HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-05-15 Minutes1
MINUTES OF
CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA
TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION
COMMUNITY ROOM
MAY 15, 2014
6:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL Answering roll call were members Bass, Boettge, Iyer, Janovy, LaForce, Nelson, Olson, Sierks, Spanhake,
and Whited.
ABSENT Member Van Dyke.
APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA
Motion was made by member LaForce and seconded by member Nelson to approve the meeting agenda. All voted
aye. Motion carried.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF APRIL 17, 2014 – Approved as corrected.
Motion was made by member Nelson and seconded by member Boettge to approve the amended minutes of April
17, 2014. All voted aye. Motion carried.
COMMUNITY COMMENT
Mr. Art Thelemann, 5132 Valley View Road, said he had crash analysis that indicated that the proposed Birchcrest B
sidewalk would send pedestrians through three crash zones. Instead of this sidewalk, he proposed the Birchcrest
Multi-Use Trail from Benton Avenue to Tracy Avenue connecting to Nine Mile Creek Trail when constructed and
connecting to the Wyman Avenue Bridge over TH-62 to W. 63rd Street. Along Normandale Road between Benton
Avenue and the church, he suggested constructing the sidewalk along the east side instead of the west side.
Suggested construction schedule is 2017 in conjunction with the Birchcrest C Neighorhood Reconstruction and
financing would be from PACS fund reserves over 2015, 2016 and 2017. Mr. Thelemann said city engineer Millner has
some concerns with the multi-use trail.
REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS
Discussion with Edina Police Department
Chair Bass thanked Chief Nelson for meeting with them. She said the ETC have always talked about the importance
of a partnership with the Police Department and asked what the department’s priorities are for 2014. Chief Nelson
introduced himself as a 23-year employee who has held various positions. He said in his most recent position as
deputy-chief, his primary focus was staffing needs and since becoming chief, this continued to be his primary focus
as he worked to fill the position he vacated, plus hiring seven officers because of retirements. He said he is learning
about the various boards and commissions and have met with a couple of them so far.
As it relates to transportation and traffic, Chief Nelson said they are working on the following:
1. Teaching bike safety to students;
2. Bike patrol at the Promenade, Centennial Lakes and other parks beginning Memorial weekend (sponsored by
the Crime Funds);
3. Teaching teen driving rules at the high school (sponsored by AAA);
4. Sending an officer for Q&A session at the AAA driving school (partnership with St. Louis Park);
5. Focus-In topic for May is Bike Safety;
2
6. Focus-In topic for June will be Share-the-Road campaign (flyers/brochures will be distributed throughout the
community).
Chief Nelson said he’s heard about the Active Routes to School (ARTS) plan but is not yet familiar with it. Chair Bass
said as part of the ETC’s work plan, they are working to develop a culture and respect for all modes of transportation
and the ARTS plan include an educational campaign component with funds from a grant. She noted that the ETC’s
and Police’s efforts were very similar and asked how they could work together to deliver these messages. She asked
about the curriculum that they are using the in the schools and their share-the-road campaign. Chief Nelson said the
school curriculum was prepared by Sgt. Olson and he is not sure where it came from. Chair Bass said the school
district has a new curriculum from MNDOT that will be piloted through Community Education (Walk! Bike! Fun!). She
also noted that Bike Edina has a history of doing Bike Rodeos and that it would be good to team up. Member Olson
said the Police are usually involved with the rodeos.
Continuing, chair Bass said the Traffic Safety Reports shows recurring issues of speeding and stop sign violations and
these were reinforced in the most recent Quality of Life survey. She said the ETC would like to develop a more
satisfactory response like traffic calming, for example, and asked if there are other tools that might be helpful like
administrative citations. Chief Nelson said they’ve discussed the use of administrative citations and the City would
benefit because it would keep more of the revenue but Hennepin County does not support this because it would
reduce their budget. He said City Code could allow this but there is a strong recommendation against it.
In reference to speeding and writing tickets, Chief Nelson said they do not write tickets for 5 mph over the speed
limit for various reasons – the volume of traffic; it is not considered a safety hazard on most streets; there is a margin
of error on their radar guns and contesting these tickets in court is time consuming and expensive. Member Whited
said the intersection at 60th & Chowen has been a problem for some time now and there was a police presence in the
mornings but she has not seen one for a while. She asked what can be done to calm the situation and prevent people
from yelling at each other. Chief Nelson said when they receive complaints they assign off-duty officers to the
locations and data is collected. 60th & Chowen will be added to the complaint list and the data will be available. Chair
Bass said they could provide a more satisfactory response if they could coordinate a cohesive process of
enforcement, engineering, etc.
