City engineer introduces Sheridan Transportation Master Plan; commission to review before recommendation

City engineer Thomas Morneau introduced the Sheridan Transportation Master Plan during the Feb. 9 Planning Commission meeting and asked commissioners to review the draft before a follow‑up discussion and recommendation in two weeks.

Morneau described the plan as a roughly 200‑page, high‑level document created with consultant Dowell and public engagement that includes three public meetings and an interactive map that generated about 115 comments. "Most of the transportation improvement projects included conceptual roadways that go through private property and right of way that has not been obtained for these projects at the time of this study," he told the commission, stressing that alignments on the map are conceptual and would require future study, landowner coordination and right‑of‑way acquisition.

The draft identifies 54 projects ranging from intersection improvements to larger corridors such as a proposed West Corridor; Morneau emphasized the plan’s role as a planning resource to inform the capital improvement program (CIP) and to prioritize projects for detailed analysis and funding. He said the steering committee included city and county staff, School District 2, fire/EMS and state partners, and that staff intends to return Feb. 23 with a resolution asking the commission to recommend adoption to city council.

Commissioners asked whether the plan includes detailed traffic counts for major arteries such as West 5th Street; Morneau said it is a 30,000‑foot planning document that will prompt targeted traffic studies (warrant analyses and intersection evaluations) where needed and that YDOT traffic counts and prior studies were incorporated. A commissioner asked about conflict‑of‑interest concerns for votes; no conflicts were declared during the meeting.

Morneau described several projects that had drawn public comment—extensions of Highland Ave., intersection upgrades at 5th and Valdosta, and conceptual connections in the West Corridor—and noted that some projects in the joint planning area lie outside current city limits and would be conditioned on future development or county agreement. He said updates to the city’s future land‑use map and coordination with the county will follow separate processes and that the transportation plan is intended to feed the CIP and future right‑of‑way preservation efforts.

The planning commission will consider a recommendation to city council at a future meeting after the commission reviews the draft and staff presents a resolution.