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• Benchmarlc
CIVIL ENGINEERING SERVICES, INC.

1727 Jonathan Street • Allentown, PA 18104

Phone: (610) 776-6700 • Fax: (610) 776-1190 • www.bencivil.com

December 21, 2018

Mr. Thomas Petrucci

Plainfield Township Manager
6292 Sullivan Trail
Nazareth, PA 18064

RE: Traffic Study Review - Slate Belt

Heat Recovery Center, Plainfield
Township, Northampton Co., PA
Benchmark Project No. 671004

Dear Tom:

Benchmark Civil Engineering Services, Inc. has reviewed the following materials related to the
subject project:

Access Study prepared by Traffic Planning & Design dated 2018-08-15

PreliminarylFinal Land Development Plan Set
2018-08-15 Truck Turning Path Plans Prepared by EarthRes last revised 7/25/18
Hanover Engineering review letter dated 8/31/18
Plainfield Township Zoning & Code Office letter dated 9/6/18.

We offer the following comments.

1. The developer should provide a copy of the existing PennDOT Highway Occupancy
Permit for their Route 512 driveway which demonstrates that the projected traffic volume
is within the volume limits of the permit.

2. Plan sheet C-04 indicates that there is a conflict for the truck turning path if trucks are
both entering and exiting from the Rt. 512 Access Road adjacent to the Green Knight
LFGTE Facility. Plans should be provided which indicate how vehicles will be
controlled to avoid this conflict.
 Mr. Thomas Petrucci
Plainfield Township Manager
671004 December 21, 2018

3. Plan sheet C-05 indicates the vehicle path for a tractor-trailer utilizing the minimum use
access driveway to access Pen Argyl Road from the internal roadway. The internal
roadway and Pen Argyl Road are approximately parallel in this area and are separated by
only fifty feet. The plan indicated that the eastbound and westbound tractor-trailer can
just barely pass each other without colliding. The problem with this depiction is that it
assumes that the drivers of each of the vehicles have guidance as to the path they need to
follow to safely traverse the intersection. The plan indicates stop bar locations on the
internal roadway which provides some guidance, however, no guidance is provided for
the driver approaching from Pen Argyl Road as to where his travel path should be to
travel onto the internal road. While it is not labeled, the plan appears to indicate a painted
island which would appropriately delineate the travel path for automobiles while a
tractor-trailer would have to drive through this painted island to utilize the path depicted
on the plan. As designed, tractor-trailer traffic should be prohibited from using this
access.

4. The traffic impact study does not include an analysis of the warrants (PennDOT Pub. 46)
for an auxiliary lane at the site driveway intersection with Route 512. This analysis
should be prepared to determine whether the existing auxiliary lanes are of adequate
length.

5. The traffic volumes utilized to document the existing facility's entering and exiting trips
are based on a traffic count conducted in September 2006 according to the text on page 4
of the traffic analysis prepared by Traffic Planning and Design, Inc., dated August 15,
2018. Typically count data older than three years is considered to be outdated. The site
driveway traffic count data is not included in the report appendices. The existing site
traffic volumes should be verified.

6. The Route 512 access driveway includes a concrete mountable median and pavement
markings which appear to be in poor condition. The PennDOT highway occupancy
permit plans should be reviewed to insure that all pavement markings and signs are in
place as required by the permit.

7. The Traffic Planning and Design, Inc. traffic study recommends that centerline and lane
edge marking be placed to improve safety and provide guidance to vehicles entering and
exiting the site. Bench.mark concurs with this recommendation.

8. The traffic analysis relies on traffic count data available from PennDOT s via their TIRe
data website. This count data indicates a directional distribution of the traffic on
Route 512. The traffic analysis is based on the distribution of traffic being 55% in the
southbound direction and 45% in the northbound direction. The distribution directions

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Benchmark Civil Engineering Services, Inc.• 1727 Jonathan Street· Allentown, PA 18104 • Phone: (610) 776-6700 • www.bencivil.com
 Mr. Thomas Petrucci
Plainfield Township Manager
671004 December 21, 2018

should be verified.

9. The TPD traffic operational analysis for exiting left turning vehicles from the site
driveway during the existing conditions during both the weekday AM and PM peak hours
indicates operation at level of service (LOS) D. With the additional traffic associated
with the Slate Belt Heat Recovery Center the analysis indicates that the projected traffic
continues to operate at a LOS D. The projected traffic volumes with the development
increases to 33.2 seconds. The threshold between LOS D and LOS E is at 35.0 seconds.
The analysis indicates that the percentage of trucks on Route 512 is 2 percent while the
percentage indicated from the PennDOT website indicates 7% trucks on Route 512. The
calculations should be revised to utilize the correct percentage of trucks and the delay
should be verified to insure that the operation does not drop below LOS D. Benchmark
performed a check of the analysis and found that the LOS in the projected PM peak hour
conditions resulted in a LOS =E. The analysis should also utilize site driveway traffic
volumes from traffic counts more recent than 2006.

10. The traffic signal warrant analysis for the site driveway intersection with Route 512
provided in the study evaluates only the peak hour warrant. The analysis should also
evaluate the ADT Volume, the Eight Hour Traffic Volume2, the Four Hour Volume, and
the Crash Experience Warrants to determine whether a traffic signal could be installed to
control traffic.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Peter A. Terry, P.E., PTOE, PMP

PAT/slc

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Benchmark Civil Engineering Services, Inc.• 1727 Jonathan Street· Allentown, PA 18104 • Phone: (610) 776-6700 • www.bencivil.com