Transportation plan recommendations unveiled in Milton

Courtesy Appen Newspapers

November 16, 2009 At the Milton City Council Nov. 9 work session, Transportation Master Plan consultants Kimley Horn presented a look at recommendations for improving traffic in Milton, and especially Crabapple.

Large-scale, Kimley Horn and Milton's Transportation Stakeholders Advisory Committee (TSAC) recommended widening corridors around Milton to try and pull commuter traffic away from the interior, rural parts of the city.

In Crabapple, council was shown what would happen in the year 2030 based on traffic estimates if no improvements were made to the already packed intersection of Birmingham Highway, Crabapple, Mayfield, Broadwell and Mid-Broadwell roads. As many could guess, it becomes a parking lot, with a roughly eight minute delay per car.

To combat that inevitability in the short term, Kimley Horn recommended signal timings that could speed up traffic east and west on Crabapple and Mayfield roads. Longer term, north- and southbound left turn lanes on Broadwell Road and Birmingham Highway could also help with delays, knocking them down from 500 seconds to 50 seconds per person in 2030.

Reconfiguring the east-west Crabapple and Mayfield corridor to include a left turn instead the right turn lane there already would help with pedestrian safety, said consultants. That area could then be used for wider sidewalks or parking.

Consultants were also confident about a northern bypass around the intersection, but its southern counterpart is more contentious because of neighborhood opposition.

Council was asked to weigh the recommendations and give the consultants comment by Nov. 16. Kimley Horn's people will then present a final version of their recommendations Nov. 20 and give a final report Dec. 14.