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SECTION III I I i III. DEFINITION OF ALTERNATIVES UNIVERSE OF ALTERNATIVES The definition of access alternatives for each study segment in the TH 7 corridor needs to start with an overall perspec- tive of the role and function of Highway 7 in the TH 7 corridor and a definition of the type of facility needed to fulfill that role. Therefore, alternatives for the TH 7 corridor were grouped into the following three categories: o Corridor Alternatives o Facility Type Alternatives o Study Segment Alternatives Corridor Alternatives The corridor alternatives address the entire transportation system in the TH 7 study corridor in order to establish the desired characteristics of the TH 7 corridor transportation system and the need for supporting transportation facilities within the corridor (i .e. intersecting and parallel collec- tor and arterial streets) . Five alternatives were iden- tified that affect the existing functional classification system of roadways in the corridor. These alternatives were defined in direct response to the issues which were iden- tified in the previous chapter. The alternatives include: 1. Providing a new collector road called Old Market Road which would run from TH 7 south to Covington Road and then easterly to Vine Hill Road and then south to Town Line Road. Under this alternative Covington Road and Town Line Road would be realigned to intersect with the proposed collector road to form a "T" intersection. A section of Old Market Road has already been constructed in the vicinity of Covington Road and Covington Road has been realigned to intersect with Old Market Road so that Old Market Road is now the through street to Vine Hill ' Road. The City of Shorewood proposed that Old Market Road replace Vine Hill Road south of TH 7 as the designated collector street for this area; however, the City of Minnetonka supported the continued functional classification of Vine Hill Road south of TH 7 as a collector. 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L Hi o4 ssaooP 4o uopeuiwaa2 aq; 11 Moilp oil aq pLnoM aAL4PUaa4LP sLg4 4o asodand Bill •ppoa E)SP43 puP pPoa ao.oauuoo at. oil Uopoauuoo slip 40 44aou paPAalno9 uid[Pg woa4 uopEu6Lsap ao4oaLL00 944 6u1aaa4 -suPa4 pup pPob P)ISP43 444m paPAaLnos u0jP9 6ui2oauuo3 •ti II •4aaa.S lllW 04 4aaa4S uoiSLAlp Jo uoisua4xa puP 4aaa4s uoi.sLnia J0 6uLuavM ail4 aalnbaa oSLE worn aAi3Euaa4LP sm. •4sPa aif woa4 I aois[aox3 4o fil13 at. oil SsaooP uipw aI4 awooaq puP L Hl 43LM ssaoDP lino anP4 pinoM 4aaa2S UoiSLALQ aAPPuaalLP II S144 aapup •uoL3oun4 ao4oaLL00 2P44 anaas 04 399a3S uoisLAIO 6ul.sn pup [Root oI. ao3oaLL00 w0a4 aois aox3 puP pooMaao4S uL 3aaa3S LLLW 4o uol�Pu6l.sap aq4 6uL6uPg3 •8 I °wa25/CS ao�oaiLoo sL44 woa4 papLnoad aq pinoM L Hi o3 Ssaooy 4o ad,'3 awos aAi3Puaa2ie s1g4 JO 3apd sy •SpPoa ao2oailoo IIse pPob deg s ,uPgly '4s pup peob uo36wo3 6u pu61.sap •3 II I adequately satisfy both functions requires a variety of highway types. At one extreme, the freeway limits access points and most effectively provides for high design speed. At the other extreme, the local street provides maximum access to abutting properties at the expense of traffic ser- vice. Figure 9 schematically illustrates the division of these two functions for various functional classes of road- ways. The expressway has a lower degree of access control than the freeway and access to the facility is provided at major intersections spaced 2000 feet or more apart as opposed to a freeway where grade seperated interchanges are spaced one mile or more apart. In both cases land access is provided by frontage roads parallel to the facility with access at the major cross streets. A four lane divided arterial has even a lower degree of access control and provides increased use of the street for access to properties. The controlled access freeway and the controlled access expressway may both have the same number of access points, but with the freeway alternative the access would be at ' interchanges which are grade seperated and with the expressway alternative the access would be at high capacity at-grade signalized intersections. With an expressway design there is higher probability that additional access will be provided between the major access points than with a freeway where the access is strictly controlled. With a four lane divided arterial alternative the access will be /I even less strictly controlled than in the expressway design and, except for the existing higher speeds, is represen- tative of the current situation on TH 7. Study Segment Alternatives The study segment alternatives address the specific issues and problems identified in the previous section. The study segment alternatives should be consistent with the type of facility recommended for TH 7 and the overall transportation system recommended in the corridor. For the purpose of defining specific alternatives which could be objectively evaluated the TH 7 corridor study area was divided into six study area segments which are defined below. o TH 101/Minnetonka High School Area o Vine Hill/Old Market Road Area o Excelsior Area East o Excelsior Area West o TH 41 Area o Lake Minnewashta Area I/ 29 I/ 11 These study segments are shown on the following figures. Also shown on these figures are 1986 Average Weekday Traffic (AWDT) counts. 