2001 Homer Area Transportation Plan

(Updated 2004)

Prepared By

Mike Taurianinen, P.E.

Consulting Engineers, Inc.

In Association With

Kinney Engineering

Land Design North

Brooks & Associates

Bechtol Planning & Development

And

City of Homer

Department of Public Works

Planning and Zoning Division

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report presents the results of a transportation study for the City of Homer, including the surrounding area to approximately two miles north of the City Limits. The Homer Area 2001 Transportation Plan is a 20-year transportation planning tool for the City of Homer to identify needs, guide planning and aid funding efforts for roads and trails capital improvement projects. Funding for this study is from DOT/PF and the City of Homer.

Homer is situated on Kachemak Bay at the end of the Sterling Highway and is the commercial hub of the southern Kenai Peninsula. The 2000 population of the City of Homer is 3,946 and is projected to grow at about 2% annually to about 6000 in 20 years. The local economy depends largely on the commercial and sport fishing industries and tourism. Construction, retail trade and government services are also a significant part of the Homer economy.

Funding for local streets and trails projects comes from state, city and borough sources, with by far the largest portion coming from the state. DOT/PF plans transportation projects through the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) on a three-year cycle. Over 20 Homer area projects ($43+ million) are currently on the STIP list.

Eight issues, or assumptions, were identified that need to be addressed by goals and objectives. Issues include such diverse considerations as expected growth, traffic congestion, pedestrian needs, snow storage, multi-use dock and downtown parking. Nine goals were then drafted as broad statements to address issues, and eleven specific objectives were identified to measure progress toward desired goals.

Homer area streets fall into three categories. The only arterial is the Sterling Highway. Local streets emphasize access and may have frequent pedestrian and cyclist activity. Collectors carry traffic from local streets to other collectors, commercial areas, schools, and arterials.

The Homer street transportation modeling was done with QRS II software using 1999 traffic data and the existing network of collectors and arterial to establish a baseline model. Twenty-year projections were developed by creating centroids containing residential, business, and institutional data, and considering number of dwelling units, employment, schools and other economic data obtained during this study. The baseline model was carefully calibrated to reasonably match DOT/PF 1999 data.

Several model runs were prepared to describe present and future traffic operations of the existing street system showing traffic volumes on each segment. Level of service, a quantitative description of traffic delay, was determined for un-signaled intersections. The models shows that summer peak hour volumes for the Spit Road and the beginning of East End Road will be over capacity and should be improved to add a center turn lane, and a traffic signal is already warranted at the Sterling Highway/Lake Street intersection; other intersections could warrant signals before 20 years.

The model of the street system was then modified to include several alternatives such as adding corridors and extending existing corridors. The strategic addition/extension of corridors resulted in significant reductions of projected traffic loads on Central Business District (CBD) streets and some outlying streets. This will enhance access to existing developed areas and open opportunities for future growth.

The CBD is a commercially-zoned area bounded by Sterling Highway, Pioneer Avenue and Lake Street. Convenient transportation, parking and circulation are critical to orderly CBD development and future vitality, but are currently inadequate. The proposed East-West street through the CBD and suitable on- and off-street parking will greatly enhance accessibility and activity in the CBD.

The Kachemak Bay Multi-use Dock will generate quite a bit of additional auto, van and truck traffic both to and from the Spit and around the entire City. Adequate staging area will be required. Traffic planning and timely improvements will be necessary to avoid traffic bottlenecks.

With the increased development, hauling of snow from the CBD streets will require additional snow storage area. Identification of a new site(s) and allowance for environmental requirements should be a high priority.

Accommodation of senior citizens and people with disabilities will be important in making Homer and especially the CBD user friendly to all residents and visitors. According to the 2000 Census, 10% of the local population is 65 or older. Streets, walkways and buildings should be planned for accessibility. Seniors and people with disabilities must be considered as codes and ordinances are proposed and adopted.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Homer Area 2001 Transportation Plan was produced to be a comprehensive transportation-planning tool for the City of Homer. This study will provide a general guide for planning and funding requests for road and trail transportation capital improvement projects for the next 20 years. This plan is not intended to identify site specific locations of improvement.

The City of Homer (COH) obtained funding for this study from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT/PF), and has retained Mike Tauriainen, P.E., Consulting Engineers, Inc. as the prime consultant to perform this study. Other members of the consultant planning team include Land Design North (trails element), Kinney Engineering (transportation engineering), Bechtol Planning & Development (planning), and Brooks & Associates (transit engineering).

The 2001 Draft Transportation Plan was completed but not adopted. In Fall 2003 the City of Homer Road Standards Committee began reviewing the goals, objectives, and recommendations of the 2001 Draft Transportation Plan. This plan reflects the plan as recommended by the Road Standards Committee.

The Road Standard Committee further recommends that where ever this plan recommends signalization that alternatives, such as roundabouts, be seriously considered.

2 BACKGROUND FOR PLANNING

2.1 Community Description

The following description is based on the community profile published on the State of Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development’s (DCED) website, www.dced.state.ak.us.

The City of Homer is a first-class city located on the north shore of Kachemak Bay on the southern Kenai Peninsula. The Homer Spit is a 4.5-mile long bar of gravel, which extends from the Homer shoreline out into Kachemak Bay. Homer is about 227 road miles south of Anchorage, at the southern-most point of the Sterling Highway. It lies at approximately 59^o 38’ N Latitude, 151^o 33’ W Longitude, and is in the Third Judicial Homer Recording District. The City encompasses 15 sq. miles of land and 10.5 sq. miles of water. Homer is the commercial hub of the southern Kenai Peninsula. Neighboring communities include Anchor Point, Fritz Creek, Kachemak City, and Voznesenka which are accessible by road; and Seldovia, Port Graham, Nanwalek and Halibut Cove which are accessible only by air and water.

