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I-694 NON-MOTORIZED CROSSING STUDY PAGE 25 Rice Creek Commons Redevelopment (map reference I) — This 427 acre redevelopment site is owned and under development by Ramsey County. Once complete, this will be a significant destination in Arden Hills with a mix of commercial, office and residential land uses. Preliminary plans for the site include local trails connecting the development to adjacent areas. WEST STUDY AREA LONG-TERM RECOMMENDATIONS Old Highway 8/CSAH 77 (map reference J) — With the extension of the Highway 96 Regional Trail west to Old Highway 8, the need for better north/south connections to and from the trail become more important. This corridor is also included as Tier 1 priority in the Metropolitan Council’s Regional Bicycle Transportation Network (RBTN) as adopted in its 2040 Transportation Policy Plan. The City of New Brighton has general plans to extend the trail on Old Highway 8 south to I-694 without a specific time frame. This crossing of I-694 has the potential to become a safe and comfortable route due to lower traffic volumes and the fact that it is a non-interchange freeway crossing. The bridge across I-694 currently has a sidewalk on one side, but does not include a designated bicycle facility. This bridge is not scheduled for redecking or reconstruction in the near future. Lower cost alternatives such as restriping the roadway to accommodate on-street bicycle use or constructing a cantilevered trail (similar to Lexington Avenue over I-694) should be explored further by partner agencies to determine the feasibility and cost of improving this crossing without a full bridge replacement. Old Highway 10 / Old Snelling/CSAH 76 (map reference K) — This roadway has low traffic volumes (2,500/ADT), which boosts its potential for creating a safe and pleasant location for pedestrian and bicycle traffic as an alternative to TH 51. The roadway currently has a narrow paved shoulder that is used by some bicyclists today. The City of Arden Hills has identified this corridor as a local priority for developing a future trail and Old Snelling Ave is entirely within a Met Council RBTN Tier 1 Corridor. The I-694 bridge over Old 10/Old Snelling was constructed with enough space to accommodate a future trail alongside the roadway. This corridor would serve as a connection to Bethel University for students in the area without encroaching on campus property. In addition to trail construction along the roadway, the intersection of Old10/Snelling and TH 51 should be addressed to ensure safe connectivity along this important north-south RBTN corridor which extends southward into St Paul. This may require grade separation, since the roadway intersects TH 51, a high-speed expressway, at an unsignalized t-intersection. County Road F Trail Gaps (map reference L) — The upcoming MnDOT project to reconstruct the County Road F bridge over I-35W will include a shared use path on the south side of the bridge with a bikeable shoulder on the north side. Important community destinations lie on either side of the bridge with the New Brighton Community Center to the west and Mounds View High School to the east. The new bridge provides opportunities for the cities of New Brighton, Arden Hills and Ramsey County to coordinate pedestrian/bicycle improvements along County Road F to fill gaps in the network leading up to the bridge. The connection between the bridge and the high school has recently been completed. An improvement project along this segment of CR F would also fall within a RBTN Tier 1 corridor in the Met Council’s 2040 TPP.