FUTURE CONDITIONS SUMMARY

The Development Concept is a scenario created as an input to the transportation planning process that represents a possible picture of the location, type and intensity of new housing and employment development by 2030. The concept was developed in coordination with local planning and development staff and is consistent with the city’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan, completed in October 2004.

The Development Concept is a key input to the transportation planning process. The growth areas identified in this exercise will be the primary sources of new travel demand within the study area between today and 2030.

The first step was to develop control total projections of population, housing and employment for the Watertown area. These projections are shown in Table 1.

The allocation of the projected 2030 household and employment growth for the Watertown area is shown in Figure 1 as percentages of each category identified in Table 1.

The number of new households added to each growth area by 2030 is shown in Figure 2. The number of new jobs (by type) added to each growth area by 2030 is shown in Figure 3. Note that there was some rounding applied when converting from the percentages identified in Figure 1 to the projected growth levels identified in Figures 2 and 3.

The growth areas identified in the Development Concept are the primary sources of new travel demand within the study area between today and 2030. Based on the study team’s evaluation of the development concept, future traffic levels were estimated and future areas of congestion were identified. The forecasted 2030 daily traffic levels and areas of traffic congestion are identified in Figure 4.

Note that the traffic forecasts and congestion shown in this figure assume that the existing roadway network is in place in addition to committed roadway improvement projects. The committed projects are improvement projects that are currently in the area’s capital improvement program (CIP), which include:

  • Highway 20/Highway 81 North Connector Route
  • 1st Avenue Extension between 19th Street E and Highway 212 at 29th Street E
  • Highway 212/Highway 81 Intersection Improvement
  • US 81 widened to 4 Lanes between 14th Avenue N and 26th Avenue N

For reference, definitions of level of service are summarized in this Table 2.

The next step of the study will be to identify improvement alternatives to address the locations of congestion forecasted for the future.

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