Goal Three - Improve Indianola's Transportation & Traffic System
Many Indianola residents have complained that traffic volumes and speeds in and around the City have contributed to a decline in quality-of-life. This trend will ultimately lead to population and property value decline in congested areas.
A proliferation of closed street systems and cul de sac streets resulting from sporadic development without adherence to a local street system plan throughout the City have forced some neighborhood residential streets to collect traffic and channel it on a progressively higher order through limited access points to a few major arterial such as U.S. Highway 65/69 or Iowa Highway 92. Over time, this pattern of streets results in high demand at major junctions, resulting in severe congestion and an environment that discourages walking and bicycling. Local traffic, even for short trips, is forced onto the arterials adding to the congestion.
After much discussion and study, the Committee believes the City should adopt and promote street patterns that result in dispersion of traffic throughout the City system and provide multiple direct street connections for local traffic, pedestrians and bicyclists. This implies a system of streets with multiple routes and connections serving the same origins and destinations, a system of parallel routes and cross connections within the area. These parallel routes should be properly classified and sized. Longer-distance through traffic should remain on U.S. Highway 65/69, Iowa Highway 92 and County Road R63. Steps should be taken to discourage infiltration of longer distance through traffic. Ultimately, a bypass for U.S. Highway 65/69 should be created since the current road location bisects the City and is needed for local street connections.
The Committee recognizes that certain local parallel streets will serve as minor arterials and major collectors. Key connections to the major arterial street system need be assessed and improved to reduce congestion and improve safety. Traffic flow on these arterial and collector streets should be balanced through an inter-connective street system. It is important that heavy traffic flow on any given existing residential neighborhood streets be stabilized or reduced. This is especially true on existing residential neighborhood streets that have become collectors by default, and not by design, due to poor connectivity of similar residential neighborhood streets.
Relatively heavier traffic flow should only be encouraged on streets that have been designed and sized for such use and are located outside existing neighborhoods.
With these findings in mind, the Committee believes that the City should begin a balanced program that addresses existing deficiencies and increases connectivity through improvements to existing streets and by the strategic construction of new streets. The Committee believes that the most important step in that direction is to eliminate the funneling of City traffic through a few narrow residential neighborhood streets.
Objective: Inventory and assess Indianola's street systems for circulation adequacy.
Strategy One: Review Transportation element of the Comprehensive Plan for changes
Action Steps:
Update the comprehensive plan to clearly define criteria and design parameters for Street classifications consistent with the adopted Des Moines Metro Area Design Standards Manual. These standards, such as access spacing, street width, pavement thickness and right of way width are critical to the development and continued performance of the street network.
Identify areas where transportation improvements would encourage planned development
Identify key transportation links that are responsibilities of more than one governmental body and increase cooperation for potential improvement. Agreements could contain specific language regarding the city reimbursing the county upon annexation of property
Identify the role of transportation to enhance quality of life
Adopt a policy such that a petitioner desiring to amend the City's Comprehensive plan to allow a more intense development that will create increased traffic flow to and from the development the petitioner, at their cost should measure the impact to the adjacent street system by completing a traffic impact study.
Further that if the study indicates a need for additional street infrastructure that is not planned for in the current capital program or comprehensive plan; the developer be responsible for costs associated with the improvements needed to meet the increased traffic demand.
Recognize the potential for a Bypass of US Highway 65/69 and encourage the planned development of a bypass route that benefits the desire for through traffic critical to Iowa's economy while promoting sustainable local development.
Strategy Two: Prepare a Comprehensive Traffic Study to address congestion and safety
Action Steps:
Contract with a qualified consultant to prepare a comprehensive traffic study to identify existing capacity deficiencies and safety concerns on major and minor arterials.
Update the existing comprehensive plan to include changes in the existing major street system, i.e., minor arterials and major collectors.
Discourage the practice of allowing variances on streets designated as major arterials, minor arterials, and major collectors. Encourage them to comply with the intent of the roadway.
Improve traffic flow and elevate congestion by actively supporting reduction of the number of vehicle trips made by Indianola residents. Measures might include:
City support and subsidizing car-pooling, vanpooling and park and ride programs.
Development and support of city-wide bicycle facilities
Investigate temporary in-town transit services during the Balloon Classic.
Strategy Three: Develop a Capital Project List for recommended thoroughfare improvements
Action Steps:
Prioritize capital improvements to achieve a balanced transportation system. As a key first step, the Committee recommends that Hoover Street, which is currently outside of the northern City limits, be improved from U.S. Highway 65/69 west to County Road R63. This should be accomplished through a joint intergovernmental agreement with Warren County. The road should be wide and should include turn lanes with deep setbacks.
The City should consider funding capital improvements through various sources including the general fund, Road Use Taxes, special assessments, Tax Increment Financing as well as various state and federally sponsored fund sources.
The capital improvements plan should be reconciled with the maintenance program for possible efficiencies and with the comprehensive program to achieve the desired balance in traffic across the system.
The committee has reviewed the existing major arterial, minor arterial and collector streets as identified in the current comprehensive plan and will provide the Council with the proposed classifications.
Objective: Assess Indianola's current street maintenance program and plans for required improvements.
The existing street network represents a significant investment of public funds. It is important that the street network is maintained at a high level of service not only to provide a high quality of life, but to protect the capital investment in the transportation system. It is more economical to maintain a pavement in good repair than to allow the pavement to deteriorate to a level requiring extensive rehabilitation or reconstruction. Road-user costs, such as maintenance, repairs and gas mileage have been shown to be less on well-maintained good condition roadways.
Based on the desire for continued high service levels which lead to a quality of life and economical maintenance and operation the committee offers the following Action Plans:
Strategy One: Inventory and assess current street maintenance conditions
Action Steps:
The city should engage a qualified engineering consultant to prepare a comprehensive Pavement Management system with the capability to access the current average pavement condition, forecast pavement condition given various maintenance strategies and budget parameters.
Strategy Two: Establish acceptable maintenance level categories and assign to each street
Action Steps:
The City should establish a threshold level of service indices for each street classification (local, collector & arterial) and, utilizing the system developed above, forecast the budget demands to achieve and maintain those threshold levels.
Based on the forecasted maintenance program, the City should endeavor to maintain the street system at a higher condition level such that maintenance activities are preventive and more cost effective.
The City should review its current policy of special assessments as a funding source for preventive maintenance activities, and consider alternative funding sources.
