Section D TransportationNorth Meridian Area Plan
Section D: Transportation System Plan
North Meridian Area Plan Section D-1
Compiled by Wardle & Associates
November 15, 2002
I. Preface
Transportation system concerns, fueled
by the projected pace of development in
North Meridian, prompted the North
Meridian Area Plan (NMAP).
Section B of this Plan, Implementation
Issues, Strategies and Policies, provides
the framework for transportation
decision-makers on the system itself.
But it does not address timing or funding
options for the required system
improvements. Elected officials
requested a specific plan for transporta-
tion improvements as part of this effort.
However, it is necessary to cite
fundamental inconsistencies that elected
officials must address before a definitive
plan can be developed.
q Population Projections
▲ The current COMPASS growth
projection1 for North Meridian—
and the ten square-mile planning
area—is for only an additional
4,214 dwelling units in the
twenty-year forecast period.
▲ WGI’s October, 2001, study
projected 15,912 dwellings for
the same area, during the same
twenty-year period—nearly four
times the COMPASS estimate.
▲ Which forecast is accurate?
· If COMPASS, then the need
for system improvements will
be substantially deferred.
· If WGI, then the issue is the
phasing of improvements and
allocation of resources must
be planned.
▲ If the actual growth rate is
between COMPASS and
ACHD/WGI, then public/private
partnerships may assist ACHD
bridge short-term resource gaps.
· A middle-range scenario or
WGI’s, for that matter, will
require a political decision:
Assignment of growth units
from other areas of the
region, or an overall increase
in projected population
growth within the region.
· Companion to any change in
assigned growth numbers
will be a reallocation of
transportation system funds
North Meridian Area Plan
Section D: Transportation System Plan
North Meridian Area Plan Section D-2
Compiled by Wardle & Associates
November 15, 2002
(#74) for the one-mile
segment from Meridian Road
to Locust Grove Road.
· The same draft CIP proposes
the SH 16 River Crossing
(#120) as the means of
relieving congestion on the
Glenwood bridge.
- How does this facility
address congestion at
Glenwood when there are
two existing bridges
(Linder Road and Eagle
Road) and one proposed
bridge (Three Rivers
Crossing) between the
two?
· The long-term benefit of the
SH 16 Crossing is not at
issue, the justification is.
- For example, the prior
CIP draft (dated 9-27-02),
cited “no deficiency” as
the basis for “considered
but dropped following
ACHD staff review” for a
number of long-planned
projects, including
facilities such as the East
ParkCenter Bridge.
▲ If the proposed CIP accurately
projects needed improvements,
and the only deficiency within
ACHD’s North Meridian
transportation system is the noted
one-mile segment of McMillan
Road, then only up-grading and
maintenance efforts, and strategic
intersection improvements will
be required within the planning
area over the next twenty years.
· Under any scenario, the
WGI-projected system
improvements are not needed
“tomorrow.” There is excess
capacity currently in the
system, and there will be
surplus capacity, with levels
of service (LOS) as high as
“A,” on some segments of the
completed system.
The purpose of this discussion is
twofold:
First, to point out that there is a need
to re-visit population forecasts for
North Meridian Area Plan
Section D: Transportation System Plan
North Meridian Area Plan Section D-3
Compiled by Wardle & Associates
November 15, 2002
Meridian transportation system. The cost
for the re-modeling was deemed too
great, rendering that effort infeasible.
The Report up-date was not authorized
by ACHD until early October and is not
yet complete (as of November 11, 2002).
Thus, projected construction costs, even
in updated form, may not accurately
reflect the future improvements for Ten
Mile Road, given the North Meridian
Area Plan’s designation of Black Cat
Road (versus Ten Mile) as the SH 16 to
I-84 connection.
The up-dated Construction Cost Report,
when completed, will serve as the North
Meridian Area Plan’s basis for arterial
reconstruction and system
improvements. The attached North
Meridian Funding Analysis, prepared by
the North Meridian Planning team and
based on the first version of the WGI
Cost Report, indicates the following:
· All costs for reconstruction of
existing roadways and required
capacity expansions are covered
by potential funding sources.
