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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-03-15 Minutes 1 MINUTES OF CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION COMMUNITY ROOM March 15, 2012 6:00 P.M. ROLLCALL Answering roll call was Members Bass, Franzen, Iyer, Janovy, LaForce, Nelson, Schweiger, Thompson, and Whited. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA The meeting agenda was changed as follows: Item A, ‘State Complete Streets meeting update’ was deleted, and item G, ‘I494 Auxiliary Lane Municipal Consent’ took its place. Motion was made by member LaForce and seconded by member Thompson approving the revised meeting agenda. All voted aye. Motion carried. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 16, 2012 Approval was carried over until the next meeting. COMMUNITY COMMENT – None. REPORT/RECOMMENDATIONS I494 Auxiliary Lane Municipal Consent Mr. Scott Pedersen from MnDOT, gave the same presentation that was presented previously to the ETC at the January 19, 2012 meeting, plus some new information that are in italics. Mr. Pedersen said MnDOT is doing three different projects over three phases and they are: I-494 from TH-100 to 24th Avenue; construct auxiliary lanes on westbound I-494; and reconstruction of the Xerxes Avenue Bridge. The project letting will be June 8, 2012, and construction will begin August, 2012, and end Fall, 2013. The three phases are: Phase I (Bid Letting June 8, 2012, Construction Start Date August 12 to late Fall, 2012;) Construct auxiliary lanes on westbound I-494 between Portland Avenue and Nicollet Avenue; and I-35 and TH-100. Reconstruct the outside shoulders on both eastbound and westbound of I-494. Reconstruct the inside shoulders from 24th Avenue to TH-77, and resurface I-494 from 24th Avenue to TH-77. Traffic controls will include maintaining 3 drive lanes in daytime peak hours and closing the following ramps: Nicollet, Portland, 12th and probably France. Traffic will be pushed to the inside while they work on the outside shoulders. Phase II (Spring to Summer, 2013) Reconstruction of the inside shoulders of I-494 from TH-77 to TH-100. Remove guardrail and curb and gutter and replace with concrete barrier. Reconstruct drainage system in median to facilitate modification to the median. Traffic controls will include pushing traffic to the outside lanes while they work in the middle and it is not known at this time if ramp closures will be necessary. Phase III (Summer to Fall, 2013) Resurface I-494 between TH-100 and TH-77. This work will be done in sections over four weekends with complete closure of each section and detouring of traffic. 2 Xerxes Avenue Bridge construction will be Fall, 2012, to late Spring, 2013. The bridge will be closed and taken out this August and reopen Spring, 2013 (it is being raised for more vertical clearance on the corridor). The following intersections will remain open for as long as it is feasible: Edinborough Way, 78th Street, and Southtown Blvd. Mr. Pedersen said issues identified during the City of Edina’s open house were proposed typical section under the Xerxes Avenue Bridge; I-494 as a managed facility; and access to Xerxes Avenue from I-494. Mr. Pedersen said they are usually asked why there is so much space under the Penn and Nicollet Bridges and he said it is 26 ft. that is reserved for future expansion of I-494 for six lanes in each direction. He said Xerxes will not have 26 ft. reserved and it is a risk that MnDOT is willing to accept because the current 20 year plan does not include expansion. MnDOT’s 20 year plan and the Met Council’s Transportation Policy Plan show I-494 as a Tier II Managed Corridor similar to I-35W. He said discussion has included the auxiliary lane being a toll lane that would be open in peak hours but in the meantime they would like to add it as a general purpose lane and change to toll in in the future. And this is what MnDOT is hoping cities will agree to in a resolution. After discussion, he said the lane under Xerxes does not fit the true definition of an auxiliary lane and probably should not be called an auxiliary lane. ADA provisions for Xerxes Avenue & Edinborough Way was redesigned based on feedback from the City using a single axle truck as the design vehicle. This resulted in extension of the island as a refuge, narrower road and shorter pedestrian crossing. City engineer Houle said the public hearing is scheduled for April 3 and that Mr. Pederson will be giving the same presentation to the Council. Mr. Houle said he is looking for a recommendation from the ETC to Council. Motion was made by member Nelson to accept the recommendation as written and forward to Council and the motion was seconded by member LaForce. All voted aye. Motion carried. Chair Janovy said she is not comfortable using the word “believes” in the resolution. After discussion the word “believes” was changed to “acknowledge.” Member Nelson accepted the amendment to his motion to include deleting “believes” that appears twice in the resolution and replacing them with “acknowledge.” Motion was made by member Franzen to approve the amended motion and it was seconded by member Iyer. All voted aye. Motion carried. Grandview