Homer has a maritime climate. During the winter, temperatures range from 14 to 27^o F; summer temperatures vary from 45 to 65^o F. Average annual precipitation is 24 inches, including 55 inches of snow.

The following paragraphs provide an overview of Homer and are copied (with edits) from the DCED Homer community profile.

The Kenaitze Indian Tribe occupied this area for thousands of years. In 1895, the U.S. Geological Survey came to Homer searching for and studying coal and gold resources. Hope and Sunrise prospectors began their land journey at the Homer Spit. The community was named for mining promoter Homer Pennock, who arrived in 1896 and built living quarters for his crew of 50 on the Homer Spit. Pennock’s plans were to mine the beach sands along Cook Inlet, from Homer to Ninilchik. The Homer post office opened shortly thereafter. In 1899, Cook Inlet Coal Fields Company built a town and a dock on the Spit, started the coal mine at Homer's Bluff Point, and constructed a 7-mile-long railroad that carried the coal to the end of Homer Spit. Settlers continued to move into the area in the 1930s and 1940s to homestead. Other settlers were attracted to the canneries that processed Cook Inlet fish. As a direct result of the 1964 earthquake the City government was incorporated as a first-class city in March 1964. The Homer Spit subsided approximately 4 to 6 feet during the 1964 earthquake, and several buildings had to be relocated.

Homer has a large community of artists. The annual Homer Halibut Jackpot Derby is hosted by the Homer Chamber of Commerce from May 1 through Labor Day. Homer calls itself the "Halibut Capital of the World." Other events include: Winter Carnival (Feb); Winter King Salmon Tournament (Mar); Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival (May); Wooden Boat Festival (May); Summer Street Fair (July); Concert on the Lawn (Aug); and Seafood Festival (Sept)

The majority of homes are fully plumbed with water and sewer. The City of Homer owns and operates the water and sewer system. Water supplied by a dam and 35-acre reservoir at Bridge Creek, is treated, stored in tanks with a capacity of 2.5 million gallons, and piped to most the of homes in the City. Some residents use individual wells or have water delivered to home tanks. City sewage is piped to a deep shaft sewer treatment plant; capacity is 880,000 gallons per day. Refuse is collected by Peninsula Sanitation, a private firm, and hauled to the Borough-operated Homer landfill/balefill. The City also participates in recycling and hazardous waste disposal programs. Homer Electric Association (HEA) provides electrical power. HEA operates the Bradley Lake Hydroelectric Plant and is part owner of the Alaska Electric Generation & Transmission Cooperative, which operates a gas turbine plant in Soldotna. ACS, AT&T Alascom, and GCI provide phone service, and GCI provides cable service.

The City provides the following services: a police department, fire department with a large active volunteer membership, library, parks and recreation, public works department, and the port and harbor department. The State has a State Trooper Post in Homer. South Peninsula Hospital is in Homer and provides medical services for the City and surrounding communities. The South Peninsula Hospital Service Area Board is responsible for the operation of the hospital, within the Kenai Peninsula Borough umbrella. The Homer Society of Natural History sponsors the Pratt Museum. Homer Senior Citizens, Inc. provides assisted and independent living facilities, a day program, Senior Center, nutrition and transportation services. The Kenai Peninsula Independent Living Center has a facility in Homer and provides assisted living, transportation, vocational training, skills training, and rehabilitation for disabled Alaskans.

The University of Alaska, Kachemak Bay Branch has two campuses in Homer - the west and east campuses. Table I-1 summarizes Homer school information (through grade 12). The public schools in Homer are a part of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District.

Table I-1: Homer Schools

School	Grades	Students	Staff	Students 2004
Homer Charter School	4 - 6	28	5	31
Homer Flex School	9 - 12	48	4	39
Homer High School	9 - 12	508	60	456
Homer Middle School	7 - 8	219	24	228
Paul Banks Elementary School	P - 3	229	33	222
West Homer Elementary School	3 - 6	296	32	296
Community Christian School	K - 12	92	20

Homer is accessible by the Sterling Highway to Anchorage, Fairbanks, Canada and the lower 48 states. It is often referred to as "The End of the Road," because it lies at the terminus of the Sterling Highway, at the end of the world famous Homer Spit. The State owns and operates the Homer Airport, with a 6,700' asphalt runway and floatplane basin at Beluga Lake. The City built and operates the Homer Airport Terminal. The City is served by several scheduled and chartered aircraft services. There are four additional private landing strips in the vicinity. The Alaska Marine Highway and local ferry services provide water transportation. The deep-water dock, which was constructed in 1990, has a total berthing space on the outer (east) face of 774 feet when using dolphins and 820’ when using dolphins and buoys and can accommodate 30+ foot drafts. The Pioneer Dock was completed in 2002, and has a berthing for ships up to 750’ LOA. Water depth at both of these docks is minus 40 feet at mean lower low water (MLLW). The City’s third dock is Fish Dock, which is located inside the small boat harbor, and includes not only docking space but eight public use cranes and an ice plant. The boat harbor has a 5-lane boat launch ramp, 920 reserved slips, plus more than 6,000 linear feet of transient tie up space and accommodates up to 1,400 boats at the seasonal peak

2.2 City of Homer Government

The following information was compiled and summarized from Homer’s website (www.ci.homer.ak.us/) and the DCED community profile.

