PROJECT STATEMENT LOCATION/DESIGN PUBLIC HEARING 19 th AVENUE NORTH EXTENSION PROJECT FROM SPRINGDALE DRIVE TO NORTH 2 ND STREET/U.S. 67 HEARING LOCATION: ERICKSEN COMMUNITY CENTER 1401 11 TH AVENUE NORTH CLINTON, IOWA 52732 OCTOBER 15 th, 2009 Prepared by: City of Clinton, Iowa Snyder & Associates, Inc.
LOCATION/DESIGN PUBLIC HEARING City of Clinton, Iowa Date of Hearing: October 15 th, 2009 INTRODUCTION The City of Clinton is conducting the Location/Design Public Hearing to present the results of the Environmental Assessment and to acquaint the citizens of Clinton and surrounding areas with the proposed extension of 19 th Avenue North from Springdale Drive to North 2 nd Street/U.S. 67. This public hearing is intended to give the City an opportunity to explain the project and allow the public an opportunity to express their opinions regarding the proposed improvement. Consideration will be given to all suggestions received. This is your opportunity to express views, either as an individual or a group representative. The City encourages oral and written statements pertinent to the project. Written statements or exhibits may be mailed to Jenifer Croat, Snyder & Associates, Inc., 2727 SW Snyder Blvd, Ankeny, IA 50023. Deadline for receipt of the statements or exhibits for inclusion in the printed transcript is November 16 th, 2009; however, all correspondence received after this date will be included in the project file and reviewed as this project is developed. Information regarding the proposed project is available for public inspection. This hearing satisfies the public involvement process required by federal and state regulations and helps assure that social, economic, and environmental effects are identified. For this reason, an audio recording station will be set up to receive oral comments at the hearing. Hearing transcripts are provided to City staff, elected officials, and to the Federal Highway Administration for their review before the project is approved for development. A copy will be available at the Clinton County Administration Building for inspection. HEARING FORMAT The purpose of this public hearing is to present factual information about the proposed project, to hear the views of the public and to incorporate this information into final improvements that will best serve the public. The following procedures will be used in the public hearing: 1. Individual discussion with City staff and project consultants. Display maps will be available at the hearing to review specific questions about the project. 2. Acceptance of oral and written statements from citizens at the hearing. Oral statements will be accepted at the audio recording station. Written statements may be accepted following the hearing. Those received by November 16 th, 2009 will become a part of the public hearing transcript.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION The purpose of the 19 th Avenue North Extension project is to provide a roadway connection between Mill Creek Parkway and U.S. 67 that will reduce congestion and improve safety on key transportation corridors and promote economic development opportunities in the Mill Creek Parkway area in Clinton, Iowa. The segment of the project between Mill Creek Parkway and Springdale Drive has already been approved (Categorical Exclusion signed 5/16/2007), and is planned to be constructed in 2010. The need for the proposed 19th Avenue North Extension project is based on a combination of factors relating to transportation system improvements and supporting economic development in the Clinton metropolitan area. The proposed action is projected to address the following needs: Inadequate east-west arterial roadway network and increasing traffic congestion on U.S. 30/67 Local street network safety concerns Consistency with existing and planned economic development ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED Several alternatives for this project were developed in consultation with the City and local representatives. These alternatives included a No Action Alternative and several construction alternatives. No Action Alternative: This alternative provides a basis for comparison with other potential alternatives presented through the initial stages of the planning and design process. It will be evaluated based on the project s purpose and need. The existing 19th Avenue North has substandard geometry to support the projected traffic volumes and the pavement is in very poor condition. Improvements are required to meet current design standards. Also, if no changes are made to the transportation system, regional traffic will continue to use U.S. 30 as a primary route to the river bridges. As a result, regional trips will experience increasingly longer travel times and slower travel speeds due to increasing traffic volumes. For these reasons, the No Build option does not meet the project s purpose and need. Although the No-Build Alternative does not meet the purpose and need, it has been retained in the document for comparison purposes pursuant to NEPA. Construction Alternatives: Three construction alternatives were evaluated, including the preferred alternative and two alternatives considered but dismissed. Preferred Alternative: The Build Alternative extends 19 th Avenue North as a new twolane divided roadway with left turn lanes at key intersections from Springdale Drive to existing 19 th Avenue North at Randall Court to complete the Clinton Beltway. From
