City planning staff recommend keeping Maple Street‑to‑State Street connection in transportation master plan; council asks for more study

Mapleton staff reviewed the draft transportation master plan, highlighted a short public outreach schedule and asked the council whether to retain a long‑shown connection from Mapleton into Springville on the city plan.

Planner Rob Hunter told the council the city has posted a story map and run public outreach at events and through surveys; staff will hold a public open house Tuesday, Oct. 2 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at City Hall and expects to bring a final draft back to the council this winter for adoption. Hunter said staff’s inventory identified roughly seven roadway projects the city would need to lead — a mix of short connector streets, intersection adjustments, and two lane‑widening items — while many other local connections remain development‑driven.

Discussion focused on a longstanding conceptual link across the rail corridor to US‑89 and on shorter collector connections into Springville. Hunter said travel‑demand modeling shows the western connection would relieve projected cut‑through traffic on Springville neighborhood streets and reduce future load at several failing intersections. He cited model estimates of roughly 7,000 vehicles per day on a local Springville street in a no‑build scenario and a potential peak of about 20,000 vehicles per day at the Spanish Fork Parkway/Slant Road/State Street intersection without additional capacity. The consultant team and staff cautioned that model figures are trends, not exact forecasts.

Council members and staff discussed costs and environmental constraints. Hunter warned that a full connection across that corridor likely would require a long bridge spanning railroad right‑of‑way and wetland areas, might require acquisition or condemnation of two houses and could cost in the mid‑multi‑millions (staff offered a broad order‑of‑magnitude range of roughly $15 million to $25 million for a complete crossing). Hunter said the project could be a good candidate for MAG (Mountainland Association of Governments) regional funding — which would require coordination with Springville and Spanish Fork — but added that the bridge and rail crossing would raise the cost significantly.

Council members asked staff to keep the connection on the transportation plan and to develop a concept alignment and refined cost estimate. Several council members urged the city not to remove the project from the plan, arguing removal would limit options for future funding and could create long‑term congestion problems on existing north‑south corridors. Hunter said staff would pursue RTP (regional transportation program) inclusion and seek MAG guidance on how to proceed.

Hunter also pointed out several proposed intersection improvements and potential future roundabouts on Main Street (near 1600 North and other high‑volume junctions) and said sidewalk infill remains the largest single category of needed projects. The council asked staff to emphasize a short list of near‑term priorities for the Oct. 2 open house and to return with a 30%‑level alignment and cost estimate for the western connection.