HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - Agenda Packets - Regular Meeting 11/28/2006Page 1 of 3
AGENDA ITEM
November 28, 2006
The Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Barry McClellan, City Manager
Habib Motlagh, City Engineer
SUBJECT: Mid-County Parkway, selection of preferred alignment
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council, by motion, select the Southern
Alignment as the City's preferred alignment for the Mid-County Parkway within
the City of San Jacinto.
DISCUSSION:
This agenda item was continued from November 16, 2006. Over the past 12
months, the City Council has had the opportunity to review the ongoing work of
RCTC related to its Mid-County Parkway project. Most recently, at Council
meetings on September 19 and October 19, 2006, the Council was shown four
different alternatives for the MCP — labeled as "Northern", "Southern", "Central",
and "Ramona", respectively. RCTC's most recent analysis shows that these
alignments are all similar in cost, with no single alternative having a clear cost
savings.
Based on direction received from the City Council, staff has placed this item on
the agenda to allow for selection of a locally preferred alternative. Once
selected, staff can work with developers to finalize their projects if not impacted
by the southern alignment. By protecting one alignment, the City can potentially
reduce the cost of construction for that alternative, and thus exert influence over
which alternative is ultimately built by RCTC. It should be noted, however, that
the final selection of a locally preferred alignment rests with the Commission.
ALTERNATIVES:
There are four alternatives currently being studied by RCTC:
Northern Alternative
This alignment runs parallel to the Ramona Expressway, approximately 1000' to
the north. It provides separation of local and regional traffic at Hwy 79 by
keeping the existing Ramona Expressway in place. The entire alignment is on
embankment, with local roads (Odell, Cawston, Sanderson) passing underneath.
Local interchanges are provided at Warren and Sanderson, and a freeway-to-
freeway interchange will be built at Highway 79. This alternative has the least
impact to the existing tentative parcel maps on the south side of Ramona
Expressway.
Southern Alternative
This alignment runs parallel to MWD's Colorado River Aqueduct, south of the
Ramona Expressway. It provides separation of local and regional traffic at Hwy
79 by keeping the existing Ramona Expressway in place. The entire alignment is
on embankment, with local roads (Odell, Cawston, Sanderson) passing
underneath. Local interchanges are provided at Warren and Sanderson, and a
freeway-to-freeway interchange will be built at Highway 79. Because it is farther
south, this is the only alternative to avoid costly, environmentally sensitive
modifications to the Highway 79 Bridge over the San Jacinto River. Also,
because it is adjacent to the MWD facility, this alternative will not create a new
community barrier in the City. This alternative will require that the City's
circulation element be modified in the vicinity of Bridge St. and Ramona
Expressway, to accommodate the termination of the MCP.
Central Alternative
This alignment runs parallel to the Ramona Expressway, immediately to the
north. In this alternative, local and regional traffic are not separated as they
cross Hwy 79. The entire alignment is on embankment, with local roads (Odell,
Cawston, Sanderson) passing underneath. Local interchanges are provided at
Warren and Sanderson, and a freeway-to-freeway interchange will be built at
Highway 79. This alternative may have construction staging issues, as some of
the ramps will be in conflict with the existing Expressway. A portion of the
Expressway will thus need to be realigned. Additional frontage roads to provide
access to existing parcels will also need to be planned by the City.
Ramona Alternative
This alignment runs on the existing Ramona Expressway. In this alternative,
local and regional traffic are not separated as they cross Hwy 79. The entire
alignment is on embankment, with local roads (Odell, Cawston, Sanderson)
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passing underneath. Local interchanges are provided at Warren and Sanderson,
and a freeway-to-freeway interchange will be built at Highway 79. This
alternative will have construction staging issues, because it will require traffic be
taken off of Ramona Expressway. The Expressway will thus need to be
realigned, and/or additional local streets will need to be built to provide access to
existing parcels.
City staff believe that the Southern Alignment will best help the City accomplish
its goals for having excellent local access, regional movement, and high-quality
development in the Gateway Area.
There are three alternatives currently being considered by the City of San
Jacinto:
1. Select Southern Alignment as the preferred alignment.
2. Choose to select two alignments for further study.
3. Make no selection at this time.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no known direct fiscal impact to the City associated with the selection of
a preferred alternative.
ATTACHMENTS:
• MCP Alternative Diagrams (4 sheets)
• RCTC Discussion of alternatives
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