Highway 2/2A Corridor Study
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Central Alberta Highways 2/2A Corridor Design Study December 2004 Central Alberta Highways 2/2A Corridor Design Study Table of Contents 1. Introduction...............................................................................1 1.1 Study Purpose ................................................................................. 2 1.2 Study Objectives .............................................................................. 2 2. The Highways 2/2A Corridor.......................................................3 2.1 Introduction...................................................................................... 3 2.2 Highway 2........................................................................................ 3 2.3 Highway 2A ..................................................................................... 4 2.4 Alberta Transportation Authority ........................................................ 5 3. Aesthetic Regulations from Partner Municipalities ......................7 4. Aesthetic Regulations from Other Municipalities.......................19 4.1 Introduction.................................................................................... 19 4.2 Other Municipalities........................................................................ 19 5. Billboards................................................................................24 5.1 Introduction.................................................................................... 24 5.2 Approaches to the Regulation of Billboards ...................................... 24 5.3 Conclusion..................................................................................... 26 6. Municipal and Public Consultation ...........................................27 6.1 Municipal Consultation.................................................................... 27 6.2 Public Consultation......................................................................... 27 6.3 Municipal and Public Response....................................................... 28 7. Conclusions and Recommendations ........................................30 7.1 Existing Plans and Regulations ....................................................... 30 7.2 Aesthetic Regulations from Other Municipalities ............................... 31 7.3 Regulation Coverage...................................................................... 32 7.4 Aesthetic Regulation Structure ........................................................ 32 7.5 Next Steps..................................................................................... 34 Appendix A Checklist for a Traffic Impact Assessment Appendix B Comment Sheet Appendix C Highway Corridor Overlay District Central Alberta i Lovatt Planning Consultants Inc. Highways 2/2A Corridor Design Study December 2004 1. Introduction Recently cited as the fastest growing region in the nation, the Highway 2/2A Corridor between Edmonton and Calgary is a magnet for commercial and industrial growth and development. Highway 2’s role as a critical link in the North American Trade Corridor (CANAMEX), combined with an active provincial economy, suggest that demand for such development along the Corridor will intensify in future. Average daily traffic volume on the Central Alberta segment of the highway is approaching 30,000 vehicles. This means that developments adjacent this segment are visible to more than 11 million vehicles annually. Highway 2A performs an increasingly important function as a regional arterial roadway linking urban and rural municipalities surrounding the City of Red Deer to the north and south. The segment of Highway 2A north of the City has the highest current traffic volume in Central Alberta at about 13,500 vehicles a day. This daily volume equates to almost 5.0 million vehicles annually driving by adjacent developments. By initiating the Central Alberta Highway 2/2A Corridor Design Study, 15 partner municipalities are assuming a proactive approach to promoting a common, high standard of design for future development along the highways. The benefits of promoting high design standards are both economic and social, in that new businesses may be attracted, property values may increase, and population growth may be stimulated. Also, the aesthetics of the built environment and the quality of life of area residents are linked in that improvement to the built environment may enhance quality of life for Central Alberta residents. For the purposes of this project, the Study Area is generally described as a strip of land on both sides of Highways 2 and 2A, from the north boundary of the County of Wetaskiwin, south to the south boundary of Mountain View County. Central Alberta 1 Lovatt Planning Consultants Inc. Highways 2/2A Corridor Design Study December 2004 The 15 partner municipalities participating in the Central Alberta Highways 2/2A Corridor Design Study are linked by these highways and include: • County of Wetaskiwin; • The Town of Millet; • The City of Wetaskiwin; • Ponoka County; • The Town of Ponoka; • Lacombe County; • The Town of Lacombe; • The Town of Blackfalds; • Red Deer County; • The City of Red Deer; • The Town of Penhold; • The Town of Innisfail; • The Town of Bowden; • Mountain View County; and, • The Town of Olds. 1.1 Study Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify common development guidelines that may be applied to all future commercial and industrial operations that are visible from Highways 2 and 2A, as well as development visible from those highways within the Study Area that connect Highways 2 and 2A. The primary focus of the study is to prepare appropriate common development design guidelines, and to recommend a coordinated approach to applying these guidelines to new development. 1.2 Study Objectives The following study objectives have been used to direct the study approach and methodology, and reflect the purpose of the study. • To complete a comprehensive inventory of existing and potential commercial and industrial land uses within the Study Area. • To complete a comprehensive inventory of the development design standards being applied by each of the participating municipalities as per approved statutory planning documents, Land Use Bylaws and municipal policy. • To investigate relevant examples of design standards and regulations being applied along high visibility corridors in other areas. • To identify common design standards and elements of existing guidelines that may appropriately be applied on a coordinated basis to all new commercial and industrial development within the Study Area. • To recommend a common best practice approach for Central Alberta municipalities in applying design standards to new and redeveloped commercial and industrial developments in the Study Area based on the study findings. Central Alberta 2 Lovatt Planning Consultants Inc. Highways 2/2A Corridor Design Study December 2004 2. The Highways 2/2A Corridor 2.1 Introduction The value of land along Highway 2 for economic development purposes is affected by traffic volumes with higher visibility locations perceived as having higher value. Visibility and land values may be greatest near interchanges because of additional traffic volumes generate by the intersecting highway. Access is also a significant factor in determining land value and economic development opportunities. Traffic volumes and access for Highway 2 and Highway 2A are discussed below. 2.2 Highway 2 Highway 2 is a four lane divided freeway with provision for widening to six lanes within current right-of-way limits. Alberta Transportation is the road authority for the highway, and is proposing to upgrade Highway 2 to full freeway standard. Full freeway standard means that no at-grade intersections with the highway will be permitted, and that all existing at grade accesses will be removed with alternative access provided by the local road system or parallel service roads. Access to Highway 2 will be limited to grade separated interchanges spaced at 6-10 mile (10-16 kilometre) intervals in rural areas. The spacing between interchanges may be reduced in urban areas, where higher traffic volumes result in increased access demands. However, Alberta Transportation’s draft Position Paper - Rationale for Planning and Design Standards – Freeway Facilities suggests that interchanges on a freeway in urban areas should be spaced at three (3)kilometres (or greater) intervals. Although Alberta Transportation is committed to developing Highway 2 to a full freeway standard, the staging of the improvements required to bring the roadway to the desired standard is dependent on the availability of funding. Interchange construction and median widening from Bowden to Innisfail is a current example of ongoing improvements based on funding availability. Traffic volumes on Highway 2 and the intersecting highways in the Study Area are increasing (see Figure 1). Volumes at all intersection locations increased by more than 20% over the ten year period between 1994 and 2003, with three of the fourteen locations increasing by more than 30%. Within the Study Area, Highway 2 traffic volumes are highest between Highway 11 (67 Street) and 32nd Street, where traffic volumes have increased in excess of 35% in the last 10 years, and about 20% in the last five years. Volumes generally decrease proportional to the distance further north or south of this location. The exception is the segment between Highway 53 at Ponoka, and Highway 13 at the Wetaskiwin turn-off, where traffic volumes are the lowest at 18,880 vehicles