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Home My WebLink About2004-12-09 Meeting PacketAGENDA Special Meeting of the Edina Transportation Commission 6:00 PM, Thursday, December 9, 2004 Edina City Hall 4801 West 50th Street Community Room I. Call to Order II. Open House — DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy a. Presentation (Transportation Commission Policy Summary)* b. Public Comments Received to Date* c. Public Comments and Questions III. Approval of Minutes a. November 18, 2004* IV. Adjournment V. Open Discussion * Note: Attachment included. CITY OF EDINA DRAFT - TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION POLICY FORWARD The following is a summary of the DRAFT City of Edina Transportation Commission Policy. The complete text and additional information about the plan are available online at www.cityofedina.com/Pages/L5- 63_TransportationCommissionPolicy.htm. Submit comments for the record: U.S. Mail: City of Edina Engineering Department 4801 West 50th Street Edina, Minnesota 55424-1394 e-mail: edinamailAci.edina.mn.us FAX: 952-826-0389 Comments on the draft policy will be considered by the Transportation Commission at its Jan. 6, 2005, meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. - SUMMARY - I. INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND Sustaining, improving and operating a sound street and transportation system are integral parts of the long- term vision of the City. Congestion on the regional roadway system and the failure of that system to accommodate the continued growth in traffic volumes has created and exacerbated traffic volumes, speed and congestion on local streets. These conditions adversely affect the quality of life of the City's residents and the activities of the businesses located in the City. The Edina City Council in December 2003 established the Transportation Commission to address these issues and to work to improve the local transportation system, consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and Vision 20/20. The Transportation Commission is made up of eight residents appointed by the Mayor with approval of the City Council. Current members are Joni Kelly Bennett, Dean Dovolis, Warren Plante, Chairman Fred Richards, Marie Thorpe, Les Wanninger and JeanWhite. PURPOSE The Edina Transportation Commission (ETC) was established to advise the Council on matters relating to the operation of the local street system with respect to traffic volumes, congestion, and functional classification, but not maintenance activities, of the City; to review and comment on plans to enhance mass transit opportunities in the City; to evaluate methods for traffic calming and other speed and volume mitigation measures and to recommend their implementation where appropriate; and to review the findings of the Local Traffic Task Force (2002-2003) and offer recommendations for implementation. VISION Edina will maintain a transportation system that will accommodate the efficient movement of people and goods throughout the City while fostering safe and livable neighborhoods and business areas connected by aesthetically beautiful, pedestrian and bicycle friendly streets and pathways. City of Edina Transportation Policy DRAFT - October 2004 II. POLICY FRAMEWORK The Edina Transportation Commission Policy was developed as a supplement to the City of Edina Transportation Plan (March 1999). The purpose of this policy is to guide the ETC in the identification and evaluation of traffic and transportation issues in the community and the prioritization of projects and improvements to the transportation system. The policy is created to encourage public input and decisions that will be made on quantitative, qualitative and objective factors. III. PLAN IMPLEMENTATION TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION POLICY ADOPTION By adopting the Transportation Commission Policy, the City Council will establish the guidelines by which decisions regarding transportation facilities are made in Edina. It should be revised as necessary to respond to changing conditions and needs, both locally and regionally. The policy should be circulated widely so the residents and the business community are aware of the opportunities and limitations that the policy provides, thus enabling all interested parties to voice their concerns and issues with full knowledge. ACTION PLAN Short Term (Immediate): • Review and approve Transportation Commission Policy: o Review and identify problems and causes of Edina traffic issues (determine what is fact versus perception). o Review volume and speed criteria. o Present Draft Policy to Council. o Open public comment period. o Recommend to Council for approval. • Review Local Traffic Task Force Findings and Recommendations as it reflects the adoptive policies and procedures. Rank the six identified traffic "issue areas" and review and recommend action for them as Neighborhood Traffic Management Projects to the City Council. • Review and approve a Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan (NTMP). • Publicize transportation issues to be studied by ETC. • Establish a means for public communication for transportation issues: o City of Edina website o About Town o Edina Community Channel 16 o Edina Sun Current Newspaper o Local Schools • Create a citizen's guide to transportation issues Long Term (Continually): • Review and recommend Neighborhood Traffic Management Plans. • Review and update local roadway functional classification. • Hold yearly public open house for transportation issues. • Review and update Transportation Commission Policy annually. • Review and make recommendations for collector and arterial roadway planned improvements. City of Edina Transportation Policy DRAFT - October 2004 SOURCES OF FUNDING The following sources of funding are explained in more detail in the Transportation Plan. Existing Sources of Revenue: • Federal Surface Transportation Program Funds • Congestion Management and Air Quality (CMAQ) • State Aid • Special Assessments • Livable Communities Grants • Ad Valorem Taxes • Tax Increment Financing Potential Sources of Revenue: • Impact Fees • Road Access Charge • Transportation Utility IV. NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PLAN INTRODUCTION Neighborhood Traffic Management Plans (NTMP) include local, collector and arterial street studies and neighborhood area studies. These studies would be conducted by the City Engineering Department. The NTMP studies are intended to respond to speeding and excessive cut-through traffic on streets in a residential neighborhood and on multiple streets in one or more neighborhoods, yet are intended to be sensitive to areas where there may be a potential for diversion of this traffic onto other streets and/or into other neighborhoods. These plans are required to respond to traffic problems that are symptomatic of wider problems, such as congestion or lack of capacity on the arterial system. Possible solutions may include revisions to the local street to slow traffic or to completely or partially divert traffic off the street. While solutions will be considered for collector and arterial streets, only a limited number of management devices will be allowed due to State design standards and funding requirements (see Appendix B). NTMP studies are developed primarily through the City Engineering Department, with the involvement of the Transportation Commission and other City depai tments. They are scheduled based on available resources and given priority by factors that include, but are not limited to, the following: • Previous efforts, requests and studies in the area • Intensity and extent of the problems • Degree of conflict between traffic conditions and land uses • Availability of data • Regional improvement projects scheduled or planned • Feasibility of solutions City of Edina Transportation Policy DRAFT - October 2004 PROCESS AND SCHEDULE - NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PLAN SCHEDULE Step Item Period (Typical) - General Traffic Management Information Open House Late September Step 1 Neighborhood Traffic Management Applications Due 2nd Monday in February Step 2 Initial Screening, Scoring and Ranking of Applications Before data collection March/April/May Step 3 • Petition-to-study prepared and circulated by City staff • Presentation to ETC for recommendation and to Council for approval to order plan development May/June Step 4 Plan Development • Review and comment by Fire, Police, Public Works and Engineering, Transit and School (transportation) agencies • Public Open House • Survey-to-test circulated and evaluated by City staff • Trial Project Plan prepared June Step 5a Presentation to ETC for recommendation June Step 5b • Council approval of trial projects • Schedule temporary installations, removals and after data collection (minimum period of 2 weeks after installation) July Step 5c • Temporary installations July/August Step 6 • After data collection (trial projects) • Review and comment by Fire, Police, Public Works, Transit, and School (transportation) agencies • Prepare evaluation summaries September Step 7a Mail Surveys October Step 7b • Summarize returned surveys • Open House November Step 8a Recommendations to ETC, Public comment December Step 8b Recommendations to Council, Improvement Hearing, Preliminary Assessment Hearing, Order Project January Step 9a Survey and Design February / March Step 9b Final approval of plans by Council, Set bid schedule April Step 9c Letting, Assessment Hearing May Step 9d Construction June / July Step 10 After data collection July / August Step 11 Follow-up Evaluation Within 3 to 5 yrs City of Edina Transportation Policy DRAFT - October 2004 8 Lou Blemaster 6PTIONAL PROM I s .4„.. MEMBER OF EXCEPTIONAL PROPERTIES NE1WORK Corporate Relocation Specialist 6 REALTOR°, GRI NMI • Dir: (952) 924-8744 Bus: (952) 920-1960 Edina 50th & France Office Home Off: (952) 920-3442 3930 West 491/2 Street Fax: (952) 924-8700 Edina, MN 55424 m mu 0 1 Q.6%.