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It is only with this type of design that downtown Pequot Lakes can attract and retain the level of private <br />sector investment necessary to sustain prior investments. There needs to be natural, market demand for <br />filling in the gaps between existing structures and, over time, making incremental improvements to <br />increase the intensity of use of existing structures. This will only happen if (1) people can get to Pequot <br />Lakes quickly and easily and (2) once in town, can be accommodated in a comfortable, town setting. <br />Concept #1: The concept put forward by the County labeled "Concept 1" is the closest representation of <br />what a future CSAH 11 corridor within downtown Pequot Lakes needs to look like. To that concept, as <br />presented, we suggest the following modifications: <br />1. In general, the median should be removed and the automobile travel lanes reduced to 10 feet. <br />Correspondingly, the sidewalks should be widened by 5 to 6 feet on each side of the street. The <br />cost difference of moving the concrete from the center of the street — where it has little value — <br />to the edge of the street where it creates immense value for the adjacent property owners, <br />should be negligible. Narrowing the lanes will further slow traffic through this section and allow <br />for a more complex environment to emerge. <br />2. The space available at County Road 112 provides an opportunity to offset reduced design <br />speeds by providing for a continuous flow intersection. A properly-designed round-a-bout <br />(meaning designed to a neighborhood context, not a highway context) would improve flow and <br />reduce stacking in this area. <br />3. The intersections at Government Drive and N. Washington Ave. should be designed to <br />emphasize shared space. The intersections should be designed to provide for automobile and <br />pedestrian traffic in a free flow (not priority) design. Traffic will be going slow enough through <br />this section where such a design should be attainable. <br />4. Ultimately, the intersection with TH 371 needs to be reconfigured to provide for continuous <br />flow with a complex town environment. For the time being, the design as presented is <br />adequate. <br />5. It is highly questionable what the value of a"future collector roadway" would be as presented. If <br />said roadway is to be a frontage road along the highway, the improvement would need to be <br />development driven. If the desire is to provide for industrial traffic, the design for TH 371 <br />provides for such traffic at the southern junction with the current TH 371 alignment. Extending <br />E. Woodman St. would be quite costly and it is not clear what benefit it would provide in terms <br />of adding to the value captured within the downtown, particularly since it would require the <br />condemnation and removal of at least one home. <br />As such, it is premature and likely unwarranted to plan CSAH 11 to accommodate such an <br />improvement. What is planned for areas to the west would also give mixed signals to drivers <br />leaving the highway, confusing them that they are passing through a high-speed environment, <br />WWW.COMMUNITYGROWTH.COM WWW.STRONGTOWNS.ORG <br />