VT 100 ACCESS MANAGEMENT PLAN Waterbury, Stowe, and Morristown, VT
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Documentation for: VT 100 ACCESS MANAGEMENT PLAN Waterbury, Stowe, and Morristown, VT Prepared for: Lamoille County Planning Commission; and Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission 30 November 2004 Final Report MEMORANDUM To: David Pelletier, Lamoille County Planning Commission Steve Gladczuk, Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission From: Joseph Segale, P.E. Subject: VT 100 Access Management Plan Date: 30 November 2004 Resource Systems Group, in partnership with Burnt Rock Associates in Community Planning, is pleased to present the attached final report for the VT 100 Access Management Plan. The study area extends along VT 100 from US 2 in Waterbury, through Stowe, to VT 15 in Morristown. The attached plan: Evaluates existing land use and transportation system issues and includes sketch plans to address existing access management deficiencies; Estimates build-out and twenty-year development scenarios for parcels adjacent to VT 100 and identifies land use, traffic, and access management issues for the year 2025; Develops and analyzes highway system alternatives and makes recommendations to address 2025 issues; and Recommends administrative tools to help implement effective access management techniques through municipal land use plans and regulations, and coordination between the three towns and the Vermont Agency of Transportation. This plan updates the work completed in the 1993 VT Route 100 Corridor Study, which identified access management and land use planning as two areas that should be investigated further to help preserve mobility along VT 100 without additional travel lanes. The recommendations can be used by the LCPC, CVRPC, and VTrans as they work together to identify and implement different transportation projects along VT 100. The land use recommendations should be reviewed by the different municipalities in the study area and incorporated into land use plans and regulatory documents as they are developed and updated. Thank you for the opportunity to assist the LCPC, CVRPC, and members of the Project Advisory Committee with developing this plan. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..............................................................................................................................I EXISTING TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM FINDINGS .............................................................................II LAND USE INVENTORY, PLANNING, AND REGULATORY FINDINGS ...............................................III FUTURE CONDITIONS...........................................................................................................................III TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................. IV ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................ V INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................................1 STUDY ORIGINS .....................................................................................................................................1 STUDY PROCESS AND ORGANIZATION ..............................................................................................2 STUDY AREA...........................................................................................................................................2 SECTION 1.0 – ACCESS MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW .............................................................................4 ACCESS MANAGEMENT: SYSTEM-WIDE CONCEPTS ........................................................................4 ACCESS MANAGEMENT: LOCATION SPECIFIC DESIGN CONCEPTS ..............................................6 REGULATING ACCESS...........................................................................................................................6 SECTION 2.0 – EXISTING LAND USE CONDITIONS..............................................................................12 VISUAL INVENTORY.............................................................................................................................12 MUNICIPAL PLANS AND BYLAWS.......................................................................................................14 EXISTING LAND USE ............................................................................................................................17 EMERGING LAND USE PATTERNS .....................................................................................................18 EXISTING LAND USE FINDINGS..........................................................................................................19 SECTION 3.0 EXISTING HIGHWAY SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS AND PERFORMANCE.................21 GENERAL HIGHWAY CHARACTERISTICS..........................................................................................21 TRAVEL PATTERNS..............................................................................................................................22 EXISTING ACCESS MANAGEMENT ISSUES ......................................................................................24 CONGESTION........................................................................................................................................28 SAFETY..................................................................................................................................................32 FINDINGS: EXISTING TRANSPORTATION AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT CONDITIONS...............34 SECTION 4.0 PUBLIC MEETINGS ...........................................................................................................37 LOCAL AND REGIONAL CONCERNS MEETINGS...............................................................................37 COMMON THEMES ...............................................................................................................................37 DRAFT PLAN PUBLIC MEETINGS........................................................................................................39 SECTION 5.0 FUTURE LAND USE, TRAFFIC, AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT ISSUES.......................39 FUTURE LAND USE SCENARIOS ........................................................................................................39 FUTURE TRAFFIC VOLUMES...............................................................................................................44 CONGESTION IN 2025 ..........................................................................................................................48 SAFETY IN 2025 ....................................................................................................................................53 FINDNGS: 2025 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT ISSUES....................................54 SECTION 6.0 HIGHWAY SYTEM: ALTERNATIVES AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................55 IMPACTS OF THE ALTERNATE TRUCK ROUTE ON THE VT 100 STUDY AREA..............................55 INTERSECTION ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS.......................................................................................60 FUTURE CONDITIONS: FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS........................................................70 SECTION 7.0 LAND USE PLANNING AND REGULATIONS: OPTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .72 ADMINISTRATIVE ACCESS MANAGEMENT TOOLS ..........................................................................73 THE MUNICIPAL PLAN..........................................................................................................................73 NON-REGULATORY ACCESS MANAGEMENT TOOLS ......................................................................75 REGULATORY ACCESS MANAGEMENT TOOLS................................................................................77 ACCESS MANAGEMENT COORDINATION .........................................................................................86 ADMINSTRATIVE ACCESS MANAGAMENT RECOMMEMDATIONS..................................................89 SECTION 8.0 SUMMARY..........................................................................................................................94 REFERENCES...........................................................................................................................................95 Resource Systems Group, Inc. with Burnt Rock Inc. Page 2 APPENDICES (PROVIDED IN SEPARATE DOCUMENT) APPENDIX A: SUMMARY OF 1993 VT 100 ACCESS MANAGEMENT STUDY AND OTHER RELEVANT STUDIES APPENDIX B: EXISTING ACCESS MANAGEMENT ISSUES AND IMPROVEMENT SKETCH PLANS APPENDIX C: VISUAL INVENTORY PHOTOS AND DETAILED LAND USE REGULATION ANALYSIS APPENDIX D: LOCAL AND REGIONAL CONCERNS MEETINGS APPENDIX E: TECHNICAL METHODOLOGIES FOR LAND USE PROJECTIONS, BACKGROUND TRAFFIC GROWTH, ESTIMATING ATR DHV VOLUMES, NEW TOWN ROAD TRIP DIVERSION, INTERSECTION ALTERNATIVES SCREENING APPENDIX F: DRAFT MODEL LANGUAGE – ROUTE 100 ACCESS MANAGEMENT OVERLAY DISTRICT APPENDIX G: TRAFFIC VOLUMES APPENDIX H: SAFETY DATA LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Functional Classification of Study Intersections ................................................................................... 5 Table 2. VTrans Access Management Categories................................................................................................. 9 Table 3. Summary of Local Access Management Provisions ...........................................................................11 Table 4. Municipal Plans and Bylaws Reviewed..................................................................................................14