Homer has a council/manager form of government, with an elected mayor and six-member city council. A manager runs the City organization. Homer’s departments/divisions are Clerk, Police, Fire, Personnel, Library, Public Works, Planning, Port and Harbor, and Finance. Boards and commissions include a Library Advisory Board, Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission, Advisory Planning Commission, Port/Harbor Advisory Commission, Road Standards Committee and the Town Center Development Committee.

Homer has a 3.5% city sales tax, and a 2% Borough sales tax. The City property tax is 5.0 mills, and the Borough property tax is 6.5 mills. Figures I-1 and I-2 present the 2001 budget expenditure and revenue information for Homer.

Figure I-1: Homer FY 2001 Expenditures (source: http://finance.ci.homer.ak.us/b2001comb.htm)

Figure I-2a: Homer FY 2004 Expenditures

Figure I-3: Homer FY 2001 Revenues (source: http://finance.ci.homer.ak.us/b2001comb.htm)

Figure I-4a: Homer FY 2001 Revenues

2.3 Population

Homer’s recorded population history begins in 1940. Table I-2 presents population data for Homer between 1940 and the present, and for the Kenai Peninsula Borough between 1990 and 2000. This information was obtained from the DCED website and from the State of Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOL), Research and Analysis Section, website which has past records and 2000 census information. DOL’s website address is www.labor.state.ak.us/research/research.htm.

Table I-2: Population: Kenai Peninsula Borough, Homer, and Homer Area

Year	Kenai Peninsula Borough	Homer City	Homer Area Population^1
1940		325
1950		307
1960		1,247
1970		1,083
1980		2,209
1990 (Census Year)	40,802	3,660	5,451
1991	42,132	3,700	5,416
1992	43,459	3,788	5,617
1993	43,814	3,850	5,722
1994	45,059	3,940	5,925
1995	45,906	3,965	6,103
1996	46,654	4,008	6,281
1997	47,695	4,068	6,441
1998	48,532	4,128	6,525
1999	48,952	4,154	6,670
2000 (Census Year)	49,691	3,946	5,980
2003 Estimate	51,220	4,893	7,106
Computed Annual Growth Rate 1990 to 1999	2.04%	1.42%	2.27%
Computed Annual Growth Rate 1990 to 2000	1.99%	0.76%	0.93%

¹Homer area includes Homer, Fritz Creek, and Kachemak City

The reason that the population falls off in 2000 is that the years in between census years are estimated from local addresses, including post office boxes that are rented in Homer by people living outside of Homer. The year 1990 and 2000 represent actual census information.

The annual growth rates in the table are the equivalent geometric growth rate from 1990 to 1999 and to 2000. Annual growth rates are used to model population growth as well as traffic growth. Equation I-1 is the equation for population forecasting using the annual growth rate percentage.

P_f= P_c*(1+i/100)ⁿ (Equation I-1)

With:

P_f is the future population at year n;

P_c is the current or base year population;

i is the annual growth rate in percent per year; and

n is the number of years between now and the future year.

Figure I-3 prepares a graph of the Homer population as a function of the Kenai Peninsula Borough population for the data points at 1990 and 2000. Because the State of Alaska DOL has developed low, medium, and high growth rates for the Borough, another forecasting tool would be to use this relationship and input future Borough population forecasts to yield the Homer population.

Figure I-5: Homer Population vs. Kenai Peninsula Borough Population

2.4 Population Forecasts

This subsection develops future populations for Homer, and an annual growth rate that can apply to both population and to traffic forecasting. The planning horizon is 20 years and the year of concern is 2022. Our transportation model, QRS II, uses population (specifically dwelling units) as one of the planning input variables.

The Department of Labor Research and Analysis Section has prepared forecasts for the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Table I-3 presents their forecasts from 1998 to 2018 for low, medium, and high scenarios. The year 2022 forecasts (in italics) were computed with Equation I-1, and the listed 5-year growth rate for the last five-year interval.

Table I-3: Kenai Peninsula Borough Population Forecasts

Year	Low Growth		Medium Growth		High Growth
	Pop.	5-year Growth Rate	Pop.	5-year Growth Rate	Pop.	5-year Growth Rate
1998	48815		48815		48815
2003	52152	1.33%	52382	1.42%	53371	1.80%
2008	55387	1.21%	56110	1.38%	58247	1.76%
2013	58852	1.22%	60234	1.43%	63636	1.79%
2018	62142	1.09%	64305	1.32%	69184	1.69%
2022	64906		67759		73969

Using the trend line equation from Figure I-3, y = 0.0322x + 2347, (where “x” is the KPB population and “y” is the resultant Homer population) and using the 2022 High Growth forecast scenario for the Borough of 73,969, we can compute the 2022 Homer population to be 4,800. The annual growth rate that is calculated under this method to grow the population from 2000 level to 2022 would be about 0.8% per year.

There is a consensus among planners and City Staff that 2% per year is a good growth rate for Homer because it mirrors the Borough projections, and should reflect the overall area growth and account for seasonal variations. This rate is also more in line with the economic growth discussed below. For Homer population growth, we will use a growth rate of 2% per year resulting in a population of 6000 in 2022.

2.5 Local Economy

The QRS II program uses discrete types of employment as input variables for the model. As such, we are interested in forecasting future economic growth.

