Council reviews draft Transportation Master Plan as members press for updated counts and clearer existing-road widths

A Sunrise Engineering consultant presented the draft Transportation Master Plan for Toquerville on June 17, outlining growth assumptions through 2045 and recommendations on road classifications, level-of-service thresholds and active-transportation projects.

"For those of you who aren't aware of some of the background on this project," consultant Jeff Warmer said, summarizing the project timeline and data collection that began in October 2025. He told the council the plan integrates prior county and regional plans, travel-demand modeling and 24-hour turn-movement counts at key intersections.

Council members raised several technical objections and asked for updates before the plan moves to the planning commission. "The existing is wrong. The future's wrong because you can't make these roads that you're thinking you're going to make collectors because they're not wide enough," one council member said, pressing the consultant to show where narrow segments would limit future collector designations.

Members pushed specifically for three corrections: (1) explicit mapping of current curb-to-curb widths at pinch points so future-design cross-sections reflect the narrowest segments, (2) more recent traffic counts on Tokerville Parkway and other newly opened corridors, and (3) a clearer, itemized set of thresholds that would trigger intersection-level mitigations such as signal warrants or two-way-left-turn lanes. "Your counts are from six months ago and you try driving the parkway now — the counts are way different," a council member said, noting rapid changes after the new parkway opened.

The consultant defended the draft as a discussion document and said adjustments can be made: the plan includes existing and future functional-classification maps, typical cross-sections, intersection and roadway level-of-service analyses, and preliminary capital-improvement project lists. Warmer said the plan uses LOS D as an early warning threshold and that final exhibits for future-year LOS projections are still being finalized.

The draft also includes a larger active-transportation component than Toquerville has used previously: staff added proposed trails, side paths and a number of capital projects that the consultant flagged as eligible for programs such as the Transportation Alternatives Program. Warmer said the plan assumes a 20% local match for typical TAP grants but noted funding mixes could change.

Council members and several residents asked the consultant to expand the crash analysis (contributing factors and crash types) and to re-run counts on corridors that have seen fast post-opening traffic shifts. "We can summarize in more detail the types of crashes and show it in the report," Warmer said, and agreed to incorporate revised counts and corrected cross-section markings in the next draft.

Next steps: staff asked council members to mark up maps and return comments by the following Friday so that the plan can proceed to the planning commission and public hearings. The council did not take formal action on the draft during the meeting; staff expects a revised plan for review in coming weeks.