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Home My WebLink About2020-12-17 MinutesDraft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: January 21, 2021 Minutes City Of Edina, Minnesota Transportation Commission WebEx December 17, 2020 I. Call To Order Chair Richman called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. II. Roll Call Answering roll call were Commissioners Ahler, Johnson, Kane, Lafferty, McCarthy, Richman, Atri, Clark, Khariwala. Absent: Commissioners Plumb-Smith, Scherer Staff present: Transportation Planner Andrew Scipioni III. Approval Of Meeting Agenda Motion was made by Commissioner Ahler and seconded by Commissioner Kane to approve the agenda. All voted aye. Motion carried. IV. Approval Of Meeting Minutes Motion was made by Commissioner Lafferty and seconded by Commissioner Ahler approving the November 19, 2020 meeting minutes. All voted aye. Motion carried. V. Reports/Recommendations A. Draft Local Speed Limit Public Engagement Report Staff Liaison Scipioni presented the draft public engagement report for the local speed limit evaluation. Comments from Commissioners included: • How many Better Together Edina users are verified residents of Edina? • Feedback submitted online may not be reflective of the entire population. • The recommended approach is not consistent with adjacent cities (Minneapolis and St. Louis Park). • Will the Edina Police Department enforce the new limits? • Are there plans to address France Avenue? • Would rather see funds spent on more sidewalks and bike lanes. • Staff report is based on examples from other cities that are not comparable to Edina. • Edina is known to be aggressive at pulling people over. This seems to be a mistake if there is not enforcement. • Cities that have made these types of changes have only seen incremental change. • Would like more opportunity for public input, given the ongoing pandemic and the low level of engagement thus far. Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: January 21, 2021 B. Draft Travel Demand Management Policy Staff Liaison Scipioni presented the draft travel demand management policy. Comments from Commissioners included: • TDM strategies add costs to development projects, but some are already including strategies. • Policy doesn’t have any incentives, but developers have noted that this is where the market is moving. • Is the genesis of this initiative to reduce carbon emissions? • What impact does reducing speed limits have on congestion, if any? • Would be helpful for ETC to have access to the TDM plans for review. • ETC recommendation included financial guarantee similar to that of Bloomington. • Recommend including the annual report requirement, or somehow including that in a TDM pilot program. • Having evaluation measures to track over time would be helpful. • How would developers report/verify non-structural strategies? • Add language to allow City Engineer to approve based on the scale of the proposed project and current City goals. • TDM committee thought a point system was a great idea, but wasn’t sure how to implement. C. Draft Traffic Impact Study Policy Staff Liaison Scipioni presented the draft policy for the completion of traffic impact studies. Comments from Commissioners included: • Are there cases where a TDM plan would be required but not a TIS? • Has there been a trend to limit the number of required parking spots in the City? • Would like to see data collection methodology identified or best practices noted. • The City’s process for selecting, hiring and paying the TIS consultant should be included and the City should have the only say in selecting the TIS consultant. • Is it possible to have a tiered system of traffic studies, where larger projects require a larger study area? • Support considering adjacent developments in the studies. D. 2020 Work Plan Updates • #1 CloverRide – No update. • #2 Traffic Impact Studies – No update. • #3 Travel Demand Management – The Commission reviewed and commented on staff’s draft policy. • #4 TIS Framework – The Commission reviewed and commented on staff’s framework. • #5 Educational Activities– Complete. • #6 Traffic Safety Reports – No update. • #7 CIP/PACS – No update. Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: January 21, 2021 VI. Chair and Member Comments A. Street Funding Task Force Update Commissioner Scherer was absent; no update was provided. Commissioner Ahler felt that staff’s recent review of the tree ordinance was not what the Commission expected and missed the Living Streets aspect. Ahler suggested that the Commission consider proposing an additional work plan initiative to City Council related to trees and Living Streets. Commissioner Johnson asked what is the perceived different in reduced speed to 25 or 20 mph? If uniformity was a driving force of the current staff recommendation, then it doesn’t make sense to go with a different default speed limit than bordering cities. Johnson felt that 20 mph speed limits are most appropriate for Edina and suggested that staff base decisions on available safety data. Commissioner Kane thanked Staff Liaison Scipioni for putting together the materials for tonight’s meeting and for being patient with the Commission. Commissioner Lafferty enjoyed the spirited discussion tonight, hearing everyone’s perspective and learning. Lafferty wished the rest of the Commissioners happy holidays. Commissioner Atri noted that the meeting discussion was much livelier than previous meetings. Commissioner Clark noted that the discussion tonight was entertaining to watch. Commissioner Khariwala said that tonight’s meeting was engaging and that he learned a lot. Commissioner Richman noted that the traffic signals at W 58th Street and France Avenue have been taken down and won’t be reinstalled until the spring. Richman expressed grave concerns about the temporary two-way stop, particularly for pedestrians and children. The Assistant City Engineer said that residents should use alternative access points on France Avenue, but there aren’t any. The Richfield Transportation Commission said that you need to push harder on the County to get what you want. Richman thanked the Commissioners for their great work this year and looks forward to a better 2021. VII. Staff Comments • City Council approved the Beard Avenue sidewalk as part of the Creek Knoll reconstruction project. Council also affirmed the W 56th Street sidewalk as part of the Melody Lake/ Grandview/Birchcrest project but delayed the final decision on the project for up to 6 months. • City Council approved the preliminary rezoning and overall development plan for 7001 France Avenue. • Metro Transit is scoping out a traffic analysis of France Avenue for the proposed E Line BRT. • Staff Liaison Scipioni shared some of the Commission’s 2020 accomplishments; o Tested North Loop of CloverRide o Reviewed traffic studies for 4500 France Avenue, 4425 Valley View Road, 6600 France Avenue and 7001 France Avenue Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: January 21, 2021 o Proposed a travel demand management ordinance to City Council o Crafted social media posts for #TransportationTuesday o Reviewed 140 Traffic Safety Requests (including the Beard Avenue/W 57th Street all-way stop and the Interlachen Bluff No Outlet sign) o Commented on draft PACS equity criteria o Commented on 2021 roadway reconstruction projects o Participated in Street Funding Task Force o Obtained Council approval to study organized trash collection in 2021 VIII. Schedule of Meeting and Events as of December 11, 2020 For information purposes only, no discussion. IX. Adjournment Motion was made by Commissioner Johnson and seconded by Commissioner Lafferty to adjourn the December 17, 2020 meeting at 8:53 p.m. All voted aye. Motion Carried. TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE J F M A M J J A S O N D # of Mtgs Attendance % Meetings/Work Sessions 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 NAME Ahler, Mindy 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 92% Johnson, Kirk 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 83% Kane, Bocar 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 100% Lafferty, Peter 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 100% McCarthy, Bruce 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 92% Plumb-Smith, Jill 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 83% Richman, Lori 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 100% Scherer, Matthew 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 75% Atri, Nihar (s) 1 1 1 3 75% Clark, Anna (s) 1 1 1 1 4 100% Khariwala, Anand (s) 1 1 1 1 4 100% Olson, Larry 1 1 Term Expired 2 N/A Ruthruff, Erik 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Resigned 9 N/A Erickson, Tayden (s) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Term Expired 7 N/A Venell, Simon (s) 1 1 1 1 1 Term Expired 5 N/A