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Traffic engineers describe applicant and city roles in TIS preparation and review
Summary
City and applicant responsibilities for traffic impact studies were explained: applicants hire traffic engineers and collect data; city reviewers (traffic engineers) review methodology, request additional data when needed, and recommend whether a TIS is ready for council action.
Traffic engineer Jacqueline, speaking for city reviewers, described the practical workflow: applicants hire traffic‑focused engineers to prepare TISs and submit them to the city; city engineers (Jacqueline and Lindy, named in the session) review submissions, typically expect iterations, and advise applicants in pre‑application meetings. "As the city, we will meet with them first. Hopefully, we always encourage applicants to have a pre app meeting with us so that we can lay out our expectations," Jacqueline said.
Jacqueline and other reviewers explained what they look for: correct methodology from the ITE trip generation manual when applicable, up‑to‑date traffic counts (generally two years or newer), appropriate model inputs (lane counts, signal timing), and clear assignment of who will pay for mitigation. Reviewers said they sometimes ask applicants to collect better local data when datasets are small or methodological choices are questionable. When the city accepts a TIS for recommendation to the planning commission or council, staff said it will have been reviewed and recommended by community development and the traffic engineers.
The session included procedural clarifications about letters of conformance (for land‑use changes after TIS approval) and how the city uses travel‑demand models or nearby comparable sites to assign trip distribution when necessary.
