Platte County Roads Master Plan

Transcription

1 Roads Master Plan Unincorporated Platte County, Missouri December, 2002

2 Platte County Roads Master Plan Final Report Prepared by: In conjunction with: Stinson, Morris and Hecker December 2002

3 Table of Contents Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction Existing Transportation System... 3 Overview... 3 Road Districts... 3 Surface Type... 6 Traffic Counts... 9 Bridge Evaluations Traffic Safety Public Input Steering Committee Public Meetings Transportation Survey Existing and Future Roadway Needs Identifying Future Demands Traffic Shed Model Concept Traffic Shed Model Assumptions Traffic Shed Model Results Future Roadway Needs Roads Master Plan Roadway Functional Classification Planned Road Improvements Road Standards Design Elements Financial Analysis Current Funding of Roads Additional Funding Sources Funding Sources and Potential Revenue Recommendations Summary Appendix A: Results from Transportation Survey... A-1 Appendix B: Typical Cross-Sections... B-1 List of Figures Figure 1 - Study Area... 4 Figure 2 - Platte County Road Districts... 5 Figure 3 - Road Surface Types... 7 Figure 4 - Traffic Counts Figure 5 - Importance of Road Improvements Figure 6 - Most Important Roadway Improvements Figure 7 - Willingness to Increase Funding to Improve Roads Platte County Roads Master Plan Page i

4 Table of Contents Figure 8 - Traffic Shed Boundaries Figure 9 - Roadway Capacity for Various Surface Types Figure 10 - Allowable Dwelling Units per Traffic Shed Figure 11 - Future Roadway Functional Classification Figure 12 - Platte County Projects by Time Frame Figure B.1 - Rural Minor Arterial Typical Cross-Section... B-1 Figure B.2 - Rural Collector Typical Cross-Section... B-2 Figure B.3 - Rural Local Street Typical Cross-Section... B-3 Figure B.4 - Urban Minor Arterial Typical Cross-Section... B-4 Figure B.5 - Urban Collector and Local Street Typical Cross-Sections... B-5 List of Tables Table 1 - Special Road District Comparison... 6 Table 2 - Summary of Surface Types by Road District... 6 Table 3 - Road District Funding Per Mile of Road... 8 Table 4 - Number of Deficient Bridges... 9 Table 5 - Number of Vehicle Crashes on Local Roads ( ) Table 6 - Traffic Sheds with Existing Roadway Deficiencies Table 7 - Project Descriptions Table 8 - Design Standards for Rural Platte County Roads Table 9 - Design Standards for Urban Platte County Roads Table 10 - Funding Amounts per Road District Table 11 - Potential Funding Sources and Revenues Table 12 - Proposed Funding Strategy Platte County Roads Master Plan Page ii

5 Roads Master Plan Overview Chapter 1 Roads Master Plan Overview Introduction This Roads Master Plan has been completed for the unincorporated portion of Platte County. The purpose of the project is to 1) describe and identify current problems and challenges for the local road systems, 2) identify potential impacts of future growth on these roads systems and 3) examine how to improve the roads and the roadway improvement process. This Roads Master Plan defines roadway functional classification, identifies future roadway projects, includes roadway design standards, and lists potential project funding options. The laws of the State of Missouri allow the creation of a Master Plan to help coordinate and guide future development of the County. The official enabling legislation is Missouri Revised Statute The Roads Master Plan is just one of the key planning documents employed by Platte County. The other major planning documents are the Land Use Plan for Unincorporated Platte County, the Platte County Regional Sewer Master Plan, the Platte County Parks Master Plan and the Northland Trails Vision Plan. These planning documents comprise Platte County s Master Plan pursuant to Missouri Revised Statute This approach allows a more detailed analysis of key components of the Master Plan concept and presents a more in-depth plan. Additionally, as changes occur, substantial cost savings can be realized by amending individual planning documents. The Roads Master Plan has been coordinated with future land use planning in the Platte County area, which provides a guide for future development in the unincorporated portions of Platte County. This Roads Master Plan identifies those roadway improvements needed to support future land uses. Conversely, the financial constraints identified in the roads planning process have in turn guided the land use planning process. Both plans support the future development of Platte County based upon citizen input and financial constraints. The unincorporated portions of Platte County, like many other rural areas located on the fringes of metropolitan areas, share a common problem with their urban counterparts: the road network cannot accommodate additional development without resulting in maintenance problems or providing poor levels of service. While rural development exists at a lower density than in suburban and urban areas, much of Platte County is served by narrow rural roads which may be winding and unpaved, sometimes featuring one-lane bridges. In some cases, a single road may serve traffic generated over large land areas. Road failures in rural areas can occur even where development is limited to large lots. Even where development is rather low density and scattered over a large area, the trips generated can, over a short period, exceed rural roadway capacity, or result in traffic Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 1 of 50

