Columbus Consolidated Government

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TO: Mayor and Councilors

Date: 12/4/2007 12:00:00 AM

TO: Mayor and Councilors

Date:

Created:

11/29/2007 2:37:00 PM

THRU: Isaiah Hugley, City Manager

FROM: David Arrington, Deputy City Manager

Subject: Willis Road Extension

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• Proposal A.pdf 
• Proposal B.pdf 
• Proposal C.pdf 
• Proposal D.pdf 

At the request of Councilors McDaniel, staff has examined several alternatives

to extend Willis Road (Attachments A, B & C) from the current Willis Road

cul-de-sac across the existing rail bed and connecting into either Clubview

Court or the intersection of Cathryn Drive and Camille Drive. The roads

depicted in the attachments are shown in red if they do not meet current road

design standards and green if they do meet current design standards. Based on

the alignment of existing streets and right of way, any acceptable alternative

would require the purchase of additional right of way and residential

structure(s) to accommodate a road extension in accordance with current design

standards.



After analysis of the various alternatives and careful consideration of the

potential neighborhood impact of extending Willis Road, it is the Staff?s

opinion the road extension is not practical. Listed below are the relevant

factors considered in developing this opinion.



The existing alignment of the streets does not permit construction of the

extension road in accordance with current road design standards (turning radius

and tangent requirements) without the purchase of additional right of way to

include 1 ? 3 homes depending upon the design.

Vertical elevation differences in the properties would require additional

engineering studies to determine the feasibility of constructing a road to meet

current design standards.

Any design meeting current road design standards would require the diagonal

crossing of the Rails to Trail property. Vertical elevation challenges and

road design features would potentially have a negative safety impact on the

trail.

Since Willis Road intersects directly with Armour Road at a signaled

intersection, extending Willis Road may promote a significant volume of through

traffic from Warm Springs to Edgewood. The increase in traffic volume may

have a negative impact on the Camille/Cathryn neighborhood and the current

residents on Willis Road.

The cost of construction for a road meeting current design standard is

approximately $250,000. Purchase of additional right of way for road purposes

could range from $250,000 to $500,000 depending upon the route selected.



However, in order to accommodate emergency vehicle traffic it may be feasible

to erect an emergency access point to the Rails to Trail (Attachment D). The

emergency access point could be used by emergency vehicles to enter onto the

Rails to Trail and exit on Armour Avenue. Access could be gained by removing

bollards separating the Willis Road cul-de-sac from the Rails to Trail. This

is similar to the approach to allow emergency vehicle access to the Riverwalk

for emergencies occurring on the Riverwalk.



If you would like additional information concerning this matter please let me

know.