Kerman Unified School District - City of Kerman

JLB Traffic Engineering, Inc. (JLB) was retained by Odell Planning & Research, Inc. to prepare a Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) for the Kerman High School Athletic Site and Elementary School located on approximately 45 acres at the northwest quadrant of Whitesbridge Avenue (State Route 180) and Madera Avenue (State Route 145) in the City of Kerman. Mr. Jose Luis Benavides, P.E. was the project manager and traffic engineer of record on this project. The Kerman Unified School District (KUSD) was the lead agency for CEQA purposes, and the City of Kerman, Fresno County, and Caltrans District 6 were responsible agencies.

The TIA was prepared as part of the Initial Studies and Mitigated Negative Declarations that were prepared for the KUSD, whose plan is to construct an elementary school, an administrative office building (6,676 square feet (sq. ft.)) and athletic facilities for the high school that include a 3,000-seat stadium, a gymnasium (17,860 sq. ft.), a maintenance building (4,684 sq. ft.), a 500-seat varsity baseball field, a 500- seat varsity softball field, a 250-seat junior varsity baseball field, a 250-seat junior varsity softball field and a pool with 500 seats. The project is projected for completion in the next five to ten years and is anticipated to serve a maximum of 750 students and expand existing Kerman High School enrollment from 1,500 to 2,000 students.

The purpose of this TIA was to evaluate the potential traffic impacts, analyze parking demand during a sold-out stadium event, analyze transit, bikeway and pedestrian access to and from the site, identify short-term and long-term roadway circulation needs, identify any critical traffic issues that should be addressed in the on-going planning process and determine potential mitigation measures (roundabouts and signalized controls) for existing unsignalized intersections pursuant to the Caltrans ICE directive letter. The TIA focused on evaluating traffic conditions at six (6) intersections and three (3) roadway segments under ten (10) scenarios. In addition, JLB also determined the project’s pro-rata fair share percentage impacts to the future improvements pursuant to the Caltrans Guide for the Preparation of Traffic Impact Studies.

The scope of work was prepared via consultation with staff from the City of Kerman, Fresno County, and Caltrans District 6. The TIA report included feasible transportation mitigation measures that could be implemented. The Initial Studies and Mitigated Negative Declarations, for which the TIA was prepared for, was certified in late 2016.