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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-05-19 Minutes 1 MINUTES OF THE Edina Transportation Commission Thursday, May 19, 2005 Edina City Hall 4801 West 50th Street Community Room MEMBERS PRESENT: Fred Richards, Marie Thorpe, Jean White, Warren Plante, Joni Kelly Bennett, Les Wanninger MEMBERS ABSENT: Dean Dovolis STAFF PRESENT: Steve Lillehaug, Sharon Allison I. Call to Order Chair Richards called the meeting to order. II. New Business a. Interstate 494 / Highway 169 Interchange project presentation (Mn/DOT) Representatives from Mn/DOT and the consulting firm SRF explained the scope of the design and build for the I-494 and Highway 169 interchange. This meeting is a step towards seeking consent approval from the Council for $1.9 million. Tom O’Keefe of Mn/DOT explained that the project was delayed due to the delay of federal funding and increasing cost on other projects. O’Keefe stated that to date, they still do not have sufficient funds, however they are still planning to move ahead with a 2006 bid letting date; $1.2 million has been approved so far and they are moving forward with right-of- ways acquisition. Victoria Nill, Project Manager with Mn/DOT explained that the current design is to eliminate the three remaining traffic signals on Highway 169; it will be a three-level interchange (similar to the one by MOA); two of eight entries/exits had to be eliminated (from the northeast quadrant); and some changes were made to Valley View Rd. to accommodate exiting traffic. The Commissioners discussion of this project centered around the two exits to be eliminated, acquiring parkland, diverting traffic onto Valley View Rd, exacerbating an existing traffic problem and if the City’s contribution of $1.9 million would yield any meaningful benefits to the City providing the funds are available. Lillehaug stated that 2 funding options include using two years worth of state aid funds (this takes away from road reconstruction/repairs for that period of time) or selling bonds. Lillehaug said the improvements in the northeast quadrant would not be a significant local benefit at this time but it would have a positive impact in the future when the City has the funds to improve Valley View Rd. O’Keefe said other financing options would be a transportation revolving loan that could be borrowed against state aid funds; and there was a fund for local improvements with regional significance which is currently out of funds but they are hopeful that more funds will become available. Resident Jon Moon, 6016 Schaefer Rd., stated that he’s commuted on his bicycle for the past three years and it is rather difficult and time consuming because cyclists are not taken into consideration when roads are being designed. He urged Mn/DOT to take this under consideration and also cooperation between the cities to connect bike trails. Moon agreed with the Commission that the benefit to the City does not warrant the cost. Wanninger made a motion to recommend to the Council not to give consent due to the taking of parkland and the cost of $1.9 million that, if spent on other projects will realize significantly more benefits for the City. Seconded by White. Ayes: 4 (Richards, Wanninger, White, Bennett) Nayes: 2 (Plante, Thorpe) Motion carried. III. Old Business a. Edina High & Valley View Middle School Area Traffic Study - update Lillehaug said that the school did a traffic study in 2001, including a portion that the ETC is considering. He said some adjustments can be made to update the 2001 traffic study’s conclusions. The Engineering Dept. is currently collecting traffic counts on all state aid roads. This is scheduled to be completed by the end of the summer. b. 2005 Neighborhood Traffic Management Plans (NTMP) – update Lillehaug said northeast Edina is too complex to be done internally. He said staff has the capacity to do one of the streets that are ranked and recommended that the ETC approve one at this time for them to work on. Wanninger noted that they have already selected the areas to begin working on and that this should remain the same. Other areas needing work were mentioned including 70th Street. Plante made a motion to have 70th Street scored and ranked. Seconded by Wanninger. Ayes: 6 Nayes: 0 Motion carried. 3 Wanninger made a motion to recommend to Council that they authorize funds to do a traffic study in northeast Edina, including 50th & France, with the understanding that the cost could be as high as $100,000. Seconded by Thorpe. Ayes: 6 Nayes: 0 Motion carried. V. Approval of Minutes Plante motioned to approve the revised minutes of March 24th and April 28th minutes as submitted. Seconded by White. VI. Open Discussion Plante reported that the amendment in the transportation policy (Senate version) that would allow cities to set speed limit was voted down. White said she is involved with the Southwest Alternative Analysis Committee and they are conducting a transit study that she will keep the ETC updated on. Wanninger said Mn/DOT is considering a temporary fix to Highway 100 by using the shoulder to create a 3rd lane. He said St. Louis Park is in favor but they are concerned that this could become more than temporary. Membership to the ETC and Attendance: the Commissioners are concerned that the group may not be functioning to it’s full potential because they’ve been operating without a representative from the Planning Commission shortly after the ETC’s inception. They also discussed the minimum attendance requirements of Commissioners. A Commissioner may be removed from office if a Commissioner fails to attend three consecutive meetings. The Greater Southdale Study is progressing. The joint meeting is scheduled for the middle of June. Meeting adjourned. The next meeting is scheduled for June 16th, 6:00-8:00 p.m., in the Community Room, City Hall.