6 Roads Master Plan Overview burdens that lead to high maintenance costs. Development on the rural fringe of metropolitan areas is typically scattered and begins with single lot development. Often, a dispersed development pattern across rural areas can result in the need to make extensive roadway improvements throughout the area. There are a number of reasons why portions of the road systems are in poor condition. When the road systems were built, the majority of the unincorporated areas of the County were rural. The primary purpose for many of the local roads was to provide farm-to-market travel. In recent years as the Kansas City metropolitan area continues to expand its land area, non-agricultural oriented housing is being built throughout unincorporated Platte County. Today, many of the local roads and state routes cannot support the higher levels of residential development that are occurring. Funding for rural roadways has not kept pace with the increased travel demands. Future transportation needs and the funding mechanisms available to support transportation improvements have been reviewed as part of this study. There are a number of reasons for having a good road system. A good road system in Platte County will be needed in order to support economic growth and to ensure that the transportation system can move people safely. A good road system will also provide the necessary level of mobility so that County residents can conveniently access jobs, shopping, recreational activities and public services. In support of these study objectives, this report describes what roadways are needed to be improved or constructed to better support growth. A financial plan is included as part of the report so that the dollars spent on transportation respond to important transportation needs. The financing plan also indicates the phasing for how the transportation projects could be completed. Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 2 of 50

7 Existing Transportation System Chapter 2 Existing Transportation System Overview The road and highway system serving the unincorporated portions of Platte County includes interstate highways, numbered state highways, lettered state routes and local routes. The study area for this study is shown on Figure 1. The Platte County road system is shown in Figure 2. Interstate highways, U.S. highways and Missouri State Highways provide for a majority of travel through Platte County. Interstate 29 runs primarily north and south and connects the County to downtown Kansas City. Interstate 435 is a circumferential interstate route that also serves the County. Missouri 152 is an east-west route that is located for most of its length in the incorporated portions of the County, but has its west terminus at I-435. Missouri 92 is a major east-west route located to the north of I-435 that also connects Platte City west to Leavenworth, Kansas and east to Smithville and Excelsior Springs. Missouri 45 follows close to the Missouri River and connects Weston, Farley, Parkville and provides a bridge over the Missouri River connecting to Leavenworth, Kansas. Missouri 273 connects Platte City to Weston and M-371 is the old US-71 alignment that parallels I-29. These routes are maintained by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). The County lettered routes are routes formerly classified as farm-to-market routes. These routes tend to be less direct than the numbered routes but do provide connections between the smaller communities as well as connections from the more rural areas to the larger communities. These routes are also maintained by MoDOT. The remaining roads are locally maintained routes. Road Districts In unincorporated Platte County, local routes are built and maintained by the benefit assessment special road districts. There are five autonomous districts with taxing powers that are responsible for maintaining the roads in the unincorporated areas of the county. These include: the Parkville Benefit Assessment Special Road District, the Platte City Benefit Assessment Special Road District, the Farley Benefit Assessment Special Road District, and the Weston Benefit Assessment Special Road District. The remainder of the county is under the jurisdiction of County Road District #1. Each of these districts has the authority to levy property taxes and collect the revenue. Each of the individual districts has its own staff and fleet of equipment and is responsible for maintaining the roads located with their own district. The locations of the road districts are shown in Figure 2. Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 3 of 50

8 Existing Transportation System Figure 1 - Study Area Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 4 of 50

9 Existing Transportation System Figure 2 - Platte County Road Districts Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 5 of 50

10 Existing Transportation System The special road districts are each governed by a three-member elected board. Commissioners serve offset three-year terms. State Statutes grant the board control over their public roads, the purchase of equipment and the ability to contract out work. County Road District #1 is governed directly by the County Commission and is supervised by the Public Works Director. Each Road District s area, population and total road miles vary greatly. This information is summarized in Table 1. County Road District #1, the Weston Road District and the Farley Road District have relatively low populations and a high number of roadway miles to maintain. The Platte City and Parkville Road Districts have relatively high populations and a low number of roadway miles to maintain. These conditions result in variations in the ability of each road district to upgrade and maintain their roads. Surface Type Table 1 Special Road District Comparison Area Miles of Miles per Road District (sq. mi) Population * Roads 1000 Residents Platte City , Parkville , Farley Weston , County District # , *Population is estimated. **As of 1/1/2001 All of the state routes are paved with asphalt or a similar permanent pavement surface. Each of the road districts has varying amounts of road miles to maintain. The number of miles by surface type maintained by each district is shown in Table 2. The surface types on roads in Platte County are illustrated in Figure 3. Table 2 - Summary of Surface Types by Road District Asphalt/ Road District Concrete Chip & Seal Gravel Platte City Parkville Farley Weston County District # Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 6 of 50

11 Existing Transportation System Figure 3 - Road Surface Types Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 7 of 50

