Carson City traffic signal network keeping pace with development, officials say

As new residential construction projects continue moving forward in Carson City, the transportation network around the Nevada state capital is keeping pace with growth that has occurred and is projected to occur, said Carson City Transportation Manager Lucia Maloney.

This includes the existing network of 50 traffic signals located throughout the Nevada state capital.

"Carson City hasn't experienced a significant amount of increased traffic in terms of volumes and the number of cars making trips," Maloney said. "It's not projected to get worse, because there are no big areas of town that still need development."

Maloney did acknowledge that while traffic congestion does exist in certain areas, the city is not overwhelmed with more traffic than it can handle.

"Right now there are some areas that are annoying if you get stuck at a light or going through a corridor," she said. "But, in general, our level of service is really good locally."

Parts of the state capital where development is occurring could see increases in traffic volume, Maloney said, but that doesn't mean the whole city will.

"There may be areas of town where these developments are occurring where we may see increased traffic volumes that affect the signals and how you experience your travel during the day," she said. "There's really just a couple of different areas with big developments going on. Those are the developments we are looking at to have a substantial impact on traffic."

Site improvements have begun on 44 acres of the Lompa Ranch property and the first phase of Blackstone Ranch, a development featuring 189 single-family homes along Saliman Road adjacent to Carson High School between East Fifth and Robinson streets. A 372-unit apartment complex has also been approved adjacent to Blackstone Ranch.

There are 147 single-family attached townhomes planned for Arbor Villas Apartments along Little Lane; a cumulative 240 apartment units in planning along both sides of GS Richards Way; and 105 single-family attached units at Mills Landing off State Street and East William.

A building permit for Carson Hills Apartments, a new 300-unit complex planned behind the Galaxy Theater, is under review by the Carson City Planning Commission, according to the May 2018 Community Development Report.

Parts of that project will front South Curry Street with entrances and exits located at Koontz and Clearview in close proximity to South Carson Street, a typically high traffic area that Malone said has actually seen a significant reduction in volume since the final segment of the Carson City Freeway opened in August 2017.

But a future apartment complex planned near that area could have an impact on the 45 percent decrease in volume that traffic counters installed along that corridor have recorded.

Developers are required to complete travel demand modeling as part of the permitting process, said James Jacklett, operations manager for control systems with the Carson City Department of Public Works.

"When the impact of the development is significant enough to warrant a traffic signal or other network improvements, they are required to design or fund those modifications," he said.

Traffic signals must be justified by meeting specific criteria within the Federal Highway Administration's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Device, Jacklett said, featuring nine warrants that must be met.

"Cities and agencies aren't allowed to just install traffic signals where they want," he said. "They have to meet a very specific number of criteria."

Maloney said that's where the traffic counters come in handy as a measuring tool and data collector for Carson City Public Works.

"We've invested in traffic counters, so any time someone has a comment or concern about traffic in a certain area, our internal team and deploy those counters and we can look at volumes by time of day, hourly volumes, and they also capture speed of cars," Maloney said. "We collect a lot data to understand the volumes."

The city's overall transportation plan is data driven, she said, especially the network of traffic signals.

"We are really trying to maintain a data-driven, performance-based approach following engineering standards and principles," Maloney said. "We're constantly look at the data coming in to assess where we need to target our efforts."

The biggest area of concern for the city right now is the U.S. Highway 395 corridor between Koontz Lane and Mica Drive in Northern Douglas County, Jacklett said.

"With the South Carson Street Project and the freeway opening, that has brought us into a new phase of modifications to that network," he said. "The interchange to Mica is going to continue to see increased volumes year over year. That's our biggest challenge and that's where we're focusing on."

The portion of South Carson Street from the freeway interchange north is still owned by the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), which will be relinquished to the Consolidated Municipality of Carson City. Currently, an interlocal agreement with NDOT gives Carson City the responsibility to operate and maintain lights along that corridor, Jacklett said.

"We're responsible for making sure their day-to-day operation and configuring them," he said.

The congested corridor that runs between Carson City and Northern Douglas County indicates traffic volumes are not limited to just immediate Carson City, but neighboring communities from which traffics flows into the Nevada state capital.

"What we also must be concerned with is the external growth," Maloney said. "Our travel demand model is a little bigger than Carson City already."

That model includes Reno-Sparks to the north, where unprecedented growth is occurring, as well as the communities of Western Lyon and Northern Douglas counties, areas managed, in part, by the Carson Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) and the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC).

"Traffic signal needs are balanced against the needs of the total transportation system, including roads, sidewalks, markings and signage," Jacklett said. "It's just one piece of it. We're looking at all of that."

Because the network of roads is extensive in and around the greater Carson City area, Maloney said her division relies heavily on input and feedback from residents to help give city officials a better picture of emerging traffic challenges.

"There are so many roads and so many signals, we really rely on those residents experiencing a specific commute pattern," she said.

Residents and visitors can access Carson City's virtual city hall through Carson City Connect at www.carson.org/connect. There they can view frequently asked questions and submit service requests. There are also apps available for IOS and Android smartphone platforms.

"We do take concerns very seriously and we do investigate those," Jacklett said. "With 50 signals throughout town, it's hard to have eyes on every one of them, so we do rely on input and feedback from people and their experiences."

Concerned or interested residents can also attend regular meetings of the Carson City Board of Supervisors, which convenes the first and third Thursday of each month at 8:30 a.m. inside the Carson City Community Center, 850 East William Street.

There's also a monthly transportation meeting, open to the public and held the second Wednesday of each month at 4:30 p.m. inside the community center.

"Any questions, concerns, or public comments on transportation are welcome," Maloney said. "Anyone can go to those meetings, participate and ask questions."

Maloney said she wants to assure the public that her division is responsive to the needs of the Carson City community and changes happening within it.

"We hear you," she said. "Let us know what you experience. If there are things we can improve, then we will continue to look at it."