• LY1 1 Holmair My E-mail 17Write E-mail Free Newsletters Address Book I Special Offers 0 Sent Messages - loublemaster@msn.com IFrom: Lou BLEMASTER Save Address I pro: slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us.I ISubject: Traffic calming in the Country Club District I Thursday, December 02, 2004 8:42 PM1 Save Addresses A few years ago the city went to great expense to hire a traffic consulting firm to study the traffic issue in the Country Club District. They gave an excellent presentation with suggested improvements. The meeting seemed to go array as some folks became a little unpleasant. A part of their recommendation was to block off Sunnyside at Grimes. I have lived at 4212 Sunnyside Road since 1979 and continue to see constant increases in the traffic in front of my house. When my little grand children visit I have to keep the front door locked to prevent them from going in the front yard. There are numerous little children on our block and it is a shame their front yards are unsafe. Years ago I did some historical research on 44th, as I was about to list a house there. Forty Fourth Street was originally along the trolley line and the homes built there have a very large set back from the street. The Sunnyside traffic should be routed back to a street that was designed to carry it. A few blocks of extra drive time is no inconvenience when considering the safety of children. Surely Sunnyside is only a part of the calming issue but I urge you to consider the blocking of east/west cut through traffic here. Thank you for your consideration, Lou Blemaster Previous Message (2 of 13) Next Message msn://gmai1.mar@imsg.htm?FID=0x0000000B&MID=0x00000148 12/2/2004 Message Page 1 of 2 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:28 PM To: tannie.obrien@earthlink.net' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Traffic Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: The O'Briens [mailto:annie.obrien@earthlink.net] Sent: Saturday, December 04, 2004 4:41 PM To: Steve Lillehaug; Jennifer Bennerotte Cc: CCNA Subject: Traffic Policy I have read and am in support of the Transportation Commission Policy Draft. I only wish that the process could go faster and hope that aggressive measures are approved in our neighborhood. I moved into the Country Club neighborhood nearly 2 years ago. We were from out of state and unfamiliar with the Twin Cities, but chose this location largely on the charm and neighborhood feel of the community. Since moving in we have been surprised and disappointed at the level and speed of traffic on our street. We continue to be concerned for the safety of our children. Not only has the traffic tarnished our experience here it has really called into question our decision to choose this community. We have since met other people in the area who have moved out of the neighborhood and Edina completely due to traffic and safety concerns. We don't want to move. We want something done to protect the quality of life in the city, on our street, and in the neighborhood. When I view the lengths that the city has gone to to calm traffic at 50th and France, a busy business district, I question why something has not already been done for the residents of this community with the means available and efforts there? We are especially concerned that minimal efforts will be quickly negated by the continuing deterioration on the area expressways. When I consider the level of cut through traffic on our streets today I can envision only an acceleration of the problem as construction at Cross-town and 35W starts combined with worsening on Hwy 100; an Expressway already in critical condition with improvement surprisingly far off in the plans. Thank you for your efforts, your time and consideration Chris & Anne O'Brien file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Message Page 2 of 2 4627 Drexel Avenue Edina, MN 55424 file://GAInfrastructure\Streets\trafficUransportation Commission\Conespondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 1 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:33 PM To: 'Mark Mooers' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Edina Traffic Commission Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.corn (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Mark Mooers [mailto:mgmooers@yahoo.com] Sent: Sunday, December 05, 2004 8:27 PM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Edina Traffice Commission Policy Steve, A note to let you know that we support the Edina Traffic Commission Policy. We're residents on Arden Avenue in the Country Club District. Please contact us if you have any questions. Thank you, Mark & Gina Mooers 952-922-3951 file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 ot From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:34 PM To: 'Kitty O'Dea'; Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: I Support Proposed Process Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Kitty O'Dea [mailto:kittyodea@hotmail.com] Sent: Sunday, December 05, 2004 10:03 PM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: I Support Proposed Process Importance: High I strongly support establishing a process for dealing with traffic issues in Edina. We need an objective versus and emotional approach to dealing with these issues. Kitty O'Dea 4610 Bruce Avenue Edina, MN 55424 file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 2 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:36 PM To: 'Rob Webb' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Traffic Commission Policy Input For Open House Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 vvww.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Rob Webb [mailto:rob_webb@uhc.com] Sent: Sunday, December 05, 2004 10:55 PM To: Steve Lillehaug Cc: jhovland@krauserollins.com Subject: Traffic Commission Policy Input For Open House Steve, Please foward the following letter to the Traffic Commission. Thank you. Dear Edina Traffic Commission: Thank you for all of your hard work on the proposed Edina Traffic Commission Policy. I am supportive of the Policy you have proposed. The Policy will make Edina a stronger community by addressing a very quantifiable problem that is damaging the sense of community in our neighborhoods. It will also introduce a problem solving process that is based on facts versus self-interests and opinion, therefore reducing the amount of conflict between residents over traffic issues. Traffic issues in Edina have historically often pitted one constituency against another in a battle of banter that is detrimental to the sense of community, and is an unconstructive use of energy. All of this is unnecessary, and the Traffic Policy takes steps to rectify this unfortunate situation. While many residents have an opinion on traffic system design--typically driven by their inherent desire to drive the straightest and fastest line between their current location file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 2 of 2 and their destination regardless of whether a neighborhood lies between these two points or not--in the final analysis traffic problems are more a matter of traffic engineering than a lack of constituent input. Imagine a plane designed by consensus of the pilots, flight attendants, accountants, mechanics, passengers, etc. Only one thing is assured of a plane designed in this way--it probably wouldn't be able to fly due to the plethora of instruments and features installed to appease the various constituents. Let's not make the same mistake in how we design traffic systems. The constituents need to provide input to the engineers, and then get out of the way. The Traffic Policy accomplishes this by facilitating resident input to the process, and then lets the engineers develop an effective traffic system without incessant resident disruption. Much of the negativity surrounding the Policy seems to originate from a vocal minority trying to protect their right to mow over neighborhoods to serve their convenience. I have to believe that this is more a lack of education on the issue than the selfishness that it appears to be. Although it's not part of the Policy itself, I'd hope that the city will provide for community education on the negative impacts of excessive neighborhood traffic. Robert Webb 4516 Drexel Avenue Submitted on his own behalf as a citizen of Edina This e-mail, including attachments, may include confidential and/or proprietary information, and may be used only by the person or entity to which it is addressed. If the reader of this e-mail is not the intended recipient or his or her authorized agent, the reader is hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by replying to this message and delete this e-mail immediately. file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Conespondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 2 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:37 PM To: 'Hoven, David (RBC Dain)' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Traffic Calming Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, RE., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Hoven, David (RBC Dain) [mailto:David.Hoven@Rbcdain.com] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 7:09 AM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Traffic Calming Good Morning: I'm a twenty year plus resident of country club, and definitely can see a large increase in "out of neighborhood" traffic on my street. In the past two years, I have had three cars in my yard. Two did damage to my lawn on the boulevard, and one even crossed the sidewalk and was in my front yard. As you probably guessed, I most definitely urge some type of