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153RD AVENUE CROSSTOWN ARTERIAL By: Steven Jankowski, City Engineer CASE #'7 Backgroundt: : Recognizing ~e nell to have a system of arterial streets to service collector and residential streets, the State of M~n~ota allows communities with populations greater than 5,000 to designate 20% of the locally n cio ,rained streets as Minnesota State Aid Streets (MSAS). The State provides funds to the municipl lit[~,s for the construction and maintenance of this MSAS system through revenues collected frot~ 'ue~ taxes and motor vehicle related fees. The first com~reh. ~nsive City plan was initiated in 19731 adopted in 1977, revised in 1980 and again in 1990. i:O~e of the chief deficiencies in the City s transportation network is the lack of arterial streets ~a~rsing in an east/west direction. Existing County and City MSA roads service the north/southi ~'t!6sportation needs of the entire City consistently at intervals of one mile or less. Conversely, trllff~!is facilitated in east/west direction only by Trunk Highway gl0 on the south and less effecr':vei~on the north half of the City by the disjointed combinations of County Road #63, CountY R~M .g27 and Trunk Highway g47. The eastern half of the City is also serviced by County Road #~1'115 fwhich parallels Trunk Highway #10 at a distance of approximately one mile to its north. In 1991, a 1.8 hli!'e~ extension of 153rd Avenue from County Road #5 to Ramsey Boulevard was constructed' le~ vifig only a 0.6 mile segment from 155th Avenue and Variolite Street to 153rd Avenue and ~ m~ong Boulevard remaining to complete this roadway as a six mile continuous east/west art¢l al ~t~eet. This arterial would service the middle-southern one-third of the City of Ramsey. It wa ;.c.b,~templated that 153rd Avenue be a major collector at the time Whispering Pines Estates plats Wer{Oubdivided in 1974, as streets for that subdivision were designed such that no lots needed toiiir~y access onto 153rd Avenue. The designation of the routing for this roadway was included' a a~ of the transportation element of the City's Comprehensive Plan in 1980. On September 24i :1991, separate meetings of the Budget Committee and the Road and Bridge Committee were h~ld to d~scuss the completion of 153rd Avenue as a crosstown arterial. At that meeting, citi.~ n$ !expressed opposition to the proposed alignment and suggested several alternatives .be ~:oris~dered. The alternatives suggested by the citizens were reviewed and addressed at a subsequent! ~eting held December 10, 1991. At that meeting, additional comments by citizens we~:~ad~ and one additional alternative suggested. The remaindef, of:ithis case will summarize the alternatives suggested at these two meetings. In addmon, cm~e~s ~ade comments regarding the project at those two meetings and a summary of the staff resPo~Se~ to these comments are also included. Alternative [: : Connect as per Thoroughfare Plan. This alternative cOnsiders the alignment as proposed by the City's Comprehensive Plan and is illustrated mAltei~ate i. Consideration of 153rd Avenue as an arterial has been contemplated since the earl~ l~70's. The design of the Whispering Pines Estates Subdivision which was recorded in '19'~2 ig such that no lot needs to front on 153rd Avenue, and a minimum number of lots are contigOotts[to 153rd Avenue. Selection of this route would follow through on planning efforts formulated~i61most twenty years ago.