Chapter Eight

Transportation
Holland Charter Township is experiencing rapid growth. As indicated in the Chapter describing existing land
use, change is occurring with many types of land uses in a geographically diverse area. Major investments in
commercial and industrial development have spurred significant low, moderate and high-density residential
development projects. This growth is having an immediate and direct impact on the Townships roadway
network.

Existing Road Network

Michigan has a legal system of identifying roadways in unincorporated areas based on County primary and
local road designations. County primary roads are solely the responsibility of the Ottawa County Road
Commission (OCRC) with regards to maintenance and construction improvements. County local roads are
maintained by the OCRC, however, the cost of upgrading and improving capacity of these roads is a shared
responsibility of the OCRC and Holland Charter Township.
The simple designation of County primary or local road does not work well when tying the roadway network to
considerations of present and future land use patterns. There is a functional hierarchy assigned to roads
based on their intended level of service and how they relate and connect to other roadways in the road
network. Map 8-1 depicts the existing classifications for roadways in Holland Charter Township.
Roadways within the network provide different services or functions. Roadways are classified by their
intended function. Some roadways are designed to serve through traffic operations with limited access.
Other roadways provide access to abutting property and have little capacity for through traffic. For each
roadway, there are specific functional definitions and design criteria. This element of the Comprehensive
Plan uses the following functional classifications as the basis for identifying future road needs within the
Township.

Interstate Highway

These highways are federally financed and operated by the Michigan Department of Transportation.
Interstate Highways are limited access roadways designed to carry high volumes of traffic without interruption.
Interstate I-196 runs northeast to southwest through Sections 25 and 36 of Holland Charter Township. The
Adams Street interchange with I-196 is the sole direct access to the interstate highway network within the
Township. M-21 also connects the Township with I-196 east of Zeeland. The interstate system is an
important transportation link to other metropolitan areas within Michigan and the mid-west.

Regional Arterials

M-21 and US-31 are the Townships regional arterial highways. The primary role of regional arterial highways
is the movement of traffic through the Township and linkage to other urban centers in the region. Traffic
speeds on regional arterial highways are intended to be 50 mph or more. Additional characteristics of this
class of roadway are: (1) high traffic volumes; (2) long road segments with a majority of through traffic; (3)
four or more travel lanes; (4) no on-street parking; (5) limited number of at-grade access points; and (6) the
use of traffic signals to manage traffic movements.

Local Arterials

The movement of traffic is the primary function of these roadways. Side access to property is a more
important function of local arterials than with regional arterial highways. Controlling the number and location
Holland Charter Township Comprehensive Plan

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of access points along local arterial roadways is critical to maintaining volume capacity and keeping crash
rates low. Traffic signals are employed at major crossroads. Local arterials are often the primary roads
under legal classification used by the OCRC. Examples of local arterial roads in the Township are: (1)
Butternut Drive; (2) Riley Street; (3) 120th Avenue; (4) James Street; (5) Lakewood Boulevard; and (6) Adams
Street.

Collector Roads

Collector Roads serve the dual functions of traffic mobility and property access. They collect traffic from the
local street network and concentrations of commercial or industrial land use, and provide a link to the arterial
roadway system. Collector street access management is important to assure the safe and convenient flow of
traffic at design speed and capacity. Examples of collector streets in the Township are: (1) Quincy Street; (2)
Felch Street; (3) Perry Street; (4) 96th Avenue; (5) 104th Avenue; (6) Beeline Road (between Lakewood
Boulevard and Felch Street); and (7) Aniline Avenue between James Street and Douglas Avenue.

Local Streets

These are neighborhood streets in the Township. They represent the majority of the communitys total
roadway miles. The primary function of local streets is to provide access to abutting property. Access
management is of negligible importance, except at intersections with collector or arterial roadways. In these
locations, access should be restricted to the local street. Local streets carry low traffic volumes and
experience few commercial vehicle operations. Responsibility for heavy maintenance and reconstruction of
local streets falls entirely upon Holland Charter Township.

Legal Classification of County Roads

In Michigan, roads under the jurisdiction of the County Road Commission are uniformly classed as either
primary or local roads in accordance with requirements of the Michigan Department of Transportation. The
Road Commission receives a higher level of funding per mile for primary roads than it does for local roads.
Primary roads are of highest importance for traffic circulation in the County. These roadways run between
and connect municipalities. The Road Commission has sole responsibility for maintenance, reconstruction
and improvement to the primary road network in the Township

Design Standards for Roadway Classifications

Each type of roadway requires a unique design treatment. Traffic speed, design volume/capacity, and
intended function are among the factors contributing to roadway design and right-of-way requirements.
Recommended right-of-way widths, lanes and related design criteria appear in Table 8-1. In addition to
minimum road right-of-way requirements, additional right-of-way may be needed to accommodate water and
sewer utility lines and appurtenances, storm sewer, bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Map 8-1 depicts the
existing public roadway network in the Township by functional classifications.
Table 8-1
Design Criteria by Roadway Function Classification
Function
Interstate Highway
Regional Arterial
Local Arterial
Collector Street
Local Street

Minimum Right-of-Way
Width
300-450 feet
120-150 feet
100 feet
86 feet
66 feet

Holland Charter Township Comprehensive Plan

Typical Number of
Lanes
4-6
4
3-4
2-3
2

Lane Width
14 feet
12-14 feet
12 feet
12 feet
12 feet

Page 8-2

Existing and Projected Traffic Volumes

The rapid growth and development of Holland Charter Township has resulted in a marked increase in the
number of vehicles traveling the communitys roadways. Table 8-2 provides information on historic 24-hour
traffic volumes (1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005), as well as expected traffic volumes on selected roadway
segments for the years 2010, 2015 and 2020.
As can be seen from this data, some segments have experienced extremely high rates of 24-hour traffic
volume increases. As development will continue to occur in the Township, roadways must be improved to
add capacity. This will require major, concerted investments by the Ottawa County Road Commission,
Holland Charter Township and the Michigan Department of Transportation (US-31 and Chicago Drive).

