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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-02-21 Minutes1 MINUTES OF CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION COMMUNITY ROOM FEBRUARY 21, 2013 6:00 P.M. ROLL CALL Answering roll call was members Bass, Braden, Franzen, Iyer, Janovy, LaForce, Nelson, Schweiger, and Whited. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF JAN. 17, 2013 The following correction was made: page 1, Traffic Safety Committee Report of Jan. 2, 2013, last sentence ‘Member Janovy said she appreciated the analysis and that she was comfortable with the yield sign as proposed in the report;’ page 3, last sentence, change $22,000 to $20,000. Motion was made by member LaForce and seconded by member Franzen to approve the revised minutes of Jan. 17, 2013. All voted aye. Motion carried. COMMUNITY COMMENT Constance and Eric Fantin, 6033 Kellogg Ave, commented on the request to install stop signs at Kellogg & 61st. Ms. Fantin said they live four houses from Kellogg & 61st, and currently, there is a yield sign on Kellogg while 61st is a thru street. She said the street is one block from Valley View Road, the ice cream shoppe and Pamela Park and it is busy with cars, walkers, and bikers. She said they witnessed two accidents last summer at the intersection. She said she was in attendance on behalf of the neighborhood to address their concerns of speeding, cut thru traffic to avoid Valley View & Wooddale intersection, yield sign ignored and not respected, and rolling stops at stop signs. She said they feel the best solution is stop signs instead of yield signs to give clear signal of where to stop. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS Traffic Safety Committee Report of Jan. 2, 2013 (Re-Review) Chair Nelson said they are revisiting this because staff did not talk with the neighborhood. He said there were two motor vehicle accidents last year but warrants are still not met for a stop sign (warrants are three accidents within one year). Discussion included the following: • There are stop signs at all but a few intersections in the neighborhood; • Director Houle said there probably wasn’t a lot of traffic and no interest in having stop signs at the few uncontrolled intersections; • From looking at data, the road to control is 61st; most existing stop signs probably do not meet warrants; bigger concern is when signs are placed haphazardly; complete basket weave; • Reluctant to find a response that overrides the data; real issue and concerns by neighbors; placing so many signs creates speeding, cut-thru; • Would City consider a traffic circle to minimize cut-thru? Director Houle said two were placed on W. 54th as part of the bike boulevard project and responses have been minimal; • Does staff hear from neighbors that drivers are rolling through stop signs? • A new request was received recently for a 4-way stop sign at 60th & Kellogg. 2 • Some issues are that Kellogg is one block from Wooddale; close to Pamela Park that generates traffic in the summer; and no sidewalks; • Conducting a traffic calming study was suggested; • What is the down-side if two stops signs that do not meet warrants are installed? • Counts indicate most vehicles are travelling northbound on Kellogg; replace yield signs with stop signs to complete the basket weave; • Can they do a pilot/test program? Director Houle said they would need to identify the criteria they are testing because speeding is not an issue. He said if the ETC and City Council authorizes the stop sign he will support it but his recommendation is based on engineering standards that are in place. • Concerned with a pilot program and cautioned against doing one; • Thinking too hard on this issue; there are existing stop signs that do not meet warrants; these would complete the basket weave; • Consider turn restriction at Valley View if there are cut thru traffic in the evenings but would also impact local traffic; • Will be talking about a stop sign at 61st and Oaklawn after it becomes the new cut thru; • Making more and more exceptions; would like to defer to engineering recommendations but at the same time, need to address the concerns; • Director Houle suggested meeting with the neighborhood to get their feedback on turn restriction; he said when the intersection at Valley View/Oaklawn/62nd was realigned, the feedback from residents was that traffic was being pushed pass their property and feedback will be the same from this neighborhood; • Mrs. Fantin said she is strongly in favor of the stop signs because they slow traffic and replaces a dangerous intersection; there are only two intersections with yields signs and drivers do not know what to do at yield signs; drivers are used to stop signs; simply switching would make speed faster; the most amount of traffic is on Kellogg going northbound; do not want to hear about changes on 61st because it would become worst; neighbors have already asked about a 4-way stop sign at 60th & Kellogg and also a stop sign at 61st & Oaklawn; • Looking at everything, the only reason for a stop sign is that it was requested; there is no data to base it on; drivers go through stop signs all the time; cannot support a stop sign on Kellogg; • Liked the traffic circle concept but do not know cost; • Make decision based on data and let City Council make the decision of exception; Motion was made by member Bass and seconded by member LaForce to recommend to the City Council to reverse the ETC’s previous recommendation of moving the yield sign to 61st; and recommend they leave the intersection as is so that they can explore another traffic calming measure like a traffic circle. Discussion: • Would they explore traffic calming at this intersection only or all intersections? Director Houle said the neighborhood is about 8-10 blocks with collector streets all around it and a park on one side and this summer they could study the area when there are activities at the park. The motion was amended to include adding a sign to the yield sign, in the interim, that ‘cross traffic does not stop’ and to study the 8-10 block area this summer. Discussion: • Is adding a sign to a yield sign allowed? Staff will check to see if this is allowed. 