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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-03-19 TPC Minutes1 MINUTES OF CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION COMMUNITY ROOM MARCH 19, 2015 6:00 P.M. ROLL CALL Answering roll call were members Bass, Boettge, Campbell, Iyer, Janovy, LaForce, Loeffelholz, Nelson, Olson, Rummel and Spanhake. ABSENT APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Motion was made by member Spanhake and seconded by member Nelson to approve the meeting agenda. All voted aye. Motion carried. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF February 19, 2015 Motion was made by member Nelson and seconded by member Iyer to approve the amended minutes of Feb. 19, 2015. All voted aye. Motion carried. COMMUNITY COMMENT – No comments but students were present, observing for their government class. Chair Bass welcomed new member Ralf Loeffelholz to the ETC. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS Vision Edina Update Assistant city manager Karen Kurt said she was seeking input from boards and commissions on the draft Vision Edina which is an update to Vision 20/20. She said the process that began in Aug. 2014 included hiring a consultant who conducted research and a think tank workshop to understand the driving forces of the future, development ideas and shared/seek input on these. Ms. Kurt said four plausible scenarios were identified as – 1) Reinventing Tradition; 2) Nodes and Modes; 3) Complete and Connected; and 4) Edina Today – Extended. From these scenarios, survey results showed the following key drivers: 1) Residential Development Mix – mixed opinions; 2) Transportation Options – skewed towards multi-modal; 3) Community Development – skewed towards strong neighborhoods; 4) Live and Work – no strong preference 5) Education – skewed towards futuristic 6) Population Mix – mixed reaction 7) Environmental Stewardship – more environmental practices Overall, assistant city manager Kurt said the data seem to indicate a preference towards Edina Today - Extended with an acknowledgment toward a need for change but they need to be careful because the community values what has made them successful. Assistant city manager Kurt said the Vision Strategic framework was drafted by the consultant and staff is seeking feedback on it. Complete data is on the City’s website, including the detailed strategic focus for each of the surveyed area. Feedback is also being taken on Speak Up, Edina! The final report will go to City Council in May for approval. Discussion 2 Member Laforce asked about total number of household (approximately 22,000) and how the survey was done. Assistant city manager Kurt said the survey was posted online and approximately 600 households participated. Member LaForce said the data is skewing towards change but wondered if it could be from activist residents and not necessarily reflective of the broader community. He said he would be more comfortable with a random selection similar to the process used for the Quality of Life survey. Assistant city manager Kurt said the survey included a good sampling of high school students and those 50 years and older. Member Janovy said she thought the outreach was good and sees the residents wanting stability, biking and walking. She said in the session she attended, there were residents that she had not met before. Member Iyer asked if the bubble chart reflected feedback from both City leaders and regular residents, or if their opinions skewed differently. Assistant city manager Kurt said the think tank workshop included both City leaders and regular residents. Member Iyer asked how Edina was different from other comparable communities and assistant city manager Kurt said this was the consultant’s first time working in North America so they did not have any comparable communities. Member Iyer said the data tend to skew to the middle and asked if they should eliminate those and focus on the areas like transportation that shows stronger preference. Assistant city manager Kurt said it would make leadership easier in the stronger areas but they need to be cautious on the others to balance opinions. Member Iyer said the data shows they do not want to be cautious in some areas. Member Janovy said she recalled people complaining about the questions because the answers weren’t either/or. Member Boettge said she attended a session and the environment felt comfortable and safe for her to provide input and this is important when seeking public input. She said it would be good to get younger residents involved. Chair Bass read a section of the report that said there was “…lesser appetite for transit forward strategy.” and asked how they arrived at this conclusion when the data is skewed towards multi modal. Assistant city manager Kurt was not sure and will look into this. Member Nelson said this is an area that the ETC is working on. He asked if they could access the survey data to understand the reasons because if residents aren’t in favor why are they pursuing it. Member Janovy said it could be because transit is regional and not controlled by the City. Chair Bass noted that the report shows eight drivers that are regionally connected and other communities are ahead of Edina in these areas because of transit development in and around them. Chair Bass also noted that under Transportation Options, the report talked about “…to advance policies and developments deemed to be in the larger public good.” and one of the strategic actions is “Undertake community education and promotion,…” -- she said this is important to highlight to the City Council because it has been on the ETC’s work plan for a couple years but they do not feel there is support for it. Member Spanhake said a lot of general terms are used in the report such as “diversity of transportation,” “local access,” etc. and asked what they meant. Member Loeffelholz added that “local transportation” needs to be identified and asked if they are referring to Edina or the metro area. Draft Living Streets Plan Planner Nolan said he is seeking feedback from the ETC, the Planning Commission, Living Streets Advisory Group and staff. He said the communications department will receive all the feedback and make the final edits to the plan. A public hearing, City Council review and approval are scheduled for May 5. Planner Nolan said feedback could be given now or sent to him via email. Feedback will also be taken via Speak Up, Edina! Planner Nolan was asked if the Comprehensive Plan was going to be updated because the Planning Commission was included in the review and he said no; he said the Planning Commission requested to see the final draft and staff is honoring their request. Member Olson said the Bike Plan referenced is 10 years old and asked if it was going to be updated and both planner Nolan and member Janovy said it will be updated eventually. 