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TRANSPORTATION ISSUES

Street and Highway Network

Interstate 380

The benefits and opportunities provided to North Liberty by I-380 are fully appreciated by City leaders. This freeway is in large part credited with "opening the door" to the community and services as a primary factor in recent and anticipated growth. The potential, positive impact of I-380 is expected to even further increase when the "Saints Highway" linking St. Louis, Missouri and St. Paul, Minnesota becomes a reality. When this project is completed, the market range and accessibility of North Liberty would be greatly increased. Located at the crossroads of I-80 and the Saints Highway, the Iowa City Metropolitan Area and, specifically North Liberty, would be at the hub of the transportation routes. This would serve as an even greater stimulus to North Liberty's expected growth. Currently, there is one intersection on I-380 at Penn Street. Due to the long process involved in developing an intersection on an interstate, City representatives feel that North Liberty should plan for an additional intersection located at Forevergreen Road and I-380. Development of the Comprehensive Plan should address the potential ramifications of development of the "Saints Highway".

State Highway 965

Highway 965 is considered an important transportation link, and quite possibly, the future "Main Street" or entry point to the City of North Liberty. Improvements must be made to the roadway which has incurred numerous accidents and has separated the community. As such, a comprehensive view of the corridor and its access should be undertaken within the Comprehensive Plan.

Penn Street

As development continues, Penn Street will become an increasingly important link for the City. Penn Street will need to be designed for heavy industrial traffic, yet its importance as a gateway to the City should not be overlooked.

East/West Connections

At present, the City's collector street network fails to provide sufficient east/west connections, particularly within the central to southern portions of the City. The lack of east/west connections is resulting in additional traffic generation on Zeller Street. As the City continues to expand, additional east/west collectors will be needed. A major goal of the Comprehensive Plan is to plan for and complete these extensions to service existing development.

Incomplete Streets

In the past, subdivisions have been developed with incomplete connections to future subdivisions. This has occurred primarily south of Zeller Street to the east of Front Street and on both sides of Highway 965. This type of planning results in access problems between subdivisions, street jogs, private streets, and poor access to collector and arterial roadways. Recent planning efforts and improved subdivision designs have helped to make this a minor problem that occurs in selected areas. This issue should be addressed within the Comprehensive Plan to avoid problems in the future.

Construction Standards

An additional concern in regard to local streets relates to their development standard. The community survey identified street improvements as a major priority. Many local streets have been cited as being "too narrow" to accommodate existing and anticipated volume traffic and subsequently, raise safety concerns. Additionally, many higher volume collector type streets are allowed direct driveway access which also raises safety concerns.

The adherence to the City’s design standards will aid in providing the functioning and safety of the local traffic carriers, increased requirements and restrictions as roadways are constructed and new roadways installed. The acceptance of these standards should be reflected in the policies and goals of the Comprehensive Plan. The correction and resolution of areas that have become problematic due to outdated roadway design should be a goal of North Liberty.

Traffic Volumes

Growth in population within the City and surrounding communities corresponds with the increases in traffic volumes carried by North Liberty's street network. Traffic volumes have increased significantly along secondary arterial and collector streets over the past four years. Traffic volumes will need to be managed with improvements programmed to accommodate the expected increases.

Pedestrian/Bicycle Trails

In 1997, the City of North Liberty will begin a large scale trail construction project, leading from Penn Street to the City of Coralville along the CRANDIC line. Further connection of the City's sidewalks to this trail and between parks, schools, and residential areas of the community was noted as being very desirable by community leaders and survey respondents. It is important that these trails are constructed to meet the requirements of the City standards.

At a metropolitan and regional level, plans for pedestrians and bicycle trails are being developed. As such, the interconnection of North Liberty with the surrounding region will need to be addressed within the Comprehensive Plan.

Mass Transit

As a bedroom community, the City of North Liberty is generally lacking in mass transit facilities. Senior citizen transit is available on a limited basis, and the opportunity for transit services in conjunction with the University of Iowa is also available in a variety of forms, including campus service and a van pool program. In response to varied community support of such services, long term planning for transit service should be conducted. The planning for mass transit must also weigh the economic feasibility for the City of North Liberty.

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