12 Existing Transportation System The financial resources available to each district are a key factor that dictates surface type. A more permanent pavement has a higher initial cost but then typically has lower maintenance costs than does a chip and seal or gravel surface type. In the Platte City and Parkville Road Districts, nearly all of the miles are asphalt paved. In the Platte County District #1, Farley and Weston Road Districts, a majority of the mileage is gravel surface. The financial resources available to these districts have created a situation where it has been difficult to maintain these less permanent road surfaces. The current funding available to each of the road districts, the miles of roadway each district maintains and the funding per mile is shown in Figure 3. The information shows the disparity of funds available to maintain roads between the road districts. Table 3 - Road District Funding Per Mile of Road Funding Road District Funding Miles per Mile Platte City $898, $24,223 Parkville $872, $16,840 Farley $192, $5,162 Weston $458, $4,340 County District #1 $1,471, $6, Funding amount represents total receipts and does not include 20% given to County District by the Special Road Districts. In some cases, the inability to maintain the gravel roads has worsened with the additional traffic demands caused by new residential development. The specific level of development that can be supported by the current road system is addressed in a subsequent chapter of this report. Over time suggestions have been forwarded that have stated that the differences between funding levels could be resolved by consolidating or eliminating the individual road districts. Missouri state law provides procedures for the dissolution of special road districts. Because special road districts may be organized and incorporated under different enabling authorities, the dissolution procedures differ. Depending upon how the special road districts were organized, dissolution can occur if (1) a majority of the district voters vote in favor of dissolution, which election may be submitted upon a petition filed by fifty voters of the district or (2) the county commission may dissolve a district upon an uncontroverted affidavit that that the district has ceased to perform its functions for which it was created or (3) the county commission may dissolve a district upon the filing of a petition signed by the owners of a majority of the acres of land within a district if the county commissioned finds that the public good will be advanced. Missouri law does not provide for the consolidation of special road districts. Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 8 of 50

13 Existing Transportation System Traffic Counts In order to better understand the level of traffic on County roads, and to identify deficiencies in the existing road network, traffic count data was compiled as shown in Figure 4. The traffic counts were compiled from a number of sources including by MoDOT for state routes, by the road districts for a number of local routes, and by a number of consulting firms and agencies as part of county bridge evaluations. In general, the counts represent an average daily volume for a typical week day. Bridge Evaluations The bridges in Platte County are regularly inspected to determine their substructure, deck and roadway alignment. The last ratings were completed in 2000 and identified the following number of deficient bridges in each of the road districts in Platte County. While many of the bridges are located in the special road districts, the maintenance and improvement responsibilities lie with the County Commission. The number of deficient bridges that will require replacement or repair in each road district are listed in Table 4. Table 4 - Number of Deficient Bridges District Repair Replacement Total District Weston Farley Parkville Traffic Safety The frequency of vehicle crashes is a factor in determining existing conditions and needs. A review of the higher accident routes provides an indication whether there are specific locations that could require additional attention for improvement. This analysis was completed to identify roads which have had relatively higher number of crashes as compared to other local roads. Historical accident data for local roadways were obtained for the years 1997 through This information is summarized in Table 5. The highest number of vehicle crashes occurred on Interurban Road and Crooked Road. The results suggest that additional study related to the rate and cause of vehicle crashes on roads with a higher number or crashes may be warranted or specific improvements made where hazardous conditions are known. Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 9 of 50

14 Existing Transportation System Figure 4 - Traffic Counts Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 10 of 50

15 Existing Transportation System Table 5 - Number of Vehicle Crashes on Local Roads ( ) Road Name Total Crooked Road Interurban Eastside Drive River Road Union Chapel Blair Lema Raintree Martin Road Kerns Elm Grove Road North Farley Road Jones Myer Running Horse Road Walnut Creek Drive Brink-Myer Player Bethel Road * Detailed information regarding vehicle crashes may be obtained at the Platte County, Sheriff s Department Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 11 of 50

16 Public Input Chapter 3 Public Input This has been a citizen driven plan. Input on the development of this plan has come from three sources. A steering committee was formed and met throughout the study. Two public meetings were held to present interim study results and obtain feedback on proposed solutions. Also a public survey was completed to obtain input from a broad cross section of Platte County residents regarding transportation needs and the level of support for various types of solutions. Steering Committee A steering committee was formed comprised of a cross section of residents. The role of the steering committee was to provide input related to transportation needs and provide feedback on proposed plans and financing strategies. The first steering committee meeting was held February 19, This meeting was held to discuss the public survey conducted by ETC, and to present the road needs within Platte County. Input was gathered from the committee regarding the needs of the road system of unincorporated Platte County. The second steering committee meeting was held on June 13, The objectives of the study were outlined and the potential roadway improvement options were discussed. Project prioritization was outlined along with an estimate of the cost and available funding for the various options. The next steering committee meeting on July 23, 2002 outlined the preliminary project priorities for unincorporated Platte County. Viable funding options and likely generated revenue were also discussed. A final steering committee meeting was held on December 12, The steering committee made the recommendations contained in this report on that date. A final public meeting was held on January 7, Recommendations contained in this plan were presented at that meeting. Public Meetings The first public meeting was held on March 6, The objectives of the study were introduced. The first set of project options were discussed and covered topics including a continued maintenance scheme and the paving of all gravel roads in Platte County. Funding sources were also outlined. Results of the transportation survey conducted by ETC were also discussed. The second public meeting was held on August 15, The project progress to date was summarized, including the application of the traffic shed model, the transportation survey and funding options. The projects and mechanisms for two funding options were discussed and input was received. Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 12 of 50

