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Mr. Timothy 1. Nelson -7- December 3. 1996 The documents cited at the beginning of this letter which we have reviewed make no reference to any traffic study prepared in response to Steven Schwanke's letter dated February 21, 1990. From a traffic perspective. two significant items have occurred since 1990. The first noteworthy item is that two updated studies regarding the Twin Lakes Business Park have made reference to the traffic problems on County Road C and Cleveland Avenue. The "Master Plan for Twin Lakes Business Park," prepared by City staff in April 1994 includes the following statements on page IND-4: "In 1988. an independent traffic study for the area prepared by Barton-Aschman Associates indicated that County Road C would ,experience increased traffic loads and would exhibit significant traffic problems at key intersections in the future....Another problem area for traffic is on Cleveland Avenue where the I-35W ramps intersect." The second more recent study that refers to issues with Cleveland Avenue and County Road C is the "Twin Lakes Business Park Comprehensive Plan Amendment." prepared by the BRW firm in September 1996. Page 38 of this report indicates that Cleveland Avenue would need to be widened between County Road C and the I-35W ramps. This page also includes the following statement regarding County Road C: "County Road C was not evaluated as part of this study. however, it is recommended that an upgrade of this arterial roadway be reviewed and programmed if warranted." The second significant traffic related event that has occurred since 1990 is the City's preparation of a Comprehensive Plan Amendment for the Tower Place Area. which is 120 acres in size and is located directly south of County Road C rrom the Twin Lakes Business Park. The package of materials regarding this Comprehensive Plan Amendment. which was prepared by City staffin January 1996, indicates that the intensity of development would increase significantly in the Tower Place area. This change in development would result in a substantially higher volume of trips to and ITom this area. The package of materials regarding this Comprehensive Plan Amendment includes references to previous traffic reviews, but no reference is made to any updated traffic study to account for the increased development planned in the Tower Place area. - As indicated in the preceding paragraphs, our understanding is that the most recent thorough traffic study regarding the Twin Lakes Business Park was perfonned in 1989. This study reported significant traffic issues on County Road C and on Cleveland Avenue. Recognizing these potential problems. Metropolitan Counc~ staff requested the City to complete further traffic studies to assure that no adverse impacts would be caused on the regional highway system. To our knowledge. the City has not completed the further traffic studies requested by the Metropolitan Council. In our judgment. major questions remain regarding whether the roadway system can adequately accommodate the planned development in the Twin Lakes Business Park and in other nearby areaS: e.g. Tower Place area. Two serious weaknesses of the infonnation that we have reviewed are: .. No current traffic forecasts are presented that accurately account for tn~ development thaL }Ji":~cntly is plannt;d in .fit: TWin Lakes Business raft\. <1li.d for anticipated new developments on nearby properties. e.g. Tower Place area.