traffic calming in the country club neighborhood. This type of situation will end up with someone being hurt or killed because of excessive traffic. Thanks Dave Thanks, David A. Hoven Restricted Securities Group Mail Stop P21 612-371-7809 612-313-1189 Fax RBC DaM Rauscher does not accept buy, sell or cancel orders by e-mail, or any instructions by e-mail that would require your signature. Information contained in this communication is not considered an official record of your account and does not supersede normal trade confirmations or statements. Any information provided has been prepared from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed, does file://GAInfrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 2 of 2 not represent all available data necessary for making investment decisions and is for informational purposes only. This e-mail may be privileged and/or confidential, and the sender does not waive any related rights and obligations. Any distribution, use or copying of this e-mail or the information it contains by other than an intended recipient is unauthorized. If you receive this e-mail in error, please advise me (by return e- mail or otherwise) immediately. Information received by or sent from this system is subject to review by supervisory personnel, is retained and may be produced to regulatory authorities or others with a legal right to the information. file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Con-espondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 1 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:38 PM To: 'Kate Boyer' Subject: RE: Traffic Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Kate Boyer [mailto:bkate1@msn.com] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 7:11 AM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Traffic Policy My husband and I are for the Edina Traffic Committee Policy. We are tired of people trying to stand in the way of fixing a huge problem because it may "inconvenience" them. Kate and Jack Boyer Arden Ave file://G:\Infrastrueture\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:40 PM To: 'StakeFam@cs.com' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Support for the Traffic Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: StakeFam@cs.com [mailto:StakeFam@cs.com] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 7:59 AM To: Steve Lillehaug Cc: jbstake@mmm.com Subject: Support for the Traffic Policy We will try to attend the meeting on Dec 9th if we can adjust our schedules. However it is important to share our views at least via email. We support the efforts of the Commission to develop a traffic policy. I have not studied the policy in great detail but I did read through it enough to know that it adresses many of the issues important to our community. We support the Policy. Thank you Jim and Mimi Stake 4617 Edina Blvd file://GAInfrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 1 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:41 PM To: 'An reav@aol .com' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Traffic Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Anreav@aol.com [mailto:Anreav@aol.com] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 8:36 AM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Traffic Policy I support the traffic policy approach. (I am a longtime resident of Country Club). MOR file://G:\InfrastructureStreets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 1 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:45 PM To: 'mabnulty@usfamily.net' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Transportation Commission Policy draft Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Please forward any ideas for a "creative" plan that would "last longer" as you indicate. Any specifics would be very beneficial to the Commission for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, RE., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Dept Intent 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Jennifer Bennerotte Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 8:42 AM To: Sharon Allison Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: FW: Transportation Commission Policy draft Original Message From: Mab Nulty [mailto:mabnulty@usfamily.net] Sent: Sunday, December 05, 2004 2:51 PM To: Jennifer Bennerotte Subject: Transportation Commission Policy draft We would like to see your commission spend more time on developing a better plan to deal with the traffic in Edina. We have read the draft and it appears you are proposing the same old strategies that according to other communities have not worked in the long term. Take the time to plan a better, more creative plan that would last longer. We are particularly concerned about the idea of using blocked streets as a way of dealing with the problems. This is not an answer since traffic will merely be routed onto someone else's street. Those people don't care about the traffic on their street?! Research successful plans that have been implemented in other cities. Take the time to do it right and fairly. Thank you for your attention, Mab Nulty and Larry Sutin 4212 W42 St USFamily.Net Unlimited Internet - From $8.99/mo! file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 1 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:47 PM To: 'Scott Taylor' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Traffic Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina . They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Scott Taylor [mailto:Scott.Taylor@sctc.mnscu.edu] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 9:04 AM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Traffic Policy Good Morning, I've reviewed the traffic policy and it appears a prudent course of action. I am for the proposed Edina Traffic Commission Policy. Happy Holidays, Scott Taylor 4528 Casco Ave Edina 952 929 0019 Scott M. Taylor Ed.D. M.B.A. Small Business Management South Central Technical College 507-354-5858 952-929-0019 Go for it. file://GAInfrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Cormspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 1 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:48 PM To: 'Bright Dornblaser' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Traffic Polity Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. They will be forwarded to the Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Bright Dornblaser [mailto:dornb001@tc.umn.edu] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 9:35 AM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Traffic Polity I am for the proposed policy as written. Without it redress of by-pass traffic on Drexel can not be addressed. We need to reduce such traffic on Drexel. Thank you Bright M. Dornblaser 4630 Drexel Av Edina, MN. 55424 file://GAInfrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Edina Traffic Commission Policy Page 1 of 1 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:49 PM To: 'Anderson, Dave (50th and France)' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Edina Traffic Commission Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Anderson, Dave (50th and France) [mailto:DaveAnderson@edinarealty.com] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 9:38 AM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Edina Traffic Commission Policy Steve, As a 16 year resident of Sunnyside Road, I adamantly support the need for the Edina Traffic Commission Policy and it's ability to further review traffic situations as they arise. Needless to say, there has been a tremendous increase in daily traffic on Sunnyside over the years, and at a higher rate of speed. Now, as a parent of three young children, it is obvious to me to review what can be done to curb the onslaught of commuters through the neighborhood. If you ever drive downtown in the morning around Lake of the Isles, you will see no right turn signs off the parkway into the residential neighborhoods from 7-9 am. Why not, similarly, place no left turn signs off 50th from east bound lanes at Arden, Bruce, Wooddale and Browndale between 7 and 9 am, and no right turn off south bound France at 42, Morningside, 44th and Sunnyside between 4 and 6 pm? Thank you for your consideration of this, Dave Anderson DAVE ANDERSON EDINA REALTY 952-924-8724 direct 612-750-2209 cell file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 1 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:50 PM To: 'Blyth.S.Bailey@wellsfargo.com' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Please approve the Edina Traffic Commission Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Blyth.S.Bailey@wellsfargo.com [mailto:Blyth.S.Bailey@wellsfargo.com] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 10:13 AM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Please approve the Edina Traffic Commission Policy I am for the Edina Traffic Commission Policy. Blyth S. Bailey 4521 Drexel Avenue Edina, MN 55424 Phone: 952/922-3157 E-mail: blyth.s.bailey@wellsfargo.com file://GAInfrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 1 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:51 PM To: Tuthmelcher@usfamily.neti Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Traffic Committee Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Ruth Melcher [mailto:ruthmelcher@usfamily.net] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 10:02 AM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Traffic Committee Policy Just a note to say I am FOR the Traffic Committee Policy. I firmly believe the traffic situation in Country Club needs to be looked at. Most of these narrow streets were not designed to carry this amount of traffic. Thanks Ruth Melcher USFamily.Net Unlimited Internet - From $8.99/mo! file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 