Minnesota Rules 4410.0200 Subp. 23. Additional Resources: • Mn/DOT's Traffic Impact Study Guidance is available at: hiip://www.dot.state.mn.us/accessmana e�pdf/manualchapters/chapter5.pdf Environmental Quality Board EAW Guidelines—October 2013 41