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2030 La Crosse and La Crescent Metropolitan Area
Transportation Plan (MTP)
Regional Environmental Consultation Meeting
The LAPC environmental consultation meeting was held at
12:30 on June 6, 2007 at the WisDOT Northwest Region Office in Eau
Claire.
The following information provides background information for
the meeting, including a list of local resource plans,
a summary of the transportation plan, the plan
development process, and expansion projects that
will add capacity or new facilities to the transportation system. Also
included are maps of the relationship of anticipated
projects to prime farmland, wetlands, steep slopes, minority and low
income populations, and natural, recreational, historic and cultural
resources. These maps will be presented at the June 6 meeting.
Local Resource Plans:
An inventory of resource plans in the LAPC planning area has
been developed and links are included here (where available) for review
prior to the June 6 meeting. Please contact the LAPC office for
further information:
Wisconsin’s
Strategy for Wildlife Species of Greatest Conservation Need, 2005.
Wisconsin Land
Legacy Report, 2006.
Wisconsin Karner Blue
Butterfly Habitat Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact Statement.
Coulee Experimental State Forest Master Plan, 1978.
The 2005-2010 Wisconsin
Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, 2006.
Minnesota’s
2003-2008 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, 2002.
Tomorrow’s Habitat for
the Wild and Rare: An Action Plan for Minnesota Wildlife, 2006.
Upper
Mississippi River Comprehensive Conservation Plan, 2006.
Karner Blue Butterfly Recovery Plan, 2003.
La Crosse County Outdoor Recreation Plan.
La
Crosse County Land & Water Resource Management Plan 2007-2011, 2007.
Hixon
Forest Comprehensive Plan, 2005.
Management Plan for Historic Bridges in Minnesota, 2006
An
Intensive Architectural and Historical Survey Report of La Crosse County,
2004
Wisconsin Historic
Preservation Plan 2006-2015, 2005
Local comprehensive plans and/or planning process documents:
City of
La Crosse
La
Crosse County
City of
Onalaska
Town of Onalaska
Village of Holmen
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The Metropolitan Transportation Plan:
The 2030 La Crosse and La Crescent
Metropolitan Area Transportation Plan (MTP) was adopted by the LAPC on August 17, 2005.
The MTP includes an inventory of current transportation networks, planned
and anticipated projects, policies, goals and objectives and an “action
plan” for addressing current and future congestion forecast by a regional
traffic model.
The MTP was developed using a comprehensive and collaborative
process that seeks to identify the vision for the region and its people
through extensive public participation. The goals, objectives and
policies were developed with input from the public, local agencies and
advocacy groups, and LAPC technical advisory committees. LAPC plan
development is guided by the
La Crosse and La Crescent Metropolitan Area Public Participation Plan,
adopted in January of 2007.
Chapter 10 - Financial Plan includes a listing of anticipated
transportation projects, based on projects included in the
2007 - 2010 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP),
as well as those anticipated by the local municipalities and Wisconsin
and Minnesota Departments of Transportation.
Of particular interest is the process to develop an action
plan to address congestion in the north -south travel corridor between
Interstate 90 and South Avenue in the City of La Crosse. This process
is outlined in Chapter 6 - Transportation/Land Use Connection.
In summary, the urban area traffic model forecast Level of
Service (LOS) deficiencies on major roadways including Wisconsin State
Highways (STH) 16 and 35 and US Highway (USH) 53. The study corridor, as
well as the current recommended alternative (developed in 1998) includes
areas of environmental and cultural interest.
Several alternatives were developed by the LAPC staff and
discussed by the LAPC Policy Board. An action plan was adopted that
includes:
Aggressive Implementation of Policy-Based Actions. All
municipal councils, boards and staff, and other organizations (LAPC, DOT,
etc.) will work to implement policy-based actions that address congestion.
USH 53 Extended from CTH SS to Gillette St and 12th Avenue Extended from
CTH SS to STH 16. These two projects are the recommended “minimal build”
of possible new roadways.
Minimize the concentration of capacity improvements on a single roadway.
Improvements should be distributed on existing roadways as much as possible.
Corridor Study to study impacts and determine most feasible improvements
from Gillette St south. The LAPC will work with the DOT to initiate a
detailed corridor study with a much more detailed scope than the current MTP
update process.
The recommended corridor study is currently underway as the
"La Crosse Corridor Transportation Study." This study will result in
an updated preferred alternative and environmental documents and will
provide many opportunities for input from all affected environmental and
cultural groups.
Further information on the The Metropolitan Transportation
Plan text is available through the following links and chapter summaries:
Chapter 1 - Introduction discusses the purpose of and need for a
transportation plan and the overall organization of the document.
Chapter 2 - Metropolitan Transportation Planning
discusses the metropolitan transportation planning process, the public
participation process, the history and functions of the La Crosse Area
Planning Committee (LAPC), and the geographic extent of the planning area.
Chapter 3 - State of the Region
provides an overview and analysis of common demographic characteristics,
including population, household, housing, travel, and employment
characteristics. These data serve as background to understanding current and
projected trends for the region discussed in Chapter 6.
Chapter 4 - Vision, Goals and Objectives
discusses a shared vision for the region, and the goals and objectives
identified to help reach that vision.