1 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:52 PM To: 'Allitot@aol.com' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Edina Traffic Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Allitot@aoLcom [mailto:Allitot@aoLcorn] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 10:33 AM To: Steve Lillehaug; rwebb3@mn.mcom Subject: Edina Traffic Policy I am for the proposed Edina Traffic Commission Policy. I grew up in a neighborhood with a "cut-through" traffic problem and speed bumps were finally put in a few years ago, which have helped. Also, to cut down on crime, an exclusive neighborhood in my hometown rerouted the streets to allow fewer entrances to the area. Hope everything gets resolved. --Allison Totaro Allison Bater Totaro 4509 Drexel Ave. Edina, MN 55424 952-929-0234 917-742-6856 allitot@aol.com file://GAInfrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 1 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:53 PM To: 'evmacs@worldnet.att.net' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: traffic control through Country Club Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: evmacs@worldnet.attnet [mailto:evmacs@worldnet.attnet] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:23 AM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: traffic control through Country Club We are not interested in having any further traffic controls in the Country Club neighborhood. We border on an urban area, and that fact should have been considered by the people who have bought here. Mary Ann and Everett MacLennan, 4510 Edina Blvd. file://GAInfrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 1 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:54 PM To: 'Jayne Tuttle' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: traffic Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, RE., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Jayne Tuttle [mailto:jb.tuttle@worldnet.att.net] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 11:26 AM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: traffic I have read the proposed policy. I am for the proposed Edina Traffic commission policy. I would like the commission to review the amount of cut through traffic in the country club area and make recommendations. Jayne Tuttle file://GAInfrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 2 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:55 PM To: 'sandy simmons' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Traffic policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 wvvw.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: sandy simmons [mailto:SSIMMONS@mn.mcorn] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 3:19 PM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Traffic policy After living in Country Club on Wooddale for the past 25 years, we feel the traffic issues have been blown out of proportion and do not support the new policy. No neighborhood should operate in isolation of the entire city. The streets belong to anyone who needs to use them. We are in complete agreement with the letter to the Edina Sun last week from the lone dissenting traffic committee person. There will always be issues when Highway 100 or any other major route is slow and not flowing well. Country Club traffic is fine other than when 100 is at a standstill or when 50th gets backed up. Change the lights along 50th to move the traffic at a better pace. Our neighborhood (or any other) should not operate in isolation. Diverting techniques will only move the problem somewhere else. A good part of the Country Club traffic IS Country Club. The traffic commission needs input and concerns from neighborhoods but the decisions must be made with the whole city of Edina in mind, independently and unselfishly. One example of a knee jerk decision for one person is the 'no turn on red' at 50th and Wooddale for all day - every day. That was made for one biker who was not careful. All the traffic at that intersection would move much more smoothly without the no turn on red. At the very most it should only be at rush hour times. That was decided because of ONE incident, one person. There is a can of worms about to be opened when neighborhoods start to decide their own policies and direction. As happened with Country Club - no consensus can be reached anyway. There needs to be expertise and an overall plan. Thanks for listening! Cal and Sandy Simmons file://GAInfrastructure\Streets\trafficgransportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 2 of 2 4619 Wooddale Avenue file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 2 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:57 PM To: 'Renelle Nelson' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Traffic policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Renelle Nelson [mailto:rnelson@PACER.org] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 3:11 PM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Traffic policy My husband, Doug Nelson and I have some grave concerns regarding the amount of pass-through traffic that occurs on Browndale Ave. We have lived at 4905 Browndale Ave. for the past 10 years, and during that time have seen an incredible increase in traffic volume going over the Browndale Bridge. Our concerns are safety issues. While it is often difficult for us to get out of our driveway during higher volume times (morning and evening), our concerns are more about the increasing number of accidents, near accidents and vehicles getting "stuck" and not being able to navigate the 90 degree turn onto the bridge, and the narrowness of the bridge. The bridge is barely a 2 car bridge, and we have personally experienced being forced so far to one side because of the oncoming traffic, that we have lost side view mirrors. Drivers unfamiliar with the narrow bridge often stop unexpectedly when turning off 50th and encountering bridge traffic, causing problems for drivers behind them who are also turning. This becomes extremely dangerous as traffic on 50th is heavy and fast. We can count on at least several accidents each year occurring with drivers not being able to make the right turn on to or off of the bridge- and during the winter months have cars frequently ending up in our yard and our neighbor's yard, on the sidewalk and lodged against the side rails by the mill. In the summer, there is increasing traffic with people portaging their canoes at that spot as well. In our opinion is it merely a matter of time before a fatal accident will occur in an area that can be easily and proactively managed by a traffic commission that recognizes the mounting data and decides to either cut off access entirely, or making that small section of Browndale (from the intersection of Country Club to 50th) one way. We actively support the establishment of this policy so that there will be a forum to address these issues. Please feel free to contact us at 952-920-4771. Sincerely, Douglas C. and Renelle Nelson 4905 Browndale Ave. Edina, MN 55424 Wcneffe Trerson file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 2 of 2 MD roject Coordinator, PACERCenter 8161 Normanda Ofvd. !Minneapolis, %IN 55437 file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 2 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 5:57 PM To: 'Web, Steve' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Edina Traffic Commission Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Web, Steve [mailto:Steven.B.Welo@pjc.com] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 4:18 PM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Edina Traffic Commission Policy I am supportive of the City's policy regarding performing a study of traffic patterns in east Edina. I have recently purchased a home on Edina Boulevard and am particularly concerned about the effects of heavy traffic in Country Club. I look forward to seeing the results of the December 9th meeting. Steven B. Web, CFA Managing Director - Investments Piper Jaffray & Co. 612-303-1087 steven.b.welo@pjc.com Guides for the journey. Piper Jaffray & Co. Since 1895. Member SIPC and NYSE. Learn more at piperjaffray.com. Piper Jaffray corporate headquarters is located at 800 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55402 Piper Jaffray outgoing and incoming e-mail is electronically archived and recorded and is subject to review, monitoring and/or disclosure to someone other than the recipient. This e- mail may be considered an advertisement or solicitation for purposes of regulation of commercial electronic mail messages. If you do not wish to receive commercial e-mail communications from Piper Jaffray, click here to request to unsubscribe. mailto:can- spam@pjc.com file://GAInfrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 2 of 2 For additional disclosure information see http://wvvw.piperjaffray.com/info2.aspx?id=298 file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/6/2004 Page 1 of 1 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 8:14 AM To: 'Sharon Pugh' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: traffic policy --Edina Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Sharon Pugh [mailto:spugh@mnsr.com] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 6:02 PM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: traffic policy --edina I will not be able to attend the upcoming meeting on the traffic issue, but wanted someone to know that I believe that we need a policy in place to address traffic issues in our community. I believe that the commission has worked a long while on this policy and we should approve it and move forward with studies on traffic problems. Thank you Sharon Pugh 4526 Drexel Ave Edina MN 55424 file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/7/2004 Page 1 of 2 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 8:22 AM To: 'Margaret Winters' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Traffic Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Currently, the City is not analyzing or gathering any traffic data in the Country Club neighborhood. As you may well know, this has been done in the past and these records and studies are open for your review at anytime. Please coordinate this with me directly if you wish to further pursue gathering data as you requested and I will make it available to you. