Study looks at Highway 30 on Cedar Rapids’ east side

CEDAR RAPIDS - A study is taking shape to address interest from housing developers who want to continue to build in the corridor along Highway 30 east of Kirkwood Community College and south to Ely.

Late last year, the Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization (CMPO) agreed to spend up to $100,000 on a consultant study to look at what government might need to do to improve access onto Highway 30 and to extend water and sanitary sewer service in the face of development on the eastern edge of Cedar Rapids.

Anne Russett, a planner with the city's Community Development Department, told the CMPO's Executive Committee on Wednesday that consultant HR Green is looking at two different development scenarios for the study area, one that adds 11,269 housing units in the next 20 or more years, and one that adds 21,929 housing units in that time period.

The lower number is what is 'planned growth” that the city and county comprehensive plans envision for an area between C Street SW on the west, Highway 13 on the east, 76th Avenue SW on the south and the Cedar River on the north. The larger number is what could come with growth that may be driven by the development market, Russett said.

The study is attempting to address the infrastructure needs and costs.

In neither growth scenario, she said, does the emerging draft of the study call for an additional road access on to Highway 30, which committee member John Bender said was one of the central questions that the study is intended to answer.

However, the potential concepts in the draft of the study suggest that overpasses across Highway 30 - at Ivanhoe Road, for instance - that connect to possible new frontage roads could provide options for traffic.

Russett stressed that there is not yet plans calling for any road improvements. She said the study is presenting long-term options.

Bill Micheel, the city's assistant development director, said the study is a technical analysis to estimate costs to provide services to this growth area.

Developers have told the city that they are interested in building more homes in the area even as bringing water and sanitary sewer service to the area is not easy.

An existing new housing development, for instance, has complained about low water pressure. In addition, the city has been studying the creation of a regional lift station that can feed sewage from several developments over ridges so it gets to the city's Water Pollution Control facility at Bertram Road and Highway 13.

Russett said the final study report will be presented to the CMPO Executive Committee and then the organization's policy board in October.