Small Area Study – Kevin Staunton Mr. Staunton said he is the vice-chair of the Planning Commission and chair of the Steering Committee for the Grandview Small Area Planning Process. He thanked member Nelson and past member Bonneville for their support on the Steering Committee. He said they started the 2nd phase in April 2010 and had three community workshops in fall; worked with a consulting team; and the steering committee approved the development framework in January. He said they are in the public comment period and is hoping to incorporate suggestions from the public at their March 29 meeting, before going to Planning Commission on April 11, and City Council April 17 for support. He said they are calling the plan a “Development Framework” to communicate the notion that it is a vision for implementation over the next 20 years but realistically, as it unfolds, some things may not be done as it is currently shown in the framework. He said while they did work with Jack Broz, a traffic consultant with HR Green, they have not done any traffic studies. He said this is where the ETC would get involved. The plan is on the City’s website as well as at edinacitizenengagement.org. 3 Mr. Staunton said they developed seven Guiding Principles and the areas that relates to transportation are: A “connected” district; regional connections; more walkable; community and convenience parking; improve movement within and access to the district; facilitate multiple modes of transportation; and preserve future transit opportunities. Mr. Staunton gave an overview of the framework as follows: Vernon Avenue He said discussion included ‘right sizing’ Vernon (which is old Hwy 169 and still acts this way today). Currently, the speed goes from 40 mph to 30 mph and it turns into a 4-lane road. He said this is opposite of how it should function. He said they’ve discussed staying within the same right-of-way and redesigning the road to 2 lanes, with a turn lane, median, sidewalk and bike lanes. He said this is on a phasing schedule of 5-10 years because it is a County road and they’ve also discussed the option of the County turning it back to the City. Library Area Opening 53rd, 52nd, and 51st Streets to Vernon to facilitate crossings from Bedford/Oxford/Hankerson and designing in such a way so that drivers will know to slow down. He said there is a lot of cut thru traffic from Gleason to Hwy. 100 and this could probably discourage the cut thru. He said the only push back was from residents in the Richmond Hills neighborhood because Sherwood is their only access and they’ve talked about an alternative design with 53rd as a new connection to Sherwood. This area would also have a pedestrian path from Grandview Square to Jerry’s. Intersection controls are still to be determined. This area would be done in the 2nd phase. Vernon, Interlachen Blvd, Gus Young Lane This area could have two pedestrian bridges - one over the railroad tracks called Grandview Crossings and another over TH100 to City Hall. The recommendation is to build a community center at the old public works site with structured parking with accommodation for future transit. TH100 TH100 is currently a split diamond built to accommodate traffic from old Hwy. 169 and the plan is to eliminate the dangerous design on the west side by redesigning a frontage road with an intersection, and an intersection also on the east side, by Tupa Park. This would remove all aspects of old Hwy 169. He said the idea is to create a design that would separate drivers going to and from TH100, from drivers whose destination is within the district and this might mean turning some streets such as Gus Young Lane into a one-way street. Grandview Square to Jerry’s and school bus garage site The school district would like to move the bus garage but it has not been cost effective. This area could potentially be privately developed and go from no taxes to a tax based mixed used development. Park and Ride The framework shows Metro Transit’s 587 express route and stops and also identifies three options for park and ride. There is a need for park and ride and the Met Council is eager to find a space in the area for 200 or less cars. Bicycle Plan Mr. Staunton thought a cool idea would be to have a bike path next to the railroad so that you go under Vernon to Brookview and to the Greenway. He showed an aerial map from 1953 and their 2023 dream design and how different it could be. He said he is unclear what the process will be after April 17 when the Council is scheduled to publicly review the framework. Chair Janovy commented on the inclusion of Complete Streets and Living Streets into the framework design and the focus on biking, walking and transit. She asked if there was something specific that the Council wanted them to review. Mr. Staunton said on February 28, they met in a work session with the Council and the Council asked if the ETC had seen 4 the transportation plan. He said they were reminded that ETC members Nelson and Bonneville were part of the steering committee but they are getting to the point where they will have to figure out how to navigate and identify who will be doing what. He said there is probably nothing for the ETC to do