Member Janovy asked if the data that they collect is transferred to the Engineering Department and the Chief said
no; he said it is only a snapshot and may not be justified. Member Janovy said the information could be valuable for
planning and effecting changes. Chief Nelson explained that they have a $20,000 budget specifically for complaint
areas where they assign off-duty officers (begins in the spring until funds are gone) and asked if the data they collect
would benefit Engineering. Planner Nolan said oftentimes residents are requesting assistance from both Engineering
and Police for the same issue so having the data would be helpful.
Member Boettge said the Police was responsive to her call for traffic calming at 70th but hearing the frustration and
fear and knowing that up to 5 mph over the speed limit is okay, she wondered if they are attacking the problem at
the wrong level and asked if there was anything the ETC could do. Member Janovy said MNDOT tried reducing the
speed limit to 25 mph but it would have been a burden on small communities to replace their signs so they were not
successful.
Member Iyer asked if they were using technology that could replace posting officers. Chief Nelson said they are not
using technology that would replace posting officers in part because of the experiences of City of Minneapolis and
others not being able to prove their case in court when violations are captured by cameras. Additionally, he said
mounted speed cameras are not calibrated regularly like radar guns in squad cars that are calibrated at the beginning
of each shift. Member Iyer said it could be used as a deterrent. Chief Nelson said they have one radar trailer that cost
approximately $11,000 and it is placed based on complaints. Planner Nolan was asked if the PACS fund could buy
another trailer and he said it is possible but this would not be on his short list of priorities.
3
Chair Bass explained that they are working on developing implementation strategies for the Living Street Policy
which directs the City to consider the needs of all users and better manage the environment. They are also working
on the ARTS plan and the primary focus is encouraging walking and biking to school where it is safe and making it
safe where it is not. She said the biking on sidewalk ordinance re-emerged because of the ARTS plan and feedback
from the high school student council was that they would bike to school but they knew it was illegal to bike on the
sidewalk and their parents would not allow them to bike in the street. Additionally, she said a parent survey showed
school speed zone and enforcement as a concern and parents’ perception was that enforcement was irregular. Chief
Nelson said their regular enforcements are at the beginning of the school year and again in the spring after the snow
melts; otherwise enforcement is complaint driven.
Chair Bass said they are developing a pedestrian plan and prioritizing where sidewalks are built and said this would
also be a good opportunity for them to collaborate. Member Janovy asked if is pedestrians is a theme in their
monthly Focus-In program. She said oftentimes pedestrians walking/running at nights without reflectors, not using
sidewalk, etc. and asked if these behaviors are enforced. Chief Nelson said no and he said as an officer on patrol
probably would not be looking for a pedestrian running/walking in the street and this would not cross his mind as
being dangerous. Member Whited suggested using the “Friendly Reminder” section in About Town to remind
everyone how to behave as pedestrians.
Regarding enforcement, Chief Nelson said if they cite someone for operating their bike carelessly on the sidewalk, it
is a misdemeanor, jail-able offense with a $1,000 fine and it impacts their driver’s license, even if they are not yet old
enough to drive, and their insurance rate. He said one year they cracked down on bikers not stopping at stop signs
and received numerous complaints because of the impact and possibly losing their driver’s license while biking and,
it was time consuming going to court. After realizing the impact, they decided to write citations under a different
statute that allows them to enforce the behavior but not impact their driver’s license and insurance rate. Chair Bass
said this underscored the need to modify behavior and teaming up to reinforce messages through multiple channels.
Chief Nelson asked how would the ETC get their messages out and chair Bass said they are still working on this but
there are several models around the country. She said it could leverage many city communications channels,
including social media, website, publications, the signboard outside city hall, cable access and working with
community partners.
The ETC thanked Chief Nelson for visiting with them and he likewise thanked them for the invitation.
Citywide Crosswalk Standards
Planner Nolan said the ARTS plan recommended creating standards for crosswalks and the City Council directed staff
to create the standards. He said staff is recommending the enhanced, high visibility Continental pattern that the City
currently uses most often for regular crosswalks and in school zones the Ladder-type for more emphasis. There are
also specialty crosswalks like the ones in the 50th & France District and Duratherm next to City Hall on W. 50th which
is being phased out. The recommended crosswalk marking materials are latex paint and thermoplastic.
Thermoplastic application requires specialty equipment that would be purchased using PACS fund and Public Works
staff would do annual maintenance.
Chair Bass asked whether staff had considered evaluating other types of specialty sidewalks or if staff had discussed
a plan for phasing them out or replacing them as-is. During discussion, planner Nolan said when to use latex vs.
thermoplastic is still to be determined and he is not sure if they would change out specialty crosswalks like the ones
at 50th & France for another design.
Motion was made by member LaForce and seconded by member Whited to accept staff’s recommendation.
All voted aye.
Motion carried.
