06/08/2005 P&Z Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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• • • I -35E Corridor Draft AUAR June 2, 2005 Public Open House In addition to the Advisory Panel, City Council, and agency workshops, a public open house was held on February 17, 2005. The purpose of the public open house was to give the general public the opportunity to review and submit comments on the background research and the draft development scenarios. MAJOR ISSUES AND PROPOSED MITIGATION SUMMARY The potential impacts and major issues identified in this Draft AUAR are summarized in the following section. The major issues include traffic, ecologically sensitive resources, storm water management, regional sanitary sewer infrastructure capacity, and cultural resources. The discussion of each issue also includes a discussion of the proposed mitigation measures that address the identified impacts and issues. A summary of potential impacts and the proposed mitigation strategies are included in the Draft Mitigation Plan Outline. The final Mitigation Plan will be completed after the agencies and the public have had the opportunity to comment on the Draft AUAR during the 30 -day comment period. The final Mitigation Plan will become a component of the action plan to ensure that the city avoid, minimize, or mitigate significant environmental impacts from the development of the AUAR area Traffic A detailed traffic impact analysis has been prepared to fully investigate the effects of the proposed land use scenarios on the local and regional roadway systems (see Item 21. Traffic). The traffic analysis focused on the operation of the primary roadways and their intersections during the p.m. peak period, which is typically the time when the most severe traffic congestion is incurred. Evaluating the development scenarios involved the complex process of developing and distributing background and development scenario related traffic through the areas roadway network. The network includes a system of frontage roadways that will assist in the circulation of traffic through the area. This roadway system, which was presented to the City and Anoka County early in the AUAR process, was used as a guideline in determining where to put the various developments. The key guidelines included: • Limit access to CSAH 14 and 80th Street between CSAH 21 and Elmcrest Avenue North • Limit access and preserve mobility on CSAH 14, CSAH 21, and 80th Street (assuming future interchange) • Signalized (primary) intersections at 1/2 mile spacing • Collector (secondary) intersections at 1/4 mile spacing • Enhance existing street network to serve local trips (e.g., upgrade Elmcrest Avenue North) • Develop frontage/backage road system to provide property access • Consolidate existing access as opportunities arise • Consider I -35E park and ride location • Provide bicycle /pedestrian trail connectivity In general, the overall land use /development scenarios resulted in significant increases in traffic to /from the AUAR area. The major problems with the intersection were southbound left -turns and westbound left - turns. The lane geometry that was assumed was single left -turns on all approaches. The results indicate that given the expected development in the AUAR area that several of the approaches would require dual left- turn lanes to adequately accommodate study area traffic. The redesigned interchange at CSAH 14 and I- 35E overall functioned satisfactory during the p.m. peak hour for the 2030 land use scenarios. The northern section of the AUAR area, along 80th Street and the bypass, also showed high traffic volumes and intersections projected to operate over - capacity under the assumed lane geometry. ix