(PALMER LAKE, Colo.) — The Town of Palmer Lake has released the first final report of three impact studies for the proposed addition of Buc-ee’s near I-25 and Beacon Lite Road.
Initially, Buc-ee’s hired Kimley Horn to prepare a traffic study for their development, however, the Town of Palmer Lake was interested in conducting its own study. The study was then independently conducted by Stolfus & Associates, Inc. for the Town of Palmer Lake, to ensure and verify that the proposed Buc-ees would allow for acceptable traffic operations.
The study collected traffic counts, forecasted vehicular volumes and trip generation, and conducted a traffic analysis of each intersection within the study area. The intersections studied included:
Existing intersections:
County Line Road/I-25 northbound ramps
County Line Road/I-25 southbound ramps
County Line Road/Beacon Lite Road
County Line Road/Spruce Mountain Road
Future intersections:
Beacon Lite Road/South Site Access
Beacon Lite Road/Middle Site Access
Beacon Lite Road/North Site Access
Overall, the study found that the Buc-ee’s is expected to only cause minimal increases in traffic volumes within the town. According to Stofus, both the independent study and the Kimley Horn study were similar.
While they had similar findings, the Stofus study only looked at the trip generation from Johnstown while the Kimley Horn study looked at various Buc-ee’s in Texas,
“While the Kimley Horn forecasts are more conservative, we reason that the Johnstown Buc-ee’s is a more accurate predictor for the trip generation since it is in the same state and in a similar location in terms of proximity to I-25 and nearby population densities,” the Stofus study wrote. “Buc-ee’s is very popular in Texas, and many of their sites are in densely populated urban areas, which will likely increase their trip generation.”
Both studies also made recommendations for the road, with Kimley Horn’s study evaluating both a signal and a roundabout at the intersection of County Line Road and Beacon Lite Road, where the Buc-ee’s would be located. The study found that a signal would be able to make travel more efficient, while the roundabout would also work well but have low delays and queues.
Check out the full report below:
The Stolfus study also found that only 3% of the trip generation from Buc-ees would be anticipated to come to or from the Palmer Lake Downtown along County Line Road, most trips will come from I-25.
