8.2. SR 05-19-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Chapter 6: Transportation / 65 Elk River Comprehensive Plan of existing collector or arterial roadways or include construction of new routes as development occurs. Much of this proposed collector network was identiﬁ ed as part of the US 10, US 169, the Mississippi Connections Redevelopment Framework, and 171st Avenue Focused Area studies. Implementation In order to implement changes that require construction of new routes or segments of routes, it is recommended that proactive efforts be undertaken by the City in order to preserve the right of way that is needed rather than building segments of roadways as property develops. Waiting until development and/ or redevelopment occurs does not protect the route, it can lead to increased acquisition costs and it may not occur in the correct timeframe. Things the City can do to preserve the routes: ·Complete a corridor study to identify the preferred alignment and location of the route ·Adopt an ofﬁ cial map ·Advance purchase the right of way needed It is important to coordinate these efforts with MnDOT and Sherburne County if the efforts impact county or state routes to ensure that an alignment can be identiﬁ ed that serves the transportation need, minimizes impacts to existing development (regardless of use), and has the support of the required agencies. It also provides an opportunity to pool funding resources. If proactive elements are not completed in time and a development does come along, it is important for the City to include the locations of potential connections as part of discussions with property owners and developers prior to them submitting an ofﬁ cial application for approval. Summary of Roadway Improvements and Changes The previous sections highlighted a number of roadway network changes and improvements. Figure 6-11 shows all of the proposed changes graphically. Some of the proposed changes, such as the connection between Proctor and Upland Avenues along the School Street alignment will not be made unless or until requested by the affected property owner. Trafﬁ c Diversion and Continuous Routes (arterials and collectors) The lack of continuous north-south and east-west collector and arterial routes creates connectivity problems and results in congestion on the limited number of continuous routes that do exist. At times this results in trafﬁ c using county and local streets to get to destinations that could be better served by having additional continuous routes. Implementation of improvements to US 169 and US 10 (along with associated frontage and backage roads) will help provide some of the connectivity that is currently lacking. However, these improvements are not programmed for the near future, so additional connections are needed. Figure 6-10: Future Functional Classiﬁ cation shows the proposed future functional classiﬁ cation map for the City of Elk River. This map includes facility upgrades to collector and arterial routes on county roadways identiﬁ ed by Sherburne County as part of its long-term transportation plan. Some of the changes in functional classiﬁ cation include constructing additional roadways (shown as dashed lines) or segments of roadways. It should be noted that the proposed routes shown on the map are conceptual only. Discussions between the city and county will occur prior to any new roadway construction. As part of these discussions, the city and county will identify ways to minimize impacts to existing residential and park uses. Other changes over time may include additional investments such as roadway widening (on minor arterials), pedestrian and bicycle facilities, limiting driveway access for newly constructed segments, consolidating driveway access when redevelopment occurs, etc. In addition to changes on the county network, there are also classiﬁ cation changes recommended for collector roadways on the city system. Most of the proposed collector roadways are a continuation