04-14-1997 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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March 13,1997 Page 3 #2212 Rebers - Preliminary Subdivision Highway 12 Relocation Impacts The potential traffic volume impacts of Highway 12 relocation (per the 'Alternate 6 North' plan as embraced by the Long Lake and Orono Councils) on the current corridor are indicated in Mn/DOTs October 1996 T.H. 12 Corridor Proposal Report (Exhibit M). Mn/DOT projects that "through" traffic would use the new bypass, and total traffic volume on the current corridor will experience a commensurate decline. Current 1995 ADT for Hwy 12 through Long Lake is about 23,000. Under the 'no-build' option, this will increase to 25,000+ by 2015 with a three fold increase in traffic on County Road 6. Under 'Alternate 6 North', Highway 12 traffic will decrease to 14,600 at Brown Road by 2015. However, an ADT of 14,600 is still significant traffic volume, and generally a daily traffic volume above 10,000 warrants a limited access 4- lane roadway, with service roads for access to adjacent properties. A second factor impacting traffic in this area will be the relocation of the South Brown Road intersection westward to be directly across from North Brown Road. This is expected to be a semaphored intersection which will provide signalized access. Impact of 1995-96 Safety Improvements The medians and turn lanes established with the 1995-96 Highway 12 safety improvements define specific entry locations that preclude direct access to the applicant's parcel by eastbound traffic, unless that traffic accesses llirough the easterly curb cut of the Orono Shopping Center, and then cuts through the shopping center parking lot near the gas pumps. It is not appropriate to allow Outlot E's traffic to cut across the already limited Orono Shopping Center site. The 1995-96 Mn/DOT safety improvement plans anticipate a future curb cut for Outlot E, which due to median locations would have to be a right-in/right-out access (see Exhibit L). It is not appropriate to force eastbound traffic to and from Outlot E to have to make U-tums on Highway 12 to gain access to the property. Whether a new curb cut is more appropriate than sharing a single curb cut with the Orono Shopping Center west entry, is a question yet unaddressed. It is unlikely that reduced Highway 12 traffic in the fututre would allow the median to be modified to provide eastbound ingress/egress directly to Outlot E. Development of Frontage Road The City's preferred access solution for Outlot E is development of the planned frontage road north of 12. This would reduce/eliminate direct access to 12 and bring all traffic to semaphored