1 INITIAL SCREENING OF ALTERNATIVES , Scoping of Corridor Alternatives The corridor alternatives address the potential for pro- viding support roadway facilities which will affect the need for access to TH 7. Four of the five alternatives iden- tified affected north-south collector roadways carrying traffic to TH 7. Only two of the four were mutually exclu- sive (i .e. , the selection of one alternative would exclude the other.) It was recommended that all four of these11 alternatives be retained for further evaluation. The fifth alternative involves the extension of Town Line Road from TH 101 to Carver County Road 17. Hennepin County has included the improvement of Town Line Road (CSAH 62) from TH 101 to CSAH 4 (Eden Prairie Road) in their 1988 capital improvement program and the improvement of the segment between CSAH 4 (Eden Prairie Road) and CSAH 60 (Baker Road) is programmed for 1990. The section of CSAH 62 between CSAH 60 (Baker Road) and CSAH 61 (Shady Oak Road) is currently under construction and expected to be open to traffic in 1987. The purpose of extending Town Line Road to County Road 17 1 would be to provide an alternative route to the east from the TH 7 travelshed and thereby reduce demand on TH 7. After evaluating this proposal it was concluded that this extension was not feasible for the following reasons. o The topography is extremely unfavorable for any exten- sion of Town Line Road between TH 101 and County Road 17. This area is very hilly and pinched in on both sides by Christmas Lake and Lotus Lake. I o The City of Chanhassen has already approved plans for the Near Mountain development in this area so that right-of- way would be very expensive. o There is already a capacity limitation on CSAH 62 to the east. o The upgrading of Town Line Road from CSAH 4 to TH 101 will serve some of the traffic now using TH 7 and reduce traf- fic on TH 101 north of Town Line Road. 30 11 I I I I SOURCE: 'A GUIDE TO URBAN ARTERIAL SYSTEMS', IAMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS, 1981 I �PCI Q,�‘C �A 5 I . es v es GJ� GPI ,%OQ` a 0 vO ,G IG A 0 isG „..\• I • 6 v zSO 0 I a a 4\‘O) V OM P ZepA es O C 3 1 u v" I ti 0 0 = V o tt.c01 Pi.��\P N C~ I a It dI c t' u a I C •C H A . 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"_ Iryy� . 00 •e .r .�( af' A .mow '',—�!' b "i ii .10 _ 1 1 o The further extension of Town Line Road would result in only a marginal reduction in traffic on TH 7 and would not reduce the need to upgrade TH 7. o The upgrading of TH 5 from TH 41 to TH 212 will also help minimize future increases in traffic on TH 7. Definition of TH 7 Facility Type TH 7 is functionally classified as a major arterial by the Metropolitan Council and this functional classification is recognized in the comprehensive plans of the communities served by TH 7. Many of the major arterials in the Metropolitan area are freeway type facilities (e.g. , County Road 62, County Road 18, TH 100, TH 77, TH 36). Most of these examples are in urban areas where the highways are required to serve traffic volumes significantly greater than those currently carried by TH 7. In suburban and rural areas many of the major arterials are expressway type faci- lities. After an initial evaluation of the three alternative faci- lity types, a controlled access expressway was selected as the appropriate type of transportation facility for the TH 7 corridor. Although a controlled access freeway design may be a very appropriate design based on the designation of TH 7 as a major arterial , it would be extremely difficult to implement this alternative since the impacts of a freeway facility would be substantial . A lower level of access control than the expressway would not be consistent with the major arterial classification of TH 7. Therefore, the expressway design was selected as the appropriate type of transportation facility for TH 7. The current situation on TH 7 (illustrated schematically on the following figure) falls somewhere between the four lane divided arterial design and the expressway design. Figure 16 illustrates some of the current conditions on TH 7 which include: o Frontage roads too close to major intersections. ' o Median breaks spaced less than 1000 feet apart. o Direct property access including some with median breaks. o Limited frontage road system to provide direct property access. o Slip ramps from highway to two-way frontage roads. 