Intersection General Plan Consistency Requirements
To ensure consistency with the City of Murrieta’s General Plan, the following criteria must be applied in traffic studies to determine necessary infrastructure improvements that maintain acceptable operational conditions. While this analysis focuses on General Plan consistency, specific California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) impact thresholds based on Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) requirements are addressed separately in these guidelines.
Signalized Intersection Operating Requirements
The City of Murrieta requires traffic impact analyses to identify improvements at signalized intersections under the following conditions:
- If a signalized intersection operates at an acceptable Level of Service (LOS) D or better without project-related traffic but degrades to LOS E or F due to the addition of project traffic, improvements must be proposed to restore operations to LOS D or better.
- If a signalized intersection is already operating at LOS E or F without project traffic and the proposed project increases the average delay by 5.0 seconds or more, improvements must be identified to offset the increase in delay and maintain consistency with the General Plan.
Unsignalized Intersection General Plan Consistency Requirements
For unsignalized intersections, the City applies the following criteria to identify operational deficiencies and determine if improvements are necessary:
An operational improvement is required if:
a) The intersection operates at an acceptable LOS D or better without project traffic but degrades to LOS E or F due to project-related traffic.
OR
b) The intersection is already operating at LOS E or F without project traffic, and the project adds 5.0 seconds or more of additional delay,
AND
c) The intersection meets the peak-hour traffic signal warrant after the addition of project traffic.
If any of the above conditions are met, traffic improvements should be proposed to achieve:
- LOS D or better if the intersection degrades from an acceptable LOS due to project traffic.
- Pre-project LOS and delay if the project increases the delay at an already deficient intersection.
By applying these requirements, the City ensures that development projects maintain intersection functionality and align with long-term transportation planning objectives.
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