at this time. Regarding the implementation steering committee, he said he is not sure how the Council is going to handle this. He said it is possible that they may give transportation to the ETC, landuse to the Planning Commission, etc. He said the Council has asked for a recommendation for height and density of proposed buildings which is something the steering committee has not been able to agree on. Safe Routes to School Resolution – Katherine Bass Member Bass said there is proposed legislation in the 2012 bonding bill for $3M for Safe Routes to School projects to be administered through MnDOT. She said a coalition, led by the American Heart Association, is looking for cities and organizations to support a resolution for approval of the funds. She said there is a demand for infrastructure to allow more students to walk to school but there isn’t enough funding. She asked if it is something that they should recommend to the Council for support. She said there is a report that shows that communities that have a plan in place are more successful in getting funding and chair Janovy said Bloomington Public Health has $30,000 set aside for Edina to develop a plan. Member Bass motioned to forward the resolution to the Council with a recommendation to pass resolution in support of inclusion of the funding in the bonding bill and the motion was seconded by member Whited. Chair Janovy said Safe Routes is one of top 3 priorities for the ETC for 2012. Member chair Janovy motioned to forward an advisory communication, along with the fact sheet to Council and the motion was seconded by member LaForce. Member Bass will write the recommendation and members Iyer and Thompson to review. All voted aye. Motion carried. Speed Limit Policy Chair Janovy said the Council has reduced the speed limit on W. 58th and W. 70th and wants to do the same on Tracy. She said the current policy does not allow this and has put together information on speed limits and asked for feedback for a recommendation to Council to update the speed limit policy. Member Whited asked if there is any evidence that reducing the speed limit works because she is on a street where it has been reduced and there does not seem to be any difference. Chair Janovy said no, that additional reinforcements are needed, but Council still wants to do it. Member Franzen motioned that they recommend updating the speed limit policy to the Council and the motion was seconded by member Bass. All voted aye. Motion carried. Member Janovy motioned to write the recommendation and member LaForce to review and the motion was seconded by member Thompson. All voted aye. Motion carried. Living Streets Workshop Recap Chair Janovy said there is a video of the workshop online. Member Bass said it was a great start to the conversation and that it was well represented by the school district, city, and various city commissioners. City engineer Houle said BARR’s lead person for the RFP has moved on and they do not have a replacement for him. He said HR Green has someone on staff and Mr. Houle recommended that they hire HR Green to work with BARR. Everyone agreed. 5 Edina Transportation Commission Bylaws Chair Janovy said the bylaws were revised since last meeting. Member Iyer motioned to approve the bylaws and the motion was seconded by member Franzen. All voted aye. Motion carried. For clarification, chair Janovy said for a cancelled meeting to count towards attendance, the meeting has to be cancelled ahead of time. She also said they can miss three meetings (provided 12 regular meetings have been scheduled); however, not in a row. Updates Student Member Member Schweiger said he liked the Grandview plan and that it will be easier for him to get there on his bike. Bike Edina Task Force – Minutes of February 9, 2012 - No updates. Grandview Small Area Study Member Nelson said the public comment period is still open. TLC Bike Boulevard Update City engineer Houle said they are waiting for a response from MnDOT on the use of advisory lanes like City of Minneapolis has. The public meeting has not been scheduled yet. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS – None CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS STAFF COMMENTS Update on France Avenue Pedestrian Bridge Re-scoping City engineer Houle said the Funding and Programming Committee of the TAC did not approve their re-scoping plan and that they will be meeting with the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) on March 21. City Manager Neal will give the presentation. Gallagher Drive & Three Rivers Trail City engineer Houle said staff is working with Three Rivers District and SEH as the City’s consultant, to put a trail on Gallagher Drive. He said the recommendation is to reduce the curb line, improve the intersection for at-grade crossing and add a trail on both sides of the road. The project limits is Parklawn to France. An informational meeting is scheduled for March 27, 5-6:30 p.m., at Centennial Lakes in the Hughes Pavilion. Tracy Avenue Roadway Reconstruction Project Update City engineer Houle said the plan was approved as recommended by the ETC. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 8:27p.m. ATTACHMENT Attendance Spreadsheet