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Margaret Winters [mailto:mrwint@qwest.net] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 8:41 PM To: Steve Lillehaug Cc: rwebb3@mn.n.com Subject: Traffic Policy Dear Mr. Lillehaug, We were present a few years ago when traffic calming measures were proposed for the Country Club area. At that time, we (and many others) felt that certain people involved with the commission had a personal agenda vis-a-vis their neighborhood which, despite being advantageous for them, was detrimental to the other residents of the neighborhood. To eliminate that kind of animosity from future traffic calming discussions, we would strongly favor that members of the commission living in an affected neighborhood recuse themselves from decisions directly related to their neighborhood. We believe that eliminating any perception of self-interest on the part of commission members will make community acceptance of their votes more acceptable to Edina residents. Secondly, We have many questions regarding the science of the baseline numbers you have for the trip numbers/household. We are interested in file://GAInfrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/7/2004 Page 2 of 2 knowing when those numbers were calculated, what effort has been employed to update those numbers -- not to mention how valid the numbers obtained are, in the first place, given the constant construction on the highway and in the neighborhood (back-and-forth traffic by household members and by contractors employed by households would seem to account for a great deal of the Country Club area traffic). Thank you for your attention to these questions. We appreciate the efforts you have put toward the issue of traffic patterns in Edina and wish you success in your endeavor. Sincerely, Kurt and Margaret Winters 4504 Moorland Avenue Edina file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/7/2004 Page 1 of 1 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 8:31 AM To: 'Meggan Bowlby' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Meggan Bowlby [mailto:mbowlby@mn.mcom] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 8:54 PM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Steve I wanted to write a quick e-mail letting you know that our family is for the proposed Edina traffic commision policy in hopes that a resolution for our traffic issues will not be too far behind. Thank you Meggan and Scott Bowlby 4625 Drexel Ave file://GAInfrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/7/2004 Page 1 of 2 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 8:33 AM To: 'mkapsner' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Edina Traffic Commission Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: mkapsner [mailto:mkapsner@mn.rr.com] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 9:30 PM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Edina Traffic Commission Policy I am against the traffic policy for the following reasons: 1. The minimum distances are too small. A seemingly small change can have great impact for a wide area. 2. There is no percentage approval set before a plan is put into place. 3. Volume reduction measures should be removed from the list of approved options. 4. Inconvenience is a negative impact. We buy our homes for location, so changing access is a negative impact. I would like to see the definition for impacted area changed to reflect this fact. After working on the country club district traffic committee for almost a year, I feel traffic impact areas must be made bigger not smaller. Looking at traffic as a street by street problem can have disastrous affects for other streets. The 1993 changes to Browndale and Woo ddale Avenues helped reduce the volume on those streets, but they also diverted significant traffic to other streets in the neighborhood. Arden Avenue is well beyond the minimum distances stated in this policy; yet it's traffic was increased because of those changes, as were several other streets. I also feel the focus of traffic policy should be speed and safety, not volume. Unless the cars are put onto major collectors, volume control only moves cars from one residential street to another. file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/7/2004 Page 2 of 2 Thank you for this opportunity to voice my objections. Sincerely, Molly Kapsner file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/7/2004 Page 1 of 2 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 8:34 AM To: 'Joanne Patterson' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Edina Traffic Commission Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Joanne Patterson [mailto:jccp@usinternet.com] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 11:04 PM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Edina Traffic Commission Policy My name is Joanne Patterson and I live at 4218 Sunnyside Road with my husband Bill and our three children. We are writing to say that we are for the Edina Traffic Commission Policy. We have lived in our house for 5 years and the traffic seems to get a little worse every year, not just the volume but the speed, too. Every day I watch people run through the stop sign going west on Sunnyside to round the corner onto Wooddale. Cars driving North or South on Wooddale barely tap their brakes at the stop signs while crossing Sunnyside. And the cars driving North from Drexel and turning either East or West onto Sunnyside are equally fast, dangerous and oblivious to any stop signs. There have been so many near misses involving speeding cars (driven by people who do not live in the neighborhood) and the various children who live on Sunnyside and Drexel and Wooddale as the children try to navigate crossing the street that it is truly a miracle that no one has been hit or killed. Plain and simple, people do not stop at the stop signs. I have followed the efforts by the city to try to address the traffic issue over the years. Three years ago the city devised a traffic calming plan, yet before it could even be tested it was shut down because of the very loud yet small opposition of the Morningside neighborhood and one street out of ten in the Country Club neighborhood. I appreciate their apprehension about the possibility of one neighborhood's traffic simply rerouted to another neighborhood or one street's traffic rerouted to another street. However, it seems to me that this Traffic Commission Policy is very thoughtful in that it describes in great detail how all neighborhoods, even streets, have options to deal with the traffic on their streets and also petition the city if one neighborhood's solution or one street's solution becomes another neighborhood's problem or another street's problem. It would be a travesty if the City of Edina did not pass this policy because of the unfounded fear of one neighborhood or one street. (The lone dissension to the policy in the recent 5 - 1 vote was a person who lives in the Morningside neighborhood). I know that cut-thru traffic is a problem all over Edina, not just the East side, and I know that neighborhoods other than the Country Club and Morningside neighborhoods are also very eager to have an official policy to petition the city for traffic calming measures, crosswalks, and more. The bottom line is the city of Edina needs to have a policy on its books so all the neighborhoods in all of Edina can petition the city for their own traffic needs. The end result - traffic calming measures - may not file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/7/2004 Page 2 of 2 make everyone happy, it may not even make me or my family happy depending on what traffic calming measures are decided - but to do nothing seems wrong. The traffic will never go away anywhere in the city and the traffic issue will come before the City Council over and over and over, year after year after year because there will always be someone worried about it and wanting to control it because cut-thru traffic is dangerous, life-threatening, and detrimental to the value of the City. Thank you very much for your time. Joanne and Bill Patterson file://G:\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/7/2004 Page 1 of 2 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 8:35 AM To: 'Trierweiler' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Support of new Traffic Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 wvvw.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Trierweiler [mailto:trierweiler@qwestnet] Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 12:53 AM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Support of new Traffic Policy I strongly support the propsed Edina traffic policy and strongly desire to see some measures taken to reduce the speeding traffic in our neighborhood. We live on Arden Avenue between Country Club and Bridge. The amount of traffic on our street is very high and extremely dangerous. Much of it is cut through traffic avoiding the 50th/France intersection during rush hour. However, this is exactly some of the items when our children our most apt to crossing the street. Arden Avenue is one of the more crowded streets with sinngle family homes in Edina. It is full of homes wiht small children that are here for the schools. Between Country Club and Bridge alone, there are over 60 children under the age of 12. I was furious when the traffic proposals of a couple of years ago went no where. What will it take, some of our children being run down in their street? I was especially upset when some of the neighborhood committee members "ruled' that the number of children and houses should not be part of the equation. I strongly believe that should be criteria #1. Please consider us strongly in support of new traffic policies that can return our neighborhood to being the safe, residential area that we moved here for. file://G.