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Home My WebLink About09.30.97 Work Session Packet COUNCIL WORKSHOP School District Facility Planning 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 30, 1997 City Council Chambers WORKSHOP AGENDA I. Overview of City Transportation Plan ll. School District Facility Site Plan Presentation III. Strategic Long-Term Transportation Planning Impacts a. Local Transportation Planning b. Effects of Proposed 20gth Termination on City Transportation Plan c. Corridor Prioritization and Capacity Issues d. Public Safety Impact Issues . e. Transportation Financing Issues IV. CounciVSchool Board Discussion V. Adjournment TO: ~ayor an~ ~ity co~.. CHi CIty AdmIll1strator/<-- FROM: David L. Olson Community Development Director Lee M. Mann, P.E. Director of Public W orks/ City Engineer SUBJECT: Analysis for 208th Street Extension DATE: September 26, 1997 INTRODUCTION Staffhas prepared a response to a proposal from the Farmington School District that if implemented would result in the termination of20gth Street along its existing (and proposed) alignment to facilitate the construction of a second Middle School adjacent to the existing Middle School. The City's Thoroughfare Plan currently identifies 20gth Street as a Collector with proposed future connections to T.H. 3 and C.R. 66 to the east and extending to the City of Lakeville to the west. The following is a discussion of this Issue: DISCUSSION Long-term planning implications and consequences The present location of 20gth Street (both existing and proposed) has been designated as a Collector in the City's Thoroughfare Plan as contained in the City's Comprehensive Plan adopted by the City Council in 1990. The portion of20gth Street built adjacent to the Middle School has a pavement width of 56 feet. The definition of a Collector street in the City's current Comprehensive Plan is as follows: The Collector Street system is designed for intra-city travel but will also provide direct access to abutting land. It channels local traffic to and from arterial streets accommodating a moderate amount of traffic. Typical standards include rights- of-way of 100 feet and 44 feet of paving curb to curb. This cross section will accommodate 4 eleven foot lanes or 2 twelve foot lanes and 2 ten foot lanes depending on the volume of traffic that will be handled. Maximum grades may be designed up to 7% and design speed is 40 mph. An eight foot bituminous bike path shall be located on one side of the street and a five foot concrete sidewalk on the other. Both are to be placed within twenty-eight foot margins on either side of the paved street surface. CitlJ of Farmint}.ton 325 Oak Street · FarminlJtonJ MN 55024 · (672) 463-7777 · Fax (672) 463-2597 If 208th is abandoned as a Collector in the City's Transportation Plan, the City would experience the long-term consequences associated with the elimination of a proposed east/west corridor which are already limited within the City. Elimination of this proposed east/west collector route would cause more traffic to be routed to other corridors which1in some cases, are already overused. Long Term Effect of Terminating 20Bth Street on Elm Street (C.R. 50) and on Ash Street (C.R. 74) C.R. 50 has recently been upgraded to a four-lane divided roadway from the western edge of the Central Business District to the City of Lakeville. Elm Street from Akin Road to T.H.3 is also a County Road and is designated as a Collector on the City Thoroughfare Plan. The reconstruction of the existing portion of Elm Street through the Central Business District will be dependent on the availability of County Turnback Funds. However there is not sufficient right-of-way available to do any major expansion of the number or width of traffic lanes and thus the capacity of the road will never be significantly increased. Ash Street is also a County Road which is designated as a Minor Arterial on the City Thoroughfare Plan. It has also been identified on the County's transportation plan and will become an important corridor after the completion of the Pilot Knob Road extension. The Thoroughfare Plan shows the connection of Pilot Knob Road to Ash Street through the extension of Pilot Knob Road south of C.R. 50 and eventually connecting with Ash Street to the east. This corridor will be important for traffic heading south and east and will connect with T.H. 50 at T.H. 3. Industrial Park traffic will also benefit from this connected corridor for traffic heading southbound. However, there isn't sufficient right- of-way available for the portion of Ash Street in the developed area of the City to significantly increase capacity in the future. Prioritizing Corridors / 195th vs. 20Bth 195th Street is a County Road which is designated as a Minor Arterial on the City Thoroughfare Plan and has been designated on the County's Transportation Plan for future improvement. This road has previously been in the County's Capital Improvement Program however it was placed on hold until funding issues related to the construction of a bridge that would currently be located in the Township can be resolved. When or if this road is built, it would tend to serve the northern portion of the City. It is projected that within the recent MUSA expansion 2,587 housing units will be constructed; 1,676 of those proposed units are directly south of 195th Street. At the present time, there is a total of 896 lots available for development north of 195th with 456 lots developed at this time. The potential for another 