On last week’s Locally Grown show, Tracy and I discussed transportation, particularly east-west vehicular connections and its relationship to an upcoming Rice County corridor study. I had mentioned a list of community priorities, summarized below, and several people have asked me about the source. It’s basically my summary from Chapter 8 of the Comprehensive Plan.
To learn more about these priorities, and other important community topics, check out the Comprehensive Plan. It’s available on line.
Here are the priorities that I listed on the show:
Priority Issues:
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Jefferson Parkway River Crossing: There is a critical need is to move traffic to TH19 west. It would also serve as an additional grade-separated railroad crossing, vastly improving emergency vehicle access, and link the two industrial parks.
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Jefferson Parkway Southeast Neighborhood Extension: An extension to the east would serve the southeastern development and continue the traditional gridded street system. It will also shift some traffic from Washington, Division, 4th and Woodley.
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Thye Parkway: This is an essential east/west link between Cedar Avenue and TH3 north. It is also a connection between the northwest development and the rest of the community through continuing the gridded street system. It replaces the long-discussed but now lost connection along North Avenue.
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Spring Creek Road: This street will remain open between Wall Street Road and Woodley Street as part of the traditional grid system. It will also serve the residential development in the southeast.
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North/South Arterial on the East Side of the Community: A north/south arterial road, designed to parkway standards, should be provided east of Mayflower Hill to link Wall Street and Woodley Street to support future development and continue the overall grid street system.
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Cedar Avenue Extension: The Transportation Map amendment approved in May of 2000 would extend Cedar Avenue from its current junction at 320th Street in Dakota County to North Avenue in roughly a straight north/south line, and then continue the extension south to TH19.
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TH19 Bypass: The NIC study identified growing congestion and truck traffic thought he community on TH19 as an issue. In fact a majority of the NIC priorities and a majority of the Comprehensive Plan priorities are generated in response to the bottleneck of TH3 and TH19.
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East/West Connectivity: This is such a important issue in the NIC study that it reopens the debate on connecting North Avenue.
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Mass Transit: The Chapter calls for commuter rail and/or regional bus service. There is a prediction that the cost vs. benefit ratio of these modes will be reduced in time.
Nothing on the Rice County/ MNDOT/ Northfield/ Dundas/ townships east-west corridor study?
[…] Kathleen Doran-Norton commented on my blog entry (”Now Where was that Transportation List?‘) by raising the Rice County Transportation Plan’s study of an east-west corridor study, mentioned by Tracy Davis in an earlier blog entry (”But Where does the Bridge Go?“). Kathleen’s comments actually raises an even bigger issue…the State’s transportation plans may have passed Highway 19 by. […]