N.J. Admin. Code § 16:47-4.37

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 16:47-4.37 - Traffic counts

(a) Traffic counts shall be taken by the applicant or, if available at the Department, obtained from the Department for study area locations.

(b) Traffic counts shall be shown by 15-minute intervals over a period long enough to establish a peak hour. This period is generally two hours. During this period, there shall be no conditions such as detours, accidents, or inclement weather that could affect traffic volumes. Traffic counts shall not be taken on or near holidays or other special events when traffic may not be representative of average daily traffic.

(c) Only traffic counts performed outside the seasonal peak period (in tourist or recreational areas) shall be adjusted to the peak period. Traffic count data taken within 12 months of the application date are required. Classified manual turning-movement counts for one day shall be supported by one week of machine counts. To be acceptable, a manual count must be within 10 percent of the machine count on each approach that day, considering the total for the manual counting period. Weekday peak-hour manual counts shall be factored to agree with the weekday machine count for the highest hour of the week. Saturday manual counts, if within 10 percent of the machine counts, need not be factored but shall encompass the machine peak hour for the day. The number of two-way, all lane, machine counters shall be no less than the number of signalized intersections to be counted. Generally, the counters shall be placed to cordon the State highway limits of the study area. All counts shall be included in the traffic impact study as an appendix. The Department may require evidence of proper calibration of automatic traffic recorder (ATR) equipment.

(d) Vehicle classification must be sufficient to address the needs of the capacity analysis in 16:47-4.3 0(g). However, where large percentages of multi-axle vehicles are present it may be necessary to more finely stratify the classification in order to conform to the machine count.

(e) At or after a pre-application meeting, the Department may approve alternative proposals for counting programs as long as they conform to the intent of (b) through (d) above.

N.J. Admin. Code § 16:47-4.37