4
Olinger Boulevard Mill and Overlay Project
Planner Nolan said Olinger Boulevard from Vernon Avenue to Tracy Avenue is scheduled for a mill and overlay this
summer and staff is planning on adding bike treatment as it is listed as a primary bike route. Residents were invited
to a meeting and they were generally supportive of bike treatment (i.e. sharrows) but would like to keep the existing
on-street parking. The existing width of the roadway will not accommodate dedicated bike lanes on both sides with
parking, so to maintain parking staff is proposing a combination of treatments that will include dedicated bike lanes
and shared-lane (sharrow) markings. A variance would be required from MNDOT’s Municipal State Aid for a 13-ft
lane instead of the required 14-ft lane.
Member Nelson expressed concerns with the combined treatments and said the road does not seem to have a lot of
traffic and drivers are probably not going fast because of the configuration of the road. He suggested striping a fog
line for parking, adding a centerline and eliminating the dedicated bike lanes to reduce the combination of
treatments. Another suggestion by member Nelson was to use the park’s path and planner Nolan said staff discussed
this but decided against it because the users of the park path are different than those using on-street facilities (and
recently, the Park Board voted to change the path to two-way in anticipation of the Nine Mile Creek trail).
Member Janovy asked about ADT data and if the centerline is necessary. Planner Nolan said they are currently
collecting data because they wanted to include the traffic associated with the new senior housing complex and he
estimated the traffic count to be 1,500-2,000. Member Janovy said she is becoming more in favor of a naked street
where everyone figures out their own space based partially on her observation of W. 44th Street which is functioning
well. Without knowing traffic volume, she does not believe the bike lane is needed and does not like mixing
treatments. Member Iyer concurred on the mixing of treatments and member LaForce added that he too is in more
in favor of a naked street.
Member Spanhake suggested sharrows the entire length of the roadway. She said adding markings will help the
community to recognize biking and she supports the continued use of Edina’s Comprehensive Bicycle Plan. Member
Olson agreed that the markings reinforce the message and prefers staff’s recommended bike lanes. Chair Bass added
that it would be helpful to communicate to bikers that there is a place for them and that it is not only about traffic
volume but also bike volume, with Bredesen Park being right there.
Motion was made by member Nelson and seconded by member Janovy recommending use of consistent sharrow
markings and/or signs the entire length of the roadway and parking bay as recommended by staff.
Aye: Bass, Boettge, Iyer, Janovy, LaForce, Nelson, Spanhake, and Whited.
Naye: Olson.
Motion carried.
Member Iyer asked for clarification on the variance and planner Nolan said the ETC’s motion does not require a
variance.
Xerxes Avenue Bump-Outs/Lane Configuration – Minnehaha Creek to TH62
Planner Nolan said Hennepin County has proposed installing permanent bump-outs when they do their mill and
overlay project. The bump-outs would be from the creek to TH62 and lane configuration over the bridge would
remain as is. He said area residents and City of Minneapolis are supportive while commuters prefer a 4-lane
roadway. Area residents wanted something more aesthetically pleasing but it could not be done at this time because
it is not a reconstruction project. Staff recommended approval and after discussion, the ETC concurred.
Traffic Safety Committee Report of May 7, 2014
A-1: Planner Nolan was asked if they have the authority to say “no truck traffic” and he said it is a fuzzy area but they
can ask SuperValu to direct their drivers to a certain route; the illustration will be rotated.
On page 7, the report does not say who failed to yield because the information is not available.
5
Motion was made by member Janovy and seconded by member Whited to forward the corrected May 7, 2014
report to the City Council. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Updates
Student Members - None
Bike Edina Working Group – Minutes of April 10, 2014
Member Janovy said Edina received a Bicycle Friendly Community bronze award from The League of American
Bicyclists for its Bike Plan (only Minnesota community to be awarded) and on June 3 there will be an official
presentation at the City Council meeting.
Living Streets Working Group
The working group met May 7 and revised the design guideline chapter, discussed how to communicate the benefits
of Living Streets and reviewed the revised pedestrian plan.
Communications Committee
Member LaForce said they are regrouping and revisiting past and current recommendations were made that they’ve
made for the ETC, transportation, bike resource, City’s website, etc.
CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS - Letter from resident Marena Arbelig
The ETC discussed Ms. Arbelig’s letter and the consensus was that it was nice to receive positive feedback and
confirmation that the issues that they are working on matter to residents. A suggestion was to feature residents
talking about getting around the community similar to the Hometown Heroes that are featured on the City’s website.
Member Whited will draft a response to Ms. Arbelig and member Boettge will review.
