HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 04/12/2016 - COLLEGE AND PROSPECT INTERSECTION DESIGN CONCEPTS (2)DATE:
STAFF:
April 12, 2016
Dean Klingner, Engineer & Capital Project Manager
Rick Richter, Director of Infrastructure Services
Laurie Kadrich, Director of PDT
WORK SESSION ITEM
City Council
SUBJECT FOR DISCUSSION
College and Prospect Intersection Design Concepts.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this item is to seek Council input regarding the proposed intersection improvements at College
and Prospect. Right-of-way acquisition is required from six commercial and two residential adjacent properties.
The six commercial properties were brought to Council on April 5 for eminent domain authorization, if necessary,
and discussions are on-going with the two residential properties.
The Prospect Road and College Avenue Intersection Improvements Project is a collaborative project between the
City of Fort Collins and Colorado State University (CSU). As a part of the construction of the Medical Center,
CSU is required to make frontage and operational improvements generally located in the northwest quadrant of
the intersection. The City has identified additional improvements intended to improve long-standing congestion
and safety problems in the area. The project proposes road and intersection improvements, multimodal
enhancements, utility improvements, and access control improvements. This project is intended to address
existing congestion and safety problems at the intersection and improve connectivity for bicycles and pedestrians.
The project team has been meeting with affected property owners and exploring the full range of design options
over the last several months, with an emphasis on context sensitive design approaches that balance the
operational and safety needs of the intersection with property impacts. Through this design process, the City has
identified two primary design options that satisfy the goals of the project while balancing property impacts.
City staff is seeking Council input on the proposed design options.
GENERAL DIRECTION SOUGHT AND SPECIFIC QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED
What feedback does Council have regarding the Recommended Concept for the College and Prospect
intersection?
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
The Prospect and College intersection was identified as a high priority for congestion and safety improvements in
the City’s Arterial Intersection Study (2011). The intersection has some of the highest traffic volumes in the entire
city (70,000 vehicles/day) in addition to high numbers of crashes, significant congestion in peak travel times,
substandard bicycle and pedestrian facilities and insufficient turn lanes. Turn lane improvements and improved
signal timing will be implemented to reduce congestion, while re-designed medians and bicycle and pedestrian
facilities will update the look, feel and functionality of the intersection for all modes of transportation
As part of the 2011 Transportation Master Plan the College and Prospect intersection was identified as a
Gateway Intersection; on the Master Street Plan, it is identified as an Enhanced Travel Corridor. In coordination
with the City’s Streetscape Standards, this provides guidance on the look and feel of the intersection as a unique,
inviting, functional, well-integrated, mixed-use intersection and corridor. College Avenue is also the eastern limit
of the West Central Area Plan, and this project will incorporate improvements for the intersection consistent with
the recommendations of the West Central Area Plan.
April 12, 2016 Page 2
The Project Team has met with property owners and had detailed discussions regarding the design and process
moving forward with this project. Since the middle of January there have been approximately 20 meetings with
the affected owners in this area; nearly 10 (formal and informal) meetings were with residential property owners.
Many of the conversations centered on design flexibility and Context Sensitive Design in order to minimize
impacts to the properties. The property owners have suggested several design alternatives. Unfortunately, none
of these options have proven to be viable for safety and design reasons.
The project has identified several areas of flexibility with the design, including lane widths, intersection offsets,
geometry, horizontal curves, transition lengths, operations, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, medians, landscape
and urban design, etc. All of these options are interrelated and have an effect on the overall intersection design
and alignment. The project team has looked at the flexibility of all of these options over the last several months
and presented options that meet the goals and needs of the project. The design flexibility is reflected in the
overall cross-section width. The City’s standard cross section width for a constrained arterial roadway is 102 feet
(115 feet for full City standard). The West Central Corridor Plan identified a narrower cross section of 88 feet for
particularly constrained areas along west Prospect Road. The current proposed cross section in front of the
residential properties has been narrowed to 71 feet by modifying the design standards as much as possible with a
Context Sensitive Design approach.
The Draft Recommended Concept provides dual westbound to southbound left turns. The Project Team’s
conclusion is that this design provides the most benefit to the operation, safety and functionality of the intersection
while still balancing impacts to the adjacent properties. In order to implement this, there are impacts to the east
side of the residential property north of Prospect Road. This option would provide a 20-25% reduction in
congestion/delay at the intersection.
The property owner at the northwest corner of Remington and Prospect is opposed to any impact to the concrete
wall on the southern edge of the property. In response to this feedback, the Project Team has also developed an
alternative that limits these impacts. This option eliminates one of the westbound left turn lanes, which would
provide approximately half of the congestion relief benefit of the dual westbound left turn lanes. It also leaves the
existing narrow sidewalk in place as both a pedestrian and bicycle facility. This option allows the wall to remain in
its existing location directly adjacent to the house.
The team has determined that it is not feasible to maintain dual lefts without impacting the east side of the
residential property. If the east side is not impacted, the dual lefts are not able to be implemented in a way that
does not raise safety concerns due to a compromised design.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Preferred Design Alternative (dual left turns) (PDF)
2. Single Westbound Left Turn Lane Design (PDF)
3. Powerpoint presentation (PDF)
DUAL LEFT OPTION
ATTACHMENT 1
SINGLE LEFT TURN
ATTACHMENT 2
1
College and Prospect –
Proposed Intersection Improvements
4-12-16
ATTACHMENT 3
Direction Sought
What feedback does Council have regarding the
Recommended Concept for the College and Prospect
intersection?
2
Project Context
3
Project Need & Goals
Existing:
• 70,000 vehicles/day
• High congestion
• Narrow sidewalks, sub-standard turn lanes
Goals:
• Reduce congestion
• Safety – pedestrians, bicycles, vehicles
• Landscaping/Urban Design/Gateway
• Minimize adjacent property impacts
4
Design Alternatives Process
• Full range of alternatives and iterations considered
• Context Sensitive – Flexible standards without affecting safety
• Congestion Relief is key outcome
• Constrained corridor = compromise
• Design for all modes
• Incorporate feedback from property owners
5
Draft Recommended Concept
Key Design Elements:
• Add dual left turn lanes
and extend right turn lanes
• Upgrade substandard
infrastructure (utilities,
sidewalks, etc.)
• Improve bike/pedestrian
connections and crossings
• Requires rebuilding
wall/removing tree
6
Alternate Concept
Key Design Elements:
• Best addresses
property owner
concerns
• Cannot include 2nd
WB Left Turn
7
Residential Properties
8
Residential Properties
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Public Outreach
Outreach:
• Staff has contacted all property owners
• Staff has held ~15-20 individual meetings with property owners
• Concept plan has been adjusted to balance project needs/property
impacts
• Outreach effort will continue through final design and construction
• Mitigation (landscaping, parking, wall details, new trees, etc.) is a
focus of the next several months
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