38 ' I me Xc 1 F D• o� 0 1 5:1Z a • ILU' • 1 /.c II.EJtIi i i: ::. •:. • • • 1 1 Tom ~ m~ • 1 g li:- ::�,..._,.:: 1 D> I 00 6. .-� 9 I { 1 T I I The bottom half of this figure illustrates the expressway ' design concept and the access changes involved in upgrading TH 7 to an expressway design. Some of the changes required ' include: o Detached frontage roads at major intersections. o High quality design at major signalized intersections. o Development of continuous frontage road system. ' o Direct property access from frontage roads. o Median breaks at public streets spaced greater than 2000 ' feet. The above expressway design concept is consistent with the Metropolitan Council ' s access criteria for major arterials which states that access to major arterials should be limited to other arterials, high volume collector streets, and major traffic generators. However, it is recognized that it will be difficult and costly to develop a continuous frontage road system along the entire length of TH 7 in the study area and that closing all non-conforming access points on TH 7 will leave some properties with no access and - others with indirect or circuitous access. Therefore several access policy alternatives were considered in order to provide direction in the treatment of non-conforming access points relative to access alternatives for the speci- fic study segments. After evaluation of the access policy alternatives the following policy statements were developed: o Close any access which is inconsistent with the expressway design concept and where reasonably convenient and suitable alternative access is available or can be provided. Upgrade remaining access points consistent with MnDOT design guidelines. , o If access cannot be upgraded consistent with MnDOT design guidelines and alternative access (whether reasonably convenient and suitable or not) is available or can be provided, then the access should be closed. Definition of Study Segment Alternatives ' The preceeding corridor alternatives, access policy state- ments, and expressway design concept, along with the issues and problems identified at the previous public meetings pro- vide the framework for the definition of specific study segment alternatives. The study segment alternatives 40 1 attempt to address the issues and problems previouslyiden- tified within the framework of the expressway design con- cept, the access policy statements and the alternative collector roadway designations. ' In the following section the alternatives presented at the second public meeting for each area are discussed. Although not specifically discussed as a seperate alternative a no- build alternative is assumed in each study area segment. Most of the alternatives involve closing a number of access points in the study area segment. In evaluating a specific alternative it may be determined that it is not feasible to ' close a specific access point. This does not necessarily result in that alternative being rejected but may only require modification of the alternative to include the ' necessary access point. The alternatives are intended to represent the long term solution, and implementation of an alternative will likely require staged construction over 10-15 years. The implementation plan is addressed in a ' following section of this report. The following discussion of the alternatives considered for each study segment includes the following elements: o A list of the issues or problems which were identified in ' that study segment. o A definition of the potential major access points for the study area segment. ' o A general discussion of the alternatives considered in the study area segment and the potential major impacts of ' the alternatives. o The relationship to alternatives for other study areas. ' o A description of the major issues to be resolved in each study segment. IIMinnetonka High School Area Issues or problems identified in this study segment include ' the following: o Access For Minnetonka High School . ' o Access For Stratford Wood Apartments. o Safety of slip ramps to south frontage road. ' o Continuity and grade of north frontage road. ' o Number of access points to TH 7. 