05-11-1999 Public Hearing - Woodhill CC

Home Browse Search

E. Level of Congestion m The Metropolitan Council, in determining levels of congestion for regional roadways, has established vehicle per hour capacity values for various roadway types in the metro area. The lane capacity for an undivided arterial ranges between 600 and 900 vehicles per lane per hour. Considering data from the continuous count station, where morning and afternoon peak hour values range from 1200 to greater than 1500 vehicles per hour in the peak direction, the volume to capacity ratios are ranging from 1.33 to 1.72 for the peak flow direction. This indicates a congested condition for this roadway. The Hennepin County Transportation Plan indicates, for the year 2000, that there is a potential shortfall in corridor capacity along most of CSAH 15 with a probable shortfall along the segment of CSAH 15 near Highway 12. The conclusion of this analysis, given the daily volumes along the roadway, is that the facility is operating in a congested mode today. Hennepin County, in their transportation plan, has prepared traffic volume projections for the years 2010 and 2020. The year 2020 daily volumes along CSAH 15 are projected to be 22,000 near CSAH 51 and 27,000 near Orono Orchard Road. These reflect increases of 19 percent and 35 percent respectively, when compared to the e.xisting average daily volumes. A two-lane arterial facility such as CSAH 15 is usually considered to be congested when the daily volumes reach 13,000-18,000. CSAH 15 is not operating efficiently and the projected volume increases will cause further deterioration in the operations along the roadway. III. IMPROVEMENT CONCEPTS There are some improvements that can be made to the CSAH 15 corridor that will improve the capacity and safety along the study segment. The roadway is in need of additional capacity, but it is understood that the roadway is not to be considered for widening to four lanes due to its character as a scenic parkway. There are a series of improvement concepts that have been considered for this corridor. These concepts are listed below: # # Improve the entire corridor to provide a three-lane section consisting of one through lane in each direction plus a center two-way left turn lane. Provision of exclusive right turn lanes at public street intersections. Provision of left turn lanes at public street intersections. Provision of bypass lanes at public/private driveway locations. Access management. Provision of a traffic signal system at the intersection of CSAH 15 with CSAH 51. Provision of a traffic signal system at the intersection of CSAH 15 with Orono Orchard Road. Provision of alternative access to the Woodhill Golf Course. Provision cf adequate shoulders along CSAH 15. Provision of a three-lane section along CSAH 15 with the center lane used as a reversible lane during peak traffic hours. I I I I • I • I •-‘4 I » I •I • I • • I • ♦ -j ^ I