Hadley Traffic: Retail Developers Give Ideas for Hanley, Dale, Elinor

Road expansions, lane additions and connector routes all are part of proposals by three companies to accommodate traffic if their Hadley Township retail projects win approval.

The neighborhood has because of its proximity to major highways—Hanley Road, Highway 40 and Interstate 170.

Last week, a Clayton-Richmond Heights Patch reader asked on Facebook how developers are proposing to facilitate traffic on Hanley Road, which already hosts a high volume of vehicles.

The following excerpts from proposals by Costco, Menards and Pace Properties highlight some of the road changes they have suggested. Questions about this report may be directed to nate.birt@patch.com.

More about Hadley Township development proposals on Patch:

Costco: Add right-in/right-out lanes on Hanley, improve West Bruno intersection

"Crawford, Bunte, Brammeier (CBB) performed preliminary traffic and circulation evaluations related to the proposed Costco development in response to the City of Richmond Heights' request for redevelopment proposals. It is CBB's understanding that a 148,000 square foot (s.f.) Costco Wholesale warehouse with a 16 vehicle position fuel station is proposed on a 16.0 acre site within the Hadley Township Redevelopment Area. The proposed Costco site is generally bound by Hanley Road to the west, Elinor Avenue to the north, West Bruno Avenue to the south and Berkley Avenue to the east.

"The purpose of the traffic and circulation evaluations was to review the preliminary access locations and proposed site circulation in an attempt to identify any "fatal flaws" and provide input for roadway improvement needs based on the anticipated traffic generation of the development as well as the documented plans by St. Louis County for the Hanley Road Corridor. Fatal flaw analysis was based on driveway locations, character of the adjacent roads, general site circulation constraints, location of parking and potential pedestrian conflicts. The St. Louis County Access Management Guidelines were also consulted since the County owns and maintains Hanley Road."

Site Circulation
"The site circulation shown on the proposed Costco site plan is acceptable with appropriate throat depths internal to the site pushing conflict points away from the public roads. An appropriate number of lanes are provided on the approaches of Elinor Avenue, West Bruno Avenue and the proposed driveways. When the parcel to the north is developed by others, cross access should be provided so that vehicles do not need to access Hanley Road to move between the adjacent parcels and the parallel roadways east of Hanley Road (West Bruno Avenue, Elinor Avenue, and Dale Avenue). Optimally, this cross access would be located as far away from Hanley Road as reasonably possible.

Trip Generation
"Traffic forecasts were prepared to estimate the amount of traffic that would be generated during the p.m. peak hour of a typical weekday and the midday peak hour on a Saturday. Since Costco fueling (f)acility patrons are required to have a Costco membership to purchase fuel, many of the gas trips are expected to be common to the wholesale warehouse. In addition, the site is in close proximity to the Brentwood MetroLink station at the Meridian, which introduces alternative modes of transportation beyond vehicles; transit riders from the light rail or bus system, bicycles and pedestrians, which may reduce the number of vehicular trips to the site.

"The Costco Wholesale warehouse and fueling facility are expected to generate approximately 710 total trips during the p.m. peak hour and 1,125 total trips during the Saturday midday peak hour. Since the proposed uses are expected to be attractive to vehicles already traveling on Hanley Road, these pass-by trips would limit the new trips to the roadway network to approximately 390 "new" trips during the weekday p.m. peak hour and 795 "new" trips during the Saturday peak hour."

Pedestrians
"Pedestrian accommodation will be provided along the east side of Hanley Road and at least one pedestrian crosswalk across Hanley Road should be maintained at each of the signalized intersections. A pedestrian corridor is also proposed from near the entrance of the Costco Wholesale warehouse through the parking lot to Hanley Road in the general vicinity of the proposed right-in/right-out drive. Clearly marked pedestrian crossings should also be considered across Elinor Avenue in the future as the north parcel develops."

Another Costco proposal document states:
"It is anticipated that the following mitigation improvements will be necessary to accommodate the proposed Costco:

• One southbound left-turn lane on Hanley Road at Elinor Avenue
• One northbound right-turn lane on Hanley Road at Elinor Avenue
• Elinor Avenue should consist of a three-lane section (one inbound lane and two outbound lanes) east of Hanley Road
• Provide the right-in/right-out driveway to help distribute traffic
• Provide dual southbound left-turn lanes on Hanley Road at West Bruno Avenue
• Widen westbound West Bruno Avenue at Hanley Road to provide dual left-turn lanes, one thru lane and one right-turn lane; and
• Mark eastbound left-turn lane on West Bruno Avenue from Hanley Road to proposed Costco entrance."

Menards: Add Right-Turn Lanes to Hanley, Widen Elinor

"Traffic is proposed to be accommodated using four access points to the development: (i) an entrance on the south side off of Bruno Avenue aligned with existing Maplewood Commons Drive serving the Wal-Mart Development; (ii) an entrance from Hanley Road in the same location as the current Alabama Avenue intersection (iii) a second access from Hanley Road to the outlet at the northeast corner of the site in the same location as the current northernmost access point; and (iv) a north side entrance from Elinor Avenue. Menards will coordinate with any developer of the northern portion of the redevelopment site to line up the proposed Elinor access to allow easy circulation of traffic between the north and south projects. All other existing entrances and curb cuts within the proposed site boundaries will be closed.

"A local traffic engineering firm with experience in the project area will be hired by Menards to develop a detailed set of recommendations for improvements to be made to the surrounding road network. It is anticipated that improvements will include right turn lanes on Hanley Road at the west side entrance, overall intersection and signal improvements at the Elinor Avenue and Hanley intersection, and widening of Elinor to three lanes with an additional right turn lane at the development entrance. Menards will work cooperatively with any other developers of other portions of the redevelopment area to design a comprehensive traffic study to analyze multiple development scenarios including development of only the Menards project site as well as a full build-out of the entire Hadley Township redevelopment site."

Pace Properties: Extend Eager to Dale, Build Road to Berkley

"The Hadley Township Redevelopment Area has frontage along Hanley Road, Dale Avenue and, indirectly, Bruno Avenue. Its primary access would be located on Hanley Road at the signalized intersection with Elinor Avenue. Secondary connections to the adjacent streets would provide access to the surrounding community while also providing cross-access to other commercial developments.

In fact, this project would provide an ideal opportunity for extending Eager Road to Dale Avenue and through the redevelopment site to Bruno Avenue at Berkley Drive. This "package road" would provide a number of meaningful benefits:

• Access to a major east-west collector road (Eager) with connections to important regional facilities including I-170 and Brentwood Boulevard.

• Direct access to the redevelopment site with substantial improvements in access management along Hanley Road and Dale Avenue, including the elimination of numerous driveways and decreased turning movements.

• Optimal circulation and improved dispersion of site-generated traffic. Cross-access between both portions of the Hadley Township Redevelopment Area and connectivity to Maplewood Commons.

The extension of Eager Road would be aligned so that it could also serve the redevelopment parcel north of Dale Avenue. Furthermore, it would be designed to incorporate the jughandle on Hanley Road, thereby preserving the benefits of that connection and minimizing impacts to businesses to the west.

This access arrangement would minimize the impacts of the redevelopment while providing sufficient capacity to serve the site. It emphasizes the use of Hanley Road, its connection to I-64 and, to a lesser extent, Eager Road as the primary access routes for commercial traffic. However, important secondary connections would still be maintained to improve circulation and provide access for local residents."