41 1 The only major access point considered in this area is at ' TH 101. Two alternatives were defined for this area. Both required the closure of the slip ramps on the south side of TH 7 and the upgrading of Delton Avenue to handle the increased volume of traffic forecast with the closure. These slip ramps were identified as a safety problem; in particular the off-ramp from TH 7 to the two-way frontage road. The major difference between the two alternatives considered was related to access on the north side of TH 7. The evaluation of alternatives in this study segment will depend on alternatives in the Vine Hill/Old Market Road study segment. The key element of the Vine Hill Road/Old Market Road area affecting the Minnetonka High School Area is the location of the next major access point to TH 7 west of TH 101. The major issues to be resolved in this area include the following: o Is the extension of the frontage road on the north side of TH 7 feasible? o Is there any other alternative way to provide secondary ' access to the homes on Lynwood Terrace? o Is the closure of the slip ramps to Minnetonka High School feasible? o Is there a way of redesigning the slip ramp from TH 7 to make it more safe? Vine Hill Road/Old Market Road Area The issues or problems identified in this study segment include the following: o Design and operation of Vine Hill Road/TH 7 intersection. o Design and functional classification of Vine Hill Road south of TH 7 o Access to TH 7 from Old Market Road and functional classification of Old Market Road. o Design of Vine Hill Road and Old Market Road intersection. ' o Number of access points to TN 7. o Residential street connection between Vine Hill Road and ' Old Market Road. 42 ' The access major a ss points considered in this area potential include: o Vine Hill Road o Old Market Road o Covington/St. Alban' s Bay Road The alternatives for this area focus on where the major access points should be and how they should be designed. For each of the potential major access points listed above ' alternatives were identified that ranged from no access to partial access to full access and for some alternatives several design options were identified. In order to eva- luate each of the alternatives for each of these access points they had to be combined with alternatives for the other access points. Because of the number of combinations which were possible it was necessary to do an initial ' screening of the alternatives. In this initial screening "No Access at Vine Hill Road" was ruled out as an alter- native and "Full access at Old Market Road" was eliminated ' as an alternative. At Vine Hill Road the remaining alter- natives include: ' o "T" Intersection to the North. o Full access with detached frontage road. ' o Full access with south Vine Hill Road connection and detached frontage road. o Full access with north Vine Hill Road connection. In addition to the four alternatives at Vine Hill Road, two options for detaching the south frontage road were included. ' One option would take the frontage road in front of the Burger King in the southwest corner of the intersection and the other option would take the frontage road through the ' video shop and behind Burger King. In illustrating the alternatives the detachment of the frontage road was shown one way with one set of alternatives and another way with ' the other set of alternatives. The purpose was to limit the number of drawings and not to restrict the design options for a given alternative. The alternatives at Old Market Road include: o "T" Intersection to the South. o Right-in, right-out, left-in access to the South. o Access at Covington/St. Alban' s Bay Road. 43 o No access at Old Market or St. Alban' s Bay Road. The remaining alternatives for Vine Hill Road and Old Market Road were then combined. Certain combinations of the two sets of alternatives were dropped because they eliminated all access for some areas south of TH 7. ' The alternatives in this area affect the feasibility of alternatives and access closures in the Minnetonka High School Area as well as alternatives and proposed access clo- sures in the Excelsior area. The removal of access to the south frontage road at Vine Hill Road would have a signifi- cant impact on the ability to close the slip ramp from east- bound TH 7 to Minnetonka High School . The feasibility of closing access to Christmas Lake Road would also be affected by the location of other major access points to the east. The major issues to be resolved in this area include the following: o Should there be access to TH 7 from the south at Vine Hill Road? o Should Vine Hill Road be extended to the south? ' o Should there be a second major access point to TH 7 west of Vine Hill Road in this area? o If so, should it be at Old Market Road as currently pro- posed by Shorewood or should it be somewhere to the west either at an at-grade intersection or grade separated interchange? Excelsior Area East ' The issues or problems identified in this study segment include the following: o Number of access points. o Lack of direct access from Mill Street to TH 7. ' o Design and safety of Christmas Lake Road intersection. o Design and safety of on- and off-ramps to Excelsior. o Functional classification and design