440 housing units to be developed in this area will impact the 195th Street corridor as well. 2 The corridor for 208th shows a total of 50 lots within the Riverside development with 20 lots developed at this time. A total of 426 single-family lots are located within the East Farmington development and 172 of those lots have presently been developed. With the potential of254 more single-family lots to be developed in East Farmington and the potential of 132 townhome or multi-family housing units to be developed in the PUD, it is apparent that East Farmington will provide the greatest impact on the 208th corridor. The original Farmington neighborhoods will also impact this corridor, however, no housing unit counts are available. There are also other large undeveloped tracts of land in the vicinity of208th Street east ofT.H. 3 and when they are developed will generate additional traffic and the need for an additional east-west corridor. The Dakota County Highway Department suggests that 208th Street should not be abandoned due to the need to provide as many east/west corridors as possible within the Farmington/Empire Township area. They suggest constructing both 208th and 195th to provide these important east/west connections and allow traffic to utilize T .H. 3 efficiently. Corridor Spacing The County recommends spacing of connector roadways every 1/2 to 1 mile. The 208th Street access on Akin Road is slightly less than 1/2 mile from Highway 50 and access on T.H. 3 is approximately 3/4 of a mile between 208th and Elm Street. From this information, the spacing of these roadways meets or is close to meeting the current standards of the County. Public Safety Issues Currently, Farmington does not have a grade separated crossing of the railway tracks that run through the City. The closest grade separated crossing to the north of the City is seven miles away in Rosemount and the closest crossing to the south is approximately four miles away. When an emergency situation coincides with a train passing through the City, emergency vehicles needing to travel across those tracks are delayed. As the City grows and railroad traffic increases, (as is planned by the railroad) the delays will occur more often. 208th street, as proposed, would incorporate a grade separated crossing, which would provide emergency vehicles as well as other traffic an access over the railroad tracks. In addition, the overpass at 208th Street will give school buses an opportunity to avoid crossing the tracks which can be dangerous and time consuming since buses need to make a full, complete stop before crossing. Every school day, 25 buses cross the tracks at Elm, Spruce or Ash Street an average of six times each, with an additional nine buses crossing at least four times each, causing traffic congestion in the downtown area during morning and afternoon peak traffic 3 periods. Removing this street alignment and overpass from the City's transportation plan would take away a future opportunity to minimize emergency response time and alleviate congestion caused by bus traffic. Financing Issues There are major issues which will need to be resolved before the extension of 208th Street to Trunk Highway 3 takes place. The alignment of 208th Street goes through an area that is currently in Empire Township. If the road is to go through the Township, an agreement between the Township and City will be necessary for financing the project. The City is not in a position to finance road improvements outside City limits. The costs involved with extending 208th Street to Trunk Highway 3 are substantial. Two bridges would need to be constructed, one for the railroad overpass and one to cross the river, both of which would be located in the Township. Based on current funding options, financing this section of the road presents a challenge regardless of whether it is a joint City- Township issue or an exclusively Township issue. In the future, there may be funding options that are not available at this time. The School District has suggested they are not against an east-west corridor and would be willing to talk about participating in a realigned 208th Street. The only option to realign 208th Street would be to route it around the north side of Riverside Estates. The difficulty with realigning 208th Street to the north is that it would require two additional bridges, adding substantial cost to the project. Realistically, realigning the road northerly is not feasible unless the School District would be willing to participate in the extra costs associated with the new alignment. The School District is in the process of putting together a site plan illustrating what they intend to do on the site. Staff recognizes the benefit of expanding the District's facilities adjacent to the existing school and would encourage the District to work with the City to develop a layout that addresses both the needs of the City and School District. ACTION REOUESTED This information is presented for Council review and discussion. Respectfully Submitted, O~~ David L. Olson Community Development Director Dz{1J1~ Lee M. Mann P.E Director of Public W orks/ City Engineer 4 {~li.~ ,',t.,:,.-/ :.:....;~~.. Map 5 Thoroughfare Plan iii nmlRtI laWtylmll .I/'\~"- 11 YII'/l Jll . l ~~UlI\ ~~DIl'~' RI1II.1IW m ~. _ Nn~ .. : \lHflf !Droll.. ~DIIU :J . an , .'. MllllRl ~ lJml\ll. ~~i'- N Minor Arterial IV. Collector . '& Minor Collector CJ City Parcels 1".....\ Outlying Parcels 1......................"'... 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