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Grand Avenue Widening Project Environmental Impact Report Section 3.0 3.5 TRANSPORTATION Based on the findings of the IS, the proposed Grand Avenue widening may or would result in potentially significant adverse transportation impacts specifically related to parking. The analysis in the following sections focuses on the existing conditions in the study area, the analysis methodology, thresholds of significance, the potential impacts of the Grand Avenue widening alternatives related to overall traffic and circulation operations and parking, and mitigation as needed. The potential traffic impacts of the proposed Grand Avenue widening were evaluated in the Grand Avenue Widening Project Traffic Study (P&D Consultants, Inc., June 2001). The findings of this Traffic Study are summarized in the following sections. The complete Traffic Study is provided in Appendix F in this EIR. 3.5.1 EXISTING SETTING RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION An inventory of existing conditions on the project segment of Grand Avenue was conducted to identify the number of existing through travel lanes, intersection lane geometry, traffic control devices and existing traffic volumes, as described in the following sections. Existing Travel Lanes and Traffic Control Devices Grand Avenue is currently a four lane, north -south facility between First Street and Santa Ana Boulevard. Between Santa Ana Boulevard and Seventeenth Street, there are currently six through lanes provided. Grand Avenue is classified as a Major Arterial in the Master Plan of Streets and Highways (MPSH) which is part of the City of Santa Ana General Plan Circulation Element. This classification is consistent with the Master Plan of Arterial Highways (MPAH) adopted by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA). Seven of the thirteen intersections on Grand Avenue between First and Seventeenth Streets are signalized. The remainder are controlled by stop signs on the minor street. approaches. Figure 3.5-1 shows the existing lane geometry at each signalized intersection on the project segment of Grand Avenue. Existing Traffic Volumes P&D Consultants conducted 24-hour machine tube counts at selected midblock locations along Grand Avenue and morning and afternoon peak hour intersection traffic counts at the study intersections in April 2001. Figure 3.4-2 shows the existing daily traffic volumes on the project segment of Grand Avenue. As shown, the midblock daily traffic volumes are 25,900 vehicles per day (vpd) south of Seventeenth Street, 32,000 vpd between Fruit Street and the Orange County Register driveway, and 30,300 vpd between Fourth and First Streets. F: WROJ-ENPIGrand eirlNew Text - GrandlSection 3 SplitlSection 3.5.doc Page 3.5-1