Randall Court east to North 2 nd Street, existing 19 th Avenue North is proposed to be reconstructed to a three-lane facility with a continuous two way left turn lane (TWLTL). The west terminus of this new connection would connect to the previously approved phase of the project between Mill Creek Parkway and Springdale Drive. Therefore, the new connection would provide North Mississippi River Bridge traffic direct routes through the city and facilitate more efficient travel paths for Lyons Business Park users and employees by creating a continuous connection between Mill Creek Parkway and U.S. 67/2 nd Avenue. In doing so, the 19 th Avenue North connector would reduce congestion on the U.S. 30/67 corridors, a City need documented by the Origin and Destination Study for Clinton and Camanche in 1981. Pedestrian and bicycle accommodations would be included throughout the entire alignment. Proper access management would make the corridor attractive for regional trips by increasing roadway capacity and decreasing vehicle delay and potential vehicle conflicts. The preferred alternative would improve the traffic flow within the northern portion of Clinton and reduce congestion on U.S. 30/67 and IA 136 by providing a parallel alternate route. The out-of-distance travel would be reduced with this more direct route, and at the same time, it would provide access to development areas within the corridor. Alternatives Considered but Dismissed: The remaining two alternatives involved use of existing local roads rather than the planned Beltway. Alternative B proposed that Beltway traffic utilize a northern route via the existing North 2 nd Street/U.S. 67 and Main Avenue/U.S. 67/IA 136. Alternative B required additional roadway capacity on IA 136 through the Lyons District to accommodate projected traffic growth. If U.S. 30 traffic increases as projected (due to Iowa and Illinois regional facility improvements), Main Avenue would only increase in congestion and serve as a bottleneck in the regional system. Using IA 136 as its primary access to the Lyons-Fulton Bridge, Lyons Business Park traffic would have to travel approximately 2.37 miles to the bridge as compared to the approximately 1.6 miles from the business park due east on 19 th Avenue North to the Mississippi River. The completion of the Lyons Business Park on Mill Creek Parkway is projected to increase Main Avenue traffic if a new route is not constructed. Because Alternative B could increase roadway congestion, it did not meet the project purpose and need and was dismissed. Alternative C proposed that Beltway traffic utilize a southern route on existing 13 th Avenue North. Using 13 th Avenue North as its primary access to the Lyons-Fulton Bridge, Lyons Business Park traffic would have to travel approximately 4.2 miles south on Mill Creek Parkway, east on 13 th Avenue, and north on 2 nd Street for bridge access as compared to the approximately 1.6 miles from the business park due east on 19 th Avenue North to the Mississippi River.
Because 13 th Avenue would result in substantially longer out-of-distance travel, as compared to the proposed 19th Avenue North Extension, and has substandard roadway geometry that cannot adequately support regional traffic (including heavy trucks), Alternative C did not meet the project purpose and need and was dismissed. SECTION 4(F) RESOURCE IMPACTS Although the preferred alternative met the project purpose and need, it was determined to potentially impact the Joyce House and impact the Joyce House s outbuilding, the Foy Poultry Building. It was also found that these buildings were part of a potential historic district, the North 3 rd Street Historic District. At North 3 rd Street, the 19 th Avenue North corridor extends through the potential North 3 rd Street Historic District. The potential historic district contains three homes between 18 th and 19 th Avenues North; the homes and their lots (one contiguous area) comprise the historic district, which is eligible for the National Historic District: The Cotton House (built in 1853) The Arlen House (built in 1887) The Joyce/Sardam/Foy House (hereafter referred to as the Joyce House, and built in 1865) To minimize impacts to the Joyce property, the proposed roadway profile would be raised as high as possible without residential relocation and as allowed by the current design standards. Retaining walls would be used to eliminate impacts to the Joyce House and modern garage. However, an elevation change would eliminate the possibility of constructing an acceptable driveway from 19 th Avenue North to the Foy Building since the garage doors are on the existing right of way line. A retaining wall could be used to avoid removal of the Foy Building; however, the garage doors would no longer be useful at the top of a retaining wall. Therefore, the building would still be impacted. Given the Foy Building s proximity, there were no minimization efforts available. Removal of the Foy Building would allow for better access to the Joyce House and modern garage. Avoidance Alternatives: Along with the minimization efforts, two avoidance alternatives were considered for the project. To avoid impacting the property, the main options were shifting the roadway away from the property or minimizing the improvements to the roadway (therefore improving multiple roads to meet the proposed traffic volumes). The impacts to the Clinton County Administration Building from shifting the roadway to avoid the Foy Building would result in the complete loss of the building s loading dock as well as the loss of 27 of the 95 (or 28%) existing parking spaces, which made this option imprudent.
