VT 103 Corridor Management Plan: Chester & Rockingham, VT
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VT 103 Corridor Management Plan: Chester & Rockingham, VT September 2009 VT 103 CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT PLAN STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS TOWN OF CHESTER TOWN OF ROCKINGHAM Julie Hance Ellen Howard Zoning Administrator Planning‐Zoning Administrator Dick Jewett Ann DiBernardo Selectboard Chair Selectboard member Tom Bock Alan LaCombe Planning Commission Chair, Local Business Owner, Planning Commission member Regional Planning Commissioner Bill Ackerman Bruce McEnaney VT Country Store Representative SWC Transportation Advisory Committee, Black River Produce David Boylan Woodland Tool Fred Bullock WR Transportation Committee Chair, Regional Planning Commissioner PROJECT STAFF: Costa Pappis, VTrans – Planning & Policy Del Thompson, VTrans – Utilities & Permits Matt Mann, Windham Regional Commission Jason Rasmussen, Southern Windsor Country Regional Planning Commission Report Prepared by: & Front Porch Community Planning & Design Report Prepared for: The Windham Regional Commission and the Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission, in cooperation with the Vermont Agency of Transportation, for the Towns of Chester and Rockingham. This report was funded in part through grant[s] from the Federal Highway Administration [and Federal Transit Administration], U.S. Department of Transportation. The views and opinions of the authors [or agency] expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the U. S. Department of Transportation. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................1 2.0 VISION AND GOALS ..................................................................................3 2.1 Vision Statement......................................................................................................................................3 2.2 Goals and Policies ....................................................................................................................................3 3.0 EXISTING CONDITIONS ..............................................................................6 3.1 Existing Land Use Assessment..................................................................................................................6 3.1.1 Existing Land Use along the Corridor .................................................................................................6 3.1.2 Identification of Environmental Features along the Corridor.............................................................8 3.1.3 Existing Corridor Management Policies and Practices .....................................................................13 3.2 Existing Transportation Assessment ......................................................................................................25 3.2.1 VT 103 Highway System Classification .............................................................................................25 3.2.2 Traffic Volume Assessment...............................................................................................................28 3.2.3 Corridor Safety Assessment..............................................................................................................38 3.2.4 Corridor Infrastructure Assessment..................................................................................................43 3.2.5 Multi‐Modal Transportation ............................................................................................................47 4.0 FUTURE CONDITIONS..............................................................................54 4.1 Future Land Use Projections ..................................................................................................................54 4.1.1 Summary of Buildout Analysis Results ‐ Chester ..............................................................................61 4.1.2 Summary of Buildout Analysis Results ‐ Rockingham.......................................................................63 4.2 Future Traffic Assessment......................................................................................................................76 4.2.1 Development and Background Traffic Growth.................................................................................76 4.2.2 2030 Volumes...................................................................................................................................76 4.3 Future Year Traffic Congestion Assessment...........................................................................................78 4.3.1 Congestion Analysis..........................................................................................................................78 4.3.2 Queuing Analysis ..............................................................................................................................80 4.3.3 Volume to Capacity Threshold Analysis............................................................................................82 4.3.4 Future Traffic Signal Warrants .........................................................................................................83 4.4 Future Transit Service ............................................................................................................................84 4.5 Future Safety..........................................................................................................................................85 5.0 RECOMMENDATIONS..............................................................................86 5.1 Initial Issues and Concerns.....................................................................................................................86 5.2 Summary of Corridor Recommendations ..............................................................................................87 5.3 Details of Corridor Recommendations...................................................................................................90 VT 103 Corridor Management Plan Final Report Page i LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Project Study Area .................................................................................................................................. 2 Figure 2: Map Showing Rural and Village Sections of the Corridor ....................................................................... 4 Figure 3: Existing Land Uses Adjacent to the Corridor........................................................................................... 7 Figure 4: Environmental Features – Agricultural Soils and Steep Slopes............................................................... 9 Figure 5: Environmental Features ‐ Wetlands and Flood Zones.......................................................................... 10 Figure 6: Environmental Features – Rare Species, Deer Wintering Areas, and Public Lands .............................. 11 Figure 7: Environmental Features – Wildlife Crossing......................................................................................... 12 Figure 8: Current Practice Matrix: Administrative Jurisdiction............................................................................ 13 Figure 9: Current Practice Matrix: Plan Policies, Recommendations .................................................................. 16 Figure 10: Current Practice Matrix: Development Regulations .......................................................................... 22 Figure 11: Conceptual Roadway Functional Hierarchy........................................................................................ 26 Figure 12: Functional Classification ..................................................................................................................... 27 Figure 13: Average Annual Daily Traffic Volume on VT 103 west of Narrow Road (1994‐2007)......................... 28 Figure 14: 2007 Seasonal Traffic Volume Fluctuations on VT 103 west of the Rockingham Hill Intersection..... 29 Figure 15: 2007 Daily Fluctuations....................................................................................................................... 29 Figure 16: 2009 Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Weekend Traffic....................................................................... 30 Figure 17: 2007 Seasonal Traffic and Business Fluctuations in Chester .............................................................. 31 Figure 18: 2009 AM Peak Hour Volumes............................................................................................................. 33 Figure 19: 2009 PM Peak Hour Volumes ............................................................................................................. 34 Figure 20: LOS D, E, or F Approaches................................................................................................................... 37 Figure 21: Crashes and High Crash Sections ........................................................................................................ 39 Figure 22: Collisions by Time of Day at HCL Intersection (VT 103/VT 11/Pleasant Street).................................. 40 Figure 23: Collisions by Time of Day at HCL Section (VT 103, mile marker 0.347‐0.647 in Chester)................... 40 Figure 24: Crash Details at the I‐91 Interchange ................................................................................................. 41 Figure 25: Crash Details at the Vermont Country Store ...................................................................................... 41 Figure