Roads and Erosion Committee Annual Report
The activities of the Roads and Erosion Committee in 2020 reflect the desires of the Membership as reported in the 2018 Membership Survey . Specifically , the Membership was not in favor of additional road paving , but did express interest in additional road maintenance .
I noted a concerted effort on the part of our Management and Maintenance crew to improve the condition of subdivision roads this Spring 2020 . During a May visit to the Ranch , I noticed both the road grader and the big red International truck grading roads .
Vehicle Counting
The 2007 Road Improvement Study by Mansfield and Associates noted that “.. no official traffic counts have been completed along the study routes ”, the report indicated that traffic volume is a significant factor in deterioration of road surface , as can readily be seen by the casual driver . Doug Mansfield , producer of the study and Ranch Member , indicated that conventional road management practice is to consider hard surfacing roads experiencing more than approximately 500 vehicles per day . Consequently , as chair , I decided to undertake a traffic volume survey . I constructed three vehicle counters using an infrared motion sensor similar to those used to activate lighting , and a microcomputer and digital display . I monitored several high-traffic trails in the subdivision over the summer of 2020 .
After constructing a prototype counter and validating its operation , I put it to use counting vehicles at my cabin on the paved portion of Ranch House Trail west of Wild Fowl Lake . I began counting on Thursday , June 11 , through Sunday , June 21 . Counts averaged 606 vehicles per day on Thursday through Saturday , decreasing slightly to 512 vehicles on Sunday through Wednesday . Thus , the paving of the entrance section of Ranch House Trail in 2016 is justified on a traffic count basis . It is interesting to note the types of vehicles on our roads ; Monday through Friday sees significant commercial traffic , such as delivery trucks and semis , contractors , utility trucks , UPS and FedEx , etc . Fridays see the arrival of weekenders including RVs , usually heading out Sunday .
Next , I set up a counter on the unpaved section of Ranch House Trail at the Geister residence at 23795 , near White Oak Trail , and another by the Hatch and Zydek cabins at 7995 Lake Shore Trail . The Ranch House Trail counter recorded 719 vehicles on Friday July 31 , and 816 vehicles on Saturday , August 1 . I also recorded the counter for 6 days from Friday , August 22 through Thursday , August 27 , counting an average of 514 vehicles per day . Thus , the traffic count on the unpaved section of Ranch House Trail appears similar or even slightly greater than the paved section , indicating this section of roadway should be considered high priority for both continued maintenance and further upgrades .
Vehicle counts on Lake Shore Trail at the Hatch and Zydek cabins was significantly less than those recorded on RH Trail . The highest vehicle count was 552 vehicles between 1 PM on Friday , July 31 to 1 PM on Saturday , August 1 . Over the six day period from Friday , August 22 to Thursday , August 27 , vehicle counts averaged 327 vehicles per day . Accordingly , hard-surfacing of this portion of roadway is not justified from a vehicle count basis . However , maintenance , erosion , and runoff issues remain .
I set up 3 counters on Virginia Park roads over a 6 day extended Labor Day weekend , on Pete Trail , Bergen Trail , and the western section of South Entrance Trail . Vehicle counts on these three trails over a busy holiday weekend averaged about 300 vehicles per day , with higher counts sometimes observed on “ dump days ”. Thus , hard-surfacing of these trails is not justified from a vehicle count basis . If the assumption is made that the vehicles on all three of these trails end up on the paved county road east of the Ranch , the average vehicle count could be as many as 750 vehicles per day , making the paving of that road section justified . Erosion and Runoff Control
Bob Norton and David Smith undertook some efforts to reduce erosion and deposition and runoff on Wild Fowl Trail adjacent to Wild Fowl Lake . We constructed a series of “ side cuts ” through the buildup next the graded road surface ( sometimes referred to as “ country curbs ”), designed to remove runoff from 2 hill sections . The goal is to reduce the accumulated volume of water running down the roadside during rainstorms , and the resulting erosion , deposition , and runoff to the lake . A similar activity was undertaken on the hill south of the Montague Bride on South Gate Road in 2019 . Next Steps
We would like to address some of our chronic road problems such as constant mud puddles and erosion , and runoff to our surface waters . Members interested in this work are encouraged to contact the Chairman .
David Smith Chair , Roads and Erosion Committee
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