TRANSPORTATIONTRANSPORTATIONWhile the existing limited road network in the North Mountains area serves the present needs of residents and commuters, traffic from future development could exceed acceptable levels of service (LOS) on the roads. The topography of Golden Gate, Coal Creek, and Clear Creek Canyons could significantly constrain expansion of these roads because of the prohibitive cost and unacceptable visual impact. Golden Gate Canyon, Coal Creek Canyon and Clear Creek Canyon Roads are weekday commuter routes for local and neighboring county residents, as well as routes for tourists.
A limited feeder road network funnels area residents onto these three roads. Additional traffic generated by future development could confront the state, the county and the community with hard choices:
1. Expand the canyon roads, which would be an expensive and visually impactive option, given the narrow canyon, steep cliffs and adjacent creeks.
2. Accept a lower service level and increased travel times.
3. Adopt and create incentive programs which foster home occupations, cottage industry and neighborhood commercial development.
4. Provide alternatives, e.g., ride-share programs and public and/or private bus, van and rail transit.
5. Make safety improvements, e.g., climbing lanes, shoulder improvements, etc.
While these choices are not imminent, they could occur in the coming years. The competing needs of local residents and travelers through the community should be resolved in a way that preserves the visual amenities and the integrity of the mountain community.
Safeguard scenic corridors and the mountain community character, and provide a safe transportation system that satisfies the demands of local residents and travelers through the community. This system should provide local road links that foster a sense of community and the facilities and programs needed to support alternatives to single occupancy vehicle travel, i.e., pedestrian, equestrian and bicycle paths, park-n-ride locations, and increased ride-sharing opportunities.
1. Preserve the scenic qualities of the mountain road system.
2. Balance the transportation system with development.
3. Provide the transportation facilities needed for safe travel.
4. Adopt a schedule of improvements and identify the funding sources to ensure that needed infrastructure is available to support future development.
5. Coordinate planning and design of road improvements with the community and appropriate agencies and special districts.
6. Use maintenance techniques which improve air quality and safety, and reduce damage to vegetation.
7. Promote alternative modes of travel through education, and by providing mass transportation services which are reliable and convenient to use.
In addition to the following policies, the criteria in the Mountain Site Design Criteria section which apply to transportation should be followed.
Red text identifies policies which can be applied in the land use review processes.
1. The North Mountains area community, and school and fire districts, should be included in the planning and implementation of transportation improvements from the beginning of the process.
2. Physical improvements should be made in ways that are sensitive to the community and protect the visual amenities along the roadway corridors.
3. High traffic generators, i.e., higher density housing, retail, office and industrial land use, should be located near mountain arterial and collector roads.
4. The design and maintenance of the North Mountains road network should recognize the traffic generated in neighboring counties, especially Gilpin and Clear Creek.
5. Roads should be limited to two through lanes with appropriate turning, acceleration and deceleration lanes, climbing lanes and other safety improvements. Given these system constraints, the Plan fully recognizes that during certain times of the day a lower level of service may occur on some area road segments which will result in more congested roadways. Some additional congestion is preferred over major roadway widening.
Transportation Levels of Service
6. The Plan accepts LOS D during peak travel times and recommends that when LOS D extends into nonpeak travel times (given current road and laneage configuration) the County should implement road improvements, see #5 above, to ensure that appropriate improvements are accomplished to avoid a LOS below D.
This recommendation is intended to ensure that a level of service lower than D during off peak travel times does not become the norm by default, and that road improvements are made concurrently with new development to avoid a LOS lower than D as long as possible. When it becomes apparent that all appropriate road improvements have been made and continued buildout of the Plan will result in LOS E during nonpeak travel times, the County and the community should work together to resolve the problems.
The community and the Jefferson County Department of Highways and Transportation consider LOS C to be desirable as a standard for mountain roads. However, the Jefferson County Highway and Transportation Department accepts LOS D for mountain roads during nonpeak travel times, and 20% into LOS E during peak travel times.
7. At the time of rezoning, developers of new projects should provide studies which demonstrate that the road system can accommodate the traffic generated by the proposed development and comply with the level of service recommended in the Plan, or show how the roads can be improved to accommodate the traffic generated by their project and comply with the Plan's LOS recommendations. These studies should assess the capacity of the existing roads, the County Major Thoroughfare Plan plus capacity increments which would accrue from road improvements proposed by the County, and the potential traffic which would be generated by buildout of the North Mountains Community Plan recommendations.
The intent of this recommendation is to provide the transportation impact data necessary to make informed land use decisions in accord with the North Mountains Community Plan recommendations.
8. The County should establish a procedure which would facilitate the sharing of responsibility for providing improvements, necessitated by their developments, in proportion to the traffic impacts of projects on the community's road system. Requiring road improvements or assessing an equitable impact fee are two techniques which could be used.
9. Road improvements should not be made when the public costs for the improvements would exceed the potential public benefits derived.
10. New developments which require rezoning within the planning area should be phased when the traffic generated would result in a LOS lower than E on existing road segments within the North Mountains area. An exception should be allowed when agreements exist that commit public, private or combined public and private money to fund future road improvements which would result in acceptable levels of service, would satisfy environmental concerns, and would be constructed within 5 years. A description of Levels of Service (LOS) appears in the Appendix.
11. To reduce accidents and to eliminate existing hazards, the state and county should make road improvements such as:
Specific road improvements needed include:
12. A bicycle plan should be developed for Coal Creek, Golden Gate and Clear Creek Canyon Roads to improve safety for bicyclists and motorists.
