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Comprehensive Plan Transportation Element On an annual basis, Indian River County conducts traffic counts for each thoroughfare plan roadway in the County. These counts measure the number of vehicles traveling on the roadway over a given period of time . Counts are taken over a three-day period on weekdays to control for variation that may occur with a single day count. The raw counts taken on roadways are factored using accepted methodologies to obtain more usable data. The counts are then converted to average annual daily volumes, peak season daily volumes, and peak hour, peak season, peak direction volumes. Traffic counts are important for a number of reasons. Not only do they indicate system demand ; they also indicate congestion on roadways. Roadway volumes are illustrated in Figure 4.4 . As indicated, traffic volumes are highest on US 1 , SR 60, and I-95 . Counts are most useful when compared to roadway capacity. Using a volume to capacity measure (v/c), roadway level-of-service (LOS) can be determined. Table 4. 7 . 1 and Figure 4 .2 .2 identify peak hour roadway LOS on the county' s roadway network. Lane Geometry The number of through lanes for each facility on the Indian River County roadway network is summarized in Figure 4 .2 . As shown in that figure, I-95 is the only four lane expressway serving the county. Other north-south travel is provided on US I and Indian River Boulevard, both of which are four lane divided facilities. In the east-west direction, the widest road is SR 60, which exists as a four and six lane roadway east of I-95 . County Road 512 in the Sebastian area is also four-laned, providing east-west travel in the northern portion of the county. For planning purposes, a roadway's capacity and level-of-service (LOS) are generally based on the number of through lanes . Level of Service (LOS) is a qualitative measure, describing motorists' perceptions of operating conditions within a traffic stream. Capacity, on the other hand, is a quantitative measure of the ultimate number of motor vehicles which can travel over a particular roadway segment during a particular time period (either hourly or daily) . These conditions are generally described in terms such as speed and travel time, freedom to maneuver, interruptions to traffic flow, comfort and convenience, and safety. Levels of service are generally designated by letters A through F, with LOS A representing the best operating conditions (free flow) and LOS F the worst (forced or breakdown flow) . Characteristics of each level of service are listed below: LEVEL OF SERVICE A LEVEL OF SERVICE D - Uninterrupted flow - Low speeds - No restriction on maneuverability - Major delays at signal - Few or no delays - Little freedom to maneuver LEVEL OF SERVICE B LEVEL OF SERVICE E - Stable flow conditions - Lower operating speeds - Operating speed beginning - Major delays and stoppages to be restricted -Volumes at or near capacity Community Development Department Indian River County 11