Agenda - Council - 05/27/2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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-'188- Ramsey Town Center AUAR 2 March 14, 2003 Highway Department Comments One of the major concerns involves the future function of CSAH 116. The County, along with Mn/DOT and Hennepin County, has been working on a project for another crossing of the Mississippi River. Current plans show the extension of CSAH I 16 as the connection for the crossing within the City of Ramsey. Additionally, CSAH 116 has been upgraded to an A Minor Arterial-Reliever. The Reliever status of the road relates to its function as a reliever for TH 10 in this vicinity. Since CSAH 116 is the main roadway through the Ramsey Town Center, traffic patterns and access locations should be reviewed with these system functions in mind. The current number of access points may need to'be reconsidered. Traffic generation from the Ramsey Town Center is anticipated to be 51,,200 trips per day, greater than anticipated by previous land uses. As traffic is analyzed for the development and for the overall area, it will be important to consider a system of local collector streets to preclude an over-dependence on the County Highway System for local trips. A minor, but important issue, all County roads bordering the site are designated as A Minor Arterials. At some points in the document, the roads are designated as Principal Arterials. This should be corrected. Transit facility improvements are welcome at this location, both for the Northstar Corridor and for bus transit connections. We encourage participation by the City and developer in continued coordination with the County's systems (Anoka Traveler and Northstar), as well as coordination with Metro Transit, for future services and facilities. We recommend implementation of travel demand management (TDM) program as part of the overaJl development. Discussions should be held and plans made with the County and others relating to TDM activities before development plans are f'malized. The discussion should include how the activities will be prioritized, funded, maintained, etc. There is a listing of recommended improvements to roads and intersections within the County roadway system listed in item 2t of the AUAR; however there is no discussion of how these improvements will be funded or the timing of the.improvements. We recommend the City and developer work these issues out in coordination with the County at early stages of the plan development prior to final approvals. The AUAR discusses compatibility with the City's Comprehensive Plan; however, there are compatibility concerns with the County's Transportation Plan, specifically with respect to the CIP and financing of needed improvements. It will be important to collaborate with County staff on the timing and ILnancing of improvements to the County road system. There is discussion of the impact on municipal infrastructure, including public-street extensions, but there is no reference to the impact on the County Road system. We would suggest that them is, indeed, impact including capacity, financial costs of construction and maintenance, etc. Because of these design and budgetary concerns, improvements such as I I I I I I I i I I I I I I I I I I I