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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutesMay 11, 2006 ITEM NO.:_ 26 FILE NO.: M Name: Master Street Plan Amendment Location: Labette, John Barrow to Labette Manor Re uest: Remove Collector Source: Doris Wright, John Barrow Neighborhood Association PROPOSAL 1 REQUEST: The request is to remove Labette as a Collector from John Barrow Road to Labette Manor. Collectors connect Local Streets to the Arterial network to activity centers. They have a secondary function of providing access to adjoining property. Ideally the spacing of Collectors should be a quarter of a mile and not be continuous for long distances. Labette has been on the Master Street Plan for several decades and provides a connection between the Twin Lakes subdivision and John Barrow Road (an Arterial). The section under review for removal passes through an area of non-residential zoning. Thus any street built in this general location would have the same design standard as a Collector. All Local commercial streets are built to the Commercial Street Standard, which is the same as a Collector design standard. The Master Street Plan does not show any bike routes on Labette. Thus the requested change should have no impact on the bicycle section of the Master Street Plan. Labette is the only collector shown on the Plan from Kanis Road to 36th Street, west of John Barrow Road. This is a distance of over a mile. As noted earlier the standard spacing would suggest at least two Collectors should be in place. Labette has been on the Plan as a Collector for several decades. The portions currently built are constructed to Collector standards. Thus the current sections of Labette have the capacity of a Collector not a Local street. Without the connection, other streets will have to provide this function. These streets will not have been designed to serve Collector needs and are therefore likely to see road failures, higher than acceptable traffic volumes and speeds and unsafe conditions on those roadways. The connection functioning currently as the `Labette connection' is Labette Manor -Morris Manor. This road is built as a Local Street and bi-sects an May 11, 2006 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: 26 Cont. FILE NO.- MSP06-02 apartment complex. In addition a portion of the road is not a public street. That is, the connection is made using a private street. This is not desirable. First the street is not designed to function as a Collector (lane width and street curvatures. Second it bi-sects an apartment complex, which increases potential conflicts with pedestrians. And third as a private street there are additional maintenance and access issues. To not make the connection will require the continued use of a private road as a public street to connect the Twin Lakes neighborhood to John Barrow Road. CITY RECOGNIZED NEIGHBORHOOD ACTION PLAN: The application area is within the John Barrow Neighborhoods Plan area. The Plan does not have any objectives directly related to the request. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS: Notices were sent to the following neighborhood associations: John Barrow and Twin Lakes "A" Neighborhood Associations. Staff has received one comment against the change from a property owner along the alignment. STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff believes the change is not appropriate. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: (MAY 11, 2006) Walter Malone, Planning Staff, reviewed the area and some of the history on this case. Labette is the only proposed Collector from the Twin Lakes area to John Barrow Road. The two existing routes connection the Subdivision to John Barrow Road are both constructed as local streets and a portion of one is a private road. The portions of Labette already constructed are to Collector standard both to the east and west (in the single-family neighborhood). Staff believes Labette should remain on the Master Street Plan so that traffic will use a street designed for that traffic. Ms. Viola Belton, resident of Twin Lakes, expressed concerns about traffic problems in the area. Currently there are several opens into Twin Lakes `B' which causes security and traffic problems for the neighborhood (they have enough problems already). It would not be helping the neighborhood to open an arterial putting more traffic in the area. There are speed issues with people driving 50 in a 25. People cannot even get out of their driveways. She noted M May 11, 2006 SUBDIVISION ITEM NO.: 26 (Cont. FILE NO,: MSP06-02 that the traffic counts done on Romine were done Ester week with no school traffic. Romine was not built correctly. There was discussion about speed bumps and their location. She is against more traffic and the problems this brings for the police and neighborhood. The City needs to stop the traffic not add more. Ms. Marty Huett-Brown spoke in opposition to the remove. Ms. Brown owns a lot along Labette. To not make the connection would reduce the value of her lot. This road has been shown on the Plan for decades and to not to it would adversely affect her. Ms. Bernetta Leu, president of Twin Lakes 'B', expressed concerns about opening the roadway. She discussed speeding problems. The pool and recreation area of the association is near Labette Manor and Labette. If Labette were opened this would create a straight shot by their recreation facility where small children walk. She expressed concern about future injuries. The neighborhood is 'too' open now. We need to keep the neighborhood private but with several ways in and out it is not. The road should stay closed for the safety of elderly and children. Ms. Ruth Bell, League of Women Voters, agreed about the negative impacts of traffic. She indicated there was a need for a regional review of transportation needs (all forms). To remove Labette in the 'League's' view is not appropriate. Traffic moves like water through the path of least resistance. Without Labette traffic will flow on roads not constructed to handle the demand that will result in additional problems on those roads. Mike Hood, Public Works Staff, was asked a question about the situation. He indicated that the Traffic is already there. It is more appropriate to make the connection to move this traffic. When asked why this connection now and when it had never been made, Mr. Hood responded that it was developer driven. Developers build roads and until the adjacent properties are developed the roads usually do not get constructed. A motion was made to approve the request to remove Labette from the Master Street Plan. By a vote of 1 for and 9 against the motion failed. 2