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TH 47 Access and Corridor Study <br /> <br />For the question of additional driveway access, one might argue that Mn/DOT <br />should not Object to added ways to leave their roadways, however even a right- <br />off only can cause operational problems for trunk highway traffic. <br /> <br />A right turn off may pull traffic that would otherwise turn right at a signalized <br />intersection, through that intersection to turn right at a location beyond the signal. <br />This action .Would reduce opportunities for right turns on red from the side street. <br />It would als6 cause the mainline green time to be extended thus adding delays to <br />the side street. <br /> <br />If the right turn off is placed too close to a signalized intersection, it may become <br />a source oflrear end accidents when a through driver on the mainline who has a <br />green is not!expecting the vehicle before them to be slowing down. <br /> <br />In addition, if right turns off were to be allowed on the type of roadway <br />envisioned f~or TH 47, proper design practice would require that they be spaced <br />600 feet from the nearest intersection and from each other in order to provide <br />proper drive~r reaction time to possible successive decisions (10 seconds at 40 <br />miles per Hour). While some commercial parcels may be able to provide <br />adequate frontage to allow for the 600 foot spacing others may not. The <br />question of i"fairness" between competing businesses could then be raised. A <br />policy of no driveways onto TH 47 is equitable to all businesses on TH 47. <br /> <br />Property owners and developers frequently make the claim that if access is not <br />direct, custdmers will go elsewhere. This is only true where one property has <br />direct accesS, and a competitor with an equal product or service does not have <br />direct acces¢. If both have relatively indirect but equal access, the property with <br />the superior,, product will succeed. Another argument will be that the City of <br />Ramsey is abtually competing with the City of Andover (as an example) and that <br />they allow better access in that City and we cannot compete with them. <br /> <br />Typically when complaints about indirect access are raised by property owners <br />and it is pointed out to them that perhaps only 15 or 30 seconds are added to the <br />trip. It is als? pointed out that the customer may then wait 5 to 10 minutes in line <br />for service a~yway. The reply from the property owner is that the retail customer <br />is not his c{ustomer, but the business intending to buy his property is his <br />customer and right of wrong, they will be concerned about indirect access. <br /> <br />The develop,er will also make pleas to the City about creating jobs, creating tax <br />base or providing a valuable.service. <br /> <br />The reality i$ that the property will eventually develop anyway and the taxes <br />collected for Can earlier developed property are offset by the need for additional <br />city services. The majority of jobs created by most retail developments are entry <br /> <br />SRF Consulting.Group, Inc. 38 <br /> <br /> <br />