According to the DCED website community profile, Homer is primarily a fishing, fish processing, trade and service center, and seasonal tourist industry. Cruise ships have visited Homer in the past, and with a new multi-purpose dock is under construction regular visits are projected. During summer months, the population increases with tourism and fishery employment. Many guide services serve halibut and salmon sport fishing clients. About 520 residents hold commercial fishing permits. The fish dock has cold storage facilities, ice manufacturing and a vacuum fish-loading system. The $13 million dollar U.S. Fish & Wildlife Visitors Center for the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Center was opened to the public in late 2003.

The 1990 U.S. Census provides the most recent community level data available. The community level data from the 2000 Census will not be available until May 2002. Table I-4 shows occupation and industry employment and is from Homer’s community profile on the DCED website.

Table I-4: Employment by Occupation and Industry in Homer (1990)

OCCUPATION		INDUSTRY
Executive/Administrator:	239	Forestry/Fishing/Farming:	142
Professional Specialty:	236	Mining:	46
Technician:	50	Construction:	176
Sales:	122	Non-Dur. Manufacturing:	64
Administrative Support:	203	Durable Manufacturing:	75
Private Household:	7	Transportation:	92
Protective Service:	25	Communications/Utilities:	65
Other Professional Service:	252	Wholesale Trade:	34
Forestry/Fishing/Farming:	126	Retail Trade:	296
Precision Craft or Repair:	171	Fin./Insur./Real Estate:	66
Machine Operators:	73	Business& Repair Service:	37
Transportation or Materials:	103	Personal Services:	110
Handler/Equipment/Labor:	47	Entertainment/Recreation:	20
		Health Services:	136
		Education Services:	78
		Public Admin:	108
		Other Prof. Services:	109
1990 Totals	1654		1654

Table I-4a Employment by Occupation and Industry in Homer (2000)

OCCUPATION		INDUSTRY
Management/ Professional	585	Agriculture/ Forestry/ Fishing/Mining	115
Sales & Office	327	Construction	116
Farming/ Fishing/ Forestry	55	Manufacturing	54
Construction/Extraction/ Maintenance	169	Wholesale Trade	28
Production/Transportation	234	Retail Trade	198
		Transportation/warehousing/utilities	171
		Information	35
		Finance/Insurance/Real Estate/Rental/Leasing	95
		Professional/Scientific/Management, Administration/Waste Management Services	82
		Education/Health/Social Services	411
		Arts/Recreation/Food & Lodging	256
		Other	110
		Public Administration	90
2000 Totals	1,761		1,761

The DOL maintains annual industry employment statistics for borough and census areas in the State. One of the reporting areas includes the Homer area (see http://www.labor.state.ak.us/research/region/kenai/hometbl.htm). Table I-5 presents the industry employment for the Homer Area between 1990 and 1998. The total industry employment average annual growth rate between 1990 and 1998 is about 2.4% per year.

Table I-6 presents overall unemployment and sector trends for Homer during1990 and summarizes information from the DCED website.

The annual average unemployment rate from 1990 to 2000 for the Kenai Peninsula Borough has fluctuated between a low of 9.8% in 1998, to a high of 15.5% in 1992 (reported by the State Department of Labor Research and Analysis website). In 1990, the unemployment rate for the Borough was 11.7%, almost 4% higher than the 1990 rate for Homer shown in Table I-6.

Table I-5: Homer Area Employment by Industry, 1990 to 1998

	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998
Total Industries	2,102	2,312	2,182	2,289	2,472	2,647	2,638	2,615	2,539
Mining	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Construction	214	128	88	92	125	163	142	149	165
Manufacturing	304	414	296	261	301	242	280	190	167
Transportation	245	226	213	235	271	288	243	237	229
Trade	450	546	515	548	572	696	734	764	664
Finance	51	56	60	66	73	76	73	64	67
Services & Misc.	375	410	451	486	501	527	535	555	587
Government	463	533	558	601	630	655	631	656	660
Federal	56	63	67	68	66	66	68	74	68
State	27	102	98	93	103	103	107	111	111
Local	380	368	393	439	460	487	456	471	481

Table I-6: Unemployment and Sector Employment for Homer

Unemployment
		1990	2000
Total Potential Workers (16+)		2,673	3,006
Total Employment		1,722	2,022
Armed Forces Employment		68	88
Unemployed (and seeking work)		141	173
Percent Unemployed		7.9%	5.8%
Adults Not in Labor Force		810	984
% Adults Not in Labor Force		35.60%	32.7%
Employment by Sector
	1990		2000
Private Sector	1390		1125
Self Employed	241		327
Local Government	175		2000 Total Government Employees
State Government	39
Federal Government	50		297

Employment, job diversity, and economic outlook are favorable indicators for Homer’s future. Transportation planning should consider these indicators in determining needs. In addition, one sees from Table I-5 that the past economy growth (measured by employment) for the area is about 2.4% per year. It is estimated that this positive trend will continue, and for the purposes of this transportation plan, an annual increase in employment of 2.4% per year was used.

2.6 Land Use

City of Homer and Kenai Peninsula Borough documents and mapping were researched to determine existing and future land use and zoning patterns. This information was used to describe development in the base and future QRS models.

