By Aaron Vehling

A four or five lane highway through North Branch? Several miles of trails extending throughout the county?
Those were just a few of the topics discussed Thursday night in Center City at a joint work session between the Chisago County commissioners and planning commission members.

Along with Bill Malin, county engineer, and Kevin Hoglund of Bonestroo and Associates, meeting attendees discussed an update of the countyís comprehensive plan and the countywide transportation plan.

ìThe plan will provide a transportation system for the efficient and effective movement of people and goods in Chisago County,î Hoglund said.

He had in-depth, color visual aids on hand to ease understanding of the transportation needs of the area.
In his presentation, Hoglund outlined how certain kinds of roads serve the county.

ìThere are principal and minor arterials, collectors and the local road system,î he said
He gave examples: Highway 8 is considered a principal arterial, Highway 95 is a minor, and County Road 7 in Rush Point and County Road 9 from Sunrise to Center City are both collectors.
Hoglund said the focus should be on collectors. He added that other than Hwy. 8, there are no real west to east throughways.

This could pose problems by 2030, when Hoglund estimates that about 37,000 vehicles a day will drive through Lindstrom.

ìYou need to figure out how to carry people from west to east,î he said, pointing to a map of projected daily traffic volumes for the county in 2030. ìYou canít carry 37,000 vehicles a day through this corridor.î

Hoglund produced a map showing recommendations for road improvements in the county.
Based on traffic volume projections for 2030, the proposal calls for Hwy. 8 to be four or five lanes wide all the way through Chisago City, Lindstrom, Center City, Shafer and Taylors Falls.

In North Branch, Hwy. 95 from west of Tanger Outlet Center eastward through town and past County Road 14 is also proposed to be four or five lanes. The plan calls for County Road 30 from North Branch to Stacy to be three-lanes, which would include a two-way center turn lane.

ìGetting left turns out of the throughway on Highway 30 would increase traffic flow,î he said.
Hoglund also presented a map of a proposed trail system.

Trails would follow Hwy. 95 from North Branch to Taylors Falls, CR 14 from North Branch to Lindstrom, Hwy. 8 from Chisago City to Taylors Falls and there is even a proposal for trails from North Branch up to Rush City as a continuation of the Sunrise Prairie Trail.

Commissioner Ben Montzka wanted to make sure that Hoglund was aware of the countyís park plan.

ìThe preference is having bike trails separate of roadways, not on shoulders,î he said.
Parks director Laird Mork liked the idea of the trail plan.

ìIt is encouraging to see it as part of the transportation plan,î he said.

Montzka said he liked what the Sunrise trail has done for the area.

ìSunrise is an amenity to the community,î he said.
Hoglund also discussed an interchange study that the Minnesota Department of Transportation is conducting from Hinckley to I-694.

ìNorth Branch shows a real need to get a new interchange in place,î he said. ìThis plan complements what North Branch is already trying to do.î

He also pointed to Stacy as another city that is need of a new interchange. During evening peak hours, he said, traffic crosses the bridge and heads north toward Isanti and Cambridge.

ìFalcon Avenue sees over 2,000 cars a day,î Hoglund said. ìA few years ago it was 1,000.î
Commissioner Olseen pointed out the need for money to fund these projects.
Hoglund obliged.

ìThere is a section in the plan on funding,î he said, adding that the office of U.S. Congressman Jim Oberstar (DFL-8th Dist.) sent a letter offering funding by application for transportation projects.

Also at the meeting, county planner Julie Runkel provided an update of the countyís comprehensive plan.
Using a PowerPoint presentation, she discussed the formation of a steering committee, which was responsible for policy recommendations regarding the plan.

The committee first met in June 2003 and was divided into four small groups that each looked at their top five issues, concerns and visions for the county.

One group expressed concerns about safe and efficient transportation. Another was concerned about the loss of farm land and a rural environment. A third planning group wanted to see adequate infrastructure, such as water, sewer and roads, to accommodate growth. The fourth group wanted to preserve a rural character while increasing the business tax base.

In August 2003, the steering committee took their ideas and separated the comp plan into different elements: Introduction (history, purpose, process and demographics), natural resources, cultural resources, recreation and open space, agriculture, economic development, infrastructure, intergovernmental coordination, transportation and land use/growth management.

From that point to September 2004, the steering committee met with various state and county planners and specialists to share ideas for the future of the county.

For example, Runkel said, Chris Eng of the Chisago County HRA said at one meeting that the county needs to find an economic base in communities so people are not commuting as much.
Overall, she said, the committee met 17 times.

Her report said that the committee reached a consensus on 24 goal statements and 127 policy statements. In terms of growth management strategy, the committee reached a consensus in three out of five categories. The remaining two strategies will be ironed out between the county board and the planning commission in future work sessions.

ìThe steering committee represented stakeholders well,î Runkel said.
She went on to illustrate the importance of the committeeís findings.

ìI want to encourage you to resist the temptation to view the report as an outline,î she said to attendees. ìA lot of work went into this.î

Bob Cupit of Fish Lake Township said he was glad to be on the committee.

ìWe appreciate the opportunity, as a rural township, to have access to the process,î he said. ìWe learned a lot.î

Runkel recommended one or two input sessions so that the public could air their concerns.
ìIt would be nice to have a comp plan adopted before the summer."

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