2-1 EXISTING ROAD SYSTEM
The study area for the Urban Area Traffic Master Plan is the area bounded
by the following roadways: Meridian Road on the west, Shepherd Road on the
east, Baseline Road on the north, and Millbrook Road on the south. This area
is outlined on Exhibit 2. Also included within Exhibit 2, is the federal aid
urban boundary. This area has been identified by the Federal Highway
Administration, the Isabella County Road Commission, the Michigan Department
of Transportation, and the City of Mt. Pleasant to include the urbanizing area
of the community. The FAU boundaries have not been changed since 1990. The FAU
boundaries should be evaluated and expanded in order to include more of the
more recently urbanizing areas of the community. This would specifically
include the southeastern area of the community which is located south of
Bluegrass, and east of Mission Street, and north of U.S. 27 BR. The boundary
should also be extended to the east along M-20 to reflect the urbanizing
activities due to the Casino development.
In order to receive federal highway funds for major street improvements, a
street must be listed on the national functional classification system, and be
included within the FAU district boundaries. Funds are available through
various programs under the Federal Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act (I.S.T.E.A.) program. Separate grant applications are required
for all-weather roadways, economic development roads, and major truck routes.
A small amount of money is made available on a periodic basis to the City and
Road Commission under the Small Cities Program. These funds amount to
approximately $250,000 to $350,000 per project, which is available
approximately once every three years for either the City or Road Commission.
Each of these grants are competitive in nature and must be applied for and are
judged against other communities applying for the same funds.
The primary north/south traffic corridor within the community, continues to
be Mission Street. Isabella Road, which will be completed as a 4-lane roadway
from Broomfield to Pickard Street this year, will serve as a reliever to
Mission Street traffic volumes. Exhibit 3 includes the traffic volumes of
major roadways within the central urban area. These traffic counts illustrate
the volume of traffic on Mission and Pickard Streets, which varies from 26,000
vehicles per day at Mission and Broomfield, to 22,000 vehicles per day at East
Pickard near U.S. 27. Pickard Street, with it's upgrade to 4 lanes for most of
its' length, has experienced increasing volume of traffic, which is
approximately 15,000 to 17,000 vehicles per day.
The commercial and retail development of the community is primarily
concentrated in the north/south direction along the Mission Street corridor.
Additional development has occurred on Pickard from Mission to Summerton Road.
As a result, traffic has concentrated along these two primary traffic
corridors. The proposed construction of additional north/south routes will
help to relieve this traffic volume. Once Isabella Road is completed later
this year, then additional traffic will utilize that corridor. The major
streets that have been connected to complete the City grid, such as Bellows,
Preston, and Sweeney Street, have helped to complete the major street traffic
grid and to relieve congestion that would have occurred otherwise along
Mission Street. West Broadway, from Bradley to Lincoln Road, is the primary
major street within the City of Mt. Pleasant which does not connect to the
major County road grid.