Holland Charter Township Comprehensive Plan

Page 8-3

Table 8-2
Existing and Projected Traffic Volumes for selected Streets 1985-2020
Location

1985

Riley..........West of Butternut
East of Butternut

1990

4,348
5,217

5,448
7,107

1995
6,632
11,294

2000
6,900
10,700

2005
9,757
9,927

2010
11,100
11,100

2015

2020

12,500
12,300

13,800
13,500

Butternut..........North of Riley

5,283

7,112

11,178

14,200

11,854

13,500

15,100

16,800

South of Riley
North of 136th

9,591
11,072

12,464
14,225

11,602
12,948

14,300
16,700

16,052
14,261

17,700
15,000

18,200
15,900

19,000
16,600

Riley................West of 136th
East of 136th

3,651
4,020

6,810
7,330

9,637
11,646

10,500
14,800

13,354
15,184

18,500
17,900

19,900
20,700

21,400

136th....South of James

6,331

7,233

9,596

9,600

9,800

10,650

11,500

12,350

North of Riley
South of Riley

3,564
4,156

5,630
8,393

7,300
9,000

7,700
12,700

11,816
16,144

15,600
15,300

16,100
16,300

16,500

James.............West of 136th

1,913

6,400

8,689

15,900

14,536

16,500

18,000

19,000

East of 136th

3,716

9,700

5,581

5,500

16,240

15,300

16,300

17,500

West of 120th

2,425

9,403

10,536

13,000

12,063

15,000

18,000

19,500

East of 120th

2,434

8,038

8,284

11,900

9,640

13,000

15,000

17,000

West of Beeline
South of James

3,405
5,450

10,870
7,224

12,706
9,596

15,900
9,600

16,272
9,800

17,200
10,500

18,200
11,250

19,300

Lakewood......West of 144th

7,485

8,556

9,779

11,178

11,200

11,700

12,100

12,600

West of River

8,479

9,969

13,212

15,100

11,697

14,050

16,400

18,700

West of 120th
East of 144th

10,563
6,858

15,751
7,482

18,091
9,250

18,100
10,700

19,793
10,281

22,100
11,300

24,400
11,700

26,500

144th......North of Lakewood

3,934

2,634

3,400

3,500

3,276

3,900

4,000

4,200

South of Lakewood

2,000

2,285

2,611

2,983

3,100

3,500

3,800

4,000

North of Douglas
South of Douglas

1,479
1,132

2,788
2,363

3,500
2,050

3,800
2,200

4,000
2,250

4,600
2,500

5,200
2,800

5,900

River.......North of Lakewood

19,153

26,700

26,630

27,020

27,625

29,000

30,000

31,000

South of Lakewood

20,335

25,262

30,636

30,900

31,300

33,000

34,000

35,000

North of Douglas

23,044

23,418

28,584

34,000

26,354

30,000

32,000

33,000

South of Douglas
North of Howard

26,616
26,199

25,262
34,169

30,636
36,023

31,500
40,000

26,228
42,000

31,500
44,000

32,000
46,000

33,000

120th......North of Lakewood
South of Lakewood

2,112
4,647

8,722
9,165

13,336
12,602

17,500
18,000

17,575
20,639

21,500
24,600

25,300
28,600

29,000

Douglas...........West of River
East of River

16,470
10,377

23,582
16,661

26,282
16,500

27,000
18,500

17,932
13,222

29,000
21,000

31,000
23,000

Howard...........West of River
East of River

3,891
6,082

2,516
6,301

3,719
7,826

3,700
6,400

2,960
10,099

(1)

(1)

(1)

(1)

(1)

(1)

23,500

17,500

12,700

12,000

3,000

47,000
32,600
33,000
25,000

(1) Road segment expected to be vacated by this date

Source: Traffic Counts Ottawa County Road Commission( through 2005), Projections Holland Charter Township

Future Street Network by Functional Classification

Map 8-2 depicts the expected future street network in Holland Charter Township based on discussions with
the Ottawa County Road Commission staff. This future system will include the upgrading and reconstruction
of many local arterial and collector streets, collector street extensions, and planned connections between
existing local street ends.
It is important to note Highway US-31 through Holland Charter Township will remain a major north/south
regional arterial. Regardless of the outcome of routing studies being conducted by the Michigan Department
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of Transportation (MDOT), the existing US-31 highway will need to be upgraded as to capacity, and access.
This Plan incorporates the official position that US-31 in its present alignment is the route of choice; meaning
improvements to the present corridor in Holland Charter Township must be made before MDOT uses state
and federal funds building a new limited access highway.

Holland Charter Township Comprehensive Plan

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