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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-10-21 Minutes MINUTES OF THE Edina Transportation Commission Thursday, October 21, 2010 Edina City Hall 4801 West 50th Street Council Chambers MEMBERS PRESENT: Jennifer Janovy, Michael Schroeder, Josh Sprague, Tom Bonneville, Nathan Franzen, Jean White, MEMBERS ABSENT: Geof Workinger, Paul Nelson, Sarah Engbretson STAFF PRESENT: Jack Sullivan, Sharon Allison I. Call to Order The meeting was called order by chair Janovy. II. Approval of Minutes a. Regular Meeting of September 16, 2010 Commissioner Schroeder moved to approve the minutes of September 16, with the following corrections: Item VII.a. Delete “…said Phase I if ETC wants to be informed about…” and add ‘…reported that construction of Phase I (bicycle route for which the City received a Transit for Livable Communities grant) is scheduled for 2011. She said the BETF would like to be kept informed and asked if the ETC should also have a role in receiving information about and/or commenting on this project.’ The motion was seconded by Commissioner White. All voted aye. III. Consent Agenda a. Traffic Safety Report of September 1, 2010 Chair Janovy said clarity is needed in understanding the requirement for establishing bike lanes. She asked if it is with a resolution or ordinance and said W. 58th is being done using neither. Assistant city engineer Sullivan said W. 70th Street is the only other street that Council has approved for bike lanes and it was done with a resolution. Mr. Sullivan will get clarification and report back. Regarding the calls received from residents, chair Janovy asked how is traffic safety issues defined and when is an issue forwarded to the Traffic Safety Committee. Mr. Sullivan said Mr. Tate, traffic safety coordinator, being a retired police office is given some liberty in deciding what moves forward. He said Mr. Tate’s first attempt is to educate callers. He said further that issues such as speeding are referred to the NTMP while regulatory-related issues go directly to the Traffic Safety Committee. Regarding the discussion about Xerxes Avenue, Commissioner Bonneville said he is interested in the ETC getting the ADT for the entire length of Xerxes and York Avenues from TH-494 to the crosstown to begin a long term analysis. 2 Commissioner Schroeder moved to approve the Traffic Safety Report of September 1, 2010, and the motion was seconded by Commissioner Franzen. All voted aye. IV. Community Comment None. V. New Business a. State Aid Road Reconstruction Planning Mr. Sullivan said similar to neighborhood street reconstruction, there is a schedule for State Aid streets. He said these streets are funded by gas tax funds and the City generally receives $1.2 million annually. He said residents are assessed 20% of the cost and the balance is paid by State Aid funds. State Aid streets scheduled for reconstruction in 2011 are W. 44th Street from France Avenue to TH-100, and W. 70th Street from France Avenue to TH-100. b. Truck Routes in Edina Chair Janovy said an email was received from a resident regarding truck traffic on Gleason Road which was handled by the Traffic Safety Committee and the Traffic Safety Report dated October 19 was approved by Council with minor correction. Mr. Sullivan said this issue is raised by residents quite often, and while the City can set truck routes, the preference is not to do so for various reasons, example, difficult to enforce, expensive for signage, impeding deliveries on non-truck routes and, most residents would not favor their street becoming a truck route. Additionally, trucks cannot be eliminated from State Aid roads such as Gleason Road. Discussion included when do you change or eliminate a code and Mr. Sullivan said when it comes to staff’s attention; how influential is the City over County roads and Mr. Sullivan said staff has a good working relationship with the County and they do seek the City’s input and recommendation; should the ETC be made aware of the County’s plans and Mr. Sullivan said they do have a similar plan like the City’s; ETC looking at W. 76th Street to see if opportunities exist to sign it as a truck route; and spring load restrictions which is set by Mn/DOT and followed by the City. c. Xerxes Avenue Overview Mr. Sullivan said Mn/DOT is planning to replace the Xerxes Avenue Bridge over TH-494 and have solicited input from the cities of Bloomington, Edina and Richfield, and Hennepin County. He said replacing the bridge was approved as far back as 10 years ago as part of Mn/DOT’s long range forecasting. Plans include a bike route but does not include on/off ramps