3 Member Boettge said there is a desire to make people feel comfortable and safe and she has seen signs that make people look more realistic and human-like other than the stick figure signs. She asked if staff would consider these signs. Planner Nolan said they follow the practices of the state for signage but he will look into it. Member LaForce asked if Chap. 2 of the plan was also being reviewed and planner Nolan said yes. Regarding Principle 8, “…designed to reflect the existing neighborhood character…,” Member LaForce said it is interesting that this is a principle which he agrees with, but it is also used as roadblock. Member LaForce asked what was the meaning of Principle 15, “The City will increase the resilience of municipal public works.” Planner Nolan said to strive to make the infrastructure more sustainable, to last longer. Member Nelson asked about street classification – local streets vs local connector – and planner Nolan said more clarity is needed. Regarding posting streets as no parking, member Nelson asked what was the guideline and planner Nolan said signs will be posted every 200-250 ft. Member Nelson said he was concerned with sign pollution and asked if a policy could be written that would eliminate the signs or if this would make enforcement difficult. Member Janovy asked why are they automatically eliminating parking and suggested a policy that would be silent but allow for changes as needed. She said the community strongly objects to no parking and asked why they are including it when it could potentially become their sticking point. Chair Bass said the background could be strengthened by including the vision and the robust process that got them to this point. She suggested changing “Residents in these neighborhoods tend to become isolated due to the lack of walkable streets.” She said it is probably a factual statement but is most likely not backed up by data. She suggested changing it to lack of walkability is associated with less social connectedness or another sentence that communicates isolation instead of calling them isolated. Another suggestion was whenever bicycle and pedestrian safety is referenced she would prefer to lead with pedestrians because most people can more closely associate with being a pedestrian. Finally, chair Bass said she struggles with using the term ‘community engagement’ because residents do not think of it this way, for example, she said street reconstruction is not community engagement, it is input and outreach. Defining the meaning and the levels of community engagement was suggested. Member Loeffelholz said there are a lot of references to multi modal but he could not find anything tangible listed. Member Janovy explained that the plan is heavy on background information; it does not talk enough about the how and where to implement. Member Loeffelholz said he likes the vision statement but he has no idea what was being implemented. Planner Nolan suggested adding a sentence to address this. Member Iyer said there are so many parallel things going on – Sidewalk Plan, Comprehensive Plan, etc. Planner Nolan said they all feed into the Living Streets Plan. Member Iyer said he was concerned that there are no end dates associated with any of the plans. To clarify member Iyer’s concern, chair Bass said it sounded like he was asking that they include dates to hold themselves accountable and member Iyer agreed. Member Nelson said the Sidewalk Map is implemented with street reconstruction. Member Janovy suggested tying the Pavement Condition Index with neighborhoods that has sidewalks on the map. Tracy Avenue/Valley View Road/Valley Lane Roundabout: Preliminary Layout Planner Nolan said staff is seeking feedback on the preliminary layout. He said staff was looking at improving this intersection because of the future Nine Mile Creek Trail that will cross here, plus ongoing traffic and pedestrian complaints. Planner Nolan said other improvements that have been considered but are not feasible for various reasons included a traffic signal, overpass, tunnel, and a rapid flashing beacon. Planner Nolan said MNDOT is hesitant to deviate from approved designs unless there are compelling reasons. A meeting is scheduled for Mar. 23 to gather input from the public. Discussion Adding a sidewalk on the eastside of Tracy leading up TH-62 bridge was asked about and planner Nolan said it is being considered for 2016. 