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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-02-19 TPC Minutes1 MINUTES OF CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION COMMUNITY ROOM FEBRUARY 19, 2015 6:00 P.M. ROLL CALL Answering roll call was members Bass, Boettge, Iyer, Janovy, Nelson, Olson, and Spanhake. ABSENT Campbell, LaForce, Rummel APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Motion was made by member Spanhake and seconded by member Boettge to approve the meeting agenda. All voted aye. Motion carried. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF January 15, 2015 Motion was made by member Nelson and seconded by member Olson to approve the minutes of Jan. 15, 2015. All voted aye. Motion carried. COMMUNITY COMMENT - None. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS Wooddale/Valley View Small Area Plan Ms. Arlene Forrest, member of the Planning Commission (PC) and co-chair of the Wooddale/Valley Small Area Plan, and Ms. Lindy Crawford, City Manager Intern, presented the small area plan. Ms. Forrest explained that the Wooddale/Valley View area was identified in the 2008 Comprehensive Plan as an area to be redeveloped and the PC added it to their 2015 work plan. Ms. Forrest said small area planning is new for the City and since there are a couple other areas where this process can be used, they are working to develop a process that could be applied citywide. For the Wooddale/Valley View area, Ms. Forrest said they began the planning process June, 2014 -- identified the planning team, a consultant to work with them, held three community engagement meetings for area residents, developed a draft plan which will go to PC for review and approval and then to the City Council in March for review and final approval. As it relates to transportation for the 11 acre site, Ms. Forrest said their organizing principles or land use planning goals are for parking to be attached garages or underground, buildings to be located near streets/sidewalks without intervening parking, trees between curb and sidewalk, attractive landscaping, circulating connections such as walking, biking and transit should be comfortable, and well linked to nearby neighborhoods. Ms. Crawford asked for feedback on the transportation and street design map. Member Nelson recalled discussions about shifting the intersections at Oaklawn, W. 62nd and Valley View. Ms. Forrest said she learned that W. 62nd is a state aid road and this impact what can be done, including a roundabout which would be prohibitive because of the required size to meet state aid standards. Feedback from residents included cut thru traffic, running stop signs, difficulty crossing Wooddale during busy times and a lack of sidewalk on Wooddale south of Valley View. Member Nelson said one option shown was to close Oaklawn. He said the intersections were modified a few years back but it still does not function well and there are always complaint about cut thru traffic and requests for stop signs. If the decision is made to close off intersections, chair Bass asked that they at least maintain pedestrian access. Member Janovy asked about traffic counts on W. 62nd but this street is outside of their study area. Chair Bass asked if the proposed sidewalk was on the Sidewalk Facility Map and Ms. Forrest said no, it was an addition. Chair Bass said it was gratifying and encouraging seeing that when you start with residents’ vision for their neighborhood and how it functions they want sidewalk and you don’t have to convince them. She commended the team for including transit. She 2 asked about residents’ participation and Ms. Forrest said there were approximately 80 at the first meeting probably due in part to a rumor that low income housing would be built. Participation at subsequent meetings was approximately 15. In addition to the meetings, they conducted a survey but participation was low. She said they will evaluate the process when it is completed. Respect is a Two Way Street Campaign Planner Nolan said staff would like to start the campaign next month. He said the ETC’s feedback was taken into consideration but because of costs, time constraints and balancing the needs of all departments, with the exception of adding pedestrian considerations the document was not changed much. The general feedback from the ETC was disappointment that more changes were not made to the campaign document. Specific concerns raised or suggestions are as follows: • Not accessible to children; • Can SHIP and Crime Prevention funds be used? Yes; • Suggested sidewalk art to engage people; U of M as an example where they used stickers that lasted awhile but was not permanent; • Funding seems to be going to materials that will be thrown away; • First draft seemed preachy and nothing much has changed; • Audience cannot be children and adults at the same time (Planner Nolan said the audience is everyone and campaign posters can be personalized based on placement); • Who are the messengers for the campaign? • What issues are they trying to solve with the campaign? (Active Routes to School requires a campaign and the police receives many calls on this issue and would like to address it); • Quarterly message may have more impact instead of switching monthly; • Example of U of M where they presented the same message in different ways for one to two years to make it stick; • Small handouts will not have an impact; • Need bigger budget; • Create transportation walk at Promenade similar to U of M’s Nobel Peace Prize walk; • Lacks collaboration; 95% cut and paste from other sources; Edina deserves something custom made that favors its audience; • Not getting money’s worth if used on video and social media; • Have children create the messages; • MNDOT has a curriculum around walking and biking that may be more suited for children; • Strategize to get the school district involved; • Can Living Streets champions also champion the campaign? In conclusion, chair Bass said while the campaign could be more collaboratively, they should work to make it as effective as possible. She suggested connecting with other campaigns to see what would meet the goals for their community. Edina Challenge: Transportation Options Subcommittee Discussion Chair Bass said in December, members of the Edina Challenge steering committee came to the ETC and asked for assistance with one of their challenges – transportation for underserved youths. The ETC formed a subcommittee that included chair Bass, members Spanhake, Nelson, Rummel and Campbell to look into the matter. She said they met once and a summary of their meeting is detailed in her report to the ETC. The subcommittee’s recommendation is a follows: Establish a “Getting around the city working group with a narrow purpose: Articulate the full scope of the problem, through additional research and community conversation (we felt the scope would feed the circulator work that is currently on our 2015 work plan) and make a recommendation to the ETC – and subsequently Council – based on these