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Home My WebLink About2013-07-18 Minutes1 MINUTES OF CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION COUNCIL CHAMBERS JULY 18, 2013 6:00 P.M. ROLL CALL Answering roll call was members Bass, Iyer, Janovy, LaForce, Nelson, and Whited. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Motion was made by member Janovy and seconded by member LaForce to approve the meeting agenda. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF JUNE 20, 2013 – Approved as corrected. Motion was made by member Bass and seconded by member Whited to approve the revised minutes of June 20, 2013. All voted aye. Motion carried. COMMUNITY COMMENT – None. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety Fund (PACS) Update Transportation planner Mark Nolan presented the following short, medium and long term plans for the PACS fund: Short Term • Prepare strategy for utilization of PACS fund • Finalize Sidewalk Priority Plan criteria • 2013 Sidewalk/Non-Motorized Transportation Facilities (NMTF) projects School Road Sidewalk Vernon Avenue Bike Lanes Ped-activated pedestal-mounted flashers (Rosland Park, Edina High and Valley View Middle Schools) • Plan for 2014 sidewalk/other NMTF projects Birchcrest B Neighborhood: Valley View & Normandale Road Sidewalks Strachauer Park D Neighborhood: W. 62nd Street Sidewalk Morningside B Neighborhood: W. 42nd Street, Alder Drive & Scott Terrace Sidewalks Ped-activated overhead mounted flasher: mid-block crossing at 69th (Southdale-Galleria) Medium-Long Term • Prepare Living Streets Plan and coordinate with PACS Fund (Sidewalk Priority Plan) • Determine priority projects for future years • Update Sidewalk/Pedestrian Facilities map • Prepare for Comprehensive Bicycle Transportation Plan update • Develop public input/outreach procedure 2014 Work Plan Update Director Houle said the only change was to the France Avenue Intersections Improvement Project to reflect the construction delay until 2014. He said they will need to finalize the plan and recommendation to City Council by August. Traffic Safety Committee Report of July 3, 2013 Brief discussion ensued regarding Sections A.1, A.2, and C.1. 2 Updates Student Members - None Bike Edina Task Force Member Janovy said they continue to have discussion on their bylaws and to work on the Bicycle Community Friendly application. Living Streets Working Group Chair Nelson said on July 16, they updated the City Council on the draft Living Streets Policy and on their visits to boards and commissions that they’ve presented the policy to. He said the City Council approved the Living Streets Advisory Group and they are looking for volunteers; currently, there are approximately 10-12 volunteers and they will begin meeting soon. Members Bass and Janovy suggested creating a Living Streets work plan that would include projects that other boards and commissions are working on that are Living Streets related. Chair Nelson will draft an email to the chairs of other boards and commissions to this effect. Transportation Options Working Group Member Whited said their next phase is to work on funding thru the Health and Human Services grant process which is due August 31. Discussion ensued regarding whether or not to keep the working group going and the conclusion was that the working group had completed its work. After discussion, motion was made by member Whited to disband the Transportation Options Working Group and the motion was seconded by member LaForce. All voted aye. Motion carried. Communications Committee a. Community Transformation Grant Member Bass said the $5,000 grant she referred to last month was the Statewide Health Improvement Program grant and not the Community Transformation Grant. She said they are discussing ways to use the funds and will have an update in August. Member LaForce asked for an update on the communications plan for the France Avenue Intersections Improvement that they reviewed and offered comments on. Director Houle said the plan is not finalized yet because they are still working on the urban design piece. He said they are moving forward on generating the Frequently Asked Questions and it will be routed to the committee for review before being posted to the website. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS A. Correspondence relating to transportation issues – A letter was received from resident Dr. Frank Wei requesting a sidewalk on 66th St W. Director Houle said this location is not on the Sidewalk Plan and it is not scheduled for reconstruction any time soon. Member Iyer said the location would make a good network connection. CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS Member Iyer said he would like to participate in the Living Streets Advisory Group but not as a volunteer. Member Whited asked Director Houle when 58th St. W. is scheduled for reconstruction because the asphalt is eroding. He said it is scheduled for 2014. Chair Nelson said on 66th St. W., west of TH-100, there is quite a large bump in the road. Director Houle will check to see what has caused the bump. ul y submitted, on Allison, Secretary Member Laforce asked if there were any crash data for Benton Ave as you exit TH-100 south. He said this intersection continues to be unsafe. Member Janovy added that it is too wide for a two-lane roadway. Director Houle said he will add this intersection to their workload for evaluation. Member Janovy said she submitted a sidewalk petition to City Council on July 16. She asked if it could be incorporated into the 2014 project that is scheduled. Director Houle said staff knew the petition was coming and is already working to see if it can be incorporated. STAFF COMMENTS • Commissioner Braden resigned effective today. • The neighborhood reconstruction projects are progressing on schedule despite the weather. • The School Road sidewalk RFP was approved by City Council July 16. • One bid was received for France Avenue Intersections Improvements and it was $600,000 higher than estimated; staff consulted with MnDOT to see if the federal funds would be affected if they were to reject the bid and rebid; this is not the case and on July 16, City Council accepted staff's recommendation to rebid in the fall with construction in 2014. A second meeting was held for the Urban Design piece of this project and a third is scheduled for August 21, 7-9 p.m. • Hennepin County is still on schedule to mill and overlay Vernon Avenue; the Penn Avenue Bridge redecking is starting Monday, July 22-October 22, and traffic is detoured to Xerxes Avenue. Xerxes Avenue Bridge will be redecked next year and staff is continuing to work with the County to improve lane designs. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned. ATTENDANCE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE -2013 NAME TERM JFMAMJJASOND Work Session # of Mtgs Attendance % Meetings/Work Sessions 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7/16 Bass, Katherine 2/1/2014 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 88% Braden, Ann* 2/1/2014 1 1 1 1 1 5 63% Franzen, Nathan 2/1/2016 1 1 1 1 1 5 63% Iyer, lyer 2/1/2015 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 88% Janovy, Jennifer 2/1/2014 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 100% LaForce, Tom 2/1/2015 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 100% Nelson, Paul 2/1/2016 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 100% Schweiger, Steven student 1 1 1 3 38% Sierks, Caroline student 1 1 1 1 1 5 63% Spanhake, Dawn 2/1/2016 1 1 1 3 50% Whited, Courtney 2/1/2015 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 88% 3