3 Aye: Bass, LaForce, Iyer, Nelson, Braden Nay: Franzen, Janovy, Whited. Motion carried. Traffic Safety Committee Report of Feb. 6, 2013 Director Houle said the TSC did not meet because there was no business to discuss. Member LaForce asked if the reports are smaller because it is winter and Director Houle said yes, they do not generally get too many requests and they also cannot collect data in the winter. France Avenue Pedestrian Enhancement Project Update Director Houle said March 31 is the deadline for all agencies final approval. He said Andy Plowman with WSB would give an update on the geometrics of the project, and Michael Schroeder with LHB, would give an update on the landscaping. Mr. Plowman explained that the project include intersection improvements, sidewalk on the eastside, narrowing of lanes and landscaping. Some of the features are: • Enhanced pedestrian crosswalks (zebra striped, thermal plastic in-laid in the asphalt); • Biscuit planters at the corner of intersections for pedestrian safety as they wait to cross ( planters height range from 4-7 inches and will be planted with 2 ft. tall daylilies); • Traffic signal improvements (pedestrian/bike phasing and video detection); • Southdale entrance/exit will narrow up; free-right eliminated; and adding a crosswalk that was requested by Southdale management; • All pedestrian ramps will be in compliance with public accessibility guidelines (above ADA requirements); • Byerly’s site is being redeveloped and the agreement is to have the sidewalk along their property come up on top of the retaining wall; this is not in the City’s plan yet because Byerly’s is still developing their site plan; • Cost is $2.7M, not including landscaping; • Schedule is Mar 1 to complete right-of-way acquisitions; Mar 31 approved for bid; June-Sept. construction; Urban Design Mr. Schroeder said the challenge to them was to overlay an urban design for the corridor on to improvements that are being made in a limited portion of the corridor. He said they focused on things related to pedestrian enhancements, directives to encourage movements at designated crossings and along the corridor and to find ways to work with the private sector to get pedestrians safely across parking lots and to the corridor. Mr. Schroeder said he wants to make sure everyone understands what urban design is. He said trees, biscuit planters, etc. is not urban design; these are things that they are putting in the corridor. He said urban design is about patterns, connections, reflections and an identity that people have with where they live and work. He cautions against spending money and not getting what they want. Continuing, Mr. Schroeder said they have not had a chance to frame the larger opportunities because they have been focused on meeting the requirements of the money for this improvement. He said the struggle is that France Ave is different as you move along the corridor - buildings facing different directions, limited 4 space in right-of-ways (ROW), Centennial Lakes lost its three block signature when the trees were removed from the mid-block so they could see to the front of stores, etc. He said if the idea is to have a signature for the corridor, they need to be bold and aggressive and he suggested expanding to include motorists and not just pedestrians because most users of the corridor will continue to be motorists. He said everything they are doing works to build on something bigger but they do not know what that is yet. He proposed creating the France Avenue Working Group to define future patterns that build from the current project. He said members would be the ETC, Planning Commission, Energy & Environmental Commission, City Council, and business and residential property owners. He said if they agree to the working group, he would create work plan for the ETC to review. He said further that the process would be similar to the one used for the Grandview Square Small Area Study (on a much smaller scale) where they agreed to a set of principles for the area. Meetings would be scheduled in March/April/May. Director Houle said if they agree to the working group, the meeting schedule would fit because he is planning on bidding the landscaping portion separately in June/July and the plantings would be done in 2014. After discussion, the consensus was to move forward with the working group. Director Houle will work with Chair Nelson to arrange special meetings. The ETC will be invited and whoever is available to attend can do so (attendance is not mandatory). Director Houle will notify the chair of the other boards and commissions, including the Art Board. Updates Student Members None. Bike Edina Task Force Received minutes of Dec. 13, 2012. No further