Traffic study forecasts modest peak increase; staff recommends signal and median changes

Transportation and Mobility Services presented the project's Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) during the staff briefing. Staff said they took existing counts and projected conditions at buildout and five years post‑opening, noting roughly 25,000 cars a day on the Camp/Lake Ridge corridor and forecasting about a 5% increase in peak traffic at the affected intersection if the grocery is built.

The TIA recommends targeted mitigation measures to preserve circulation and safety: a traffic signal at Lake Ridge Parkway and Blanco Drive or other transportation improvements determined necessary by staff, modifications to the median on Camp Wisdom to prevent unsafe crossing turns, deceleration/turn lanes, and other access management measures. Transportation staff explained these improvements are to be designed and approved by staff and would be constructed and paid for by the developer as a condition of approval if imposed.

Staff also cautioned that the TIA did not incorporate holiday/seasonal peak counts (for example December/Prairie Lights), which could increase peak loads; a commissioner urged collecting December counts to better estimate worst‑case seasonal impacts. Staff estimated the grocery could draw '4,000, 5,000, 6,000 people a day' distributed across the day rather than concentrated solely at peak hours, but stressed the PM peak remains the critical constraint.