4 Member Janovy said it seemed the roundabout is the preferred option and asked what led staff to believe there is a queuing problem. Planner Nolan said queuing was only one of the problems. Chair Bass said she’s witnessed queuing on Valley Lane and also on Tracy in the mornings and imagined the afternoons are the same as well. She said drivers come from the bridge at high speeds and the improvement would slow them down. Member Nelson said it does not look like the improvement will help the trail because of the trail location in proximity to the roundabout and asked about a tunnel but this is not feasible because of the creek. He is concerned that staff is asking for input but the roundabout seemed to be the only option and felt residents might find the meeting more valuable if all options were presented. Member Loeffelholz asked if there were any plans to improve the exit ramp off TH-62 to Tracy and also Antrim. Planner Nolan said the exit ramp is MNDOT’s jurisdiction and Antrim is being looked at in conjunction with the school district’s referendum. Member LaForce said he would like to see a solution that create gaps but recognized that the problem wasn’t just at the intersection – it extends much further away. Student member Campbell said he avoids this area because of the left turn and use 70th & Antrim instead. He said this solution does not create gaps but the roundabout is probably better. Student member Rummel said left turns from Valley View on to Tracy at TH-62 is also difficult and wondered if this area would be improved as a result. Member Janovy said it does not look ideal for children. Chair Bass suggested a cycle track and also asked if staff would consider a temporary simulation such as placing bollards that would act like a roundabout to see the effect before placing something permanently. Planner Nolan said anything they try would have to meet State Aid requirements. Chair Bass said she favors something that will slow traffic and the roundabout seems to be it. Maybe look at each scenario separately – trail, traffic, pedestrian. Member Iyer said he would like to know the roundabout costs compared to other options. Updates Student Members Student member Campbell said it was interesting learning about how to build roads more effectively to minimize infiltration in his environmental class and the parallel discussions that the ETC has. Student member Rummel said she watched a You Tube video on solar roadways that melts snow and creates energy. She said Edina should be progressive and try it. Bike Edina Working Group Member Janovy said assistant engineer Patrick Wrase attended their meeting and shared upcoming projects and asked for feedback. She said they will be organizing a bike ride but it is not planned yet. Living Streets Working Group See the Draft Living Streets Plan discussion above. Walk Edina Working Group Member Boettge said a member resigned and she nominated a replacement. 5 Motion was made by member Boettge and seconded by member Janovy to approve John Hamilton to the Walk Edina Working Group. All voted aye. Motion carried. Member Boettge said they discussed goals and work plan and they’ve decided to focus on doing a walking audit and asked for input on locations. She mentioned Strachauer Park because two members live in the area. She said they also talked about creating a brochure of walking routes. Member Janovy suggested including walking time from one destination to another. Communications Committee – None. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS – None. CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS Member Nelson said he attended a webinar on Bicycle Stress Level Mapping that focused on mapping the stress level of bike routes. He said if a section of the route is rated at the highest stress level, the entire route is rated as such. He will email the web link. Member Iyer said the 4th annual Edina Environmental Forum is taking place at the high school, Apr. 8, 6-7 p.m. Member LaForce said while on vacation in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, he developed a new appreciation for curb cuts because of an incident that required him to push a wheelchair. Member Loeffelholz thanked everyone for welcoming him to the ETC. Member Janovy said Speak Up, Edina! street lighting offers no context or education and this is a general feeling about Speak Up, Edina! She said she was concerned with the message board on Valley View Rd because it was in the bike lane and the message was incorrect because the issue being addressed wasn’t traffic. She said the message board should be used for notification of hazards. She asked if when Tracy, south of Benton is to be constructed, if this will open the discussion again about the Benton/Tracy intersection and planner Nolan said he didn’t know if it would. Member Boettge said she is concerned about the intersections at France Ave where drivers continue to pull into the crosswalk and are not looking for pedestrians before turning right. Planner Nolan said they are still evaluating stop bars for these intersections. Chair Bass made changes to the minutes. Motion was made by member Janovy and seconded by member Iyer to approve amended minutes. All voted aye. Motion carried. STAFF COMMENTS Resources available to boards and commissions were distributed. The City was not awarded the Active Routes to School grant for the Cornelia Drive Sidewalk in part because it could not demonstrate that there were safety issues such as crashes and also because of the lack of involvement by the school district. The sidewalk will be installed and paid for from the PACS Fund. Regarding the ETC survey suggestion, planner Nolan said staff reviewed what was submitted and selected some questions and will be meeting with the communications department next for feedback. The plan is to use the survey two years before street reconstruction. 6 A meeting was held last week to discuss the proposed noise wall at 50th from TH-100 to Vernon and residents were supportive. The noise wall is on MNDOT’s schedule for 2016. MNDOT will fund 90% and residents assessed 10% or $3,000/$2,000/$1,000 in a 3-tiered system. Hennepin County is taking applications for 2015 to fund sidewalks and staff plans to apply for funds for Xerxes Ave which is on the County’s priority map. You may recall, last year the City received funding from the County for two sidewalks. Tracy Ave reconstruction from Benton to crosstown was approved last week by City Council. 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 3 NAME TERM (Enter Date) (Enter Date) (Enter Date) Bass, Katherine 2/1/2017 1 1 1 3 100% Boettge, Emily 2/1/2017 1 1 1 3 100% Iyer, Surya 3/1/2018 1 1 1 3 100% LaForce, Tom 3/1/2018 1 1 2 67% Loeffelholz, Ralf 1 1 100% Janovy, Jennifer 2/1/2017 1 1 1 3 100% Nelson, Paul 2/1/2016 1 1 1 3 100% Olson, Larry 2/1/2016 1 1 2 67% Whited, Courtney 2/1/2015 1 1 100% Spanhake, Dawn 2/1/2016 1 1 1 3 100% Rummel, Anna 9/1/2015 1 1 2 67% Campbell, Jack 9/1/2015 1 1 33%