Chapter 5 -
Transportation Networks provides an updated inventory of existing and
planned transportation networks, including bicycle and multipurpose,
pedestrian, transit, roadway, freight, and passenger. Current conditions,
which focus on regulatory, user, safety, and access issues, are addressed
for each network. Additional analyses for transit propensity and potential
impacts on disadvantaged populations are also included.
Chapter 6 - Transportation and Land Use Connection
discusses the results of the land use inventory and the population and
employment projections carried out by the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse,
and how these results are integrated into our growth policy. This chapter
also discusses the results of traffic modeling activities as conducted by
HNTB Corp. and Cambridge Systematics, including the alternatives used in the
modeling process.
Chapter 7 - Recommendations
discusses proposed actions, including policy, land use, design, management,
operations, and facilities among others, as addressed in current plans and
as determined through recent analyses.
Chapter 8 - Policies for Implementation
discusses the policies and programs that will be used to move forward the
goals, objectives, and recommendations proposed in this Plan.
Chapter 9 - Performance Measures
and Evaluation identifies specific performance measures and evaluation
criteria used to evaluate the success of the transportation plan in meeting
its goals and objectives.
Chapter 10 - Financial Plan
discusses the funds and funding programs that should reasonably be available
through local, state, and federal sources for the programming of projects
through 2030. This chapter also considers visionary and illustrative
projects that have not yet had their fiscal needs identified.
Chapter 11 - Next Steps
discusses activities and strategies in which the MPO may engage as part of
the 2010 MTP update process.
MTP appendices include acronyms, reference materials, model
development codes, and
methodologies:
Appendix A - Definitions and Acronyms
Appendix B - Environmental Justice Executive Order
Appendix C - Bicycle Parking Accommodations
Appendix D - Transit Propensity Methodology
Appendix E - Environmental Justice Methodology
Appendix F - Model Ordinances
Appendix G - Bicycle Facility Treatments
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Expansion Projects:
The following chart provides a cross check of expansion
projects with inventoried resources to help illustrate whether a project has
the potential to impact a resource. None of the anticipated projects
appear to pose a potential impact to outstanding and exceptional waters or
impaired waters, or to tribal lands. The two projects that appear to have
the greatest potential for adverse effects on resources are the expansion of
STH 35 from the USH 14/61 intersection to the La Crosse County line, and
improvements based on the La Crosse Corridor Transportation Study.
The sensitive nature and aggregated (by town and range) inventory of
historic properties and endangered, threatened, and special concern species
may require additional research and field survey to determine adequately if
the resource is present.
|
Checklist of
Potential Resource Impact by Expansion Project |
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Expansion Project |
|
Resource1 |
STH 35: USH 14/61
to County line |
12th Ave
ext. / USH 53 ext. |
Improvements based
on La Crosse Corridor Transportation Study |
South Ave / Mormon
Coulee Rd |
STH 35 / USH 14/61
intersect-ion |
STH 16: 4-lane |
Wagon Wheel Trail |
|
Prime Farmland |
x |
|
|
|
x |
x |
|
|
Wetlands |
x |
x |
x |
|
|
|
x |
|
Steep Slopes |
x |
|
|
|
x |
x |
|
|
DNR-Managed Lands2 |
|
x |
x |
|
|
|
|
|
National Refuges |
x |
|
|
|
|
|
x |
|
Floodplains |
x |
x |
x |
|
|
|
x |
|
Endangered/Threatened Species3 |
x |
x |
x |
|
x |
|
x |
|
County Forests |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Areas of
Remediation |
x |
|
x |
x |
|
|
|
|
Tribal Lands |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Parks/Recreational
Facilities |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
|
|
|
Registered Historic
Properties |
x |
|
x |
x |
x |
|
|
|
Local Historic
Properties |
|
|
x |
|
|
|
|
|
Archaeological
Sites4 |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
|
Minority/Low-Income
Groups |
|
|
x |
x |
|
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1The
MPA does not contain any national parks or forests, wild rivers, or
scenic urban waterways.
2Because
the DNR acquires land throughout the year, the inventory of DNR-managed
lands is only accurate as of April 2007. The DNR has been trying to
acquire land north of Hixon Forest.
3The
locations of endangered, threatened, and special concern species are
recorded by town and range. An inventory of these species is listed in
the chapter, Agricultural, Natural, and Cultural Resources.
Endangered, threatened, and/or special concern species may exist within
a project area; therefore, additional research, including field survey,
may be necessary to assess adequately the presence of these species.
4The
sensitive nature of these sites requires their locations be restricted.
An inventory of known sites is listed in the chapter, Agricultural,
Natural, and Cultural Resources. Most burial sites and
cemeteries fall within the archaeologically sensitive areas. Because the
majority of archaeological sites in the state and many historic
architectural properties have not been recorded,
important sites or
structures may exist within the search area and may be affected by
development projects within that area. Additional research, including
field survey, may be necessary to assess adequately the area’s potential
to contain historic properties. |
Maps of anticipated projects in relation to environmental
and cultural features:
The 2007 amendment to the Metropolitan Transportation Plan
will include maps of anticipated projects in relationship to environmental
and cultural features. Draft versions of the maps are available here:
Relationship of anticipated projects to prime farmland, wetlands, and steep
slopes (7 MB).
Relationship of anticipated projects to natural and recreational resources
(2 MB).
Relationship of anticipated projects to historic and cultural resources
(.5 MB).
Relationship of anticipated projects to
minority and low income populations (environmental justice, .5 MB).
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