17 Public Input Transportation Survey Platte County conducted a survey of its residents during November and December of The purpose was to obtain opinions from residents regarding road improvement needs for a road master plan. Surveys were mailed to a random sample of residents who had Platte County zip codes. The survey was divided into three sub-samples. One group was persons who had addresses in the unincorporated areas. A second group was persons whose home zip code was definitely not in an unincorporated areas. The third group was persons who might or might not live in an unincorporated areas. Completed surveys were received from 705 residents. The results have a level of confidence of 95% with a precision of +/-3.7%. A total of 2,034 persons lived in those households for an average household size of 2.9 persons. A complete discussion of the responses is included in Appendix A of this report. A summary of key responses related to the development of the transportation plan follows The survey asked respondents to rate the importance of various perceived roadway issues. The issue perceived to be very important by the most respondents was the elimination of potholes in the roadways, as shown in Figure 5. The importance of potholes is also shown in Figure 6 by the number of respondents who felt eliminating potholes should be one the most important improvements. Figure 5 - Importance of Road Improvements Eliminating pot holes in roads 92 7 Improving bridges in areas with major flooding Clearing brush at least six feet from road Improving drainage by roads to decrease road flooding Putting in culverts where needed Enforcing speed limits on roads Straightening roads with sharp curves Widening county roads Fixing "crowns" on gravel roads Leveling roads with severe inclines or declines Decreasing dust on gravel road Paving gravel roads Construction of new roads Improving/constructing new road connections Very Important Somewhat Important Source: ETC Institute Survey (January, 2002) Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 13 of 50

18 Public Input A second finding of the transportation survey was the importance of paving gravel roads. Overall, 30% of all respondents felt paving gravel roads was important, however 40% of rural respondents noted the paving of gravel roads as important. Similarly, the decrease of dust on gravel roads was important to 20% of all respondents, yet 32% of rural respondents felt it as important. Figure 6 - Most Important Roadway Improvements Eliminating pot holes in roads 76% Clearing brush at least six feet from road Improving drainage by roads to decrease flooding Improving bridges in areas with major flooding Paving gravel roads Enforcing speed limits on roads Straightening roads with sharp curves Widening county roads Decreasing dust on gravel road Leveling roads with severe inclines or declines Construction of new roads Improving/constructing new road connections Putting in culverts where needed Fixing "crowns" on gravel roads 33% 32% 31% 30% 26% 26% 23% 20% 16% 14% 14% 14% 11% First Choice Second Choice Third Choice Fourth Choice Source: ETC Institute Survey (January, 2002) The third finding of the survey was the willingness of respondents to pay for roadway improvements. Figure 7 shows that just over half of all respondents are at least somewhat willing to pay for roadway improvements. Less than 20% of those surveyed were not willing to pay for roadway improvements within Platte County. Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 14 of 50

19 Public Input Figure 7 - Willingness to Increase Funding to Improve Roads Inside city Outside city All respondents Source: ETC Institute Survey (January, 2002) 0% Very Willing Somewhat Willing Not Sure Not Willing Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 15 of 50

20 Existing and Future Roadway Needs Chapter 4 Existing and Future Roadway Needs Identifying Future Demands The unincorporated portions of the County are growing in population. Some of this growth is occurring in the rural areas of the unincorporated portions of Platte County. Development occurs in rural areas because land is less expensive compared to more urban areas and because of its proximity to the city of Kansas City. This type of development can be characterized as scattered, low density, non-agricultural estate lots that generally are five to 15 acres in size. Large lots permit development without the infrastructure costs of water and sewer. In addition, many developers lower costs further by developing lots that directly access major roads. The road districts are responsible for maintaining the local road systems within the unincorporated areas of the County. Many of these roads are gravel roads which have very limited traffic capacity. The cost of improving and maintaining a rural roadway network can often exceed a county s or a road district s funding. The situation can be worsened if future development pressure exceeds what a road district can afford to improve. While this has already occurred in some parts of Platte County, there is a need to examine how potential future growth could impact roadways. The purpose of this analysis is to: Determine the existing and future extent of road improvement needs in the County; Determine options to make roadway improvements and estimate costs; and Provide a technical basis for the use of zoning and subdivision regulations to ensure a balance between development intensity and roadway capacity. Traffic Shed Model Concept The relationship between development and traffic is represented in a traffic shed model. This model represents the trips generated by development in an area that feeds into major arterial routes. These traffic sheds are somewhat analogous to the more familiar concept of watersheds, where gravity determines the flow pattern and there is a particular waterway that drains each watershed. Watersheds combine as smaller streams merge to form larger streams. In traffic sheds, collector roads serve as the stream carrying traffic towards a central destination. As with watersheds, traffic sheds cover an entire area. For a given traffic shed, the traffic shed boundaries represent the Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 16 of 50

