Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/10/2015

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City of Ramsey 2030 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 6: Transportation The level of service (LOS) provided by TH 10/169, TH 47 and all County Roads can be characterized using a letter grade system. A LOS letter grade can be assigned to a facility based upon the ratio of traffic volume to traffic capacity. LOS A represents low congestion and LOS F represents conditions where traffic demand exceeds traffic capacity. The existing LOS grades for these two roadways were determined based on the 2007 Mn/DOT recorded traffic volumes and the roadway capacity calculations for LOS D conditions for volume capacity thresholds generally accepted by Anoka County for various roadway types. TH 10/169 performs at LOS F along its entire length through Ramsey. TH 47 performs at LOS D between the northerly city limits and Alpine Drive. Between Alpine Drive and Nowthen Boulevard, it performs at LOS A and between Nowthen Boulevard and Bunker Lake Boulevard, at LOS C. These level of service ratings indicate that TH 10 and TH 47 presently are operating near or at their capacity limits within the City of Ramsey. This condition principally is due to trips generated from outside the City limits and, furthermore, outside the current seven county Metropolitan Area. C. Analysis of Roadway System Needs 1. Planned Changes to Roadway System Ramsey is a rapidly developing community. New additions to the public street system are expected, primarily in the form of local and collector streets (see Figure 6-2). The only new arterial expected to be constructed is the extension of CSAH 116 westward from its present terminus at Armstrong Boulevard. An addition to the roadway system includes the extension of 167th Avenue between Variolite Street and Nowthen Blvd. This addition to the system is important to provide an effective system to move people through the community in an east -west direction. There are two potential roadway extensions into neighboring communities, which would require the mutual consent of Ramsey and the affected communities. These include the westward extension of 173rd Avenue into Elk River and the eastward extension of McKinley Street into Anoka. The likelihood of either extension is low, particularly for the McKinley Street extension, which is opposed by the City of Anoka. The 173rd Avenue extension would primarily duplicate the current function of 181St Avenue. If Elk River constructs the north -south arterial link in its Fillmore Street and Jarvis Street corridor as shown in Elk River's comprehensive transportation plan of November 1995, the 173rd Avenue extension would offer Ramsey residents a connection to this corridor for use as an alternative to CSAH 83. Extending McKinley Street into Anoka would limit the amount of truck traffic that would have to travel on Highway 10 for a short distance. A corridor study prepared in 1988 for TH 10/169 recommended that a frontage road system be established along both sides of TH 10/169. This was further refined in the 2002 TH 10 Interregional Corridor Management Plan (IRC). Ramsey has constructed a frontage road along the south side of TH 10. The corridor study also recommended the closure of median breaks and driveway access points along TH 10/169. The Anoka County Highway department favors upgrading TH 10/169 to freeway standards with limited access and grade separated interchanges. This has not been City of Ramsey 2030 Comprehensive Plan Pg. 6-7