A one-way paired streets alternative was developed using 18 th Avenue North and 19 th Avenue North as the paired streets. These streets would be turned into one-way streets running in opposite directions to accommodate the increased traffic volumes. The oneway pair alternative would require improvements to both 18 th and 19 th Avenues North and a transition back to two-way streets both at the start and conclusion of the one-way pair. Due to the proximity of the Foy Poultry Building to the existing roadway, any improvement to 19 th Avenue North in its current alignment would require removal of the structure. In addition, improvements on 18 th Avenue North as part of the one-way pair alternative would impact the Cotton House, part of the North 3 rd Street Historic District and individually eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The one-way pair option was found to be imprudent due to the additional historical structure impacts, the amount of right of way required for the road transitions, and the costs associated with effectively doubling the length of street improvements. Measures to Minimize Harm: In order to minimize harm to the Joyce House (Joyce/Sardam/Foy) property, retaining walls will be constructed to minimize impacts. To mitigate for the loss of the Foy Poultry Building, the City will document the history of the Joyce property and develop a public display board and brochures about the property. The display and brochure will be used to tell the story of the Foy Poultry Farm and how it has affected the local and regional history in the first half of the 19 th Century. The information should raise public awareness of the rich heritage of the poultry industry in Clinton.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS A Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) has been written for this project. The Draft EA was made available for review to state and local planning agencies and the public on September 21, 2009. The review for this Draft EA ends on November 16, 2009. The public hearing comment period also extends to November 16, 2009. Summary of Environmental Effects The Draft EA presents a written evaluation of the expected social, economic, and environmental effects of the proposed project. Some of the significant impacts that have been identified in the Draft EA for the Preferred Alternative are as follows: Issue No Action Alternative Proposed Alternative Approximate Length (mi) 0.42 1.12 Average Daily Traffic (Design Year 2030) 4,000 8,000-11,000 ROW Acquisition (ac) 0 9.3 Farmland Impacts (ac) 0 0 Wetland Impacts (ac) 0 0.05 Surface Water Impacts (Ponds) (ac) 0 0 Woodland Impacts (ac) 0 0 Displacements 0 1 Noise Impacts (Number of Receptors) 3 3 Bike/Recreational Trail No Change to Current Trail System Proposed Connection between Trail at Springdale Dr to the Trail over the North Mississippi River Bridge Public Comment Copies of the written Draft EA are available at this hearing for your inspection. All persons are invited to review the Draft EA and submit their written comments. Project Schedule Following this Location/Design Public Hearing, the City expects to receive public comments by November 16, 2009. Additional comments are expected from local, state, and federal agencies as part of the Environmental Assessment review. After addressing the above comments, the City expects to make a final determination on whether to proceed with the project. If the City decides to proceed, final design and right-of-way acquisition for Phase II (Springdale Drive to approximately 1000 feet west of Randall Court) of the roadway could begin in late 2009. Construction of Phase II could occur in 2010. Phase III (from end of Phase II to North 2 nd Street/U.S. 67) final design and right-of-way acquisition could occur in 2010 with construction to occur in 2011.
RIGHT-OF-WAY Clinton s policy provides for appraisal of property and/or property rights needed for each project. These appraisals use professional techniques and methods to determine just compensation in accordance with federal and state constitutions, laws, and regulations. The appraisals are prepared to assure fair treatment for both the property owner and the public. After the appraisals are completed, each owner is contacted by a right-of-way agent for the purpose of explaining the plans and appraisals and for contracting the required right-of-way. In instances where an agreement cannot be reached through negotiations, the property may be acquired by the laws of eminent domain. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION If you have any comments on the proposed project or questions about its development, please make your comments known at this hearing or forward them on the attached Citizen Comment Form. All comments received by November 16, 2009 will be included in the public hearing transcript. Thank you for your participation in this hearing.