2018-032 Attachment-Comprehensive Plan Update

Home Browse Search

SECTION 11: THE MASTER THOROUGHFARE PLAN 3. Introduction A community's land use pattern and transportation system are interrelated and interdependent with respect to growth and development. They interact constantly with one another in that different types of land uses have different transportation needs. The street network should provide for appropriate access and mobility to properly service the demands generated by the land use. For example, single-family residential uses require local and collector streets to accommodate low speeds and low traffic. Commercial and business uses require arterial street networks for handling higher traffic volumes caused by shoppers, delivery trucks, and service vehicles. Conversely, the transportation system may directly affect the types of land uses that occur in a particular area; for example, rail and highway access can be important for industrial uses. This section of the 2018 Comprehensive Plan Update identifies a future thoroughfare system that is consistent with the updated future land use plan. The thoroughfare plan defines a hierarchy of roadway functions providing a balance between mobility and access. This plan serves as a general guide for growth of the City's future roadway network that can be implemented primarily through capital improvement programs, land owner agreements, and developer -constructed roads over many years. The 2001 Master Thoroughfare Plan serves as the basis for this plan update. Alignment modifications are proposed to reflect and accommodate existing conditions and future developments in a way that is both fiscally responsible and implementable over time. Separate roadway alignment studies may be necessary to fine-tune the final location of proposed roadways in this plan in order to conform to existing land uses or future development trends. 4. Benefits of Adopting and Implementing a Master Thoroughfare Plan The Master Thoroughfare Plan provides a vision to assist in facility implementation, and helps guide decisions for capital projects based on the city's intended growth. The Thoroughfare Plan has been developed to support the Future Land Use Plan by identifying a system of roadway corridors to move people and goods. The benefits of a Master Thoroughfare Plan include the identification of right-of-way (ROW) needs in advance of new development, identification of roadways that appropriately accommodate traffic needs generated by certain land uses, advanced planning of implementation through funding programs, and coordination of growth with local and regional entities such as TxDOT and the ArkTx Council of Governments on transportation related projects.