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Comprehensive Plan Transportation Element To promote economic development, improve air quality, and improve mobility for all of its citizens, the county should adopt the highest possible level of service that is practical given the existing conditions on the roadway network. Since large portions of the system already operate at level of service "D" and since there is very little perceptual difference between "C" and "D" on several classifications of roadways, the county should not attempt to raise its overall level of service standard to "C". • Roadway Levels of Service In Indian River County, construction is underway or scheduled to begin shortly on a number of major road projects, including widenings on CR 512; Oslo Road; 66th Avenue; SR 60; and US1. When complete, these projects will forestall any additional LOS deficiencies on those roads through the near term. These capacity increases were made possible by a substantial increase in traffic impact fees imposed in 2004, by extension of the 1 cent local option sales tax, and by public/private coordination in constructing transportation improvements. The county has not, however, imposed other transportation revenue sources, such as the ELMS five cent local option gas tax. Over the past decade, demand exceeding supply alone does not account for all of the decreases in LOS in the county With the publication of the (2002)(2009) FDOT Quality and Level -of -Service Handbook, Level -of -Service capacities in the generalized tables decreased for nearly all classifications of roadways. While many of the capacities increased in the latest (2009)012) FDOT handbook, the overall trend remains lower. For example, the peak hour directional capacity at LOS "D" for a 4 -lane roadway with between 2 and 4.5 signals/mile dropped from 1,890 vehicle„ in he ' 994 handbook 1,770 vehicles in the 2009 handbook to 477701630 vehicles in the 2009 2012 handbook. Because the generalized tables are the basis of most of the county's LOS capacity determinations, lower capacity volumes result in lower levels of service at the same traffic volume. Despite the trend toward lower levels -of -service, no roadway segments in unincorporated Indian River County actually exceed their adopted LOS standard. While several roadway segments exceed Level of Service "D", those roadways are within their adopted standard. That is because the county lowered the level of service standard to "E+20%" on portions of those roadways. Referenced in Figure 4.2.2, Tthose roadways are 43rd Avenue and 27th Avenue in south Indian River County. It is anticipated that this reduction in the adopted level -of -service standard will be a temporary measure until those roadways can be widened or alternate road capacity provided. Safety On a regular basis, the county examines its crash records to identify those locations with high crash occurrences. The county also seeks opportunities to improve safety in future roadway projects and routinely examines existing travel conditions in order to improve deficiencies that may not yet be reflected in crash statistics. As a result, both the crash rate per capita (.012) and the crash rate per vehicle miles traveled (1 per 2,800 VMT) have remained constant over time in Indian River County. While this does not indicate improved safety, it does indicate that safety is not getting worse. This is significant in a climate of increasing congestion and population growth. Because the percentage of Community Development Department Indian River County 74 APPENDIX A — Transportation Amendments