\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/7/2004 Page 2 ot 2 Chuck and Gina Trierweiler 4623 Arden Avenue 952 924 1193 trierweiler@qwest.net file://G.Unfrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\CoiTespondance\2004 Co... 12/7/2004 Traffic Commission Policy Page 1 of 2 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 8:36 AM To: 'Gary Hauck' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Traffic Commission Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Gary Hauck [mailto:gary.hauck@amec.corn] Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 7:40 AM To: Steve Lillehaug Cc: 'rwebb3@mm.rr.com' Subject: Traffic Commission Policy Hi, I won't be able to attend the City Hall meeting on the subject policy, but I would like you to know that I strongly favor the policy as it would give my Country Club neighborhood a procedure for addressing the severe traffic problems. I live on one of the busiest streets in the Country Club area (Arden Avenue). It is a narrow street and handles a huge volume of traffic for its size. It is classified as a residential street but it is actually used as a major connector. Even though parking is permitted on only one side, there is insufficient width for the volume of traffic. My legally parked car was damaged in October as a truck moved over too far trying to accommodate an oncoming car. Many children live on this street. The traffic volume combined with the narrow width of the street presents a significant hazard to them as the traffic operates very close to the curb line and to the parked cars, leaving little time for drivers to react to children's unpredictable behavior. Please consider my opinion as being among the voices to be heard at the meeting. Thank you, Gary Hauck 4625 Arden Avenue The information contained in this e-mail is intended only for the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. Its contents (including any attachments) may contain confidential and/or privileged file://G.\Infrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/7/2004 Traffic Commission Policy Page 2 of 2 inforrnation. If you are not an intended recipient you must not use, disclose, disseminate, copy or print its contents. If you receive this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete and destroy the message. file://GAInfrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/7/2004 Page 1 of 1 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 10:41 AM To: 'Lynn Geesaman' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: Statement of Support - Transportation Commission Policy Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Lynn Geesaman [mailto:Lgeesaman@visi.corn] Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 9:33 AM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: Statement of Support - Transportation Commisssion Policy Statement of Support - Transportation Commission Policy 12/6/04 I am submitting this directly to you, as my hearing is too impaired to attend a public meeting. I am a resident of 28 years. I would summarize my position as follows: 1) For over 10 years the Country Club neighborhood has had a documented traffic problem of ever-increasing severity. 2) For whatever reasons, the City has been notably and provenly ineffectual in dealing with this problem. 3) While the Traffic Commission Policy seems to me an awkward substitute for common sense, if it contains what the City requires for effective action, then I support it whole heartedly. Donald P. Geesaman 4606 Drexel Avenue file://GAInfrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/7/2004 Page 1 of 1 From: Steve Lillehaug Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 10:43 AM To: 'db45@core.com' Cc: Steve Lillehaug Subject: RE: traffic Thank you for your comments regarding traffic issues in Edina. They will be forwarded to the Transportation Commission and Council for consideration. If you have any further constructive criticism, please forward your comments to me. Also, an Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 9th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Edina City Hall regarding the DRAFT Transportation Commission Policy. Thank you. Steve Steven L. Lillehaug, P.E., P.T.O.E. Edina Traffic Engineer/Assistant Engineer Engineering Department 952-826-0445 slillehaug@ci.edina.mn.us City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424-1394 www.cityofedina.com (fax) 952-826-0389 Original Message From: Jennifer Bennerotte Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 9:55 AM To: Steve Lillehaug Subject: FW: traffic Original Message From: Beverly Goerisch [mailto:db45@core.com] Sent: Monday, April 12, 2004 2:12 AM To: Jennifer Bennerotte Subject: traffic WAKE UP THIS IS NOT A MYSTERY, I HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THE MNDOT MYSTERY FOR THE PAST EIGHT YEARS THERE IS NO ONE IN THIS CHAIN OF COMMAND WHO REALLY WANTS TO CLAIM COMMAND. THESE PEOPLE SPEND 99% OF THEIR TIME PASSING THE BUCK, DOING STUDIES,MAKING CHARTS, DRAWING AND RE-DRAWING MAPS, MAKING MODELS, GOING ON RETREATS, CONDUCTING USELESS MEETINGS, ATTENDING CONFERENCES, SENDING OUT NEWSLETTERS AND PATTING EACH OTHER ON THE BACK TELLING EVERYONE WHAT A GREAT JOB THEY HAVE DONE WITH THEIR 2030 PLAN, WHICH BY THE WAY BECOMES MOOT AS EACH DAY PASSES. LETS ALSO NOT FORGET HOW MNDOT CONTINUES TO CRY ABOUT MONEY, LIKE THEY JUST LOST THEIR WALLET WHEN IT COMES TIME TO ACTUALLY PUT ONE OF THESE ILL CONCIEVED ROADWAY PLANS INTO EFFECT. IS THE WASTE ANY WONDER. I THINK ITS HIGH TIME ALL CITIES IN THE METRO BAND TOGETHER AND DEMAND THAT MNDOT PUT THE SHOVEL IN THE DIRT AND GET IT DONE, OR GET OUT OF THE WAY AND LET THE CITIES DO THE JOB. GOOD LUCK--- HOPE YOU DON'T HURT YOURSELF BANGING YOUR HEAD INTO THE WALL, YOU MAY GET A MNDOT MIGRAINE. file://GAInfrastructure\Streets\traffic\Transportation Commission\Correspondance\2004 Co... 12/7/2004 MINUTES OF THE Regular Meeting of the Edina Transportation Commission Thursday, November 18, 2004 Edina City Hall 4801 West 50th Street Community Room MEMBERS PRESENT: Marie Thorpe, Jean White, Warren Plante, Joni Kelly Bennett, Les Wanninger MEMBERS ABSENT: Dean Dovolis, Fred Richards STAFF PRESENT: Wayne Houle, Steve Lillehaug, Sharon Allison I. Call to Order Acting Chair Wanninger called the meeting to order. II. New Business Bennett inquired about building renovations at 50th & France Avenue in the southwest corner. Houle said the Planning Dept. has not received plans for this area. Discussion ensued about how to fix the traffic problems in that area. Some ideas were to use the building renovation as an opportunity, though this is not the normal course of action to fix traffic issues; develop a partnership with the city of Minneapolis (there was a partnership some years ago that did not pan out); calibrate semaphores (three government agencies are responsible for semaphores); remove some parking spaces to create left turn lanes (parking is limited on the Minneapolis side, while Edina has parking ramp). The difference in adjacent land use to the Minneapolis side was noted, with one side being residential while the other is commercial. The consensus is that they need to find alternatives or solutions to the traffic problems that plague 50th & France. Working with the Southwest Neighborhood Association was suggested. Bennett said a resident has expressed frustrations with the project at Wooddale and Valley View Road because of the potential closure of the intersections of Oaklawn Ave., W. 62nd St. and Brookview Ave. and not being notified. Houle said the intersections are unsafe primarily for pedestrians and the city has not yet reached a decision about how best to rectify the situation. Consultants are still gathering information for a recommendation to the Council in December or January. Adjacent residents were notified and surveyed about the potential changes based on those most likely to be affected. Bennett also inquired about plans for redevelopment at the corner of Wooddale and Valley View. Houle said there are no definite plans that he's aware of, but the Planning Dept. would know more. III. Old Business a. Traffic Control Device Policies and Procedures 1 Lillehaug discussed the traffic safety issues that staff receives complaints about on a daily basis from residents. The issues surround regulatory signing, warning signs, guide signs, pedestrian crosswalks, pedestrian/bicyclist, and traffic speed and volume. A part-time staff receives complaints, analyzes the situation and makes recommendation to the complainant. Boyd Tate was recently hired to fill this position. The Traffic Safety Advisory Board, made up of city staff (Engineering, Police, Planning and Public Works) reviews staff recommendations and in-turn makes recommendations to the Council on course of action. Lillehaug said some issues are deferred to the Police or Engineering Dept and some will now be deferred to the ETC. Some issues that the ETC can anticipate handling is finding traffic calming alternatives in lieu of requested stop signs that are not warranted, etc. Lillehaug reviewed stop sign policy, which includes the purpose of stop signs (all traffic policies are listed on the web). The policy was developed using the Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MMUTDC), which was developed from