· “Developer contributions,” i.e.,
arterial sidewalks, right-of-way
at cost, bike lane alternatives
(combined with sidewalks…);
and partnerships with ACHD are
expected to more than cover $13
million of the projected costs.
· Developer-initiated, designed
and constructed projects will
yield substantial savings in
capital system improvement cost
projections.
- “Real” costs will decrease with
project specifics and planning
· Cash flow shortfalls may occur,
but there are sufficient resources
i.e., impact fees, impact fee
offset agreements, property tax,
highway user tax, etc., within the
service area to cover the costs.
- Bonding or other interim
financing mechanisms may
have to be employed to
bridge the gap.
[NOTE: With the expected reduced cost
projections of the Report, the shortfalls
may be minimal or non-existent.]
III. Transportation
System Plan
North Meridian Area Plan
Section D: Transportation System Plan
North Meridian Area Plan Section D-4
Compiled by Wardle & Associates
November 15, 2002
The transportation system phasing and
funding plan would detail three
components:
1) Arterial Intersections
2) Intermediate (mid-section)
intersections
3) Lane expansions
The plan would project a phasing time-
line for each to determine if available
public funding sources meet the needs,
or if public/private partnerships would
be required to address short-term cash
flow problems.
Assumptions
· Arterial intersection
improvements (addition of turn
lanes, initially, followed by
signalization) will add capacity
and system efficiency.
· Access controls will limit the
number of intermediate (mid-
section) intersections.
- Developers will add required
turn lanes (which add
roadway capacity) at those
intersections in the first phase
of the project through
reimbursement/credit
agreements with ACHD.
· Intersection improvements may
substantially defer the need for
added travel lanes.
· Developers desiring to up-grade
and complete a project’s frontage
will enter into reimbursement
agreements with ACHD to widen
the roadways to their ultimate
section.
I.V. Conclusion
The North Meridian planning team is
prepared to work with the elected
officials and developers to prepare the
requested transportation system plan
when the required information
(Construction Cost Report) is
available—and when decisions are
made on growth projections and
incorporated into the ACHD CIP.
North Meridian Area Plan
Section D: Transportation System Plan
North Meridian Area Plan Section D-5
Compiled by Wardle & Associates
November 15, 2002
Because the Construction Cost Report
up-date is not complete, it is not possible
to recommend a specific funding or
phasing plan at this time.
A follow-on effort is necessary—when
the Report is complete, and when…
· COMPASS’ growth projections
(the basis of ACHD’s CIP) have
been reviewed and adjusted; and,
· ACHD adopts a CIP based on
those adjustments.
As a result of that effort, the phasing and
funding plan for North Meridian
transportation system improvements
would be based on more realistic
development assumptions reflective of
approved and pending projects.
North Meridian, and to modify—as
necessary—the official growth
projections and transportation
resource allocations.
Second, to encourage COMPASS
and ACHD to reconcile the
inconsistencies and contradictions
between the CIP, the COMPASS
forecasts, and WGI’s proposed
transportation system improvements
required for North Meridian growth.
II. Needed Information
ACHD was asked on July 11, 2002, to
re-model traffic flows with Black Cat
Road as the north/south connection from
SH 16 to the Ten Mile interchange, and
to up-date the North Meridian Impact
Study Area: Right-of-Way and
Construction Cost Report. That is
necessary for the North Meridian Area
Plan to accurately address the phasing
and funding requirements of the North
from other areas, where
reductions occur, to North
Meridian.
q ACHD Capital Improvement Plan
▲ A Capital Improvement Plan
(CIP) is currently being prepared
for adoption by ACHD. It is
based on deficiencies identified
by the COMPASS 2025 Regional
Travel Demand Model.
▲ The CIP should also consider
ACHD/WGI’s North Meridian
study forecast, but does not
appear to do so.
· ACHD’s October 11, 2002,
draft CIP identifies only one
North Meridian roadway
deficiency: McMillan Road