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Ryan Streff October 4, 2013 City of Arden Hills Page 3 To establish a baseline condition that does not include any construction impacts, historical peak hour and daily traffic volume information, provided by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), was reviewed. This data was compared to intersection counts, which were then modified accordingly to reflect year 2013 non-construction conditions within the study area. In addition to the intersection counts, observations were completed to identify roadway characteristics within the study area (i.e. roadway geometry, posted speed limits, and traffic controls). Currently, County Road E is primarily a three-lane roadway west of Snelling Avenue and a five-lane roadway to the east. The posted speed limit along County Road E within the study area is 35 miles per hour (mph). Lexington Avenue is also a three-lane roadway, but has a 40 mph posted speed limit, while Old Snelling is a two-lane roadway with a 45 mph posted speed limit. The remaining study area roadways are two-lane roadways with 30 mph posted spe Study intersections along County Road E at Pine Tree Drive, the Snelling Avenue West Ramps, and the Snelling Avenue East Ramps are currently signalized. The County Road E/Old Snelling intersection is unsignalized and has all-way stop control. The other study intersections are also unsignalized, but have side-street stop control. The existing geometrics, traffic controls, and volumes within the study area are shown in Figure 2. Intersection Capacity Analysis An existing intersection capacity analysis was completed to establish a baseline condition to which future traffic operations could be compared. The existing study intersections were analyzed using a combination of the Synchro/SimTraffic (Version 8.0) and Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) software. Capacity analysis results identify a Level of Service (LOS) which indicates how well an intersection is operating. Intersections are ranked from LOS A through LOS F. The LOS results are based on average delay per vehicle, which correspond to the delay threshold values shown in Table 1. LOS A indicates the best traffic operation and LOS F in demand exceeds capacity. Overall intersection LOS A through D is generally considered acceptable by drivers in the study area. Table 1.Level of Service Criteria for Signalized and Unsignalize Signalized Intersection Unsignalized Intersection LOS Designation Average Delay/Vehicle (seconds) Average Delay/Vehicle (seconds) A B - - C - - D - - E - - F