Workshop Item Dan Schluender, City Engineer
Title
Title
Road Extensions and Policy Discussion
end
Executive Summary
Staff has identified several roadway extension or unpaved roads that are key to the city’s transportation network. Staff is seeking Council feedback to determine if there is a desire to take the lead in construction of these improvements ahead of development and to potentially stimulate development.
Background
The following roadway corridors have been identified on the city’s network as future connections or extensions. The current practice is for the city to wait for development to construct the street improvements with their project(s). Several of the identified road extensions will be difficult for development to construct as they are larger roadways with limited development potential surrounding them.
The City has developed to the point where many of these will benefit the larger areas surrounding them or the city transportation network as a whole.
Staff would like to discuss the following corridors;
1. Lakes Parkway Extension - Existing Lakes Parkway to Lexington Avenue.
2. Zest Street Extension - Future Lakes Parkway to 125th Avenue.
3. 131st Avenue - Existing 131st Avenue to Legacy Creek Parkway.
4. Naples Street Extension - Existing Naples Street to 109th Avenue.
5. 105th Avenue Extension - Naples Street to Pheasant Ridge Drive.
Staff will present these corridors and discuss the individual specific issues for each. The following is a short list of difficulties that staff continues to hear from developers as they look at property concerning some of these areas.
• The collector street or parkway style roadway is too large to be able to recover the costs with the available surrounding upland.
• The street extension can be accomplished from one end, but the sewer and water need to come from the other end making it difficult to phase or fund the entire project all at once.
• Not all of the properties along a roadway want to develop at the same time.
• Can the city install the improvements and assess the cost to the adjacent parcels?
Strategic Plan Relationship
Providing a safe and well maintained infrastructure.
Financial Impact
Staff will review the funding options available for each of these extensions. Many of these roadways are identified as State Aid corridors and would be eligible for State Aid funds to construct the street portion, but they would compete for funds with the city’s other State Aid system street projects. Other road extensions could be assessed to the benefitting properties. Another option is a combination where the city would pay for any additional width required for the road and the property owner/developer would be assessed or pay for a typical road.
The utility portion of these projects would either be funded with city’s existing utility enterprise funds, assessed to the benefitting properties. As utility projects, there is the potentially that they be paid for with the American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds.
Staff Recommendation
Discuss if these roadway connections or extensions should be constructed ahead of or with development and with what level of city participation.