updates. Living Streets Working Group Chair Nelson said he, member Janovy and past member Michael Thompson met several times and worked on the draft policy. He said Mr. Thompson provided the content, while member Janovy did the editing. He thanked them for all their work. Member Janovy said the city of Maple Wood, where Mr. Thompson works, adopted their Living Streets Policy this past January. She said in writing Edina’s Living Streets Policy, since there was no funding available, they pulled from the work that BARR and HR Green did, policies from the city of Maple Grove and Los Angeles County, and input from the workshop last year. She said they are looking for feedback and the next step is for assistant city manager Karen Kurt to take the lead and circulate the draft policy to staff, boards and commissions for review and at some point there will be a public process. Discussion included: • Adding a map to show where sidewalks are going in. Director Houle said he could do a concept map but did not have staff to do a detailed map at this time; or he could consult it out. • Adding a definition that explains why some parks were not included so as not to cause alarm. • Any street is an option for sidewalk even if not currently marked for sidewalk. • Member Janovy will edit and forward the draft policy to assistant city manager Kurt. Ms. Kurt is planning on attending the March ETC meeting. • Director Houle will work on the bike map as well as the functional classification map. 5 Transportation Options Working Group Chair Nelson said the thought is to move forward with the Senior Transportation Option Study but he is not sure how to do this. Director Houle said they need to define what they are asking for. Member Janovy asked if the recommendation was to bring Prism/VEAP into Edina and member Whited said yes. Member Whited said she is considering applying for a Human Services grant from Edina. Member Janovy asked if she is looking for a resolution of support and member Whited said yes. Member Bass suggested a letter writing campaign to show support in combination with resolution from the ETC. Member Janovy said there are other issues that the group could work on such as how the infrastructure is serving people to help address other transportation options, not just seniors and those with disabilities. Member Bass suggested exploring mobility by other modes by the same senior folks, e.g. in their scooter or wheelchair. Member Whited said she is working on an initiative with Ms. Melton that may be a good fit. Member Whited will write a recommendation. Communications Committee a. Website Feedback Member LaForce said they reviewed the transportation website from the perspective of a resident looking for information on sidewalks, ROW, plans for bike trails, etc. and they consolidated their responses in the handout. Engineering specialist Sharon Allison said she reviewed the recommendations and have already began working on some of their recommendations. Member LaForce said their recommendation is to make it easy for residents to find the information that they are looking for, e.g. under For Residents on the front page add a link to the Transportation webpage. b. ETC Communication Committee Recommendations Member LaForce said they talked about what they should do – provide text, content, create communication pieces, etc. and then they realized their charge is to make recommendations because there is a professional communications staff. He said their recommendation is what staff should be working on and the big topics now are France Ave, Safe Routes to Schools, and Living Streets. He said the communication plan should make it easy to find answers to why, who, when, and finding better and effective ways to communicate messages on things like the purpose of the ROW, multi-modal approach, etc. Member LaForce said if these are things that the ETC supports the recommendation would be passed on to staff and the City Council. Motion was made by member LaForce and seconded by member Iyer that the ETC adopts the Communications Committee Recommendations dated Feb. 21, 2013, and forward it to the City Council. Chair Nelson asked what the committee will do moving forward and member LaForce said primarily provide reaction or feedback to staff. All voted aye. Motion carried. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS A. Correspondence relating to transportation issues 6 Director Houle said there was an informative presentation on Tuesday night at the City Council meeting on airport noise and he recommended that the ETC watch the video. Member Janovy said there were two letters about the franchise fees and it seems there is a high level of misunderstanding of how this was done. She said she recalled the City Manager saying that Edina is one of the few cities that was not charging a franchise fee and Edina’s fee is lower than other cities. She asked if they could get this information. B. Development Projects Update and Airport Noise Update – See memo from Cary Teague Director Houle said Mr. Teague will be updating the ETC on development projects from now on. CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS Member Whited asked about Xerxes Avenue near Crosstown where the striping between the parking and driving lane is no longer visible. Director Houle said Hennepin County will be restriping the area this spring. Member Whited said the Met Council released funding that would fit with the street car option that the