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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-01-16 Meeting Packet AGENDA CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS January 16, 2014 6:00 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER II. ROLL CALL III. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Regular Meeting of December 19, 2013 V. COMMUNITY COMMENT During “Community Comment,” the Transportation Commission will invite residents to share relevant issues or concerns. Individuals must limit their comments to three minutes. The Chair may limit the number of speakers on the same issue in the interest of time and topic. Generally speaking, items that are elsewhere on tonight’s agenda may not be addressed during Community Comment. Individuals should not expect the Chair or Commission Members to respond to their comments tonight. Instead, the Commission might refer the matter to staff for consideration at a future meeting. VI. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS A. MnDOT/Southwest LRT Freight Rail Presentation B. Edina Active Routes to School Presentation C. Traffic Safety Committee Report of January 2, 2014 D. Updates i. Student Member ii. Bike Edina Task Force – Minutes of December 12, 2013 iii. Living Streets Working Group iv. Communications Committee VII. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS VIII. CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS IX. STAFF COMMENTS Agenda / Edina Transportation Commission January 16, 2014 Page 2 A. Project Updates X. ADJOURNMENT The City of Edina wants all residents to be comfortable being part of the public process. If you need assistance in the way of hearing amplification, an interpreter, large-print documents or something else, please call 952-927-8861 72 hours in advance of the meeting. SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING MEETINGS/DATES/EVENTS Thursday February 20 Regular ETC Meeting 6:00 PM COMMUNITY ROOM Thursday March 20 Regular ETC Meeting 6:00 PM COMMUNITY ROOM Thursday April 17 Regular ETC Meeting 6:00 PM COUNCIL CHAMBERS Thursday May 15 Regular ETC Meeting 6:00 PM COMMUNITY ROOM Thursday June 19 Regular ETC Meeting 6:00 PM COMMUNITY ROOM Thursday July 17 Regular ETC Meeting 6:00 PM COUNCIL CHAMBERS Thursday August 21 Regular ETC Meeting 6:00 PM COMMUNITY ROOM G:\Engineering\Infrastructure\Streets\Traffic\TRANSP COMM\Agendas & RR's\2014 Agendas\20140116 Agenda.docx City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424 City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424 Edina Transportation Commission VI. A. Mark K. Nolan, AICP, Transportation Planner ☐ ☒ ☒ January 16, 2014 MnDOT/Southwest LRT Freight Rail Presentation No action requested. Information / Background: Dave Christianson, Freight Planning Project Manager with MnDOT, will be sharing information on the freight rail re-routing options associated with the Southwest LRT project and will answer questions associated with local freight rail impacts. G:\Engineering\Infrastructure\Streets\Traffic\TRANSP COMM\Agendas & RR's\2014 R&R\Item VI.A. MnDOT-Southwest LRT Freight Rail Presentation.docx 1 MINUTES OF CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION COUNCIL CHAMBERS JANUARY 16, 2014 6:00 P.M. ROLL CALL Answering roll call was member Bass, Boettge, Iyer, Janovy, LaForce, and Nelson. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Motion was made by member LaForce and seconded by member Janovy to approve the meeting agenda. All voted aye. Motion carried. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF DECEMBER 19, 2013 – Approved as corrected. Motion was made by member Janovy and seconded by member Bass to approve the amended minutes of December 19, 2013. All voted aye. Motion carried. COMMUNITY COMMENT – None. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS MnDOT/Southwest LRT Freight Rail Presentation Southwest LRT Mr. Dave Christiansen presented an update on the Southwest LRT and 2014 Regional Rail. Mr. Christiansen said the Met Council was ready to vote on the co-location or relocation of the LRT when Governor Dayton requested a 90-day moratorium to re-examine freight rail alternatives/options in response to controversies that were still present. Several alternatives/options are under review and the consultants’ reports are due Jan. 31 and open houses will be scheduled. He said if it appears they are moving rapidly with this project this is because the design phase actually began in 1996 and the Met Council, who took over in 2012 from Hennepin County, would like to finalize design because other projects around the country are in similar state of readiness and they are competing for the same funds. The LRT is number one on the list for funding and the Met Council does not want lose their standing. He said most of the issues have been resolved except for the current ones with freight being the biggest. Mr. Christiansen said it is difficult to relocate freight trains because most lines have been abandoned while freight traffic has increased. He said TC&W is experiencing moderate growth while Canadian Pacific (CP) will see minor changes such as week day switches, occasional TC&W transfers and approximately 4-6 additional trains at nights on the Dan Patch line passing thru Edina. He said TC&W is evaluating the Savage Swing Bridge to put it back in service. Mr. Christiansen said the Kenilworth is a major service area for freight and the Met Council is moving forward with plans but the Minneapolis City Council said they were promised that freight rail would be taken out of the Kenilworth area; additionally, the bike path currently runs next to the railroad. One suggestion is a shallow tunnel for the LRT with the bike path on top and freight remains in same location. He said the conundrum that they are faced with is to spend more money and stay in Kenilworth or move into St. Louis Park. Passenger Rail Mr. Christiansen said they are working on plans for high speed rail but funding is not yet available. They are Minneapolis to Duluth and the plans should be completed by the end of this year; Rochester to the Twin Cities and 2 the plans should be completed within 18 months; and Chicago to the Twin Cities and plans should be completed by end of this year (this one requires the cooperation of Wisconsin and they pulled out two years ago). Another route is Mankato to Minneapolis but this one does not have local support (would run on the Dan Patch line). Quiet Zones Mr. Christiansen said there is a method and engineering formula that communities can use to create quiet zones and the railroad has to shut-off their horn; however, the quiet zone application does not include pedestrian safety. To include pedestrian safety at crossings, the cost is between $75,000 and $500,000 per crossing. Edina has about six crossings. The following questions were asked of Mr. Christiansen: • Are there guidelines for adding bike trail next to the CP rail? There are none at this time and the railroad gets nervous when you want to add anything next to them. He said to use common sense and they suggest a fence between the trail and railroad. • What do