Alternatives Considered

Alternatives Development and Evaluation

This page describes the Cornell and Barnes Road alternatives development and selection process that was completed in Summer 2002. The process included extensive public involvement and a detailed evaluation of multiple alternatives for each road. Since the alternatives process was completed, the designs for each road have progressed to the final design stage. To see the latest project designs, please visit Final Design.

Alternatives Development
Initial draft alternatives were developed by the Technical Team in October and November of 2001 and presented to the PAC at a meeting on December 5, 2001. Following the PAC's review, four alternatives for Barnes Road and six alternatives for Cornell Road were carried forward for further evaluation and presentation to the public at Open House #2.

The alternatives are listed, with brief descriptions, in the table below. For both road segments, the main differences between the alternatives are alignment (location of the proposed roadway in relation to the existing roadway) and changes in vehicle access and circulation (property access changes, placement of medians).

Evaluation of Alternatives
After developing and weighting the goals and objectives, reviewing the project alternatives, and conducting the February 2002 open house, the project team worked on applying the evaluation criteria to each alternative. The results of the evaluation were presented to the PAC on April 24, 2002. For Barnes Road, Alternative B2-PA (north alignment, partial access) scored the highest using the evaluation criteria and Alternative B1-FA (center alignment, full access) scored the lowest. For Cornell Road, Alternative C2-PA (north alignment, partial access) scored the highest and Alternative C3-FA (south alignment, full access) scored the lowest. The results of the evaluation are shown below.

• Cornell Road: Alternative Weighting and Selection Matrix - 46KB
• Barnes Road: Alternative Weighting and Selection Matrix - 40KB

Selection of a Preferred Alternative

PAC Recommendation
The PAC reviewed the alternatives evaluation results at the April 24, 2002, meeting. The evaluation results are intended to be used by the PAC as a decision-making tool, but the PAC is not bound by the results (that is, the PAC does not have to recommend the alternative that received the highest score).

Barnes Road
The PAC preferred the north alternatives for Barnes Road because they had fewer impacts on the Cedar Mill Crossing apartments than the south alternatives. The group then discussed their preference for access options (full access, partial access). After a discussion of the tradeoffs between access and safety, the group agreed at the April 24, 2002, meeting to recommend Alternative B2-PA, the north alternative with partial access.

To see this alternative click here. - PDF 357KB

Cornell Road
Also at the April 24, 2002, meeting, the PAC discussed their preferences for a Cornell Road alternative. The PAC preferred the central alignment alternatives (C1-FA and C1-PA) because any private property impacts would be divided between the two sides of the road. However, the PAC was not satisfied with the two access options associated with the center alignment alternatives and requested that the project team develop an additional alternative that would combine certain features of the full access and partial access options.

Several versions of the alternative were developed and discussed at two additional PAC meetings (May 13, 2002, and June 24, 2002). The discussions focused on balancing the Main Street and Town Center goals with through traffic needs and property access while working within the engineering and cost constraints of the project. The major issues included pedestrian crossings and circulation, property access and driveway locations, through traffic, vehicle safety, and on-street parking. Members of the public attended the additional meetings and made a number of comments, many of which dealt with concerns about driveway locations and property access.

At PAC meeting #9 on June 24, 2002, the project team presented two variations on the original alternatives for Cornell Road to the PAC: Center Alignment, Full Access - Option A and Center Alignment, Full Access - Option B. Both options have two pedestrian refuge islands and curb bump outs, but the locations of the refuge islands are slightly different. The two options also have slightly different treatments for property access that attempted to address the issues raised during previous meetings. The PAC discussed the various issues at length and worked to select an alternative that best met everyone's needs. At the June 24, 2002, meeting, the PAC agreed to recommend the new C1-FA (Option A) alternative for Cornell Road.

To see this alternative click here. - PDF 587KB

As part of the discussion, the PAC requested several issues for the County to consider further during final design, including providing facilities for pedestrian crossings at Dale and Barnes Roads, and providing adequate property accesses to Jefferson Court and Vista Cornell apartments with respect to vehicle circulation and fire safety. Members of the PAC also requested additional treatments identifying mid-block pedestrian crossings, such as striping, signs, and pavement treatment.

Decision by County
As an advisory group to the County, the PAC's recommendation of a preferred alternative requires approval by the County. County staff reviewed the final two alternatives, C1-FA (Option A) and C1-FA (Option B), on June 21, 2002. The County Engineer, Capital Project Management Manager, and Principal Planner concurred with and recommended proceeding with the design of the PAC's recommended alternative. In addition, County Commissioner John Leeper reviewed the PAC's recommendation on July 15, 2002. Commissioner Leeper applauded the PAC's recommendation and authorized staff to proceed with the design process. The Commissioner requested staff to pay particular attention to optimizing the opportunity to improve operations of the Murray Road, Dale Street, and Barnes Road intersections where it is practical and economically feasible.