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TC 02-04-97 Meeting AgendaCOUNTY of FREDERICK Department of Planning and Development 540/665-5651 FAX: 540/678-0682 MEMORANDUM TO: Frederick County Transportation Committee FROM: Evan A. Wyatt, Planner II RE: February Meeting and Agenda BATE: January 24, 1997 There will be a meeting of the Frederick County Transportation Committee on Tuesday, February 4, 1997 at 7:30 p.m., in the Board Meeting Room in the County Administration Building, 107 North Kent Street, Winchester, Virginia. This will be the first meeting of the Transportation Committee in the new county office facility; therefore, a map has been included in the agenda. The Transportation Committee will discuss the following items: A ENDA 1) Request from Mr. Bruce Armstrong to establish a new rating system for prioritizing hard surface road improvement projects in the Frederick County Secondary Road Improvement Plan. 2) Other. Information pertaining to this agenda item is enclosed. Please contact our department if you have any questions regarding this information, or if you are unable to attend this meeting. 107 North Kent Street • Winchester, Virginia 22601-5000 HARD SURFACE ROAD IMPROVEMENT RATING SYSTEM Staff received a request from Mr. Bruce Armstrong, dated January 18, 1997, to address the Transportation Committee at the next available meeting. Mr. Armstrong is interested in working with the committee to establish a new method for prioritizing hard surface road improvement projects which appear on the Frederick County Secondary Road Improvement Plan. Mr. Armstrong, and other residents in the Laurel Grove Road area, have expressed concerns regarding the need to revise the current process to the Board of Supervisors, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), and staff. To date, the Transportation Committee has recommended the inclusion of new hard surface projects during the annual update of the Frederick County Secondary Road Improvement Plan if the road meets the minimum criteria established by VDOT. New road improvement projects have been placed at the end of the list, and have increased in rank when higher projects are complete, or removed from the plan due to right-of-way constraints. New hard surface projects occur as allocations are afforded to Frederick County by Richmond; therefore, funding is the controlling factor in how quickly projects are advertised by VDOT. This is evident on the recently adopted plan. VDOT has projected that three hard surface improvements will be advertised for construction within the next six fiscal years. Included with this agenda item is a copy of Mr. Armstrong's letter and a copy of the current hard surface improvement plan. Mr. Armstrong has developed a method to assign weights to rank potential hard surface road improvement projects. Staff asks that the Transportation Committee review this information for discussion purposes. Staff is interested if the Transportation Committee believes that this is a reasonable approach, and if other criteria should be considered. Staff will advise the Board of Supervisors of the Transportation Committee's recommendation regarding this matter. KENT STR EE'r Cout," ADM IN . BUIL-DINC, JOINT-�uo�CtaL CE►�� PpQ�Ir-iG LD-� Parc�..,�vc� CA MSRot-4 SIMO -� NorE MEEr,MGs AQ -E (--, IN �NC Sm a--/ Co iKvez-Tno,-3 T OQ»IIvp".— -GU,L-DING T+e NEW A-afl' z, oK3. -Ft+C Br -:--7w CE3,3 AND R-JE:AsE FfVTE�. �t T -FWC S NTD TFtE VN E Sra2y � N N ALT'► 0tJ . wu(Z'T SQ UR-fZ(Z AoT - o - ppw,-� January 18, 1997 Frederick County Transportation Committee 107 North Kent Street Winchester, Va. 22604 Attention: Transportation Committee Dear Evin; Our conversation of two weeks ago pertaining to the setting of priorities for hard surfacing secondary roads has brought up some interesting ideas for changing the present method. The old method of setting priorities by adding the next road to the bottom of the list and waiting 10 or more years is no longer acceptable to the residents living along these roads. The supervisors have given their blessing to many new rural subdivisions in the county. The developers are not responsible for paving or assisting in the improving of the roads leading to their developments. Very little if any consideration is given to the increased