06-21-2004 Planning Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Future traffic volumes op CR 15 oast of Orono Orchard Road are predicted m Hen-^epm County’s long-range Transpoaation Sysiem Plan (TSP) to oe aoDfOximately 24 500 vehicles by the year 2010. and app'ox mateiy 27,000 veh-des m the year 2020 The 20 year projection constitutes a 30% increase 'O traffic over exist.ng volumes Using Mn/OOI btaie A d Design C'lteria gu ceimes. roadway between 15.000 to 30.0000 veh-c'es per day are typically built with four travel lanes To reflect the limited access nature of CR 15 east of Orono Orchard Road and the env ronmontai constra nts. the roadway has been redesig'^ed as a s-rgie through lane m each direction, with a center left turn lane for a inree lane cross-sect on Intersection with Orono Orchard Rojj The intersection of Orono O'Charo Road is d fficuii lor vehicles on Orono Orchard Road and dangerous fer through traffic on CR 15 because of (1) sight lines. (2) speed of traffic and (3) traffic vofurnes The intersection of Orono Orchard Road and County Road 15 has safety limitat-ons because the sight distance between me norili on Orono Orciiard Road and me west cn Cnrjnty Highway 15 is reduced by the curve on County Road 15 Hennepin County has recognized the situation py planning to sign CR 15 for 35 mpn m this area (source Hennepin County DPW) However, absent constant enforcement traffic is likely to exceed the limit, based on the 50 mph iir^it between the 1-394 exit and Woodhili Avenue on the similar CR 15 roadway cross section, tre improved pavmg cf CR 15 and CR 15 ’ s proximity to a freeway exit ramp In addition to sight distance restrictions and traffic speed, the 6C% increase m traff c along County Road 15 over the past 20 years has resu'ted m extensive delays for vehicles entering or exiting County Read 15 a: Orono Orchard Read a'^d created a diUicull left turn situation The increasing traffic foi'owmg reconsuuct'on of CR 15 w<il increase vehicle delay between Orono Orchard Road and CR 15 Levels of Service (LOS) lo' Orono Orcfiard Hoad left-turning vefndes are presently at LOS F during the weekday AV and PM peak hour periods and summer weekends LOS F indicates the»e are msuMicient gaps of suitable size to allow a side street maneuver to safely cross through mo CR 15 tra ’fic stream in this case, Orono Orchard Road traffic on average waits over a minute for a gap in CR 15 traffic to turn left As traffic continues to increase and gaps n tra'fic decrease, drivers will lend to make crossing maneuver ^ ol CR 15 that may comp'omise the " critical gap * safety arrxjunt. resuH ng m CR 15 iraific unexpectedly slowing oowri by applyir^g their brakes and increasing the chances of accidents Unsignaiizcd intersection LOS grades are estabi sfied by Highway Capacity Manual. produced by the National Cooperative H.ghway Research Program and the Federal Highway Admmistrat.on Grades run from “A’ (little or no delay) to "F (very tong delays - demand exceeding capacity) Woodhili Country Club members who live west and rxjrtn of the Country Club must new use the Woodhili Road access Under the existing access structure, these members currenfy take Orono Orchard Road to Ccuoty Road 15 Tney then make a left-hand turn on to County Road 15 and anoiher lett-har>d turn from County Road 15 onto Woodhili Road In exiting the Club, they make a nght-hand turn onto County Road 15 foUowed by another right-hand turn onto Orono Orchard Road The approximately 30 turning maneuvers per day per direction at this intersection resulting from Woodhili members Ovr ti Cantury fn§lnm9rlnf Xx9rlt*,ic«