findings. The recommendation 3 is likely to include a request for staff and/or budget support in identifying solutions based on the findings. Be clear about the city’s boundaries (what is and isn’t within our control). Chair Bass said a lack of transportation is a common issue heard around the city, not just for youths; however, based on their work plan, the issue is too much for them to take on alone. She said the first transportation option working group’s area was too narrowly focused--it specifically looked at transportation options for seniors and received a $10,000 grant toward the purchase of a bus but the company the grant was aligned with went out of business and the working group was disbanded. The following were discussed: • Chairing working groups can be overwhelming if only the ETC member can be the chair; • Some transportation options are available but they are not centralized; • Maybe the City’s role should be providing support instead of finding solutions; • Is the City planning on looking at this as a global issue? It is not in the Transportation Plan and the Council has not directed staff to look into this. • Include survey with utility bills to get feedback. • Has Council directed staff to look into the Circulator? No. Chair Bass asked for a volunteer to serve as the liaison with her serving as their support and member Nelson volunteered. Motion was made by member Spanhake and seconded by member Iyer to have a member of the ETC serve as a liaison on the Edina Challenge steering committee. All voted aye. Motion carried. Traffic Safety Committee Report of February 4, 2015 A1. For clarification, member Janovy said she was the requestor and her request was to get the meaning of “when children are present” and for enforcement because she heard complaints from residents in the area. She believes this is a denial because she has not been told the meaning of “when children are present.” She suggested moving it to section B and revise for clarity. A3. Member Janovy said she is not in disagreement with this but recalled when the same issue was raised a few years ago, she was given a different answer. Planner Nolan said the police said drivers are not allowed to park but they would prefer to handle it through the school instead of by citations and they have already reached out to the principal. A4. Member Janovy said she was not comfortable approving this so far in advance of the study because they don’t know what the solution might be. Chair Bass said this would be an immediate safety improvement to a small area that would not be expensive to improve now or in the future. B1. Member Janovy said a different standard is used on B1 than in A2. She said ‘delay’ is a better measure than ‘gap.’ Motion was made by member Janovy and seconded by member Olson to forward the revised Feb. 4, 2015, report to the City Council. All voted aye. Motion carried. Updates Student Members – None. Bike Edina Working Group 4 Member Janovy reported that they have a new co-chair, Lori Richman. Open Streets planning is under way. Living Streets Working Group Member Nelson said the Living Streets community engagement meetings took place recently and they were well attended. Planner Nolan said at the first meeting one resident was concerned with lack of public input, and at the second meeting several were concerned with taking away parking and Maddox Lane residents continued to speak out against sidewalks. In general, residents were happy with the plan. The updated draft will be presented to the ETC on Mar. 19, to the Planning Commission on Mar. 25, and to the City Council in April. Walk Edina Working Group Member Boettge said the working group’s assignment was to attend one of the Living Streets meetings and feedback was that they learned a lot. Motion was made by member Boettge and seconded by member Janovy to approve member Joel Stegner to the Walk Edina Working Group. All voted aye. Motion carried. Communications Committee – None. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS A correspondence was received from the Energy & Environment Commission (EEC) titled “Excerpt of EEC’s Urban Forest Task Force Report Relevant to Living Streets.” It was noted that the City is working on a new tree ordinance and they need to make sure this excerpt is in alignment with the new ordinance. CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS Member Janovy said she and members Laforce and Iyer met with director Millner and Sharon about the reconstruction survey and presented some ideas. Planner Nolan said staff plans to report back to the ETC in March. Member Iyer said he is surprised working groups cannot be chaired by anyone. He suggested changing this to just having a commissioner as a member of the working group. Member Janovy said this is a boards and commission bylaw that would impact all boards and commissions. Planner Nolan will check to see what can be done. Member Olson said he came across the City’s webpage that list PACS funded projects and this was nice to see. In reference to the Living Streets plan to have parking on one side of streets, member Nelson said they need to be careful not to litter the other side of the streets with no parking signs. Member Janovy said in City of Maplewood, she recalled they weren’t planning to sign the other side of the streets as no parking. Chair Bass asked for an update on the offer to meet with the developer regarding transportation for the Grandview plan since economic development Neuendorf presented last time and planner Nolan said he would check on this and report back next month. STAFF COMMENTS A response is expected next month on the Cornelia Drive Sidewalk grant that was submitted, and bids will be open soon for the 2015 neighborhood street reconstruction projects. France Avenue lighting project was delayed due to contractor negligence and in lieu of a fine, the contractor will be installing extra lights. Early stage planning is under way for a noise wall for the southbound exit ramp off TH-100 to Vernon Avenue. This has been in the works for several years when it was petitioned for and then petitioned against. Residents would have been assessed 5 the full cost, but now it is in MNDOT’s queue for 2017 and they would absorb most of the cost. Senator Franzen is planning to submit a bill to fund this and other noise walls. A community engagement meeting is scheduled for Mar. 10. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned. ATTENDANCE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE J F M A M J J A S O N D SM SM WS # of Mtgs Attendance % Meetings/Work Sessions 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 12 NAME TERM (Enter Date) (Enter Date) (Enter Date) Bass, Katherine 2/1/2017 1 1 2 67% Boettge, Emily 2/1/2017 1 1 2 67% Iyer, Surya 3/1/2018 1 1 2 67% LaForce, Tom 3/1/2018 1 1 33% Janovy, Jennifer 2/1/2017 1 1 2 67% Nelson, Paul 2/1/2016 1 1 2 67% Olson, Larry 2/1/2016 1 1 33% Whited, Courtney 2/1/2015 1 1 33% Spanhake, Dawn 2/1/2016 1 1 2 67% Rummel, Anna 9/1/2015 1 1 33% Campbell, Jack 9/1/2015 0 0%