13. The County should continue to consider road capacity and transportation standards when making land use decisions, and should apply density or phasing restrictions equitably to developments when the traffic generation would result in a level of service lower than LOS E on the road network.
14. Road improvements and right-of-way dedications by developers should include sufficient width to accommodate multiple-use paths, where appropriate. Maintenance and liability coverage agreements for these paths should be secured.
15. Increased cooperation among the park and recreation districts, Jefferson County Open Space and Highways and Transportation Departments, the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Golden and Arvada Public Works Departments should be pursued to ensure that the multiple- use paths can become dedicated rights-of-way under the jurisdiction of one of the aforementioned entities.
16. Sand should be removed from paved roads as quickly as possible to reduce vehicle damage, air pollution, vegetation damage, and to improve safety and aesthetics.
17. All dirt roads carrying 200 ADT or greater should be paved to reduce dust pollution and to comply with EPA standards. This should include roads on public lands. As an alternative to pavement, the County should continue to experiment with environmentally sensitive dust suppressant materials.
See additional recommendations in the Air, Odor & Noise section of this Plan.
18. Public transportation should be encouraged as a viable alternative to private vehicle travel. It can reduce the number of vehicles using the roads and, in effect, extend the capacity of the roads for a longer period of time, as well as reduce the amount of air pollution. For these reasons, the following actions should be encouraged:
a. Public transit service should be encouraged to serve the travel needs of the community's residents.
b. Park-n-ride sites should be provided as demand increases.
c. Commuter rapid transit should be provided when the ridership demand exists, and feeder bus routes should be established to serve rapid transit stations.
19. Public telephones and restroom facilities should be provided at park-n-ride sites and commuter rail stations when there is sufficient demand.
20. The County should support transportation alternatives to reduce the impact of commuter travel which include, but are not limited to, the following:
a. Flexible work days and variable work hours to extend the peak travel hours;
b. Increased use of car and van pools; and
c. Multiple purpose paths which connect residential areas with local neighborhood commercial areas and community facilities.
21. Vegetation along roads and in medians should be provided. Native species and naturalized grasses and wildflowers which are drought-tolerant should be used.
22. The County, the state and cities should coordinate their work to achieve consistency of road surfaces, paved and unpaved, on roads that cross jurisdictional boundaries, and to develop compatible design standards, e.g., right-of-way widths, turn lane queues, and multijurisdictional intersections.
23. Coordination among the County, the cities and the communities should be instituted to plan and provide transportation improvements to avoid the adverse impacts of increased traffic from new development on the road system in the North Plains and North Mountains areas, and to resolve transportation concerns raised by annexations and roads which cross jurisdictional boundaries.
24. A comprehensive transportation study should be done for the northern area of Jefferson County, which would identify specific transportation improvements and funding arrangements which may be necessary to accommodate the travel demands generated by the land use proposed for the North Plains and North Mountains areas.
This study should be a cooperative effort of the municipalities, communities, state and Jefferson County, and should consider the principal transportation facilities in the incorporated and unincorporated areas.
Examples of the strategies to be considered are:
25. Upon completion of the above transportation study, the North Plains and North Mountains community plans should be reviewed to determine the compatibility of these community plans with the transportation study.
26. A revised thoroughfare plan should be prepared for the North Mountains area, with a significant amount of community and bicyclist involvement. Following are topics which should be included in this study.
27. Communication and coordination between Colorado Department of Transportation and the County should be enhanced, especially to provide for bicycle facilities and signage on and along canyon roads.
28. The County and the community should actively participate in the Regional Transportation District's planning programs to upgrade public transit service as needs change.
29. The Jefferson County Land Development Regulation should be amended to allow more flexible construction standards for mountain roads which are more sensitive to the environment and yet are safe and functional. On a case-by-case basis, private roads within developments should be allowed to deviate from County standards, provided Jefferson County Public Works Department's and fire district's objectives for access, maintenance and safety can be met.
30. The County should work with affected property owners to acquire the necessary right-of-way on heavily traveled roads which are not maintained because of the lack of right-of-way.
31. Where private roads are maintained by the County through prescriptive right, the County should continue to work with the owner to clarify the survey and legal description, then reduce the property tax obligation on the portion of the property used as a public road, usually done through a quit claim deed.
32. The County should continue to evaluate its salt and sanding program to minimize the damage to trees and other forms of vegetation caused by the salt and to minimize the fugitive dust air pollution caused by the sand.
33. The County maintenance facility on Coal Creek Canyon Road should be substantially landscaped to minimize visual impact. Improvements to this site should be identified when an Action Plan for this area is developed.
34. The Colorado Department of Transportation, in designing the intersection of S.H. 93, Golden Gate Canyon Road and the Golden Bypass should provide for safe left turning movements westbound on Golden Gate Canyon Road.
1. The County is encouraged to undertake a financial analysis to determine if additional road monies are required to augment Federal, State and County road funds. Such a financing program should include a consideration of impact fees, property taxes, improvement districts, payback agreements, toll roads, and sales taxes to spread the cost of improvements equitably among existing and future users. Large and small developers should pay their fair share.
2. Developers should bear a proportionate responsibility for providing improvements, both on and off site, which will be needed to accommodate the traffic generated by new projects.
3. Monies generated for road improvements to mitigate the traffic impacts associated with new development in the North Mountains area should be earmarked for road improvements in the community.