Chair Bass asked for feedback regarding what to do with Mr. Thelemann’s proposal. Planner Nolan was asked for
staff’s feedback since the proposal was shared with staff and he said staff did not see the issues in the same way as
Mr. Thelemann. He said it seemed more like residents are wanting a sidewalk but not along their property. In
reference to the crash data, planner Nolan said which side the sidewalk is on did not matter and other issues such as
MNDOT land, and redesigning the roadway makes it not feasible, and there are funding issues. Member Janovy
wondered if there was a gap in the ETC’s, Engineering’s and Mr. Thelemann’s communication. Member LaForce said
he liked the connections in the proposal but would prefer not to walk along the freeway and he wondered what the
motivation was because Mr. Thelemann was not in favor of the Birchcrest B sidewalk. Member Nelson said there is
logic in his proposal with the connections. Planner Nolan said it was too late to fit this in because construction is
starting next month. They discussed how to respond and if they should respond directly to Mr. Thelemann and
decided that thanking him directly for his comments and their feedback in the minutes would suffice.
CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS
Member Spanhake invited the ETC to attend the Center for Transportation Study Research Conference next week
and planner Nolan said he is scheduled to attend. She said she is interested in identifying a consistent protocol for
using signs vs. and using data to decide which one to use.
Member Iyer said similar to standardizing crosswalks, they need to do the same for bike signs and have one or three
at the most, for uniformity. He asked if Bike Edina would be interested in working on this.
Member Nelson said member Janovy was acknowledged by the City Council recently for her volunteer work and he
and member Whited presented her with a plaque and a gift card on behalf of the ETC.
6
Member Janovy thanked the ETC for the recognition and gift. She said she was glad to have Chief Nelson and would
like to follow up with him on the following:
1. Bike Safety Training Curriculum;
2. Share-The-Road Campaign (What is their handout? Why isn’t it coordinated with the
Communications and Engineering Departments);
3. Administrative Citations (see why Hennepin County is against this);
4. Writing citations.
She said it is City policy to make the city friendly to all transportation modes and this will require everyone
participating.
Member Whited asked what work was being done at 60th & France. Planner Nolan was not sure but will check and
follow up.
Member Nelson said the street in front of his property has been coned off since the winter melt because there was
about 1½-ft. of standing water and asked when it would be repaired. Planner Nolan will check with Public Works.
Chair Bass asked if the Police was involved with the Living Streets staff advisory group and planner Nolan said yes.
She said they should continue to think about ways to engage with the Police. She said she met recently with Sgt.
Olson and discussed the biking on sidewalk ordinance. She said there are some opportunity to talk about agreement
such as children riding on the sidewalk (did not discuss an age limit) and certain roadways where everyone feels
uncomfortable riding in the road. She said they may be revisiting the ordinance again and given other areas of
interest that are common to the ETC and Police, it would be worthwhile to meet again.
STAFF COMMENTS
2014 Project Update – Bredesen Park D, Countryside F and Strachauer Park B Neighborhood Roadway
Reconstruction projects have all started. Morningside B and Todd Park F are scheduled for later start dates;
although the contractor may start on the sidewalk that is outside of the roadway project in Morningside B
sooner.
2015 Projects – project maps were distributed for discussion at a future date and also meet new assistant
city engineer Patrick Wrase.
France Avenue – curb and gutter is almost complete; temporary traffic signal is set up at 70th;
Hazelton Road round-about construction started this week; the intersection will be completed the same as
the others on France Avenue.
iLegislate – allows members to access meeting reports online using an iPad and reduce paper copies; two
members are currently using it; feedback was some still like to receive paper copies; reports are posted on
City’s website and suggestion was to email the link so members could get use to accessing the reports
electronically, continue to send paper copies and revisit this at a later date.
Boards and Commissions blog was started and five are currently participating; blogging would be weekly by
one group; communications committee agreed to discuss ETC’s involvement.
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned.
7
ATTENDANCE
TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE - 2014
NAME TERM J
F
* M A M J J A S O N D SM
2/27
S
M
3/1
0
W
S
3/18
# of
Mtgs
Attendance
%
Meetings/Work
Sessions 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 6
Bass, Katherine 2/1/2014 1 1 1 1 1 5 83%
Boettge, Emily 2/1/2014 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 100%
Iyer, Surya 2/1/2015 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 100%
Janovy, Jennifer 2/1/2014 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 100%
LaForce, Tom 2/1/2015 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 100%
Nelson, Paul 2/1/2016 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 100%
Olson, Larry 2/1/2016 1 1 1 1 4 100%
Sierks, Caroline student 1 1 1 3 50%
Spanhake, Dawn 2/1/2016 1 1 1 3 75%
Van Dyke, Jackson student 1 1 2 33%
Whited, Courtney 2/1/2015 1 1 1 1 4 67%
*Cancelled due to weather
Respectfully submitted,
Sharon Allison, Secretary