Agenda - Economic Development Authority - 02/11/2021

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II. EXISTING CONDITIONS Analyzing and assessing existing conditions in the study area establishes a baseline to project future traffic and development trends. In so doing, existing issues and conditions can be placed in context with future needs of the communities and region. In addition, potential solutions can be developed to address both short-term and long-term needs. Corridor Context County Road 116 was classified as a local roadway from CSAH 83 to CSAH 56 and a B-Minor Arterial from CSAH 56 to CSAH 17 (Lexington Avenue). The corridor primarily served local residential and commercial trips; however, portions of the corridor also acted as a reliever to TH 10 and TH 242. The functional classification of County Road 116 was recently changed to an A -Minor Arterial to address growth in the communities along this corridor. As an A -Minor Arterial roadway, the main function of County Road 116 is to provide a reliever route for TH 10, a principal arterial and high -priority Interregional Corridor (IRC) route that runs parallel to County Road 116. In the western end of the study area, TH 10 is approximately one-third of a mile away from County Road 116; in the eastern end of the study area, TH 10 is a little over a mile away from County Road 116. East of the study area, County Road 116 also acts as a reliever to TH 242 and CSAH 14. The next continuous east -west route to the north is CSAH 22 (Viking Boulevard); this route is over six and a half miles away. As a result, County Road 116 ends up serving many east -west trips. The facility is connected to other facilities in the region by three north -south arterial routes: County Road 56 (Ramsey Boulevard), TH 47 and CSAH 7 (7th Avenue); and by two north -south major collector routes: CSAH 83 (Armstrong Boulevard) and CSAH 57 (Sunfish Lake Boulevard). In addition to the arterial and collector routes, there are a number of local roadways that intersect with County Road 116. Figure 2 shows the transportation network, including functional classification, in and around the study area. General Land Use Land use along the corridor is a mixture of agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial, park, and public/institutional uses. In general, most of the residential development is located on the north side of County Road 116 and most of the industrial development is located on the south side of County Road 116. However, there are a few exceptions to this; near CSAH 57 (Sunfish Lake Boulevard) industrial uses are along both sides of the roadway. Most of the current agricultural uses are west of CSAH 56 (Ramsey Boulevard); however, these uses are expected to change over time to urbanized uses. Commercial and park areas are located on both the north and south sides of County Road 116 between TH 47 and CSAH 7 (7th Avenue). Figure 3 shows existing land use along the corridor. SRF Consulting Group, Inc. - 3 - February 2004