21 Existing and Future Roadway Needs area served by the collector roadway that provides the primary access to that traffic shed. 1 The critical assumption is that in rural areas, there is a general flow of traffic to a specific arterial route. If most traffic is oriented towards a center, the road network then functions much the same as a steam system. In some areas of Platte County, the collectors are often used to reach the arterial highways that carry travelers to their work places and activity centers. In other cases, a collector may run for miles directly towards the center. In this type of network it is relatively simple to define the area served by each collector link. By definition, this area is a traffic shed. This approach was applied to the unincorporated areas of Platte County. The traffic shed boundaries, shown in Figure 8, followed the following guidelines: The highest order traffic shed boundaries are the County and Road District boundaries. Major lakes and rivers are next. Traffic sheds do not cross these features. Interstate highways may also serve as similar boundaries if there are not frequent overpasses or interchanges. Most major arterials form traffic shed boundaries. The remaining traffic shed boundaries are formed by estimating the land area that is under influence to a particular collector roadway. The road network in Platte County includes local roads that carry trips from adjacent developments to collector roads, which typically feed into the arterial roads. Traffic on arterial and on some collector roads may include traffic originating from the adjacent traffic sheds and traffic originating from other traffic sheds or traffic from outside the unincorporated portion of the County. Roads serving traffic generated within a traffic shed or directly connecting adjacent traffic sheds are considered to be local roads. Roads serving movements between non-adjacent traffic sheds or travel outside the unincorporated portion of the County are considered to be longer-distance or through traffic. Further detailed baseline documentation has been retained by the Platte County Planning and Zoning Department. Traffic Shed Model Assumptions Trip Generation In order to convert land uses into traffic estimates, trip generation rates are applied to specific land uses. The trip rates are for trips generated both leaving and arriving at a given residence or business for a typical day. The trip rates used of nine daily trips per residential unit and 45 trips per 1000 square feet of commercial development are based 1 Traffic Sheds, Rural Highway Capacity, and Growth Management, American Planning Association, PAS Report 485. Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 17 of 50

22 Existing and Future Roadway Needs Figure 8 - Traffic Shed Boundaries Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 18 of 50

23 Existing and Future Roadway Needs upon rates from Trip Generation, published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers 2 : Roadway Capacity The roadway capacity for asphalt surfaces was primarily determined based on discussions between county public works departments and the road districts. Based upon maintenance considerations, a daily capacity of 300 was established for gravel roads and 1,000 for stabilized chip and seal roads. At volumes over these thresholds, an improved surface type must be used. For asphalt roads, volumes over 2,000 per day typically require an engineered asphalt roadway that includes flatter horizontal and vertical curves and roadway shoulders. These numbers have been verified through discussions with a number of public works departments located in counties of Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Arkansas. For comparison purposes, the capacities listed above roughly approximate the capacities obtained from the methodology described in the Third Edition of the Highway Capacity Manual, published in 1997 as Special Report 209 of the Transportation Research Board and updated as a Fourth Edition in The roadway capacity used in this study roughly equates to use of Level-of-Service (LOS) A for gravel roads, reflecting low traffic volumes consistent with a gravel surface and LOS B for chip and seal roads reflecting slightly higher volumes consistent with a chip and seal surface. Figure 9 shows the typical sections for the three rural roadway surface types. Traffic Shed Model Result The primary output of the traffic shed model is a calculation of the number of dwelling units that a given traffic shed can support without requiring improvement to the roads system. Where there is remaining development capacity, the traffic shed model can calculate the lot size that should be required if all of the remaining land area was developed to ensure that future development does not exceed the capacity of the existing roads. The traffic shed model can also identify roads that should be improved if the development takes place. The first application of the traffic shed model was to determine if there were traffic sheds where current development had already out paced the roadway capacity within a traffic shed. Information available from the Platte County Planning and Zoning Department includes information on each traffic shed its area in acres, the capacity of the main collector or local road that feeds traffic onto the arterial routes, and the number of housing units that the traffic shed can support given the collector roadway s current capacity. 2 Trip Generation, 6 th Edition, Institute of Transportation Engineers, 525 School St., S.W. Suite 410, Washington, D.C., 20024, Highway Capacity Manual 2000, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, D.C, Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 19 of 50

24 Existing and Future Roadway Needs Figure 9 - Roadway Capacity for Various Surface Types GRAVEL ROADWAY LC Shoulder lanes Shoulder Capacity 300 Vehicles per Day CHIP/SEAL ROADWAY LC 2-4 Shoulder lanes 2-4 Shoulder Capacity 1,000 Vehicles per Day ASPHALT ROADWAY LC 2-4 Shoulder lanes 2-4 Shoulder Capacity 2,000-3,000 Vehicles per Day Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 20 of 50

