Trip generation characteristics of discount supermarkets

OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, many grocers have attempted to create a niche market by selling high-quality goods, creating in-store brand names, selling products in bulk and/or selling products at discounted prices. As these trends have continued, building sizes typically have increased and the trip generation profile of grocers has evolved. Two elements are of particular concern in assessing the transportation impacts and needs of grocers: trip generation and trip type. The trip generation profile of a typical store is important because it is necessary to determine the on-site and off-site transportation impacts associated with that store. Trip type is important both in understanding trip origins and modal split and in enabling better planning of site access and parking to prevent spillover into residential neighborhoods. This feature provides a summary of a trip generation study prepared for a major discount supermarket company located in the western United States. CURRENT TRIP GENERATION DATA The Institute of Transportation Engi-neers' (ITE) Trip Generation typically is used to estimate the number of site-generated trips associated with a given land use. 1 The Trip Generation Handbook is used to determine trip type. 2 Both publications include data for two land uses commonly employed to study large grocers: supermarkets (ITE Land Use Code 850) and discount supermarkets (ITE Land Use Code 854). In addition to these two land uses, data for shopping centers (ITE Land Use Code 820) sometimes are used to evaluate the transportation impact of grocers when they are part of a larger shopping center development. ITE Land Use Code 850 characterizes supermarkets as typically being " free-standing retail stores selling a complete assortment of food, food preparation and wrapping materials and household cleaning and servicing items. Supermarkets may also contain facilities such as money machines, photo centers, pharmacies and video rental areas. " ITE trip generation data for the supermarket land use represent average store sizes ranging from approximately 27,000 square feet to 53,000 square feet, with most of the data points based on the smaller store sizes. By comparison, ITE Land Use Code 854 characterizes discount supermarkets as typically being " free-standing retail stores selling a complete assortment of food (often in bulk), food preparation and wrapping materials and household cleaning and servicing items at discounted prices. " The store sizes associated with the ITE discount supermarket database range from less than 10,000 square feet to more than 125,000 square feet. ITE …