4.12. SR 11-17-1997~,~y of
iver
Item #4.12.
MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
Mayor & City Cou?fA~, /
Pat Klaers, City A~,,~m~4~trator
November 17, 1997 ~/
SUBJECT: City Engineer Update
As expected, winter has arrived in Minnesota. In accordance with winter
arriving, most of the public improvements projects or the public improvement
component of private projects have ended for the year. The City Engineer is
scheduled to provide the Council with an update on the end of the year status
of various projects.
Attached for your review is a diagram of the Highway 10/Proctor Avenue
intersection. This diagram is offered in order to show the proper left turning
movements from Proctor onto Highway 10 now that the intersection has been
realigned and the signals relocated. As the diagram shows, the left turn
vehicles come into the intersection straight on to each other and turn before
they meet onto Highway 10. It is hoped that a diagram of this type can be
put into the Star News so that information can be distributed to the public
regarding this realigned intersection.
The County Board has reached a decision on its county construction cost
participation policy. The Board approved the draft policy as presented by the
county engineer. This decision was reached by the Board at its 11/12/97
meeting. Terry Maurer will be prepared to give the Council an update on
what transpired at this Board meeting on this issue.
Recently the City Council requested the City Engineer to conduct a traffic
count on Dodge Street and Auburn Street. Attached for your review is a
13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · TDD & Phone: (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425
memo with the results of this traffic count study. In general, nothing can be
concluded about Auburn Street as this area is too new, but Dodge Street is
being used as a frontage road or shortcut. With Dodge Street this is simply
the nature of the traffic pattern in this part of the city and there appears to
be little that the city can do about this situation. We always see vehicles
going in the shortest distance between two points as long as they are not
"booby trapped" with major inconveniences. Examples include Highland
Avenue between Jackson and Proctor, the "liquor store road", the Salk Junior
High route, etc. Enforcement of traffic laws (speeding) may be the best
deterrent for people using Dodge as a shortcut.
The county is planning to improve County Road 12 in 1998. The city
engineering firm has been hired by the county to take the lead in this project.
Terry should be able to provide the Council with an update on how things are
progressing in anticipation of a bid being awarded early next summer.
\\elkriver\sys\shrdoc\council\engrupdt.doc
WESTI~OUND
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INTERSECTION LAYOUT
T.H. 10 AND PROCTOR AVENUE
EXHIBIT
Howard R. Green Oompany
QONSULTING ENGINEERS
October 23, 1997
File: 230000M-0325
CONSULTING
Formerly MSA
Consulting Engineers
Mr. Pat Klaers
City Administrator
City of Elk River
13065 Orono Parkway
P.O. Box 490
Elk River, MN 55330-0490
RE: DEERFIELD AND HILLSIDE ESTATES AREA TRAFFIC COUNTS
Dear Mr. Klaers:
As requested by the City Council, we have taken traffic counts at four locations on the east side
of TH 169. The locations were on Dodge Street just north of 189th Avenue and Dodge Street
between 192nd and 193rd Avenues, and also on Auburn Street just north of 193rd Avenue and
Wilson Street just south of 197th Avenue. As you recall, the Council was concerned about the
number of trips and the speed of traffic in these areas. These reutes are thought to be used by
vehicles in the area trying to access the commercial businesses along TH 169 without actually
entering onto the highway.
The counts were taken on October 8th and 9th, 1997. The total count for the 48 hour period
was then averaged to determine the 24-hour average daily traffic (ADT). The ADT is the
number of vehicles per 24 hours in both directions at each site. The table below lists each site
and the ADT.
2.
3.
4.
Dodge Street just north of 189th Avenue
Dodge Street just south of 193rd Avenue
Auburn Street just north of 193rd Avenue
Wilson Street just south of 197th Avenue
1,549 vehicles per day
2,124 vehicles per day
726 vehicles per day
636 vehicles per day
It should be noted that the count taken on Wilson Street just south of 197th Avenue may be
erroneously high. The traffic counters measured one vehicle for every two wheels that cross the
rubber hose. With the home construction going on in this area, there may be a number of
vehicles with more than two axles that cross the counter in the two day period and are recorded
as more than one vehicle.
Obviously, the ADTs on Auburn Street and Wilson Street are relatively Iow because this area is
still in the process of developing. As the Hillside Estates area becomes more completely built
out, the total traffic on these two routes can be expected to increase. The reverse is likely true
for the counts on Dodge Street. This area of the City between Elk Hills Drive and 193rd Avenue
is almost completely built out; therefore, the traffic counts taken at the two sites along Dodge
Street should represent a typical 24-hour count for this area.
O:\PROJ\230000m\000-2301 .oct.traffic counts.doc
1326 Energy Park Drive · St. Paul, MN 55108 · 612/644-4389 fax 612/644-9446 toll free 800/888-2923
Mr. Pat Klaers
October 29, 1997
Page Two
In order to compare these counts and try to determine the number of vehicles that may be using
Dodge Street as a "shortcut" to the commercial businesses located along TH 169, we did a
simple counting of the lots that would likely use Dodge Street for ingress and egress. Based on
the number of lots and some "quick and dirty" estimates of which direction the traffic would use
to enter or exit the area, we have estimated that the 24-hour count for each site on Dodge
Street should be in the range of 1,300 to 1,500 vehicles per day. When these numbers are
compared to the actual counts, it appears that there are likely 300 to 600 trips per day that are
using Dodge Street as a shortcut or a bypass of TH 169.
As the City continues to grow, this will likely be a continuing occurrence in various parts of the
City. The increase in traffic on Highland Avenue, for instance, has been raised a number of
times since the development of the Elk Park Center and the residential development in the
western part of the City. Another example that may come up in the future is Upland Avenue
through Lafayette Woods as a bypass between Proctor Avenue and CSAH No. 1.
If you have any questions or would like further analysis of the traffic counts taken, please call.
Sincerely,
Howard R. Green Company
Terry Jr. Maurer, P.E.
TJM:tw
Howard R, Green Company
O:\PROJL230000m\000-2301.oct.traffic ~ounts.ao~OONSULTING ENGINEERS