25 Existing and Future Roadway Needs The analysis of existing conditions indicated that a number of areas of the County cannot accommodate additional development without becoming congested or providing poor levels of service. While rural development is at a lower density than suburban and urban areas, rural roads may be narrow, winding or unpaved, or sometimes featuring one-lane bridges. In some cases, a single road may serve traffic generated over large land areas. Using the traffic shed analysis approach, a number of traffic sheds were shown to generate levels of traffic that exceed the shed s roadway capacity. Table 6 indicates the traffic sheds where current development exceeds, is equal to or is within 10 dwelling units of development capacity: Table 6 - Traffic Sheds with Existing Roadway Deficiencies Local Local and Road District Traffic Shed Route Impact Through Road District 1 7 Martin Road X Road District 1 11 East Ridgely X Road District 1 25 Sharp Station X Weston 49 Mt. Bethel Road X Road District 1 63 Jones-Myer X Road District 1 62 Baker Road X Road District 1 67 Fox Road, Jones-Myer Road X In addition, there are two other projects which need discussion: 1) The upgrading of Humphrey s Access to accommodate additional traffic volumes when the Platte River Bridge is completed, and 2) the upgrading of Brink-Myer to provide additional access to Missouri Route 45. Future Roadway Needs This section of the report examines how projected growth could impact the need to improve roads. Separate strategies have been developed to address local and collector-arterial improvement needs. These strategies are discussed in the following sections. Local Street Needs Local streets serve development within a specific traffic shed and provide movements to the collector/arterial street network or to adjacent traffic sheds. Thus, the amount of traffic on local roads is determined by the amount of development within the traffic shed. Local traffic needs occur when the amount of traffic generated by development exceeds the roadway s capacity. Future land use projections were made using information on available land area, and examining the residential densities related to land use planning concepts. Following these land use planning concepts, the number of future dwelling units were forecast. Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 21 of 50

26 Existing and Future Roadway Needs The use of land use forecasts provides a comparison between the level of land use development that would be permitted from current growth trends with the land use development allowed by adherence to traffic capacity. The term Allowable Dwelling Units is used to indicate how many additional dwelling units could be added in a traffic shed before the road capacity is exceeded. In cases where the allowable dwellings units are 0, this indicates that the number of houses has already exceeded the number of units that can be supported by roadway capacity. The result is excessive maintenance needs or the need to improve the roadway. By limiting the number of dwelling units to the number that can be supported by roadway capacity, roadways can be maintained at less cost, or more expensive roadway upgrades can be avoided. The number of Allowable Dwelling Units for each traffic shed are shown in Figure 10. County Arterial and Collector Needs Existing traffic counts and Year 2000 Census housing unit data were used in the traffic shed model to identify current transportation needs. Future year land use forecasts consistent with the Platte County Land Use Plan were also input into the traffic shed model. The comparison of the traffic generated by existing and anticipated growth was compared with the existing road capacity in order to identify future transportation needs. These needs are discussed in the Roads Master Plan section. Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 22 of 50

27 Existing and Future Roadway Needs Figure 10 - Allowable Dwelling Units per Traffic Shed Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 23 of 50

28 Roads Master Plan Chapter 5 Roads Master Plan The Roads Master Plan includes the following components: Classifying the future roadway functions. Determining short and long term transportation projects that address the identified needs. Specifying recommended design standards for new construction or reconstruction of roads. Identification of new roads that need to be constructed. Roadway Functional Classification The classification of streets and highways is a process of categorizing roadways based upon the type and function of the roadway. This functional classification uses a hierarchical structure to describe how traffic movements take place between trip origins and destinations. The hierarchy of road types includes freeways, major arterials, secondary arterials, collectors and local roads. The differentiation between road classifications is generally based upon the level of through traffic movement and the access to adjacent land. Roadway classifications have been prepared by the Platte County Planning and Zoning Department based upon guidelines prepared by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). In general, freeways and arterials provide higher levels of mobility with restricted access, while collectors and local streets provide higher levels of access with lower mobility. The functional classification of roadways is defined in the Platte County Subdivision Regulations as follows: Freeway: Highways that are designed for unrestricted movement, have no private access and intersect only with selected arterial or collector roads by means of interchanges engineered for free flowing traffic. These facilities include I-29 and I-435 and are maintained by MoDOT. Primary Arterial: A roadway that serves the highest traffic volume corridors and longest trips; also provides travel between communities, business districts and outlying residential areas. Access from local roads, low traffic generators and residential property should be prohibited or severely restricted. These routes are primarily MoDOT numbered routes. Secondary Arterial: A road that interconnects and augments the primary arterial roadways and accommodates trips of moderate length at a lower level of traffic mobility that major arterials. Access should be prohibited or severely restricted from low traffic generators and any residential lot smaller than five acres in size. These routes are primarily MoDOT lettered routes, but are supplemented by Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 25 of 50

