One year in, Mall at University Town Center traffic unknown factor in congestion

UNIVERSITY PARK -- A year after The Mall at University Town Center opened its doors, the government agencies responsible for monitoring and accommodating traffic flow there cannot say how much mall traffic has contributed to overall congestion.

A paucity of traffic data generated from where the mall's main access routes, Interstate 75 and University Parkway, intersect seems to indicate that traffic levels have barely increased since the mall opened.

Traffic counts made by the Florida Department of Transportation show no increase between 2005 and 2014 in the number of vehicles exiting the interstate's northbound lanes onto University. For the southbound off ramp, daily counts have increased by an average of 3,000 vehicles per day over the same nine-year period.

For 2015, FDOT officials made only four one-day count totals for those ramps available.

Three northbound ramp counts taken in May and June show daily vehicle traffic varying between 17,247 and 19,508. The average for all of 2014 was 17,500. The single count taken on the south-bound off ramp was 15,738, just above last year's average of 15,000.

Traffic statistics for University Parkway are even more rare. Both Manatee and Sarasota County have jurisdiction on the road, since it forms the boundary between the counties. Sage Kamiya, Manatee County's deputy director of traffic management, said the county does not maintain count stations on the road and does not have traffic data that can compare pre-mall traffic to the current traffic.

Sarasota County traffic data shows traffic on University near the mall has increased in the past seven years. In 2008, the average daily volume counted at the intersection of Cooper Creek Blvd. and University was 51,222 vehicles. By 2014, that number had reached 61,410. An average for 2015 is not available.

Paula Wiggins, the county's transportation planning manager, said that how much the Mall at UTC has added to congestion in the area is unknown.

"There's definitely going to be some increase, but what percentage can be attributed to the mall, I can't say," she said.

Shoppers and diners are definitely driving to the 880,000-square foot mall. Kim Dominguez, the mall's marketing and sponsorship director, said traffic has been "very steady" since opening day last October. Mall management expects to receive a report detailing the number of shoppers that have visited the mall in 2015, but Dominguez said that number will not be made public.

Traffic has been a major discussion item since before the mall opened. Starting in 2013, Manatee and Sarasota county officials advocated for the construction of a "diverging diamond" interchange between I-75 and University. The project is intended to speed traffic flow through the area. The state broke ground in August on the $74.5 million project. It will add lanes to I-75 and will redirect traffic flow on University.

Traffic projections calculated by FDOT's engineers show that an average of 67,600 vehicles per day travelled a stretch of University directly north of the mall in 2012. Traffic on the exit and entrance ramps serving University and I-75 was 65,200 daily.

That mall-front traffic is expected to hit 86,900 by 2018 and 108,600 by 2032. Ramp traffic is estimated to rise to 84,400 by 2018 and 114,500 in 2032.

Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter@MattAtBradenton.

This story was originally published October 12, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "One year in, Mall at University Town Center traffic unknown factor in congestion ."