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1 Success with the alternate alignment depends on the City continuing to mature the neighborhoods surrounding 2 the core downtown,to the benefit of both the neighborhoods and the businesses.This development pattern—the 3 traditional pattern Pequot Lakes was originally built with—will function well whether the highway is realigned or 4 not.In other words,the housing,economic development and land use approach of the City are compatible with a 5 continuation of the current low-capacity,two-lane highway through town or the realignment to a high-capacity, 6 four-lane to the east. 7 Due to the fact that the traditional, neighborhood pattern of the City requires a high degree of connectivity with 8 multiple mobility options available,an expansion of the current alignment to a high-speed,high-capacity highway 9 is not compatible with the housing,economic development and land use approach of the City.Such an expansion 10 would require a completely different model of development,one that would be very costly to adapt to as well as 11 risky,since budget projections provide no confidence that the widening would ever take place. 12 LOCAL ROADS AND STREETS 13 The City has had an informal policy of working to bring every road up to meet the City's official standard.As the 14 economy has evolved and the explosive growth of the 1990's and through 2008 has vanished,there is reason to 15 reconsider this approach. Even in the best of economic times,the City had difficulty keeping up with road and 16 street maintenance. With a less vigorous economy projected for some time to come, it does not seem to be 17 possible that the City could keep every implied road and street maintenance commitment. 18 The reality is, however,that the City does not know exactly how much that implied commitment is.While some 19 projects that have been in the works for years are continuously delayed for lack of funds(Government Drive being 20 the prime example), other urgent projects are added to the near-term list. Many of the roads that were built by 21 developers or through a direct assessment of petitioning property owners are still in their first life cycle,so major 22 maintenance expense has not been an issue.The City needs a greater understanding of these pending expenses. 23 It is also becoming more apparent that the assumptions behind the current road and street sections may be faulty, 24 or at least not in line with the public's financial expectations.For roads,it is always assumed that two cars must be 'S able to meet going in opposite direction at high speed without the need to slow down or yield.While being able to X16 drive 40 mph instead of 20 mph can save minutes on a trip,this design may be a luxury we are no longer willing to 27 pay for. 28 Similarly with City streets,the design in the traditional neighborhoods has also encouraged high-speed auto traffic 29 I at the expense of any other mode of travel. Not onlyjs the approach very expensive, it erodes private-sector Deleted:does 30 investment in areas where the City has significant additional investment in expensive public utilities(sewer,water, 31 storm sewer). The City's approach to streets needs to be reevaluated to ensure it creates value and attracts 32 additional private-sector investment to the City's neighborhoods. 33 POLICIES 34 The following policies are proposed to guide all future transportation—related decisions in Pequot Lakes: 35 Promote a safe transportation system.The most important design factor for a transportation system is safety. 36 Proven methods for increasing safety on rural roads are to slow speed and limit intersections. New roads and 37 reconstructed roads should use traffic calming designs to slow traffic. The number of intersections in new 38 developments should be limited,especially along collector roads.Within urban areas,crosswalks,clearly defined 39 I intersections, and narrowing of the roadway with vertical elements such as trees or store-fronts are needed to DRAFT-November 2010 35 1 P a g e