traffic both from the construction vehicles used to build the residences or the residents themselves. We are asking the Transportation committee to evaluate the following proposal for determining road improvement priorities. The priority system should be reevaluated every 3 years. If the right away's were unable to be secured those property owners would be surveyed each 3 year period if the priority was still in a high category based on the following system. The proposed system would grade various road conditions and usage's on a point system. Points are given to each condition with 1 being the lowest priority and 5 the highest priority. The roads with the highest point total would be rated a high priority while the roads with the lowest point total would be rated a low priority. The 6 conditions given below would have a maximum point total of 30. We believe the following suggestions for determining road improvement priorities are relevant to the roads in Frederick county. Traffic using the road based on VDOT traffic study. 0-25 per day = 1 point 26-50 per day = 2 points 51-75 per day = 3 points 76-100 per day = 4 points 101 & greater = 5 points 2. County residents currently living along the road including those in subdivisions that use the road to access their home. 0-5 1 point 6-10 2 points 11-15 3 points 16-20 4 points 21 & greater 5 points 3. Potential for increased traffic during the next three years. Based on number of lots in subdivisions located along the road, new schools, new industry located nearby, roads used as a short cut between primary roads, etc. very low 1 point low 2 points average 3 points above average 4 points high 5 points 4. Do school busses use the road 7 no 0 points yes 5 points 5. Road conditions. One point is given for each of the following conditions. No more than 5 points total. project. Severe wash boarding along the road 1 point Blind curves 1 point Drainage problems 1 point Rock outcroppings in the road 1 point Dust problems 1 point More than 5 recorded accidents 1 point Continuing pothole problems 1 point VDOT maintenance in excess of $20,000 1 point 6. Can the road be divided into sections if money is not available to complete the entire no 0 points yes 5 points We realize this is only a starting point for changing the old system however it more realistically evaluates the needs of the tax paying citizens of this county. The Transportation Committee at a minimum should schedule a ride along the proposed hard surfacing projects and use the point system to determine the priorities. This would give each member of the committee a first hand look at the road conditions of the county roads. The committee might also propose to the Supervisors that when a rural subdivision is granted the developer is obligated to donate a sum of money to the improvements of the road. The developers are making a fortune and no consideration is given for the increased traffic. By receipt of this proposal and if time allows could this subject be added to the agenda of the Transportation Committees next meeting. Please remember this is only a proposal for consideration and we are willing to assist the committee in coming up with any proposal that would change the current system of adding roads to the bottom of the list and waiting 10 or more years for improvements. We look forward to hearing from the committee concerning this matter. 7s, icer ly, Bruce Armstrong 300 Saddleback Lane Winchester, Va. 22602 cc: Margaret Douglas Harrington Smith January 22, 1997 .Y Chairman, Frederick County Transportation Committee c/o Mr. Evan Wyatt 107 North Kent Street Winchester, VA 22601-5000 Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing on behalf of residents along Frederick County Route 629, Laurel Grove Road, between Longview Acres Subdivision (pavement end) and Cedar Creek Grade. As you can see by the attached correspondence, we have previously raised the issue of the deplorable and dangerous condition of this stretch of road and requested that the current County priority #2 road be replaced by Route 629. We submit to you that the current methods and criteria for prioritizing County roads to receive hard - surfacing are seriously flawed and should be immediately abandoned in favor of a more realistic and equitable system. We propose that prioritizing hard -surfacing for Frederick County roads should be based predominantly on: 1. The number of Frederick County households along the road which would directly benefit from pavement (the people who pay County taxes). 