Packet One Materials - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Ensure that local roads and streets enhance the public realm.Rural roads need to be physically and aesthetically designed to be rural. Excessively wide road widths and clear zones increase traffic speed and create a road that lacks character. Narrower road sections slow traffic speeds and maintain a rural character, especially where the roads are tree lined. Urban streets need to provide for mobility choices beyond automobiles.These streets need to be designed so that they add value to adjacent properties and induce higher levels of private-sector development throughout the City's traditional neighborhoods. Ensure a highly-connected road network. Most developers prefer to develop on a cul-de-sac for a number of reasons that benefit their development in the short-term. Limiting the number of cul-de-sacs and promoting inter- connecting roads creates redundancy that improves safety, provides alternative routes, and ensures a more efficient transportation network.It also reduces maintenance costs and facilitates future growth and development. Plan for the long-term financial viability of the current transportation system.The City needs to know what its long-term commitments are for maintaining transportation infrastructure, what revenues are created by each of those commitments and what will be necessary to meet those obligations. This knowledge will allow the City to make informed decisions on the City's road standards, approach to maintenance and long-term capital improvements budgeting. Direct new residential growth toward ezisting roads and limit the amount of roads in new developments. Residential growth is rapidly occurring in Pequot Lakes and will continue to occur in the rural areas whether the City promotes it or not. Development in the remote areas of the City is more costly to maintain service than development closer to the downtown or along existing roadways. There is no need to subsidize development, either directly or indirectly,outside of the downtown area,especially when doing so increases City expenses more than a development of equal size that is more efficiently located. ACTIONS SHORT-TERM ACTIONS (WITHIN 1 YEAR�: ❑ Perform an inventory and life-cycle analysis of all public infrastructure maintained by the City.Use this to create a capital improvements plan that provides for ongoing maintenance of public infrastructure. - Adopt new standard street sections that reduce long-term costs by narrowing lane widths to appropriate neighborhood scale,accommodate sidewalks,and provide safe pedestrian mobility throughout the city. _ Adopt new standard road sections that reduce long-term costs by narrowing lane widths on local roads to a rustic,low volume,low speed scale. ' Ensure that improvements to Government Drive provide a platform for growth. � Provide bike racks to encourage bike usage and storage lockers for roller blades. C Create a city policy establishing when newly constructed roads will be accepted by the City for long-term maintenance.The policy should be based on reasonable assurance that the long-term maintenance costs will be sufficiently balanced by the additional tax revenue generated. MID-TERM ACTIONS ��-rJ YEARS�: � Work with Crow Wing County to properly-scale the TH 371 and CSAH 11 corridors through the Grow Zone area following the construction of the TH 371 Alternate Alignment.Ensure that these corridors maintain a character that encourages pedestrian activity throughout the Grow Zone. Comprehensive Plan Update—February 2013 41 � P a g e