of Mill Street. ' o Design and operation of intersection of Mill Street, 2nd Street and Ramps from TH 7. The potential major access points considered in this study segment include: 44 o Christmas Lake Road ' o Division Street o 2nd Street ' All of the alternatives in this area assume the construction of a south frontage road on TH 7 between Christmas Lake Road ' and Covington Road. The alternatives vary in where the major access points are located and how this access is accomplished. Some alternatives involve upgrading Division Street and creating a major at-grade intersection with TH 7. ' Others replace and upgrade the existing ramps into Excelsior. ' The alternatives in this area primarily affect the feasibi- lity of the alternatives in the Vine Hill Road/Old Market Road Area. Galpin Lake cuts this area off from the area to the west. ' The major issues to be resovled in this area include the following: ' o Should there be access at Christmas Lake Road? ' o Are the costs and impacts of creating a new intersection at Division Street balanced by the potential benefits? o Should the existing ramps to Excelsior be redesigned to ' improve their safety? Excelsior Area West The issues or problems identified in this study segment include the following: ' o Design of Galpin Boulevard and access to TH 7 o Number of access points on TH 7 ' The potential major access points considered include: ' o CR 19 o Chaska Road o Galpin Boulevard The alternatives in this area center primarily on the treat- ment of Galpin Lake Road and the options for handling the closure of access to Morse Avenue and the businesses just west of Morse Avenue. 45 There is some relationship between access at Morse Avenue and what is done at Division Street, but for the most part these alternatives can be evaluated independent of the alternatives in other areas. The major issues to be resolved in this area include the following: o Can Mayflower Road be upgraded? o Would right-in, right-out access at Galpin Lake Road be ' better than a frontage road connection to Chaska Road? o Should the businesses at Morse Avenue be acquired to eli- ' minate access in this area and allow upgrading of remaining access? TH 41 Area The issues or problems in this study segment included the following: o Access and design of TH 41/TH 7 commercial area. o Number of access points to TH 7. o Use of local streets for access to CR 19 from the west. ' The only major access point considered in this area is at TH 41. The alternatives in this area focus on the access to the proposed commercial area in the southwest quadrant of the TH 41/TH 7 intersection, the consolidation of access west of TH 41, and the level of upgrading required on TH 7. The alternatives in this segment have the greatest impact on the feasibility of alternatives in the area to the west. If TH 7 is a five lane section in this area it may be desirable to carry this concept farther to the west. The major issues to be resolved in this study segment include: o What should the access be at Oriole Avenue--no access, right-in/right-out, or full access with protected left- turn lane? o What should the access be to the proposed southwest com- mercial area--right-in off TH 7 and TH 41, or right-in off TH 41 only? o Should access be closed at Sandpiper Avenue or Washta Bay , Road? 46 o Should TH 7 in this area be upgraded at isolated inter- sections or should the entire section be upgraded to a ' five lane section? • Lake Minnewashta Area The issues or problems identified in this study segment include the following: ' o Design of CR Minnewashta Parkway/TH 7 intersection o Use of local streets for access to CR 19 from the west. o Safety of existing access points to TH 7. ' The potential major access points considered include: o Minnewashta Parkway ' o Dogwood Avenue o Arbor Avenue/Seaman' s Drive ' The alternatives in this area focus on how to consolidate access to TH 7 and the level of upgrading required on TH 7. ' They also illustrate one potential redesign for the Minnewashta Parkway/TH 7 intersection. The evaluation of alternatives in this study segment depend ' on alternatives in the TH 41 study segment. If a five-lane section were built in this area it would probably be carried all the way to TH 41. The major issues to be resolved include the following: ' o Where should the major access points in this area be? o Should TH 7 be widened only at the major intersections or should it be a five-lane section from TH 41 to ' Minnewashta Parkway. o Can access be consolidated on the north? ' o Should there be a continuous frontage road on the north to provide direct land access? o Should there be a frontage road from Minnewashta Parkway to Greenbriar Avenue and how seriously would it impact the operation of the Minnewashta Parkway/TH 7 intersec- tion? 47