3 TRANSPORTATION FUNDING

3.1 Local Funding

The City of Homer has created the Homer Accelerated Roads Program (HARP); the intent of which is to reconstruct local substandard city streets and/or upgrade existing city streets and rights-of-way. Improvements funded under this program reduce maintenance costs, improve access, increase property values and improve the quality of life. The program utilizes dedicated City sales tax not to exceed three quarters of one percent supplemented by assessments against benefited properties. The program provides for the sale of revenue bonds to cover the cost of the projects. Abutting property owners generally share the cost of upgrading a street to residential standards by paying $30/front foot for gravel improvements and $17/front foot for paving. There has been some discussion about revising the program to more closely meet the current needs of the community.

3.2 State of Alaska

The State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities publishes a State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) on a three-year cycle. For roads and highways, the STIP funds projects under 4 categories:

Ø National Highway System, NHS (Includes Sterling Highway);

Ø State Highway System, SHS (established for this current cycle, no SHS roads in Homer);

Ø Community Transportation and Economic Development Program, CTP (any street or road nominated by local and borough governments); and,

Ø Trails and Recreational Access for Alaska, TRAAK (Trails, enhancements).

The 1998 to 2000 STIP and the 2001 to 2003 STIP has identified projects for the Homer area. Figure I-4 shows approximate total Statewide STIP projects, and those within Homer as listed in the 1998-2000 and 2001 to 2002 STIPs.

Figure I-6: Statewide STIP and Funding Dedicated to Homer Area

Table I-7 presents the street and roads needs for Homer, and is from the DOT/PF website (http://www.dot.state.ak.us/cgi-bin/projneeds.d/need_list).

Table I-7: State of Alaska Road and Trail STIP Needs for Homer

Name	Description	Estimate	STIP Category
Bartlett/Hohe Street	Rehab Bartlett St. from Pioneer St. to Fairview Ave. (2000'). Rehab Hohe St. from Fairview Ave. to the South Peninsula Hospital (1000'). Work on both streets includes lowering grade, minor realignments within existing ROW, widening driving lanes to current standards, water/sewer stub outs, storm drains, curb & gutter, sidewalks, and lighting at street intersections.	1,000,000	CTP
Baycrest/Homestead Ski/Trailhead Rehabilitation	Construct a year round trailhead that provides off-street parking on Rogers Loop Road.		TRAAK
Bunnell St/Olsen Lane Rehabilitation	Reconstruct and pave 1 mile of urban streets within the Homer City limits. Project scope and cost estimate are modified to include lighting and sidewalks.	1,100,000	CTP
East End Road Improvements	Rehabilitate and resurface Homer East End Road.
East End Road Safety Trail MP 9.5 to MP 11.9	Construct a separated pedestrian/bicycle facility along East End Road from MP 9.5 to MP 11.9		TRAAK
East End Road: MP 0.0-3.6	Rehab from Lake Street (MP 0.0) to the Kachemak Drive (MP 3.6). Reconstruct the road base, drainage, vertical and horizontal curves, pedestrian facilities and resurface. Sidewalks on both sides will be constructed to the elementary school from that point a separated trail will be constructed on the uphill side with four shoulders on both sides of the road to Kachemak Drive.	9,600,000	CTP
East End Road: MP 3.6 to 12.5	Rehabilitate from the intersection with Kachemak Drive (MP 3.6) to the McNeil Canyon School (MP 12.5). Rehabilitate the roadway; provide shoulders; improve drainage; provide pedestrian facilities; and address safety concerns as warranted. Pedestrian facilities will be considered between MP 9.5 and MP 11.8. Also includes separated path pathway from Kachemak Drive to Chelsea Street and from Huntler Road to McNeil Canyon School.	9,850,500	CTP
End of the Road Wayside Park Construction	Construct a highway wayside at the beginning of the Sterling Hwy and adjacent to the AMHS terminal and dock which consists of a rest and viewing area, toilet facilities, parking, pathway and interpretive signs.		TRAAK
Freight Dock Road	Upgrade and pave Freight Dock Road from Sterling Highway to Homer Deep Water Dock (4,000').	200,000	CTP
Homer Mooring Improvements	Replace the existing Homer ferry terminal marine structures.	3,500,000	NHS
Homer Scenic Overlook	Construct a scenic overlook adjacent AMHS deck/parking area on Homer Spit.	600,000	TRAAK
Homer: East End Road: MP 14.2 to 22.0 Rehabilitation - Phase II	Rehabilitate roadway from the McNeil Canyon School (12.5) to the vehicle parking turnaround at Vosnesenka (MP 22). The project will include widening, realignment, drainage improvements and resurfacing.	12,765,000	CTP
Kachemak Drive	Rehabilitate Kachemak Drive from the Sterling Hwy to East End Road, 3.5 miles in length. Work includes improving and raising the embankment, surfacing, widening and drainage improvements. Pedestrian facilities will be evaluated.		CTP
Kachemak Drive Pathways	Construct a pathway along Kachemak Drive from East End Road to the Sterling Highway (approximately 3.5 miles).	1,000,000	TRAAK
Kenai Peninsula Road and Trail Improvements	Rehabilitate, resurface, and pave approximately 3 miles of Skyline Drive from the end of pavement on West Hill Road to the intersection with East Hill Road in Homer. Construct a trail connection and landscaping at the intersection of Lake Street and the Sterling Highway.
Mission Avenue	Improve drainage, replace soft areas in the road base and hard surface approximately one mile.	750,000	CTP
Pioneer Avenue	Resurface approximately one mile of Pioneer Avenue from the Sterling Highway to its intersection of Lake Street and East End Road. Project includes drainage, curb and gutter and sidewalk reconstruction.	680,000	CTP
Skyline Drive Rehabilitation	Reconstruct Skyline Drive from Ohlson Mt. Rd. to Hudspeth Drive.	500,000	CTP
Skyline Drive/Diamond Ridge Road Rehabilitation	Reconstruct 13 miles of substandard gravel road.		CTP
Soundview Avenue Trail	Construct approximately 2000 feet of pedestrian pathway between two disconnected segments of Soundview Avenue.	250,000	TRAAK
Spit Separated Pathway Ph II	Construct a separated pathway from the Homer Fishing Hole to the End of the Road Wayside to include interpretive sites.		TRAAK
West Hill Road	Resurface West Hill road from Diamond Ridge Road to Sterling Highway.	750,000	CTP
Woodard Creeks Erosion Control	Provide channelization and erosion control measures for drainage crossing the Sterling Highway.		TRAAK