29 Roads Master Plan roadways maintained by the road districts in order to provide needed connectivity. Collector: A roadway intended to move traffic from local roads to secondary arterials. A collector road serves a neighborhood or large subdivision and should be designed so that access from residential properties is prohibited or severely restricted. These routes are typically routes built and maintained by the road districts. Local: A road with the sole purpose of providing frontage for service and access to private lots. These streets carry only traffic having either destination or origin on the street itself. The elimination of through traffic and the geometric design of the street are means to promote safety and to create a desirable residential neighborhood. Platte County benefits from access provided by I-29 and I-435, and other Missouri routes classified as principal and secondary arterials. There are a number of secondary arterials and collectors maintained by the Road Districts that provide connections to the principal arterial system and to major destinations. Figure 11 shows the recommended functional classification of roadways within unincorporated Platte County. Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 26 of 50

30 Roads Master Plan Figure 11 - Future Roadway Functional Classification Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 27 of 50

31 Roads Master Plan Planned Road Improvements The planning process has identified two responses available to the citizens of Platte County in attempting to provide an adequate transportation system. One response is to develop land use regulations to require future growth to make local road improvements where deficient road conditions exist based on the traffic sheds shown in Figure 10. A second approach is to follow the future land use plan, construct the roads projects included in this Roads Master Plan, increase the level of road maintenance and require new developments to contribute towards making needed road improvements. A comprehensive process was followed in the development of road improvement recommendations included in the Roads Master Plan. A series of options were initially prepared and reviewed by the Steering Committee and at the first public meeting. These options included: Paving Gravel Roads. This option included paving all of the gravel roads in each road district plus providing road maintenance to existing paved roads and replacing deficient bridges. Use Traffic Criteria to Identify Needs. This option involved comparing existing and projected volumes with roadway capacity to identify roads that would warrant improvement. Maintenance Growth Management. This option involved minimizing public roadway improvement costs by limiting growth to the level that can be supported by the existing road system, maintaining roads at slightly enhance levels and replacing or closing deficient bridges. Input from committee members and from the public indicated that while paving all of the gravel roads was desired, it was unrealistic from a funding perspective. The maintenance growth management option was seen as to not provide sufficient relief of current road deficiencies and there was not a strong desire to manage future growth to the extent that it would not worsen road conditions. The public did indicate that if new development resulted in traffic impacts, it should be responsible to contribute towards road improvements. At the same time, a financial analysis was completed to provide an indication of current revenues available and to identify new sources of revenue. The financial analysis indicated that the amount of new revenues required to complete the more comprehensive improvement options such as paving all of the gravel roads was so great that further consideration of such options would not be practical. Additional project funding information is provided in Chapter 6. The preferred improvement option recommended by the Steering Committee and presented at the second public meeting included the following components: Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 28 of 50

32 Roads Master Plan Bridge replacement in order to avoid closure of many of the bridges on the local roads system, 38 bridges would be replaced or repaired to provide continued traffic service. Some of these bridges are currently being improved. Other bridge improvements will require additional funding. Maintenance in order to provide for the continued use of existing roadways, additional maintenance would be provided. This would include increased grading of gravel roads, maintaining ditches, clearing brush, filling pot holes, and resurfacing pavements in poor condition. Improvements to current roads based on the results of the traffic shed analysis, those roadways that currently or are projected to have volumes that exceed the volume range for the current surface type would be improved to a higher surface type. This would include improving gravel surface types to chip and seal pavements or asphalt pavement surface types. New roadways to serve future development the number of new roadways are limited to a few sections or roadway in the Parkville Road District. The primary focus of this Roads Master Plan has been on improving existing roadways. The improvements to existing roadway and bridges identified to provide a level-of service that meets traffic volume criteria and bridge safety criteria are listed in Table 6. The improvement projects are also illustrated in Figure 12. Roadways are listed in the table as needing improvement because the current or expected future traffic demands resulting from growth will generate traffic volumes that exceed the capacity thresholds for the type of roadway surface that currently exists. Resurfacing existing roadways and other maintenance activities should also be conducted, but would be completed by the individual road districts using information on roadway surface conditions. Projects responding to current transportation conditions are shown in both the table and the figure as short-term projects. Those projects responding to future development are indicated as mid or long-term projects. The project description indicates the type of improvement proposed. Table 7 includes additional information on project length and cost. Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 29 of 50

