HomeMy WebLinkAbout006.01 - Appendix E.1 - TIS Amendment Memo
P.O. Box 249
Bozeman, MT 59771
406.922.7300
www.406traffic.com
M E M O R A N D U M
To: Peter Andrews, Intrinsik Architecture
From: Nate Larson, PE, PTOE, RSP1
Date: 8/14/2026
Subject: Boutique Hotel Mendenhall, TIS Validation
This memo provides updated information to supplement the original Traffic Impact Study (TIS,
October 2024) for Intrinsik’s boutique hotel project on Mendenhall Street in Bozeman. Its purpose is to
assist the project team with its amended project application to the City by showing why the traffic
impact conclusions documented in that TIS, based on 71 rooms, should still be considered valid even
if a higher number of rooms is proposed. The context is a BMC requirement (38.740.120.B.2) that the
amended project demonstrate substantial compliance with the originally approved plan. It reads,
“Changes proposed for the site, singly or cumulatively, do not increase by more than 20% any
of the following: lot coverage by buildings, storage areas, parking areas or impervious
surfaces, and/or do not result in an increase in intensity of use as measured by traffic
generation, stormwater discharge, or other measurable off-site impacts.”
The original TIS for BHM indicated that no intersection traffic impacts requiring operational mitigation,
such as changing traffic control type or adding capacity, would result. To help inform your project
development effort, I’ve conducted additional analysis of the hotel project with specific regard to the
“traffic generation” element of the aforementioned code requirement.
With the project modification proposed, traffic generation will be equal to or less than the level
documented in the original TIS, because the way it is calculated has changed since the original
project proposal. This big-picture industry change was not a factor in the project team’s decision to
modify the hotel size proposed.
A major change occurred in the field of traffic impact analysis recently. The Institute of Transportation
Engineers (ITE) overhauled its Trip Generation guidance since the original BHM TIS was published.
The original TIS used ITE’s 11th edition. In the summer of 2025, ITE issued a substantial update of the
Trip Generation product, in the form of the 12th edition, and no longer supports the 11th. The ITE’s 12th
edition trip generation assumptions for the Hotel land use (such as which supporting onsite facilities
are often included) and its daily traffic generation data summary chart are appended to this memo.
PTOE #1185, certified since 2003
406 Traffic & Transportation Consulting Intrinsik: BHM TIS Validation, 8/13/2026
2
The most prominent change to trip generation, and the most relevant to this project, was ITE’s
elimination of older trip generation studies contributing to the data set. Specifically, data from studies
conducted in the 1980s and earlier are no longer used to estimate trip rates, such that all rates are
now based on site studies from the 1990s and later. In the case of the “Hotel” land use, this change
resulted in a somewhat lower trip generation rate in the 12th edition than in the 11th. ITE’s direction
for the traffic engineering community to stop using the older edition of its guidance when a new one is
issued is very typical. Calculating trips using the old rate is not considered a valid procedure after a
new rate replaces it. Only one rate must be used for the project because the estimation of trip
generation does not allow for the possibility that individual rooms or groups of rooms within a single
hotel will generate trips at different rates, or for those rates to vary based on when a calculation
occurs.
The additional analysis I have conducted is to calculate the number of rooms that would generate the
same number of trips as were indicated in the original BHM TIS by dividing those that trip total by the
new ITE 12th edition rate. This analysis has produced a maximum number of hotel rooms for which
the original TIS findings remain valid.
In the following table, the older rate and daily trip total is shown in red text while the latest information
is shown in blue text. Note that parking needs and valet trips are a function of the trip total, so they
would remain the same if trips also do not change.
Rates, Trips and Rooms
ITE Hotel Daily Trip Rate, 11th Edition: 7.99 trips per room
Total for 71 rooms (7.99 ͯ 71) = 567 daily trips
ITE Hotel Daily Trip Rate, 12th Edition: 5.84 trips per room
Number of rooms supported (567 ÷ 5.84) = up to 97 rooms
As of the date of this memo, 91 rooms are proposed for the hotel. At the current ITE trip rate this
translates to an estimated average number of trips per typical weekday of 531, or a reduction of about
6%. For this reason, from a traffic generation standpoint the amended project is substantially
compliant with the originally approved plan. A new, updated TIS would show the same or lower traffic
impacts and therefore should not be necessary.
If you have any questions about this memo, please feel free to reach out to me directly at
406.922.7300 or nate@406traffic.com.
Land Use: 310Hotel
Description
A hotel is a place of lodging that provides overnight accommodation and supporting facilities such as a
full-service restaurant, concierge service, valet parking, cocktail lounge, meeting rooms, banquet room, and
convention facilities. A hotel typically provides a swimming pool or another recreational facility such as a
fitness room.
Additional Data
Some properties in this land use provide guest transportation services (e.g., airport shuttle, limousine
service, golf course shuttle service) which may have an impact on the overall trip generation rates.
The sites were surveyed in the 1990s, the 2000s, the 2010s, and the 2020s in California, District of
Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ontario (CAN), Pennsylvania, South Dakota,
Vermont, and Washington.
Trip generation at a hotel may be related to the presence of supporting facilities such as convention
space, restaurants, meeting/banquet space, and retail facilities. Future data submissions should
specify the presence of these amenities. Reporting the level of activity at the supporting facilities
such as full, empty, partially active, number of people attending a meeting/banquet during
observation may also be useful in further analysis of this land use.
Source Numbers
357, 507, 577, 728, 867, 872, 925, 951, 1009, 1021, 1026, 1046, 1219, 1222, 1224
494 Trip Generation Manual, 12th Edition • Volume 3
Hotel(310)
Vehicle Trip Ends vs:Rooms
On a:Weekday
Setting/Location:General Urban/Suburban
Number of Studies:2
Avg.Num.of Rooms:143
Directional Distribution:50%entering,50%exiting
Vehicle Trip Generation per Room
Average Rate Range of Rates Standard Deviation
5.84 5.58 -6.03 ***
Data Plot and Equation Caution –Small Sample Size
0 100 2000
1000
2000
Average RateStudySite
Fitted Curve Equation:Not Given R²=***
X =Number of RoomsT = Trips EndsGeneral Urban/Suburban and Rural (Land Uses 000–399)495