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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Special Meeting of the Ames City Council 10/03/1989MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL AMES, IOWA OCTOBER 3, 1989 The Ames City Council met in special joint session with the Planning and Zoning Commission at 5:00 p.m. on October 3, 1989, in the Council Chambers of the City Administration Building, 621 Main Street, pursuant to law with Mayor Pro Tem Curtis presiding and the following members present: Brown, Campbell, Curtis, Hoffman, Parks, and Thurston. Mayor Goodland was absent. The following members of the Planning and Zoning Commission were also present: Allen, Espeland, McJimsey, Moehlmann, Pike, Samuels, and Spinrad. FIREWORKS PERMIT FOR ROLLING STONES CONCERT: Moved by Brown, seconded by Hoffman, to approve the application for a fireworks permit from B.C.L. Finance (Ireland), Lmtd. for October 7th at Cyclone Stadium. Vote on Motion 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. PRESENTATION OF TRAFFIC STUDY FOR ELWOOD DRIVE CORRIDOR: Paul Wiegand, Director of Public Works, and Howard Preston, from BRW, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, summarized the Elwood Drive Corridor Traffic Study for the Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission. Mr. Preston said that the study area consisted of Elwood Drive from Lincoln Way to Airport Road and all the intersections in between. He presented alternatives for dealing with each intersection at periods of five and fifteen years in the future. He also provided conclusions and short-range, medium-range, and long-range recommendations as follows. SHORT-RANGE RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. The City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission should be informed of the direct connection between land development and traffic congestion. 2. The City should establish a minimum acceptable level of traffic operations to be used for roadway design purposes and for evaluating the potential traffic impacts associated with new development with Level of Service C recommended. 3. The City should establish minimum intersection spacing guidelines for the arterial street system. 4. The City should establish a program to periodically monitor traffic conditions along Elwood Drive and the level of development in the ISU Research Park. 5. A northbound left turn lane should be constructed at Ironwood Court. 6. The high speed free right turn ramp from westbound US 30 to northbound Elwood Drive should be eliminated and replaced with a typical right turn lane. The estimated construction cost for the short-range recommendations is $55,000. MEDIUM-RANGE RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. A traffic signal should be installed at the Elwood Drive and South 16th Street intersection, South 16th Street should be widened to provide two lanes of approach, the southbound left turn lane should be lengthened, and a northbound right turn lane should be added. 2. A traffic signal should be installed at the intersection of Elwood Drive and Mortensen Parkway, the northbound left turn lane should be lengthened, and a southbound right turn lane should be added. 3. Traffic signals should be installed at both the north and south ramp terminal intersections of Elwood Drive and US 30. The estimated construction costs for the medium-range recommendations is $382,000. LONG-RANGE RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. The left turn lanes on all four approaches to the Elwood Drive and Lincoln Way intersection should be lengthened. 2. The left turn lanes on all four approaches to the Elwood Drive and South 4th Street intersection should be lengthened and a northbound right turn lane added. 3. Alternative A - Maintain Diamond Interchange Configuration a. Full access to Ironwood Court should be closed and a new roadway extended to the north to intersect Mortensen Parkway opposite Beech Avenue. b. Elwood Drive should be widened to six lanes between the US 30 ramps in order to provide room for side by side left turn lanes, north and south bound right turn lanes should be provided at the ramps, and the ramps should be widened to provide three lanes of approach. c. A northbound left turn lane should be provided on Elwood Drive at the intersection with Green Hills Drive but a traffic signal should not be installed even if the intersection traffic volumes meet the signal warrants because queueing from the signal could extend back through the south ramp terminal intersection. d. The four-lane divided design on Elwood Drive at the intersection of Airport Road should be extended south to Airport Road and dual left turn lanes provided on the southbound approach to the intersection, a traffic signal should be installed and Airport Road widened to provide three lanes of approach plus a channelized westbound to northbound free right turn. Alternative B - Provide Folded Diamond Interchange Configuration a. Realign the east end of Ironwood Court to intersect Elwood Drive opposite the new US 30 north ramp terminal and construct a new roadway parallel to Elwood Drive from Ironwood Court north to intersect Mortensen Parkway opposite Beach Avenue. b. Construct a folded diamond interchange at the intersection of Elwood Drive and US 30 with the ramps and loops folded to the east side of Elwood Drive, install traffic signals at the ramp terminals, provide a four-land divided Elwood Drive with longer left turn lanes, and provide three lanes on both ramp approaches to Elwood Drive. c. Realign the west side of Green Hills Drive to intersect Elwood Drive opposite the new US 30 south ramp terminal and construct a northbound left turn lane on Elwood Drive. d. The four-lane divided design on Elwood Drive should be extended to Airport Road and dual southbound left turn lanes provided at the intersection and a traffic signal should be installed plus three lanes of approach provided on Airport Road with a channelized westbound to northbound free right turn. The estimated construction costs for the long-range recommendations are $1,300,000 and $2,170,000 for Alternatives A and B respectively. COMMENTS: There were no comments. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m. _____________________________________ ____________________________________ Nancy Dionigi, City Clerk F. Paul Goodland, Mayor