2. Whether the condition of the road presents a danger to those using it (washboarding, washouts, blind curves, narrow lanes, poor drainage, rocks, etc.) We do not believe "first-come/first-served" is defendable. (Even so, our stretch of road was on the top priority list years ago). We do not believe that traffic count alone for rural county roads is a significant factor in setting priorities. We are confident that should our suggested criteria be applied to County roads, Laurel Grove would immediately move to the top of the list, displacing the current # 2 priority. In actuality the current #2 priority road should not even be on the list. We hereby petition the Committee to revise its most recently recommended plan for hard -surfacing Frederick County roads to include the substitution of Route 629 for the current #2 priority road, and immediately devise a new method of prioritizing road paving to be more representative of the needs of the people the Committee serves. We request that the Committee submit its revised plan to the Frederick County Board of Supervisors for adoption at the Supervisors February meeting. We request that we be placed on the agenda to meet with the Transportation Committee at its February session to discuss our concerns, provide any assistance we can and answer any questions the Committee might have. Sincerely, Ron Rhodes cc: Mr. Harrington Smith Ms. Margaret Douglas 1997 - 1998 Road Improvement Plan Page -3- HARDSURFACE ROAD IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS Hardsurface road improvement projects provide impervious resurfacing and reconstruction of non - hard -surfaced secondary roads. Hardsurface improvements are considered primarily by the average daily traffic count for these secondary roads. 1997 - 199S NEW HARDSURFACE ROAD IMPROVEMENT PLAN RANK ROUTE FROM TC ADT DIST MAGIS AD.DAT 1 701 Rt. 703 to West Virginia line 124 1.01 miles GA 07/97 2 695 1.09 to 2.3 miles north Rt. 522 83 1.21 miles GA 07/99 3 692 Rt. 600 to 1.2 mi. NE Rt. 600 137 1.2 miles GA 07/03 4 625 Rt. 624 Rt. 635 150 0.5 miles BC UN/SH 5 633 Rt. 625 Rt. US 91 1.4 miles OPBC UN/SH 6 696 Rt. 522N Rt. 694 81 1.3 miles GA UN/SH 7 638 Rt. 625 Rt. 759 86 0.8 miles BC UN/SH 8 629 Rt. 608 to 1.15 miles east Rt.622 98 3.05 miles BC UN/SH 9 695 2.3 miles north Rt. 522 to WVA 83 0.9 miles GA UN/SH 10 692 1.2 mi. NE Rt. 600 to Rt. 671 137 1.4 miles GA UNISH 11 636 Rt. 709 Rt. 735 147 1.1 miles OP UN/SH 12 811 Rt. 671 to 0.45 miles north (67 1) 137 0.25 miles OP UN/SH 13 679 0.3 miles west Rt. 608 to 0.5 miles east Rt. 600 94 2.5 miles GA UN/SH 1997 - 1998 Road Improvement Plan Page 4- ABBREVIATIONS: ADT - Average Daily Secondary Traffic Tabulation Counts. (1993 Tabulations) DIST - Distance of total improvement length in miles. MAGIS - Magisterial District in which hardsurfacing will occur. AD.DAT - Scheduled Advertisement Date for hardsurface road improvement project to begin. 1997 -1998 NEW HARDSURFACE ROAD MPROVEMENT PLAN (Continued) RANK ROUTE FROM TO ADT DIST MAGIS AD. DAT 1 14734 addition of 1 mile 99 1 mile GA UN/SH 15 704 Rt. 683 to West Virginia line 174 3.3 miles BC UN/SH 16 676 0.83 mile south Rt.671 to Rt.677 168 0.87 miles GA UN/SH 17 644 Rt. 50E to Clarke County line 69 0.81 miles SH UN/SH 18 634 Rt. 635 Rt. IIS 180 0.25 miles OP UN/SH 19 733 Rt. 50W Rt. 707 61 1.3 miles BC UN/SH 20 836 Rt. 11N end Rt. 836 75 0.80 miles ST UN/SH 21 709 1 Rt. 636 Rt. 735 133 2.7 miles OP UN/SH 22 607 Rt. 600 end 113 0.78 miles BC UN/SH 23 671 Rt. 669 West Virginia 168 0.30 miles ST UN/SH 24 636 Rt. 640 Rt. 641 46 1.5 miles Of UN/SH 25 629 Rt.631 Rt. 625 I49 1.8 miles BC UN/SH 26 689 Rt. 600 Rt. 600 63 4.2 miles GA UN/SH 27 612 Rt. 612 Rt. 608 184 3.2 miles BC UN/SH 28 618 Rt. 622 Rt. 608 923.3 miles BC UN/SH ABBREVIATIONS: ADT - Average Daily Secondary Traffic Tabulation Counts. (1993 Tabulations) DIST - Distance of total improvement length in miles. MAGIS - Magisterial District in which hardsurfacing will occur. AD.DAT - Scheduled Advertisement Date for hardsurface road improvement project to begin.