5.3. SR 11-16-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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SECTION 5 - NEED FOR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS The previous sections summarized the transportation issues in the corridor and described the overall project goals and objectives. This section summarizes the needs to be addressed in the corridor. The purpose of the project is: To meet the future transportation needs of the Northstar Corridor. 5.1 INTRODUCTION The Northstar Corridor connects two major employment, population, and educational centers in the region. Over the past fifteen years, the communities in the Northstar Corridor have experienced substantial population and economic growth. Along with this growth has come limited highway expansion, increased automobile ownership, and more auto trips. Increased congestion and the reduced ability to easily travel to key destinations will be a significant deterrent to the continued growth of the area. While the corridor does have a diversity of development patterns, much of the newer development in portions of the corridor are developing with land use patterns which tend to cater exclusively to automobile travel. To manage the impact on existing and planned transportation facilities, future development must also support increased mobility particularly by transit, walking and bicycling. Transportation access and capacity are vital to a community's economic development. Freedom of movement and flexibility (mobility) in the Northstar Corridor have come at a high price here as elsewhere: growing congestion on the highway system, greater reliance on the single-occupant automobile, and declining use of transit. As a result, the movement of both people and goods is slowed. Congestion contributes to air and noise pollution. Congestion causes delays in the delivery of goods and services affecting the local and regional economy. Roadway expansion also has significant impacts. Environmental impacts significantly affect communities which border the facility, and costs affect city, state and federal transportation funding requirements and opportunities. 5.2 MAJOR NEEDS IN THE NORTHSTAR CORRIDOR The need for transportation facilities and services in the Northstar Corridor can be summarized as follows: NEED: The Imbalance Between Travel Demand and Travel Supply Even with full system management, the Minnesota Department of Transportation projects peak period congestion on TH !0 from Elk River to the east, and capacity deficiencies on highways and bridges throughout the corridor by the Year 2020. Congestion will continue to increase during peak travel times resulting in longer traffic delays, increased cost to commuters and greater vehicle emissions. With no other major east-west roadway available to serve Benton, Sherburne and Anoka Counties, increased traffic, automobile and freight movements are significantly affected. It is anticipated that programmed future investments on the principal and arterial highway systems serving the corridor will not be sufficient to adequately support the increasing Northstar Corridor Major Investment Study Section 5 - Need for Transportation Improvements 10-28-98 5-1