33 Roads Master Plan Table 7 - Project Descriptions Priority Road Extent Description Length Cost Amount Funded 1 Union Chapel Missouri 45 to River Road Improve 2-Lane to 3-Lane and Hwy 45 intersection 1.9 $3,500,000 $605,000 2 Jones-Meyer Road Missouri 45 to Parkville City Limits Improve Gravel to Engineered Asphalt 2.4 $1,680,000 $1,680,000 3 Fox Road Missouri 45 to Jones-Meyer Road Improve Gravel to Asphalt 1.2 $240,000 $240,000 4 Priority 1 Bridges n/a Improve or Replace Bridges n/a $3,500,000 $3,500,000 5 County Road District All $2,500 per Mile Budget Increase 220 $5,500,000 $5,500,000 6 Weston Road District All $2,500 per Mile Budget Increase 105 $2,625,000 $2,625,000 7 Farley Road District All $2,500 per Mile Budget Increase 37 $925,000 $925, th St / Humphrey's N. Farley to Running Horse Road Improve 2-Lane to 3-Lane 3.5 $1,925,000 $900,000 9 Humphrey's N. Farley to M-45 Improve Gravel to Asphalt 1.7 $340,000 $340, Baker Road Farley-Hampton to Route N Improve Gravel to Chip/Seal 3.9 $390,000 $390, Farley-Hampton Road Missouri 45 to Route N Improve Gravel to Asphalt 4 $800,000 $800, Hillsboro Road Jones-Meyer to Farley-Hampton Improve Gravel to Chip/Seal 2 $200,000 $200, Hillsboro Road Farley-Hampton to Route N Improve Gravel to Chip/Seal 2 $200,000 $200, Sharp Station Road Elm Grove To Interurban Improve Gravel to Chip/Seal 2.9 $290,000 $290, Elm Grove Road Interstate 29 to Route E Improve Gravel to Asphalt 4.8 $960,000 $960, East Ridgely Road Village of Ridgely to County Line Improve Gravel to Asphalt 1.5 $300,000 $300, Martin Road Skyview to County Line Improve Gravel to Chip/Seal 1.5 $150,000 $150, Priority 2 Bridges n/a Improve or Replace Bridges n/a $1,500,000 $1,500, North Farley M-92 to Farley City Limits Improve Gravel to Chip/Seal 5.8 $580,000 $580, Running Horse 120th St. to 136th St. Improve 2-Lane to 3-Lane 2 $1,100,000 $100, Woodruff Road Missouri 371 to Route P Improve Gravel to Chip/Seal 3 $300,000 $300, Dye Store Road Countryside to M-45 Improve Gravel to Chip/Seal 0.2 $20,000 $20, Priority 3 Bridges n/a Improve or Replace Bridges n/a $772,672 $772,672 Bond Payments $3,000,000 $3,000,000 SUB TOTAL 44.3 $30,797,672 $25,877,672 CONTIGENCY and ADMINISTRATION FUND $512,200 TOTAL WITH 4% YEARLY INFLATION $32,311,770 TOTAL $32,823,970 Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 30 of 50

34 Roads Master Plan Figure 12 - Platte County Projects Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 31 of 50

35 Roads Master Plan Road Standards Resources A review of road design standards was completed. This review was completed in order to move toward developing consistent road standards for all of the road districts. In general, Platte County road districts utilize the street design standards developed by the Kansas City Chapter of the American Public Works Association (KCAPWA) (1996) 4. The recommendations contained in this report include those design standards, but they have been supplemented with the Policy, Procedures and Design Guidelines established by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) 5 and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Guidelines for Geometric Design of Very Low- Volume Local Roads 6. Many of the APWA guidelines are directed toward urban streets. The guidelines developed in this report also provide specific information related to the construction of rural type roadways. The guidelines for roadway designing are categorized by the roadway s functional classification. It is assumed that all roads under current or future Platte County jurisdiction will be designed as secondary arterial, collector or local roadways. The County includes areas that are primarily rural character and some areas that have more of an urban character. In most cases, roadway improvements will be made in areas with a more rural character and the roadways will be designed to reflect this character. Design standards are provided for both rural and urban roadways. As roadways are improved, one of the first decisions that will need to be made is whether to use a rural type roadway characterized by use of shoulders and ditch sections, or whether to construct more urban roads characterized by use of curb and gutter. This should be done on an individual case basis. The design standards for the construction of standard rural road sections within Platte County according to their functional classification are shown in Table 8. These standards are based upon guidelines provided by MoDOT and AASHTO. Table 9 shows the recommended design criteria for urban roadway segments. These standards, which are described in more detail below, provide the guidelines within which roadways should ultimately be constructed. Intersection approaches would likely require additional roadbed and right of way width. Effort should be made to attempt to meet or exceed these standards when economically feasible. However, these ultimate standards may not be met if funding levels are not sufficient and may require development contributions to achieve. The following design standards are in draft preliminary form. Platte County should consider creating and adopting official road standards in the near future. 4 Kansas City American Public Works Association Standard Specifications and Design Criteria, US Reprographics, 4601 State Ave., Suite 50, Kansas City, Kansas, 66106, Policy, Procedures and Design Standards, Missouri Department of Transportation, Jefferson City, MO, Guidelines for Geometric Design of Very Low-Volume Local Roads (ADT 400), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, D.C., Platte County Roads Master Plan Page 32 of 50