01/25/2012 Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEMORANDUM To: Planning & Design Commission, City of North Olmsted From: Maher Holozadah, Senior Transportation Engineer, NOACA Date: 1 /17/12 RE: Evaluation of Empirical Intersection Improvement Alternatives for the Intersection of Lorain Road/Porter Road/Butternut Ridge Road Hisforical Background of Traffic Study: The city of North Olmsted, based on public interest, sought to find and test possible solution alternatives to the five-approach intersection of Lorain Road/Porter Road/Butternut Ridge Road due to the excessive expanse of the intersection and the perceived delays experienced by motorists traversing it. The city expressed interest in testing some empirical improvement scenarios that had been a subject for discussion to see if any one of them would be viable for further consideration. The study was funded through NOACA's Transportation Links program with the city contributing 20 percent local match. Scope of the Traffic Study: The traffic study focused on evaluating the existing conditions at this intersection to establish a baseline in order to compare it with the attributes of the empirical improvement scenarios identified from the analyses. The study provides analyses for two particular alternatives presented by the city and offers findings and recommendations for consideration. Findings/ Results: The study report highlights the attributes of three improvement alternatives; namely existing conditions (No- Build Alternative), and two other alternatives presented by the city. While the two alternatives presented by the city have positive attributes, the existing condition also offers attributes that are not much different from those realized by the other alternatives as none of them would eliminate the existing five-approach geometry. Conclusion and Recommendations: It was concluded that the present roadway alignment delivers comparable benefits that might be realized from the empirical improvement alternatives. Several other alternatives were developed and presented in the report for possible consideration by the city of North Olmsted and for further analysis of those the city deems appropriate for its purposes or acceptable to its constituents. The city was advised to ponder these other improvement alternatives, such as the introduction of a roundabout, for further study and possible implementation. Attachment: PowerPoint 5857t