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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-05-17 Minutes 1 MINUTES OF CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION COMMUNITY ROOM MAY 17, 2012 6:00 P.M. ROLLCALL Answering roll call was Members Bass, Braden, Franzen, Iyer, Janovy, LaForce, Nelson, Schweiger, Thompson, and Whited. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Motion was made by member Thompson and seconded by member Braden approving the meeting agenda. All voted aye. Motion carried. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - REGULAR MEETING OF APRIL 19, 2012 The minutes was amended as follows: page 2, last paragraph, delete ‘…project ends here with…’ Motion was made by member LaForce and seconded by member Braden to approve the amended minutes. All voted aye. Motion carried. COMMUNITY COMMENT – None. REPORT/RECOMMENDATIONS Traffic Safety Committee (TSC) Report of May 2, 2012 Member LaForce asked how often the ETC receives TSC reports and what to do they with the reports. Director Houle explained that the TSC is a staff committee that meets monthly. He said staff receives requests from residents, collects data, does analysis and reports findings to the TSC and the requests are reviewed and approved or denied based on policy. Residents are sometimes surveyed for their input. He said requests usually decrease during the winter months. He said staff is working on a new website that will include an interactive map showing requests from residents. Page 6, Section D, Item 8: Member Janovy asked if this could be referred to the Planning Commission since it seems to come up often. Director Houle said they could make a recommendation to Council to forward it on to the Planning Commission and he could also talk with Planning Director Teague. Page 3, Section B, Item 1: Member Whited said she walks this area frequently and it appears that the issue is more extreme at nights and staff’s observation is in the daytime. She recommended that staff review this request in 90 days to see if the intersection qualifies for a 4-way stop sign because she concurred that the intersection was not safe. Director Houle said a stop sign will not provide extra safety. Member Whited suggested a sidewalk or no parking on one side of 56th. Director Houle said staff could survey residents to get their feedback on a sidewalk or no parking on one side. A hedge was also noted as a possible safety hazard. Staff will look at the hedge, parking and speed data, and report back on these. Page 1, Section A, Item 1: Director Houle was asked about the street width for parking on both sides. He said the width is 27-ft without marked lanes and 36-ft for a marked 2-lane road. Director Houle was asked what Section D was and he explained that it was a list of other calls that staff received and residents were satisfied and therefore the issues were not advanced to the TSC. Speed Table Policy: Director Houle said during the W. 44th Street reconstruction, traffic was unintentionally pushed to Sunnyside Road (despite the marked detour route) and with 85% speeds up to 36 mph prior to construction, Council 2 approved a speed table for temporary use during construction. Director Houle said approval of this policy would allow staff to purchase more speed tables to be used in conjunction with street reconstruction projects, except on Municipal State Aid streets because traffic calming is not allowed on these streets. After discussion the following changes were recommended:  Process: the city engineer to decide when and where to place speed tables;  Item 4: remove ‘speed of 5 to 10 mph’ and reword to say ‘over speed limit;’ change ‘adjacent’ to ‘nearby’ or ‘close.’  Item 6: delete and incorporate into #2. At the end of what was Item 6 add ‘the priority for installation should be on a first requested basis.’ Motion was made by member Janovy to recommend the following actions regarding items in the TSC report:  Section A.2.: Policy 4: remove ‘5 to 10 mph’ and add ‘over speed limit;’ eliminate Policy 6 and incorporate into Policy 2 and add ‘the priority for installation should be on a first requested basis;’ city engineer to decide when and where to place speed tables; and bring back to ETC for review.  Section B.1.: Explore option of no parking on one side of street; see if hedge is a safety hazard;  Section D.8. Refer to Planning Commission to look at parking requirements. The motion was seconded by member LaForce. All voted aye. Motion carried. Proposed Enhanced Crosswalk for Tracy Avenue Project Director Houle said staff is opening bids next Tuesday for this project. He said the Intersection at Tracy and Benton is staying as is and the ETC recommended an enhanced crosswalk. He said the plan is to install a 10 ft. (12 ft total width from edge to edge) stamped crosswalk that is pounded into the pavement. He explained that the design will be more visible because the design and color makes it pops out at you. He said the initial cost is more expensive than traditional crosswalks; however, there