because the intersection spacing criteria (both federal and state) does not allow the appropriate distance for the weaving of the ramps. Mr. Sullivan said the bridge is outside the City limits but Edina will be impacted by its traffic. Construction is expected to begin in 2011 at a cost of $16 million. During discussion Mr. Sullivan was asked about the France Avenue Bridge over crosstown and he said the County should be in discussion with Mn/DOT over the winter. He was also asked about the process for public input on a decision that was made 10 years ago. Mr. Sullivan said planning probably began 15 years ago and moving forward, they should probably see what Mn/DOT’s long range plan is for 20-30 years out. He said he is not aware of crosstown being on their radar. 3 d. W. 60th Street/France Avenue Chair Janovy said a resident is concerned that the restriping of France Avenue would cause cars traveling westbound on W. 60th Street and wanting to go southbound on France to cause cueing and that drivers would divert to W. 58th Street. Mr. Sullivan said W. 60th Street is a T-intersection that meets clear zone requirements and has had 18 accidents within the past 10 years, with five personal injuries; W. 58th Street he said is a 4-way intersection with 17,000 cars passing through and it has had 54 accidents within the past 10 years with 18 personal injuries. He said many of the accidents were associated with the 2-lanes being driven as 4-lanes and in the past 2½ months since the restriping there have not been any accidents and the police department has even commented on how civil traffic has been. He said some drivers may choose to go to W. 58th Street and as a State Aid road, it is signalized to carry more traffic. Mr. Sullivan said it is hard to see how the intersection can be improved upon to change the W. 60th Street left movement without installing a traffic signal and neither the City nor the County is interested in putting in a signal. In the short term, Mr. Sullivan said the redesign appears to be working, and he suggested taking another look in one year. Commissioner Bonneville asked if the Traffic Safety Committee has looked at the possibility of removing the signal at W. 58th Street and changing it to a 4-way, and changing W. 60th Street to a 3-way because it feels like an extension of W. 50th Street. Mr. Sullivan said they have not but this would mirror Xerxes and W. 60th Street. e. Three Rivers Park District – ETC role in the Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail Chair Janovy said after the Park Board meeting, she received several emails from people asking if the ETC was going to weigh-in on recommending a bike route and alignment. She said she would like the ETC to decide what their role should be. She said a public hearing is scheduled for December 7 for the Council to select an alignment (creek bed or road base) but they would not know for three years how the trail would interact with the road. During discussion, it was noted that the trail would be running close to backyards and chair Janovy said the focus should be on where the ETC has authority. She said when the alignment is chosen they will have an important role to play. Commissioner White motion that they not make a recommendation on the proposed trail alignment and the motion was seconded by Commissioner Sprague. All voted aye. VI. Planning Commission Update (Commissioner Schroeder) Commissioner Schroeder said they continue to work on amendments to ordinances related to PUDs; conditional use permits related to a recent Supreme Court ruling, and driveway widths. VII. Bike Edina Task Force Update (Commissioner Janovy) Chair Janovy said their focus was on the Bicycle Friendly Community application which is a designation that cities can receive and the process is a useful tool to identify where the City can improve and have a long range vision. She said also that there is a sense that the BETF would like to be communicated with regarding biking infrastructure such as W. 58th Street. 4 VIII. Staff Liaison Comments a. 70th Street Reconstruction Update Mr. Sullivan said the preconstruction meeting took place today with the contractor. He said the work will be done from the west working easterly and that there would be some road closure in certain areas. He said the ETC will continue to receive updates. Mr. Sullivan said Commissioners should have received an invitation in their packet to attend a workshop. He said a reception is scheduled for the new city manager and that he will be attending the next meeting to introduce himself. IX. Commissioners Comments None. X. Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m.