4 Goals and Objectives

Goals and objectives provide the framework for planning. Transportation goals are broad statements of the directions that a community forms to address issues and problems. They describe what the community desires of its future transportation system. Objectives are specific and measurable statements to support the goals. Criteria are used to measure the progress towards the desired transportation system.

Urban transportation goals usually fall within two broad classifications. Service goals relate to the system service, for examples access, mobility, and connectivity, which the system should provide for the community. Impact goals often are drafted to provide a direction on how the system should be compatible with other important goals and values within the community, often to augment these other goals, or state the degree of conflict with the goals.

4.1 Issues

Through the planning process and work with the City of Homer Road Standards Committee the following issues were identified which are to be addressed by this plan’s goals and objectives.

1) The City’s population and economy is forecasted to grow at about 2% per year, and some areas of the city already experience congestion during certain times of the year and/or day.

2) Traffic volumes are growing at a faster rate than population and economy.

3) Seasonal traffic levels double during the summer.

4) Lack of connections between and to residential neighborhoods and schools force local traffic to major roads.

5) There are limited pedestrian facilities, and there is a lack of continuity among existing pedestrian facilities.

6) The elderly and disabled population is growing and inadequate facilities exist to serve them.

7) Homer’s deep water dock, boat harbor and industrial/commercial traffic conflicts with recreational traffic.

8) Expansion of the airport.

9) Parking within the Central Business District doesn’t facilitate other goals of the community such as pedestrian friendliness.

4.2 Goals

The goals identified for the plan are as follows:

1) Homer’s transportation system, including, streets, trails, docks and airport, should support future community economic and population growth.

2) Homer’s transportation system should provide mobility, access and circulation for the future community for pedestrian and vehicular modes.

3) Homer’s street system should operate at acceptable levels of service, delay and congestion.

4) Homer’s street system should be configured to encourage a hierarchal progression of progression for trips and minimize by-pass and through trips on residential streets.

5) The expansion of the transportation system should minimize impacts to residential areas and parks.

6) The trails and paths network should provide alternative transportation modes, enhance recreational opportunities and create connectivity throughout the community.

7) Snow storage sites should be developed in locations that will expedite hauling operations and minimize impacts to water quality, and minimize potential impacts to neighboring properties.

8) The transportation plan shall include the needs and provisions for the elderly and disabled citizens.

9) The transportation plan shall minimize conflicts between commercial/industrial traffic and recreational traffic.

10) Parking in the CBD should be re-evaluated with consideration to other goals of the community.

11) The street system shall have a level of service (LOS) of C or better (as designed by the Highway Capacity Manual or Intersection Capacity Utilization Method) for all network facilities.

4.3 Objectives

The objectives identified for the plan are as follows:

1) This plan shall identify existing development and probable areas of development. Measurements of success shall be completion of this analysis and identification of likely areas of development.

2) This plan shall identify the street network system to serve the existing and future areas of development within Homer. Future networks links to the system will be evaluated, and applied to the system as appropriate.

3) This plan shall evaluate the need for new corridors throughout Homer. Evaluation and determination of feasible corridors shall be determined by considering the added service to the entire system, potential impacts to neighborhoods, and connectivity within the system.

4) This plan shall evaluate new corridors based on whether community services are enhanced.

5) This plan shall determine if there are traffic benefits for new corridors. Benefit will be measured by the change in percent volume reduction on other roadways.

6) This plan shall identify possible areas for on-street parking and/or centrally located parking areas.

7) For this planning horizon a capacity analysis stating LOS of key facilities and overall capacity review of the network is necessary. Planning level recommendations for improvements and the approximate time that the improvement must be implemented to maintain LOS C is the desired outcome.

8) This plan will recommend network links so that local streets are not used as thoroughfares, and congestion and delays on collector and arterials are avoided. New connections through residential areas shall include traffic calming techniques and pedestrian amenities.

9) Snow storage sites shall be located in areas that are compatible with Homer’s snow removal equipment fleet. Site will be evaluated by their potential impact to water quality and neighboring properties.

10) Seniors, people with disabilities and others who are not able or choose not to drive need supportive roadside features and pedestrian facilities, as well as community support in securing funding for alternative means of transportation.

11) Pedestrian amenities shall be included in new road projects and reconstruction projects except in the Rural Residential zoning district.

12) Existing rights-of-way should not be vacated unless it can be shown there are no compelling long-term reasons for the rights-of-way.

5 EXISTING STREET CLASSIFICATION

Streets provide dual functions of access and mobility. The degree to which these functions are served determines the street classification. The primary reference for street classification is the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials “A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets”. In this reference, AASHTO uses the broad classifications of arterials, collectors, and local streets as a hierarchical system.

