8.1. SR 10-20-2014 Ells -Wft
_ Request for Action
River
To Item Number
Mayor and City Council 8.1
Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by
General Business October 20,2014 Justin Femrite, P.E., City Engineer
Item Description Reviewed by
Twin Lakes Road Intersection Analysis Cal Portner, City Administrator
Reviewed by
Action Requested
Provide staff direction for intersection analysis on Twin Lakes Road.
Background/Discussion
On September 15,2014, staff attended a meeting at the Chamber of Commerce to discuss the future
plans for a roundabout at the intersection of Twin Lakes Road and 171"Avenue. The Chamber set the
meeting to open a dialog about concerns they had fielded from the trucking operations run by the
LeFebvre Companies and Morrell Companies. Other local companies with representatives at the meeting
included Alliance Machine, Central Bank,Novco,and Preferred Powder Coating.
The participants expressed much reservation and opposition to the idea of a roundabout at this location.
The meeting ended with the participants requesting the city study alternative intersection options at this
location. Some indicated they cannot move forward with continued investment into their businesses in
Elk River with the idea of a roundabout being installed in this location.
The proposed roundabout is neither a new topic nor one of immediate consideration for construction. It
was identified and approved in the transportation section of the 171"Avenue Focused Area Study (1715`
FAST). Construction would not be considered before a new connection of Twin Lakes Road and
TH10/169 is completed,which is estimated to occur in 4-5 years, and possibly later. The 1715` FAST is a
long-term plan with many variables, time lines,and moving parts. More development will help define the
character of the area and its ultimate traffic needs.
In addition to this roundabout, the 1715` FAST identifies another roundabout on the same corridor at the
existing intersection of Twin Lakes Road and 175`h Avenue and yet another one further to the south. The
topic of the roundabout is larger than the single intersection that was discussed at the Chamber meeting.
Staff is looking for direction from the Council toward one of the following paths:
1. Amend the 171"FAST to remove all roundabouts and replace with language stating only
standard intersections will be considered with signal systems used as warranted by traffic
demands.
2. Take no action at this time. With traffic generators better established, complete a corridor study
in the future before the connection with TH 10 is fully designed. A corridor study would analyze
solutions at all intersection on the Twin Lakes Road from Main Street to TH 10/169.
3. Complete the corridor study at this time.
P 0 w E R E 0 0 Y
Template Updated 4/14 INAWR
Financial Impact
If the first option is chosen, the amendments to the 171"FAST can be completed by staff and the topic
of roundabouts in this area will be done.
A corridor study, to be completed now, or in the future,would require staff to define a scope and prepare
a request for proposal to hire an outside consultant to complete the analysis. If it is directed to complete
the corridor study at this time, the proposals and associated costs will be brought back for approval of the
Council before the end of the year.
Attachments
■ Transportation Figure, 1715`FAST
N:\Public Bodies\Agenda Packets\10-20-2014\Final\x8.1 sr TLR Intersections.docx
DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
Transportation inFrastructUM DiaGram
Downtown Elk River GRE Plant
Hillside
Park
+ �f.
Potential future *,� ----
frontage read f 5,,�...= Kllever,
Connection »: Marsh
over Hwy.169 , ,., ,,, j
connecting to i
Carson Street 1
f- Investigate additional rail
line crossing and extension of
Future trail connection 4--A 173rd.Avenue to Twin Lakes
along river - Parkway.Investigate grade
Alternative overpasses 7,ta separated rail crossing,either
opportunities at 173rd.and 171st. r at Twin Lakes Parkway or
f
Avenues to support uses west o rn 173rd.Avenue
Hwy la/169.Investigate lowering 1 •�
Hwy 10/169 to facilitate overpass 11 r ElkRi tation
construction and reducing impacts .:D J
of overpass .
I
Create a north/south connection at , 3_ Potential future rail spur
Yale
- Extension of Twin Lakes Parkway
Explore trail alignments along river or °° through Cargill property
along the frontage road y' .�1 \ Maintain contact points
Adjust road alignment for
8
Future interchange improved parcel dimensions
Ail access closed '~ '` o } Standard radius and design
` 165th avenue '1. �'- _ fsd speed
converted to cul-de-
sac f -
RDr Plant i Extension of Twin Lakes
Legend. ; Parkway to southern elk River
border"Subregional collector"
TRAFFIC SIGNAL l
Tru"ktlarrIL 16501.Ave.
ROUNDABOUT ,
Cargill
FULL PARCEL ACCESS i`
YouthAthletit
PARTIAL PARCEL ACCESS 0�, Complex
(RIGHT-IN/RIGHT-OUT)
MEDIAN Future trail Connection
�.,..` TRAILS along fiver
SIDEWALKS
NORTHSTAR STATION
f
--- GATEWAY PROPERTY 0
Figure 54 Transportation Infrastructure Diagram
4 1718t. clvenue Focused Area STudy