5.3. SR 11-16-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Route B Corridor identified in the Mn/DOT study, extends from downtown Minneapolis to Elk River. For this Study, it has been extended approximately 30 miles to the St. Cloud area as the 70-mile Northstar Corridor and is the subject of this MIS. 1.2 Twin Cities Commuting Area Transportation System Performance Audit, January 1998 Seven County Metro Area The Twin Cities Commuting Area Transportation System Performance Audit, January 1998, (Performance Audit) assessed the existing and future performance of the Twin Cities regional transportation system based on the expected growth in population and employment. While all areas will experience growth, the greatest growth will be in the suburban and rural counties one of which is Anoka County. These growth trends are in areas that are heavily auto-dependent and will have a major impact on traffic levels and congestion throughout the region, with the greatest impacts in the suburban area outside of the 1-494/I-694 ring. This will place increased demand on those facilities. The analysis shows that while population will increase by 27% by the year 2020, the regional travel demand model estimates a 35% increase in traffic on the metropolitan highway system. This increase comes at a time when, with current funding levels, new highway construction and expansion of existing facilities will be limited. The Performance Audit indicates that a major portion of the TH 10 corridor in Anoka County is congested in 1995 and will be even more congested in 2020. The portion of TH 10 in Ramsey that is not congested in 1995 will be congested in 2020. Other than system management, there are no roadway construction projects scheduled for this corridor within the 2020 horizon. Impact of Commuters from Outside the Region In addition, the Performance Audit assessed the impact of growth in commuter traffic from outside of the seven county region on the metropolitan highway system. In 1990, an estimated 13,500 commuters from outside of the region crossed the metropolitan urban service area (MUSA) line during the peak hour on the metropolitan highway system. Overall, these non- metro work trips used 31% of the peak hour capacity of the highways entering the region in 1990 and are projected to use 63% of the capacity by 2020. In Wright and Sherbume Counties, the number of work trips crossing the MUSA line is projected to increase from 4,820 vehicles per hour (vph) in 1990 to 10,700 vph in Year 2020. Therefore, the non-metro commuters from the northwest were already using 50% of the peak hour capacity in 1990, 61% of the peak hour capacity in 1995 and are projected to use 111% of the peak hour capacity by the year 2020. As a result, commuter traffic in the northwest corridor will experience significant delays, and will be forced to divert to other arterials and local streets. One of the seven recommended strategies to reduce congestion in the Performance Audit is to develop an effective long term strategy for transit in the Twin Cities region: Strategic Investments in Services to Current and Future Nodes Northstar Corridor Major Investment Study Section 1 - Introduction 10-28-98 1-2