Arterial Streets emphasize mobility. Although, arterial streets can provide access, the street is usually designed to carry higher volumes at higher speeds, attributes that usually conflict with safe access.

Local Streets are those streets, which emphasize access and penalize mobility. These will have frequently spaced driveways, will be designed for low speeds and low volumes, and may have a high degree of pedestrian or bicycle use, parking, on-street delivery, and other landside functions that spill into the street and street right-of-way.

Collector Streets provide an intermediate link in the hierarchy between local streets and arterials. Typically, many local streets will connect with a collector, and many collectors to an arterial. Collectors often provide a mixed function of both access and mobility.

The study area roads and streets are presented on Plate 1. Arterial and collector streets are identified. All other streets are local streets.

AASHTO further defines the demographic environment for streets and roadways as urban (population areas > 50,000 people), small urban areas (between 5,000 and 50,000 people), and rural areas (those outside of the urban areas). Street classifications are modified with the adjective of either “rural” or “urban”. Based on a population of about 4,000, the streets in Homer will be rural. However, as a practical matter, the roadways serve an area population that extends far beyond the City of Homer boundaries, and this area-wide population is well above 5,000. It should be noted that the DOT/PF has categorized all of their roads in the study area as rural.

AASHTO also subdivides arterials into “principal arterials” and “minor arterials”, and subdivides collectors into “major collectors” and “minor collectors”. The reader is directed to AASHTO for these definitions. DOT/PF adheres to AASHTO sub-classes for their streets.

The State of Alaska DOT/PF Central Region publishes the Annual Traffic Volume Report that lists functional classifications and Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) for selected streets and roads. Table I-8 shows the data from the 1999 report.

Table I-8: Homer Area Roads

CDS Route	Name	Class	1999 AADT	AADT Location
110000	Sterling Highway	Rural Principal Arterial	8,300	Lake St.
110000	Homer Spit Rd. (Sterling Hwy)	Rural Principal Arterial	4009	Between End of the Spit and Kachemak Bay Drive.
110100	Pioneer Avenue	Rural Major Collector	7,300	Lake St. and East End Rd.
110150	Lake Street	Rural Major Collector	5,550	Sterling Hwy.
110200	Kachemak Bay Drive	Rural Major/Minor Collector	1,720	Sterling Hwy.
110300	East End Road	Rural Major Collector	7,700	Lake St. / Pioneer Ave.
110305	East Hill Road	Rural Minor Collector	1,800	East End Rd.
110500	Bartlett Street	Rural Minor Collector	1,270	Pioneer Rd.
110610	Bunnell Avenue	Rural Minor Collector	1,930	Olson Lane
110615	Olson Lane	Rural Minor Collector	470	Sterling Hwy.
110625	Main Street	Rural Major Collector	2,770	Sterling Hwy.
110716	Mission Road	Rural Minor Collector	125	East Hill Rd.
110800	West Hill Road	Rural Minor Collector	1,400	Sterling Hwy.
110900	Skyline Drive	Rural Minor Collector	460	East Hill Rd.
111300	Diamond Ridge Road	Rural Minor Collector	250	Sterling Hwy.

6 TRAFFIC MODELING AND FORECASTS

6.1 Methodology

This study uses the Quick Response System II (QRS II) for transportation models. The Quick Response System (QRS) was formulated in the 1970s as a set of manual techniques that could be used on planning problems too small for the computer technology of the time. These methods are documented in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report #187. It has evolved into the Windows-based QRS II, which is packaged with the General Network Editor (GNE), which serves as a data input module to QRS II. QRS II software employs all four steps of the modeling process and uses the inputs of development and land use, economic information, and transportation system attributes.

The existing network system of collectors and arterials was entered into a 1999 baseline model. This network system describes speeds, lanes, approach configurations, type of intersection control, and inherent delays. The year 1999 was selected because there is good roadway volume information that can be used for calibration. Only the arterials and collectors were entered into the network because the low volumes of local streets are not modeled well. In addition, it has been found that local streets are usually unaffected by area growth, and local traffic will be determined and limited by the site-specific development. Development is modeled by creating centroids that contain residential, business, and institutional data indicating location and levels of development.

QRS II’s primary centroid inputs for traffic generation are dwelling units and employees. Appendix B contains information about housing, lots, schools, employment, and businesses, which were used for input into a baseline model. The baseline employment information was further adjusted using some of the data in Table I-5, above.

In addition, other land uses, such as industrial and institutional uses, require special Production/Attraction tags to describe unique trip generators. This model was built using the detailed schema. With this schema trip ends for special generators were modeled, such as post offices, schools, docks, and other facilities that require Production/Attraction tags. The ITE Trip Generation Manual as the basis of trips at special generators.

External stations are nodes that define the boundary conditions, and require information about travel patterns at the ends of the model. Types of trips were estimated (e.g. home to work, home to other, tourism) to and from the external stations.

In order to have confidence in the model, the base model was calibrated to 1999 (AADT) volumes published by DOT/PF for the Homer Area Roads shown in Table I-8. Calibration was a highly iterative process, where centroids, network attributes (e.g. delay at intersections) and external station trip types are adjusted until the model link volumes agree reasonably well with the published volumes. At the end of the calibration phase the 1999 calibrated base model was within 5% to 20% of the 1999 AADT, for most of the roadways. There were roads, most notably West Hill Road, Main Street and Bartlett Street, which did not calibrate very well with the 1999 AADT. However, Main and Bartlett are parallel streets, and together the model shows that they carry about the combined volume of the 1999 AADT. As such, the model as calibrated to the 1999 volumes was accepted (see Table I-9 in Section 6.3 and compare volumes in “1999 DOT/PF AADT” column to “1999 Base Model ADT” column).