Transportation Options Working Group reviewed but she would not be able to write a grant. Director Houle said it is better to have a plan in place when applying for a grant because it is expensive to pay a consultant to write one ($20-$30,000). He said grants of $1M and up is worth the time and expense. Member Bass said as the project manager for do.town, they hosted a telephone townhall meetings last month for the cities of Bloomington, Edina and Richfield and Edina’s call was on Jan. 15. She said it was an opportunity for the Mayor to talk with residents about a vision for a community that supports healthy choices including things like access to healthy foods and walkable/bikeable changes. She said the call went out to 9,600 registered land lines and 2,600 listened to portions of the call and some for the full 40 minutes. There were 30 residents who wanted to ask questions and the Mayor was able to get to 10 during the time. She said majority of the questions had to do with safety and getting around by walking/biking; and many were women bikers. A poll was taken and from four options, most said they would get involved with walkable/bikeable neighborhood (39%). She said this is good indication for broad support of multi- modal transportation and the work that the ETC is doing. Member Bass said the Blue Cross support to do.town is coming to a close at the end of March and on Mar. 16 they are having a Champion Summit at the Works in Bloomington from 10-2:30 p.m. and all are invited to attend. Member Iyer said he and Bill Sierks wrote a couple grants that were approved for the City. He said Mr. Sierks identified the opportunities ahead of time so they could react. Member Janovy noted that there was a letter to the City Council regarding heavy trucks wrecking the streets and she said it sounds like an educational opportunity. Director Houle said staff is working on a memo to City Council to address this in a general manner. He said garbage trucks are more damaging to the roadway than a typical home reconstruction project. Additional comments were: • Having an approach to the traffic concerns that will generate at Hello Pizza; • Sunken pavement at Inglewood & Grimes where the City did work last year; • Green bike paint wearing off (Director Houle said this is not uncommon – they are repainted every year); 7 • A bill was introduced to remove prohibition against talking about the Dan Patch corridor; consensus is that the ETC will follow this bill; • Federal money available through MNDOT for places that have accidents and she suggested the area at Crosstown and France. Chair Nelson said over the last few days, he assisted the City Council with interviews for new boards and commission members. He said there were at least 50 applicants and 10-12 were interested in the ETC and 3-4 ranked it as their priority. He said it was refreshing to see all the people wanting to help. Additional comments were: • Reminder to sign up for the Annual Dinner Meeting of Boards and Commissions at Braemar, Mar. 11, 5:00 p.m. and the 34th Annual Volunteer Recognition Reception at Braemar, Apr 30, 5:00 p.m. STAFF COMMENTS A. Southdale Area Transportation Study Working Group Director Houle said he is looking for 2-3 members to help with writing the scope for this study. Member LaForce expressed an interest. Director Houle will send an email invitation as they get closer to the meeting date. B. Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail Update Director Houle said the easterly half of the trail received funding for 2015; they continue to work on funding for the westerly half for 2018. The goal is to get funding for both halves so that they can be constructed at the same time. C. Wooddale Advisory Bike Lane Update Director Houle said he met with Steve Clark and MNDOT. He said MNDOT is reluctant to make changes because the bike lanes are experimental and they would not be able to evaluate it if changes are made. He said the parking lane is an issue and the suggestion is to install popsicle cones to help with delineation. Member Janovy said she is concerned how people will respond and how the road will look. She said they need to go forward in a way that restores the iconic roadway. She said problems will exist as long as the parking lane is in place. Member Iyer asked what happens if the bike lanes were removed and Director Houle said the City would probably lose the grant money. Adding bump-outs were considered but the bid came in at $260,000 said Director Houle. Member Janovy said the City Council wanted a work session and asked if it was scheduled. Director Houle said he was not aware of this. D. Construction Management Plan Update Director Houle said the City Council is holding a work session on Mar 5, 5 p.m. to discuss the Construction Management plan. He said last year there were 100 teardowns. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned. lison, Secretary ATTENDANCE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE - 2013 NAME TERM JF M A MJJ A S 0 N D Work Session # of Mtgs Attendance % Meetings/Work Sessions 1 1 2 Bass, Katherine 2/1/2014 1 1 50% Braden, Ann 2/1/2014 1 1 2 100% Franzen, Nathan 2/1/2016 1 1 2 100% Iyer, Surya 2/1/2015 1 1 2 100% Janovy, Jennifer 2/1/2014 1 1 2 100% LaForce, Tom 2/1/2015 1 1 2 100% Nelson, Paul 2/1/2016 1 1 2 100% Schweiger, Steven student 1 1 2 100% Sierks, Caroline student 1 1 50% Thompson, Michael 2/1/2013 1 1 50% Whited, Courtney 2/1/2015 1 1 2 100% Respect Ily submitted, 8