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III. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING,IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES C. TRAFFIC CIRCULATION AND SAFETY SETTING ROADWAY SYSTEM I TRAFFIC CONDITIONS The site is located west of the Interstate-5 (I-5)interchange at Charter Way, also known as Business Route 4 west of I-5. Roadways providing access for the project site are Navy Drive (which fronts the site on the north side),Pershing Avenue(which traverses the site south of Navy),Fresno Avenue, Stockton Street,and Charter Way (see Figure II-1 in Chapter II). Interstate-5, which has six lanes in the project vicinity, is a major north-south freeway that generally bisects San Joaquin County. In addition to the full diamond (signalized)interchange of I-5 and Charter Way, there is also a freeway-to-freeway interchange of I-5 and the Crosstown Freeway (an east-west freeway that runs from Fresno Avenue [to the west] to the State Route 99 freeway [to the east]). The unsignalized intersection of Charter Way/Stockton Street (with stop-sign control on the Stockton Street approaches) is approximately 400 feet west of the southbound I-5 freeway ramps. At that intersection, Charter Way has four through travel lanes, with separate left-tum lanes and a channelized westbound right-turn lane that bypasses the main portion of the intersection. West of Stockton Street, Charter Way narrows to two lanes with a two-way left-tum lane. The intersection of Charter Way/Fresno Avenue is signalized. The non-state roads in the project vicinity (Navy Drive, Fresno Avenue and Stockton Street) each have two travel lanes. The intersection of Navy Drive/Fresno Avenue is signalized, while the site access intersection of Navy Drive/Pershing Avenue is unsignalized, with stop-sign control on the Pershing approaches. Current peak-hour traffic volumes, along with percentage of the total volumes consisting of trucks, on the road network serving the project site are presented in Table III.0-1. As shown in that table,traffic volumes tend to be higher during the p.m. peak hour(generally from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the project area)than during the a.m. peak hour(generally from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. in the project area). However,because the proposed project would generate a higher number of trips during the a.m. peak hour than during the p.m. peak hour, analysis of both peak traffic hours was conducted to judge potential project impacts(as discussed in the Impacts section below). Level of service(LOS)analysis characterizes traffic conditions associated with varying traffic volumes,and is a qualitative assessment of the average motorist's and passenger's perceptions of traffic conditions. LOS generally is described in terms of travel delay, freedom to maneuver, and comfort and convenience, and is assessed during peak traffic hours(typically during the morning and afternoon commute periods) when the worst traffic operating conditions of the day occur. Methods to determine LOS apply quantifiable traffic measures such as the portion of intersection capacity consumed by the volume of traffic (represented as the intersection's volume-to-capacity [v/c] ratio)to approximate driver satisfaction. A six-level rating scale has been established to describe levels of service, from LOS A(little or no delay) to LOS F(very Storkton Scavenger Transfer Station Expansion III.C.I ESA/990190