Mount Pleasant reviews draft transportation master plan, 10-year pavement schedule

Mount Pleasant city leaders reviewed a draft transportation master plan from Sunrise Engineering at an Aug. 26 work session, where consultants said the plan includes a 10-year pavement management schedule based on an assumed $500,000 annual budget and that studied intersections “operate in a level of service C or better.”

The plan assembles roadway functional classifications, traffic counts, intersection analyses, crash data, active-transportation (walking and biking) projects and a capital-projects table for new roadways and improvements, Sunrise Engineering consultant Jeff said. The consultant said traffic counts were collected during school operation and crash data cover 2010 through Feb. 2023.

Why it matters: the master plan is intended to guide where and when the city invests in road, sidewalk and safety projects and to form the basis for an impact-fee study. City officials said they want to finalize projects and move quickly to secure funding if the council approves the plan.

Key findings and elements - Pavement management: Sunrise provided a 10-year pavement management plan that used an assumed annual budget of $500,000 (with inflation factored) and evaluated pavement distress types block-by-block. The consultant said cost updates might slightly change scheduling but not the overall project order. - Traffic and safety: Intersection analyses (AM and PM) show the studied intersections “operate in a level of service C or better,” Jeff said. Crash data reviewed through Feb. 2023 showed higher accident concentrations near highways but no trend requiring immediate mitigation. - Active transportation: The draft maps existing sidewalks, crossing locations and school crossings and proposes phased active-transportation projects. Phase 1 focuses on filling sidewalk gaps along major collectors; later phases extend connectivity to minor collectors and local streets. - Capital projects and developer responsibility: The draft includes capital projects for new collectors and local roads, and assumes developers will construct the minimum local cross section while the city would fund upgrades above that baseline. - Impact fees: The consultant explained that impact fees can be applied to new capacity added for growth but “it can't be used to address existing deficiencies. So it it wouldn't cover any pavement management type projects,” Jeff said. Calculating eligible shares depends on traffic modeling to separate growth-related demand from existing use.

Timeline, public review and next steps Sunrise recommended a two-week internal review followed by a comment-resolution meeting and a two-week turnaround to a final draft; the consultant estimated a roughly 4–6 week timeline from review to final document under that schedule. Council and staff set a comment deadline to allow a comment-resolution meeting on Sept. 9 and indicated an intention to consider adoption at a late-September council meeting.

Council and staff asked that comments be consolidated (for example, one marked-up PDF or a spreadsheet) so the consultant can compile responses into a comment-resolution form. Jeff offered to provide a comment-resolution template and said Rodney has his contact information.

Discussion and direction Councilmembers and staff discussed the need to value the engineering analysis and to be aggressive in moving to funding and construction for priority streets. The council identified 200 North (from 400 East to 900 East) as a high-priority project and asked about timing and immediate next steps. Sunrise said the project ordering in the draft is largely set but can be adjusted if the city’s available funding changes.

Formal action The meeting concluded with a procedural motion to close the work session; the motion was made, seconded by Kate and carried by voice vote with no opposition stated in the transcript.

What the plan does not do The draft is not a stormwater master plan: consultants noted drainage problem areas so the city can consider coupling drainage work with roadway projects, but the TMP does not include stormwater modeling. The impact-fee ordinance and implementation details will require separate procedures and legally required notice periods.

Next steps for the city Staff and council will compile comments and hold the scheduled comment-resolution meeting on Sept. 9. After the consultant addresses comments and issues a final draft, the council expects to move toward adoption and then advance work on funding sources and project delivery.