national guidelines and in authority with Minnesota statutes. Lillehaug said the purpose of stop signs is to assign right of way at intersection, not to slow traffic speed like most people believe. Bennett asked about the basket weave method. Lillehaug said if laid out properly it could be effective. He also reviewed the myths of stop signs. b. Sidewalk and Funding Policy and Master Plan Lillehaug reviewed the current Capital Improvement funds available compared to what is needed to fill in the missing segments of State Aid sidewalks. State Aid segments completed this summer are Wooddale Ave., and W. 51st & Halifax Ave.; W. 70th St. is scheduled for completion in 2005; W. 58th St. between Concord Ave. and Wooddale Ave., Blake Rd. from Parkwood Rd. to Interlachen Blvd., and Valley View Rd. from McCauley Tr. to Braemar Blvd are scheduled for 2005-06. Lillehaug said for safety reasons, boulevard style sidewalks are preferred over the curb style sidewalks because there is space between the street and the sidewalk. Wanninger stated that the school district is transporting students who live within the walking distance because there are no sidewalks so this may be a good time to revisit with them about installing sidewalks. Bennett said there are several issues to consider: the district is operating at a deficit, start times are staggered so students will leave and return home in the dark and crosswalks would be needed. A copy of Lillehaug's presentations is available upon request. c. Systematic Development of Informed Consent (Management Training) Houle gave an overview of the basic principles of a management training seminar he and Lillehaug attended regarding building informed consent. The seminar, titled Citizen Participation: Building a Systematic Development of Informed Consent (SDIC), was developed and presented by the Institute for Participatory Management and Planning (IPMP). The emphasis is on getting project approval by building informed consent amongst stakeholders. A copy of Houle's handout is available upon request. d. Edina Traffic Task Force Report Staff reviewed the six problem areas identified by the Edina Traffic Task Force in its 1999 report to the Council and the issues surrounding each area. The areas are as follow: 2 • Northeast: W. 50th St. & France Ave., north to the city limits and France Ave. over to TH 100; • Northwest: Parkwood Knolls Area; Artic Way/Tamarac Ave Area; and LincolnNernon Dr Area; • Edina High School & Valley View Middle School Area; • Community Center Area: Southview Ln and Concord Ave; • W. 70th Street: from TH 100 to France Ave. and the residential neighborhoods south of 70th St.; • France Avenue: the area between Crosstown and TH 494 bounded by France Ave. and York Ave.; Staff was directed to develop a plan using the draft policy to rectify the issues identified by the Task Force. Wanninger said this a test to see if the draft policy, as is, can address any of the issues. A copy of the presentation is available upon request. e. Legislative Policies, January 2005 Draft Handout (copy available upon request). Schedule of Upcoming Meetings December 7th, 5:30-7:00 p.m.: Joint Council/ETC in the Community Room December 9th, 6:00-8:00 p.m.: Open House in the Council Chambers January 6th, 6:00-8:00 p.m.: ETC consideration of public comments Lillehaug said the press release announcing the comment period did not appear in the Edina Sun as scheduled. Bennett said she is dismayed that the information has not been made available to the public already. IV. Approval of Minutes from October 28th Correction on page 2: last paragraph, delete repeated paragraph, sentence beginning with "Thorpe said..." and ending with "She said neighborhood versus..." Correction on page 4: 4th paragraph, delete "Bennett concerned..." and insert "Bennett is concerned that the method of publicity would not reach all residents." Correction on page 5: delete 1st paragraph (repeated from page 4); 7th paragraph, delete "...instead of assessing property owners." A motion was made by Plante to approve the minutes with the corrections as stated above. Seconded by Thorpe. Meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m. 3 CORRECTED MINUTES MINUTES OF THE Regular Meeting of the Edina Transportation Commission Thursday, October 28, 2004 Edina City Hall 4801 West 50th Street Community Room MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairperson Fred Richards, Marie Thorpe, Jean White, Warren Plante, Joni Bennett, Les Wanninger MEMBERS ABSENT: Dean Dovolis STAFF PRESENT: Wayne Houle, Steve Lillehaug, Sharon Allison Lillehaug handed out revised copies of the 2030 Metropolitan Council Transportation Plan Comment resolution. Lillehaug said he learned recently that if problems cannot be identified and explained to the public and Council they will not be able to get consent. Lillehaug asked the Commissioners to think for a moment about what is stated in the Background section of the policy and decide if this is still what they have in mind and if not, let him know so that he can make the necessary changes to the plan to reflect the direction in which they are going. He stated further that if they do not believe the concerns and issues in the draft document to be true, further discussion is needed. He said he does not agree with everything in the policy but the policy is needed so that they can move forward. In response, Richards said he's been doing a lot of thinking about what the Commission can and cannot accomplish. He is concerned they are getting bogged down in minutia. Richards said there aren't any answers to traffic calming because traffic is here to stay, it is a global problem. He said he attended two meetings regarding Southdale where the consultants talked about plans for light rail around that area and he suggested that the Commissioners may want to learn more about light rail to see if this is an option that could work for the city or at least identify how the city fit into the regional system and make recommendations to the Council. Richards said he shares the same feelings as Lillehaug and it does seem as though the Commission is focusing on traffic calming instead of bigger traffic issues. He asked the Commissioners for feedback. White said she reviewed the 2030 Plan and she sent a response to the Met Council asking that they evaluate Hiawatha's light rail system to see if it's the right path to take. She too attended the Southdale meeting and believes a bigger strategy for the neighborhood is needed. She said the Commission should go forward to the Council to get their reaction to the draft policy. 1 Bennett said the thoughts expressed are one of two concerns she has. The other concern is whether what has been developed will serve the needs of the community. Thorpe said the Commissioners have taken on an earth-shattering endeavor and a tremendous amount of work has been done already. She said what's being done now is like a safety drill and the real issues will declare themselves and changes can be made as needed. Plante said he attended the TH494 and Southdale meetings and all other committees were represented there except for the ETC. He asked how can the ETC work with them to coordinate their efforts? Wanninger said he visited Marin County, California, and was impressed with their local traffic. He said motorists could use the freeway or the arterials to go across town. Cutting through the neighborhoods would take much longer because there is no easy interconnection. They also have 25 mph speed limits that most people seem to obey. He said traffic moves faster on what appeared to be narrower freeway lanes, and there were no road rage-type behaviors. He said what we have now is the basis to begin protecting the livability of the residents. He said although the ETC will not have much impact on the regional system, he has always assumed that they would become involved to urge and/or persuade certain actions. Plante said he believes Southdale is going to have a major impact on the local community because only 15% of the employees live in Edina, which means 85% are commuting into the city. Houle said he could schedule a meeting with the consultants, the city's Planning Department and County representatives for the ETC to learn more about the mass transit plans for the Southdale area. White said the Commission could pursue local traffic and have a strategy in place in anticipation of what's to come. Richards said the point he's trying to make is based on the mission statement of Edina preserving and being advocates about coming issues instead of being so focused on today's issues of traffic calming. He said there has been discussion of an inner city transit system and it seems like something for the Commission to be involved with to see how it fits in. Wanninger said the ETC could work on preserving the neighborhood and quality of life while at the same time controlling traffic because the bulk of their work is over for the next few months. Bennett asked if the best way is to be proactive or reactive. She said there is no good solution, which is why the issues keep coming up, but the ETC could create a citywide menu of solutions that would increase livability in the neighborhoods. She said to adopt the current framework will perpetuate the problems that the city has had the last 11 years. She said this type of leadership (or at least the perception) during a time of limited resources have caused people to be concerned about how staff time is spent, how money is being spent, and ever increasing taxes. She said one of the ETC's responsibilities is to decide or recommend how the resources are going to be spent. Thorpe said she thought the plan that they've developed was a citywide plan. Bennett said she is concerned with how the process works; will it be one block or one neighborhood asking for relief or will