1994 06-20 CCP - Laserfiche WebLink

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temoearldum. N i.i y 19. 19%4 Pap. • On -site circulation • Impacts of development to pedestrians in the vicinity of Vadnais Heights. Elementary School Impacts to fire department accessibility Several of the items listed above reflect concerns that have been discussed by residents and planning commissioners. Hopefully, the following summary, combined with the above description of our role will clarify the traffic information which can be used to make a more informed determination regarding Fontana Square. Chronology of Studies Relating to County Road E • 1991 County Road. E Corridor Study In the spring of 1991, the City of Vadnais Heights was faced with a development proposal for a Wal-Mart, a future grocery store, freestanding retail, and a future Sam's Club. The developer informed the City that they would need a three -lane County Road E bridge over I-35E to handle the traffic generated by their development. SEH completed an initial analysis for the City to determine if a wider County Road E bridge was indeed needed for the first phase of the Wal-Mart development. At that time the development was to consist of Wal-Mart itself and only a portion of the other development shown on their site plan. Our analysis showed that the first phase of development would definitely result in. traffic volumes that could not be accommodated on either the existing County Road E bridge or without signalization of the I-35E off -ramps. For example, the existing level of service for the northbound left turn movement from the off ramp to County Road E was F in 1991. Development of the first phase of the Wa1-Mart site with no capacity or traffic control improvements would have resulted in a very severe LOS F condition for the left turn movements off the northbound and southbound off -ramps. Other operational concerns with the former bridge included the lack of a left turn lane at either of the on -ramps and poor sight distance over the bridge due to its vertical alignment. Once it was determined that a wider bridge was needed to accommodate the first phase of the Wa1-Mart development, the City. of Vadnais Heights authorized a study which expanded our previous analysis regarding Wal-Mart into a more extensive study: This analysis took into account all of the potential City Center development, and other development beyond City Center which could have a significant impact on the County Road E corridor. This was considered a "worst case analysis, as it assumed full development of all developable property within the corridor, as well as redevelopment of some of the residential properties along County Road E east of City Center which are now zoned for commercial use.