HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-571 - Appeal: Large Scale Development-2024-0038: (151 W. Dickson St./Trinitas Ventures, 484) (8)
CityClerk
From:Bo Counts <bocounts@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, June 3, 2025 3:35 PM
To:Williams, Kit; Stafford, Bob; Jones, D'Andre; Moore, Sarah; Wiederkehr, Mike; Berna,
Scott; Bunch, Sarah; Turk, Teresa; Jones, Monique; Rawn, Molly; CityClerk
Subject:Evidence of danger, application of TIA data and revotes (151 Dickson / Trinitas)
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the City of Fayetteville. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize
the sender and know the content is safe.
Mayor Rawn, Members of City Council and Mr. Williams,
The Level of Service (LOS) system in traffic studies was first introduced in the 1965 edition of the Highway
Capacity Manual (HCM). It categorizes the quality of traffic operations on various roadways, from freeways to
intersections. The concept aimed to quantify traffic performance based on factors like speed, delay, and
density. (https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1984/971/971-001.pdf)
Nowhere in the creation and execution of this system did it address danger levels to pedestrians or other types
of traffic be it in alternate vehicles, on foot or something else. This system also struggles to keep up with the
rapidly changing and evolving technology and behaviors we find on our roadways, such as distracted drivers
on cell phones, micro-transit options, massive increases in delivery drivers and Ubers making frequent stops,
and even the increase in self driving vehicles that are making their way here in NWA.
While modern Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) have updated and use more modern modeling methods, they are
still rooted firmly in the same principles: to measure the impact on traffic FLOW, VOLUME and CAPACITY.
The analysis does not address DANGER. So why do we continue to solely rely on a system used to measure
volume and flow as the definitive ruling on danger? You wouldn’t ask an orthopedic surgeon to perform heart
surgery, and you wouldn’t ask a heart surgeon to give you a knee replacement, even though from a layman
perspective they are both experts in medical applications, but the applications of their expertise are completely
different while being in a similar field.
Per our code, a planning commissioner or council member has every right to vote on a project based on 6
items. Item 4 is not based simply on code compliance, but dangerous traffic conditions and reads as follows:
“The proposed development would create or compound a dangerous traffic condition. For the purpose of this
section, a dangerous traffic condition shall be construed to mean a traffic condition in which the risk of
accidents involving motor vehicles is significant due to factors such as, but not limited to, high traffic volume,
topography, or the nature of a traffic pattern.”
So again, why then are we relying *solely* on a TIA and LOS score that doesn’t measure danger? Scientifically
speaking, the completed TIA is also an extremely small sample size for determining the impacts of a project
that will have a 24/7 - 365 use rate. (If you want to get specific, they only “measured” 0.05% of a year’s worth
of traffic to determine their findings. How many instances would someone rely on a 0.05% assessment to make
a lifelong decision?)
In our very own code it states that substantial evidence to support the potential increase of a dangerous traffic
condition is within the cities legal rights and responsibility to consider, and is *not limited to, high traffic
volume, topography, or the nature of a traffic pattern”. I firmly believe and witnessed not only the planning
commission, but also the city council, weigh all of these factors carefully and made their decision based upon
the facts and the evidence presented. If all city projects were simply a rubber stamp, we wouldn’t have these
rules to start with. These guidelines are quite literally put in place for the sake of the *protection of the city* and
1
the safety and well being of its residents, visitors and business owners. A revote may be needed to follow
proper procedural rules, but I hope you all stand by the vote to deny this project.
Bo Counts
Resident of Ward 2, 7 South University Ave
c. 479-200-5588
- Owner / Pinpoint Fayetteville
- Co-host - Later on KNWA/FOX24 Saturdays at 9pm
- Board member / Downtown Fayetteville Coalition
2