City of Hamilton - Dept. of Public Works

Transportation Plan

Executive Summary 

The Hamilton Area Transportation Plan is the first comprehensive planning document prepared for the City of Hamilton.  The development of this plan is the result of the City’s desire to conduct an in-depth analysis of their transportation system and develop a short-term and long-term needs assessment.  The plan incorporates the following components:  Development of transportation district analysis boundaries within the City and fringe areas in the County; research of the character of the area socio-economics and projected growth; an examination of the current system operations and potential deficiencies; a safety analysis; development of recommended improvements; a financial summary of funding sources for transportation improvements and project implementation. 

Following is a brief summary of the key elements associated with the development of this plan and the important findings and conclusions: 

q       Hamilton Planning Process – In March 2001, the City of Hamilton and the Montana Department of Transportation committed funds for the development of transportation planning documents for the City.  The four elements of the City’s planning process include. 

§         Comprehensive Transportation Plan focused on system operation,

§         Pavement Management System to address infrastructure condition,

§   Drainage system preliminary analysis,

§   Street and Infrastructure development guidelines. 

This Hamilton Area Transportation Plan is the first of the four elements and addresses the operation and proposed system upgrades to enhance the capacity of the planning area street and highway system. 

q       Transportation Plan Development Guidelines – For this Transportation Plan, the traffic forecasting methodology used by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) for Traffic Impact Analyses was adapted to a general 4-step modeling procedure so that forecast 2021 traffic volumes could be developed for the City of Hamilton.  First, existing traffic counts were obtained and base traffic projections were developed through historical roadway growth rates.  Next, the existing land use characteristics of the community were summarized into Transportation Analysis Zones (TAZs).  Forecast land use projections were developed through interviews with City staff and by historical population data maintained by the US Census Bureau.  Next, the traffic generated by each TAZ was determined based upon the trip generation methodologies of the ITE Trip Generation Manual, 6^th Edition.  The trips were distributed between TAZs to identify the increase in traffic that is likely to occur through community (land use) growth.  Finally, base traffic forecasts and land use traffic projections were combined to generate forecast 2021 traffic volumes for Highways and roadways within the City of Hamilton.  

q       Agency and Public Input Process – In order that unbiased and comprehensive guidance is provided to the planning consultant, The City of Hamilton formed the Hamilton Area Transportation Plan Steering Committee (TPSC).  The TPSC group consists of representatives from the City, Ravalli County, local commerce, development and builders, and public works.   During the planning process, representative of local maintenance, emergency services and transit providers provided input.

Considerable effort was made to facilitate public input to this planning effort.  The public participation process included an open-house meeting early in the planning process to solicit input on problem areas and issues of concern, a formal public meeting to present the preliminary findings and take public input, and the final public hearing to adopt the plan. 

q       Study Area Delineation – This first transportation plan required the delineation of a study area boundary.  The study area boundary was developed subsequent to a thorough review of various City planning documents, review of the City sewer and water infrastructure limits, and identification of certain physical restrictions.  Review of FIGURE 1-1 shows that the study boundary encompasses the entire city limits and includes unincorporated county areas north, east and south of the city.  The Bitterroot River provides a physical barrier to westerly city expansion.  Likewise, the boundary limits mirror the limits of short and long range expansion of the city water and sewer service. 

q       Projected Area Growth & Trip Forecasting – Ravalli County has been one of the fastest growing counties over the past ten years.  Prior to 1990 though, growth was significantly more moderate.  Conversely, City growth and annexations have proceeded at a more moderate level.  Based on research of the available US Census data, city and county commerce records, and interviews with various planning and public works staff, an average annual population growth rate of 2.1-percent is used.  Forecasting Vehicle trips in the 2021 forecast year was accomplished by designating Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ) and computing the corresponding growth rates to the major streets.  As identified in Section 3 of this report, the city can expect an average 4-percent per year increase in vehicular use on the study area streets. 

q       System Network Layout – The transportation planning effort requires the classification of the roadway hierarchy.  In the case of a community classified as an urban area, the federally approved street classification methodology would be used.  Since Hamilton does not currently qualify for urban designation (i.e., is less than 5000 population), a combination of federal and locally tailored street classification system has been adopted for this plan.  Observations of the roadway volumes and system layout resulted in the definition of the local functional classifications of arterials, collectors and local streets.  FIGURE 2-1 illustrates the street classifications.  For the purposes of this planning document, only arterial streets and collector streets were evaluated for operation and capacity improvements. 

q       State Highway Function and Layout – One very significant phenomenon in Hamilton is that US 93 (N-7) splits the city into two distinct halves.  High traffic volumes on US 93 and the wider highway section hamper the ability for east-west vehicles to enter or cross the state highway.  Likewise, the highway provides a substantial barrier to pedestrian movements.  This issue turns out to be a significant focus of the system evaluation and corresponding recommended improvements. 

q       Accident Analysis Findings – Investigation of the accident records for the past three year indicates that in general, accident rates for Hamilton City collector streets has been relatively average.  However, accident rates along US 93 and on SR 531 (Main Street) are noticeably higher.  Nearly 69-percent of the recorded collisions occurred on US 93 while 16-percent occurred on a four-block section of SR 531.  

q       Signal System Analysis Findings – The four signals in Hamilton (three on US 93 and one on Main Street) are functioning adequately or have been scheduled for upgrades in the near future.   In the process of evaluating locations for level of service, it was determined that new signals may be warranted at two locations of US 93; one at Pine Street and another at Ravalli Street.  Between these two locations, the Ravalli St./US93 stands out as being the higher priority. 

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