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Transportation and Land Use in Livingston

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Transportation and Land Use in Livingston YEAR 2001 COMMISSIONERS AND STAFF LIVINGSTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS David J. Domas, Chair David J. Reader, Vice-Chair William C. Rogers, Department of Planning Liaison John E. La Belle Richard P. Andersen Martin F. Belser Katie L. Chrysler David C. Hamilton David V. J. Linksz LIVINGSTON COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION Reid Krinock, Chair Alice M. Wyland, Vice Chair Bethany Hammond Scott T. Hoeft Sylvia Kennedy-Carrasco James Sparks Ronald Van Houten PLANNING DEPARTMENT TEAM William D. Wagoner, AICP, Director Kathleen J. Kline-Hudson, Assistant Director Jill A. S. Thacher, AICP, Principal Planner Brian M. Frantz, Principal Planner Brian J. Shorkey, Planner Robert A. Stanford, Planner TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN Spring 2001 This report was prepared by the Livingston County Department of Planning and made possible through the support of the Livingston County Board of Commissioners. Livingston County Department of Planning Administration Building 304 E. Grand River Avenue Howell, Michigan 48843-2323 Office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Call (517) 546-7555 for more information or assistance. Table of Contents Introduction .................................................... i Section 1: Transportation .......................................... 1 Transportation and Community Development: A Historical Perspective ...... 1 Transportation and Employment ................................. 1 The Livingston County Transportation System ........................ 5 Transportation Planning Influences in Livingston County ................ 25 Important Issues Concerning Future Transportation Needs .............. 31 Transportation Funding ...................................... 37 Goals and Strategies ........................................ 39 Section 2: Land Use ............................................. 42 Introduction .............................................. 42 Current Land Use Profile ..................................... 43 Land Use Conflicts and Zoning ................................. 48 Corridor Conservation and Greenways ............................ 52 Goals and Strategies ........................................ 53 Section 3: Policy Implications ....................................... 63 Land Use and Transportation .................................. 63 Planned Growth in Livingston County ............................ 64 A Shared Approach ........................................ 66 Land Use & Transportation Implications ........................... 67 Community Policy Program/Initiatives ............................ 70 Appendix I: Current Land Use Classifications ............................ 72 Introduction Transportation and land use can be studied as separate topics, but the effects of either one will always impact the other. They are inextricably intertwined, as are many other spheres of planning. This report focuses on the county’ s transportation system, land use issues, and the relationship between them in an attempt to arm the county’ s twenty communities with information with information that enables good decision making. This report is the third in a series of working papers that provide background information for the formation of the Livingston County Comprehensive Plan. Its predecessors, Economic Development in Livingston County, Michigan: A Primer, and Land Use Analyses in Livingston County, Michigan are available from County Planning. For the reader’ s information, it is anticipated that the state Coordinated Planning Act will pass this year or in the foreseeable future. The Act would impact the structure of county level planning in particular. The information in this report and the Livingston County general plan process are designed to align favorably with the expected requirements of the state Act. Livingston County Department of Planning i Section 1: Transportation One of the most vital elements of Livingston County is its transportation system, particularly its network of roads, streets and highways. A good roadway TRANSPORTATION AND system is essential to the orderly EMPLOYMENT functioning of a county in order to provide mobility for its people, consumer goods Land use and circulation elements can be and services, as well as access to land. considered mismatched if the development Within this context, the following report permitted would overwhelm available and profiles the county’ s existing proposed transportation facilities, or if the transportation system, identifies current size, configuration and location of and potential conflicts and deficiencies transportation facilities do not correspond within the system, and provides a set of to what is needed for efficient circulation suggested goals and strategies with which and access1. Having a clear understanding to properly plan for future transportation of the factors which influence needs as a result of projected population transportation, in other words determining and development trends. why, where, when and how people travel, helps planners examine current traffic TRANSPORTATION AND volumes, safety conditions, needed COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: A roadway improvements, and the HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE availability of alternative means of transportation. By comparing this Some of the county’ s major thoroughfares information with population projections began as Indian paths, including Grand and land use trends, local officials and River Avenue and White Lake Road. The planners are able to make better decisions Grand River Trail ran from Detroit to regarding future transportation Lansing, and Livingston Center, as the City requirements. of Howell was then called, was a convenient stagecoach stop midway Evaluating the current conditions of the between the two cities. At one time Grand county’ s transportation system is a River Avenue was one of the state’ s most daunting task, as there are many elements traveled plank roads. Planks ranging from to consider. To begin, an examination of eight to sixteen feet in length were placed the general commuting patterns of the upon underlying boards to create a surface population provides a basic step towards far superior to the open ground. The accomplishing this task. location of toll houses near Howell, Brighton and Fowlerville did much to establish these communities as centers of activities for settlers and people traveling 1 Kaiser, Godschalk and Chapin, Urban between Detroit and Lansing. Land Use Planning, Fourth Edition, University of Illinois, 1995, p. 231. Livingston County Department of Planning 1 Why and Where do People Travel? According to the U.S. Census, the For the most part, people travel on a daily proportion of residents who commute to basis to and from their place of work outside Livingston County increased employment. Travel on a non-work basis is steadily over the last two decades, from usually for shopping, social, or recreational 45% in 1970 to 53% in 1980 and 57% purposes. in 1990. In 1990 Livingston County recorded 57,448 residents who are The favorable geographic position of employed, of which 24,648 (42.9%) Livingston County, surrounded on four worked in the county (See Table 1). sides by the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Flint, Lansing and Ann Arbor, makes it an attractive location for families who choose to reside outside of the community in which they work (See Figure 1). FIGURE 1. Livingston County - Regional Setting 2 Livingston County Department of Planning Livingston County Department of Planning 3 More specifically, areas that retained the live within 30 minutes of their place of highest percentages of their workers within employment, compared to 71% of the county were the Village of Fowlerville residents statewide. (77%), the City of Howell (71%), and the townships of Handy (66%), Cohoctah How do People Travel? (64%), and Iosco (64%). Areas that According to the 1990 U.S. Census, exported the highest percentages of their approximately 85% of Livingston County workers to employers outside the county residents commuted to work via private were the border townships of Tyrone automobile, and just under 11% (88%), Green Oak (70%), Hamburg carpooled (see Table 5 for carpool parking (69%), Hartland (66%) and Unadilla lots)). These figures nearly mirror state (65%) (See Table 1). averages for both means of travel. Areas within the county with the highest rate of The county exports approximately 17.9% carpooling were the townships of of its resident workers to Oakland County, Cohoctah (16%) and Deerfield (14%), 15.2% to Washtenaw County and 13.8% and the Village of Fowlerville (17%). Less to Wayne County. The county imports than 1% of county residents utilized some approximately 15,000 workers, of which form of public transportation to get to 7.6% come from Oakland County, 4.7% work. The highest percentages were from Ingham County, 4.2% from observed in the townships of Genoa, Washtenaw, 3.9% from Genesee County Howell and Hamburg. and 3.1% from Wayne County. Only 1% of workers within the county When do People Travel? utilized non-motorized forms of U.S. Census data shows that residents of transportation to get to work (i.e. bicycles, Livingston County tend to depart for work walking). The relatively small number of earlier than the state average. Nearly 60% workers in the county who utilize public of county residents leave for work between transportation to get to work may be the hours of 5:00 am and 8:00 am, as attributable to several factors, including compared to 53% for the state for the the inherently rural nature of the county, a same time periods. Traffic
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