is no annual maintenance like painted crosswalk that has to be painted twice annually. He said the crosswalk on 50th next to City Hall is very similar and after seven years and it is just now showing wear. Other areas where similar design is used are 70th & Metro, and 44th & Wooddale. Director Houle was asked if the same crosswalk could be installed at Creek Valley and he said yes. Member Bass suggested creating a policy to make this standard treatment near schools if it works well. Director Houle agreed and said the intersections near schools would have the major crosswalk and a tiered system as you move away from the schools. Chair Nelson asked about a crosswalk on Vernon toward Highland School and Director Houle said Hennepin County does favor crosswalks where traffic signals are installed but he could explore this further with the County. Member Franzen asked staff to report back on the overall cost after bids are open. After discussion, the ETC recommended installation of the crosswalk. Updates Student Member - No update. Bike Edina Task Force – Minutes of April 12, 2012 – No update. Grandview Small Area Study Director Houle said he asked Director Teague if there is anything that the ETC could be doing in the meantime and he is going to check with the committee. Director Houle said he has some ideas for federal funding. Living Streets Working Group Update Chair Thompson said he spoke with BARR, the consultant who is developing the Living Streets Policy and they are working on the deliverables. He said they have driven the streets to get a sense of the system to develop four street 3 templates and he would like to schedule a working group meeting before this is completed. He said BARR would like to make a formal presentation at the June meeting. Member Bass offered the do.Town staff to meet with the working group to help with public engagement. Member Thompson said Robin from Bloomington Health will be invited to the next working group meeting. Director Houle will schedule the next working group meeting. Transportation Options Working Group Co-chair Whited said they had a presentation from ITNAmerica that she will forward to everyone. She said she will be giving a presentation on Prism at the next meeting, the company she works for. Member Thompson motioned to add new member Greg Colborn from Normandale Lutheran Church, to the working group and the motion was seconded by member Iyer. All voted aye. Motion carried. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS – None CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS Member Janovy expressed dissatisfaction with staff’s report to Council because it did not include comments from the ETC regarding the TLC Bike Blvd and the urban planner for the France Avenue Pedestrian Crossings. She said while the draft minutes were included, use of an advisory communication might be necessary to express the ETC desires. After discussion, the consensus was that use of advisories would be determined on a case by case basis. Member Whited followed up with Director Houle about expansion of bike lane on W. 58th St. Director Houle will have information for the next meeting. Chair Nelson expressed concerns about the increased amount of trains on the track. Director Houle said Canadian Pacific (CP) switched operation time due to a crew change which has resulted in more trains in the evenings. He said it is temporary but CP did not provide an end date. Chair Nelson said they are improving the track and wondered if this was to enable them to travel at higher speeds and if so, would they be required to install crossing arms. Director Houle said he will look into this and report back. Member Iyer said he has received comments from residents about the bike path over TH-62 and they’ve expressed concerns that it is not a workable solution and should be a real bridge. Director Houle said the plan is for a real bridge that will accommodate ADA when funding becomes available. STAFF COMMENTS TLC Bike Boulevard Update Director Houle said the City Council approved the plan with the following exception: W. 54th from Minnehaha Blvd to France Avenue will be advisory lane with parking on both sides; bump-outs were added on Wooddale Avenue at the intersection in the parking bay area; on-street markings south of Valley View Road down to W. 70th; and enhancement of the U-channel on the pedestrian bridge. Gallagher Drive & Three Rivers Trail Director Houle said the plan was approved, including conduits and bus pads. France Avenue Pedestrian Crossings Director Houle said stakeholders meeting are scheduled for May 31, 7 p.m. (first meeting to explain the project and solicit feedback); June 26, (6-7 p.m. ETC meeting, and 7-9 p.m. for stakeholders meeting); July 9 (with the ETC to recommend approval to Council); and the public hearing on July 17. Motion was made by member Janovy approving the 3 special meetings and the motion was seconded by member Bass. All voted aye. Motion carried. 4 ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. ATTACHMENT Attendance Spreadsheet