Once the model was calibrated, it became the basis of future development and system activities.

Residential dwelling units were assumed to grow at the same forecasted rate as the population. As discussed, under Subsection 2.4 Population Forecasts, the future annual population growth rate was estimated to be about 2%, and therefore the dwelling units will increase at about 2% per year. Using Equation I-1, it was estimated that the total number of dwelling units in the study area will increase about 49 to 50 percent over the next 20 years. Economic growth was assumed grow at 2.4% annually as developed under Subsection 2.5 Local Economy. Total economic growth, primarily stated as employees, is expected to increase about 60 percent in the next 20 years.

To model the locations of the future dwelling unit growth, future generators were place in the model consistent with current development plans and patterns. An algorithm was developed to equally assign new residences to subdivisions. It was assumed that existing unsubdivided areas would be developed to some extent in the future, with lot sizes similar to surrounding subdivisions, and that growth was included in the model. Once a subdivision was full (dwelling units equal lots), no further units were added. Future commercial development was treated in a similar manner.

The modeled 2021 transportation network included those improvements listed in Table I-7. The one improvement that seemingly would have the most effect on this system is paving Kachemak Drive. Presently, the gravel surface limits speeds. The model does not have surfacing parameters, but the travel speed was raised by 10 mph as a means of estimating the travel benefit. Once paved, the road will provide an attractive alternative to traveling through the CBD and using East End Road for the entire trip. It was found that the volumes did increase on Kachemak Drive by 10 to 15% once the road is paved. However, other street volumes, especially within the CBD, were not reduced by an appreciable amount by the paving of Kachemak Drive. However, the volumes on Sterling Highway were increased. (It should be noted that Kachemak Drive was paved in 2002, after the model was run, but before the adoption of this plan.) In addition to Kachemak Drive pavement, the new dock facility on the spit was included in separate model runs to ascertain the impact of the dock on roadway operations.

Homer has distinct seasonal variations in traffic flow. DOT/PF maintains a permanent traffic recorder on the Homer Spit Road south of Kachemak Drive. Average summer daily traffic is about 7,800 vehicles, which is about 95% higher than the AADT. It was decided to develop models based on the summer months as well because of these huge summer increases over the average model. Most traffic engineering analysis and decision processes use the peak hour of traffic flow as the design hour, therefore summer peak hour models were developed to review measures of effectiveness.

6.2 Recent Studies

The Boutet Company (TBC) prepared a Traffic Study (Draft) for Homer (January 2, 1999). Pertinent to this plan, TBC’s study recommended a street classification system, and prepared capacity analysis of key intersections during summer peak hours. Their capacity analysis showed that all intersections, except the Sterling Highway and Lake Street operated at level of service “C” or better. Sterling and Lake Street operated at level of service “D”.

The State of Alaska Central Region Traffic and Safety Section performed a traffic signal warrant analysis for the Sterling Highway (By-Pass) and Lake Street intersection. They found that signalization is warranted, even in the lower volume winter season.

TBC also prepared the Kachemak Bay Multi-Purpose Dock Traffic Impact Analysis, March 7, 1999. Trip generation data from this report for was utilized in preparing this model.

6.3 Results

Several model runs were prepared for this transportation plan to describe the present and future operations of the existing system (with near-term known improvements). The following models are included under Appendix C.

Ø 1999 Base Model- This model was the basis of further work and was calibrated to the published 1999 AADT in the Central Region Traffic Volume Report.

Ø 2021 Base Model- This run includes future population and economic data, and known future street improvements. It shows AADT in 2021, without the Dock

Ø 2021 Base Model with Dock (both daily traffic and peak hour traffic)- These models superimposed the Dock volumes on the 2021 Base Model. This represents the future system with known improvements.

Ø 1999 Summer Model (both daily traffic and peak hour traffic)- These models show the 1999 summer volumes that are estimated to occur now.

Ø 2021 Summer Model (both daily traffic and peak hour traffic)- These models show the summer volumes in 2021, without the dock.

Ø 2021 Summer Model with Dock (both daily traffic and peak hour traffic)- These models include dock traffic, and will show the level of future dock impacts on the system when compared to the summer models without the dock. These models represent the design condition in the future.

Each model diagram has volumes shown on links. These volumes are directional, and the total segment volume is the sum of the two volumes. Table I-9 presents 1999 actual DOT/PF AADTs for key street segments, and the model outputs for those segments under various time and development scenarios. Table I-10 presents design hour volumes (DHV) for those segments.

Table I-9: Selected Average Daily Traffic (ADT)

State System Highway / Street	Segment Location	1999 DOT/PF AADT	1999 Base Model ADT	2021 Base Model w/Dock	2021 Summer Model w/Dock
Sterling Highway	Lake Street	8,300	7,277	11,919	14,441
Homer Spit Rd. (Sterling Hwy)	Between end of the Spit and Kachemak Bay Drive	4,009	4,161	7,468	13,719
Pioneer Avenue	Lake St. and East End Rd.	7,300	6,820	10,046	13,428
Lake Street	Sterling Hwy.	5,550	4,450	6,871	8,043
State System Highway / Street