the Commission, as a body, look at the way traffic and pedestrian moves in the city, where the parks are located and develop common recommendations that can improve the lives of citizens all over, not just the 2 neighborhood that gets organized the fastest. She said neighborhood versus neighborhood is probably what has made it so difficult for the city, as well as kept issues unsolvable and puts the city in a position of not serving everyone. She would like to see recommendations that would be beneficial to all neighborhoods instead of pitting them against each other. Thorpe said a cookie cutter system couldn't be developed because all the neighborhoods are different. She does not believe the neighborhoods are being pitted against each other and this is the wrong way for the Commission to begin. Plante said they spend a lot of time discussing traffic calming measures but community policing is needed also to make an impact and they haven't addressed this yet. White said community policing is not like it used to be because of dwindling resources, but they could advocate for solutions. Wanninger said in a past meeting he talked about measures to change attitude and behavior and this was added to the policy. He suggested a public relations campaign to get citizens to change their behavior and perception. Richards said the one thing they all agree on is moving to the next stage, which is forwarding the policy to the Council for approval. Lillehaug recommended going to Council and to the public from Oct. 28th through Dec. 2nd for public comment, followed by a joint meeting with the Council and ETC on Nov. 16th (tentative). He also recommended holding an open house on Nov. 18th for the public at the regularly scheduled ETC meeting where the plan would be presented to them. Commissioners would be provided with the public comments and revise the policy as needed. The draft would be finalized on Dec. 23rd and submitted to the Council Jan. 4th for approval. Review of Draft Policy Plante asked about the term "assessment roll". Houle said it's included because it is a part of the Chapter 429 rules that governs how property owners are assessed. The assessment roll is a list of residents' names and the amount each is being assessed. Plante suggested including estimated costs for traffic calming devices. Some Commissioners believe this would help residents to make informed decision, others believe the focus should be on selecting an option that will achieve the desired result. Staff is of the opinion that it would be premature to list preliminary costs because the final assessment amount could be much higher than the preliminary asessment. The consensus is to leave this area as is. White — page 12, item 4, first paragraph: add `s' to school. Bennett Page 3, Roadway Function and Access, #8, move 'Annually' to the beginning of the sentence. Page 5, Pedestrian/Bicycle, #6: "...bicycles and pedestrians along with bicyclists and..." Page 11, will the Commission get a list of all requested studies? Staff responded yes. Page 14, top of page, sentence should read The ETC.. .update residents about the proposed project.' 3 Page 18, Benefited Area, Assessed Area — is not reading as clearly as previous versions. Page A-2, add 'ed' to Impact Motion made by Plante and seconded by White approving the Transportation Commission Policy. Ayes: Richards, Thorpe, White, Plant, Wanninger Opposed: Bennett Motion carried. Richards asked if there was enough time allowed for the public to review the document and comment (16 days). Bennett said she is not comfortable because the community has not been asked to weigh in, the timeframe suggested is too brief with two holidays included, it appears comments are only being sought in writing and it is not clear how the information will be disseminated. Richards said people would have a chance to comment during the open house. Lillehaug said he's doing a press release to be published in the Edina Sun, on the cable channel and various other outlets. Bennett is concerned that the method of publicity would not reach all residents. Other areas suggested were the City Hall electronic notice board, the senior center, all the libraries and city's website. Plante said the Southdale meeting was well publicized and poorly attended so it might not be the case that the public is not being notified. White said the public seems to be paying closer attention to public policy so every effort must be made to notify them and get their support so it does not seem like an inside job. Lillehaug asked if more time is needed before the open house or the public comment period? Houle recommended rescheduling the joint council meeting for Dec. 7 th. He said there might be a lack of concentration at the 12/23 meeting due to the 12/25 holiday. The consensus is to change the meeting dates, meet with the Council before the open house and notify various sources about the comment period (clubs, League of Women Voters, Edina Sun, etc.) Bennett asked what is the timeframe for the comment period. Richards said it never ends, but Jan. 4th is when the policy goes to Council for approval. Lillehaug said Jan. 4th will have to be pushed back due to other changes and a date should be established when no more public comment will be accepted. Richards said the document is not statutory and therefore can be changed at anytime if a good idea comes along. To set a date he said is too legalistic and gives the impression that residents' comments after that point is no longer valid. Wanninger said to inform the public of our schedule and let them know that if they want their comments considered before going to Council, they must be submitted within a certain timeframe. The new meeting dates are as follow: joint meeting with Council Dec. 7th; end of official public comment period Dec. 23rd; policy to Council for approval Jan. 18th. Staff will reissue new timeline. Wanninger asked if in addition to what they are currently doing, should they become more involved in what is happening at Southdale? Richards said he was planning to ask staff to do a presentation on Dec. 23rd so the Commissioners can see what was envisioned for the public easements that was set aside. 4 Houle gave an overview of the Oct. 7th Southdale meeting. He said the community (including non-residents) was invited to look at the greater Southdale area demographics including such areas as employment, residents and transportation. They were asked to identify problem areas such as safety, access, etc. Richards said he's attended the last three meetings of the Southdale Advisory Committee and their primary focus is on traffic, land use changes and inter-modal/inner-city transit. He said ETC should be involved with this committee because of the public transit piece. Richards passed out an article on traffic calming devices. TH494 Advisory Committee — Wanninger said he noticed an attitude of cooperation at this meeting. He said the representatives from the Met Council were not telling what would be done; instead they were explaining the different options of the plan using different budgetary figures. Plante said Chair Hovland does a good job of heading this committee. Houle said he's a good asset to Edina where transportation issues are concerned. White said she attended a bus/transit presentation by Mn/DOT, City of Minneapolis and the City of Lakeville. An electronic presentation showed how the highway might look with rapid transit from Minneapolis to Lakeville and how it would work. They also discussed how to keep single occupant vehicles out of the rapid transit lane. White said the legislators have already authorized a BRT route from Minneapolis to Lakeville. Plante asked if there is a way to know what the different groups are working on where transportation legislation is concerned. Houle said every August the League of MN Cities publishes information from think tanks that are working on transportation issues. Houle will get copies for the Commissioners when it becomes available. Regarding the sidewalk at Wooddale from 58th St. to 62nd St., Richards asked if the feedback has been positive. Staff said they haven't received any negative feedback and people are already using it. Richards said the Commission should look at the sidewalk plan to finish it. Bennett said they should also look at appropriating tax dollars towards building sidewalks. New pedestrian crosswalk at Eden Ave. and 50th — this is a new style of crosswalk. The paint is stenciled into the asphalt and should last longer. Wanninger asked if staff is going to gather feedback on the new striping and other signs. Houle said it would be a good idea to gather feedback. Approval of Minutes from September 23rd Correction on page 2, last paragraph: "...the Commission may want to review this again." Correction on page 5, 4th paragraph, correct spelling is Mr. Rudnicki. A motion was made by Wanninger to approve the minutes with the corrections as stated above. Seconded by Plante. Residents In Attendance Kristi Anderson suggested the Edina Community Center and the Southdale notice board as two other locations where information can be posted regarding the public meeting. 5 Keith Wolfe commended the Commissioners and staff for moving forward with this important issue. He said there are many great neighborhoods in the city and they need to be empowered to mitigate the traffic issues. He said staff also needs to be empowered so that they can tighten or relax standards as necessary. Mr. Wolfe said this is a great start towards empowering the neighborhoods. Houle said he and Lillehaug attended a seminar called Systematic Development of Informed Consent and next meeting he would like to give the Commissioners an overview of what the seminar was about. Meeting adjourned. The next meeting is scheduled for November 18, 2004, 6:00 — 8:00 p.m., in the Community Room. 6