you get for $75,000 vs $500,000 when upgrading a crossing? There are many factors to consider – current ADT, number of lanes, signals, number of trains, etc. Also, an upgraded crossing may need to be re- engineered later on if circumstances change (traffic increases, etc.). • Does MNDOT have funding available to upgrade crossings? There is a small budget for crossings but Edina would not qualify because quiet zones are considered quality of life improvement and not safety related. • For the LRT, will Edina be required to provide municipal consent? No, because Edina will be affected on a secondary level. • Is the Southern Arm being considered? Not at this time but this could change. Active Routes to School Presentation Member Bass explained Edina’s Active Routes to School plan starting with the name. She said the nationwide program called Safe Routes to School began as an initiative to increase walking and biking to school but the plan covers more than just safety so they decided that Active Routes to School was a more appropriate name. She said the benefits of walking and biking includes healthier children, better academic performance and less traffic congestion. The plan goals include supporting walking and biking where it is safe to do so and making changes in unsafe areas. She emphasized that it does not include making everyone walk, bike, or eliminate school busses and cars but to make it possible and safe for those who want to walk or bike; especially the 16% of students within the district’s .7 mile walking zone. Continuing, member Bass said the plan was developed to serve as a vision for the community; identify and prioritize short and long-term improvements such as engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation; and funding opportunities (MNDOT requires a plan when seeking funding). She said the plan was developed by consultant Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. by gathering data; site visits; stakeholders input from a working group that included City and District staff, members Bass and Janovy from the ETC, a City of Bloomington Public Health staff; principal interviews; Edina High Student Council; and a parent survey. There were 369 responses to the parent survey and the reasons most cited for not regularly walking or biking to school were traffic (amount and speed); infrastructure (intersection and crossing safety, presence of sidewalk/pathways), and distance (for high school); and 59% said a child had asked for permission to walk/bike in the last year. Member Bass said the plan’s recommendations were categorized by short, mid or long-term plans and implementation would be done by the City or District or jointly. 3 Finally, she said the plan would be presented to other committees for review and input and adoption by City Council and the School Board; establish a working group to help with implementation; and monitor funding sources. Discussion Member Iyer recommended a sidewalk on W. 66th St. west of TH-100 (on the steep hill); establish drop-off locations that students can walk from; create an efficient pedestrian connection from the Cornelia Neighborhood to South View and Concord which would include a pedestrian bridge over TH-62 that accommodates bikes (existing bridge is not bike friendly); consider higher fines when drivers park on street during the winter and snowplows are not able plow properly; and reduce the number of garbage trucks on the streets when students are walking. Member Boettge said she did not recall receiving a parent survey and asked how the survey was distributed. Member Bass could not recall all the avenues that were used but some included the District’s In The Know newsletter, Edina Patch and other means that individual principals used. Member Boettge asked if more surveys are planned and member Bass said not a parent survey but student surveys are included in the plan. Member Janovy asked if the ETC would like to make a recommendation to forward the report to the City Council for adoption. Member Iyer said he would like his suggestions addressed before forwarding the report to the City Council and he asked if there was an opportunity for more people to be involved. Member Bass said she would forward his suggestions to the consultant for inclusion and that he could participate in the working group. The consensus was to include member Iyer’s suggestions and bring the plan back next month for a final review. Traffic Safety Committee Report of January 2, 2014 Section A1. Another issue in this area said chair Nelson are the two left turn lanes under the TH-100 bridge – one turning north to TH-100 (north left turn lane) and the other presumably to the frontage road (south left turn lane). He asked if there could be better signage because if you’re in the south left turn lane trying to go onto TH-100 it is difficult and traffic often backs up to Rabun Drive because of the turn lanes. Transportation planner Nolan will look into this (member Janovy noted that this area has been looked at in the past). Section B1. Member Janovy asked for clarification on what the request was and transportation planner Nolan said it was for additional (unspecified) signage; however, the area is already signed and staff did not think advanced warning sign would be effective. Member Janovy said limiting parking near the crosswalks was raised in the past and she suggested checking to see how far back from a crosswalk parking is allowed and extending that even further back to allow for pedestrian visibility. Section C2. Transportation planner Nolan said Hennepin County has offered to install a rapid flashing beacon and an enhanced crosswalk in 2014 and he is checking to see if they would consider straightening out the crosswalk and adding a pedestrian refuge. In the appendix, member Janovy suggested identifying marked pedestrian crosswalk as City of Edina policy to make it clear what is controlled by the City. Motion was made by member Janovy and seconded by member Bass to forward the January 2 Traffic Safety Report to City Council. All voted aye. Motion carried. Updates Student Members - None Bike Edina Task Force Member Janovy said the Bike Edina Task Force is now Bike Edina. She said they are accepting new members and the application is online at BikeEdina.org. Member Bass asked why Bike Edina did not conduct the Bike Rodeo this year 4 and if they may not be interested in the future. Member Janovy said it was only for this year because of reorganizing and liability concerns. Member Bass suggested partnering with other organizations for future rodeos. Living Streets Working Group Chair Nelson said they met on Jan. 2 and discussed network connections and design guidelines. Communications Committee Member Janovy asked if the communications plan for the France Avenue Intersection Enhancement project has been revisited now that the project has been approved. Transportation planner Nolan said he saw the plan for the first time today and he and interim city engineer Millner will be working on it. Member LaForce suggested sharing the final project plans with the ETC. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS - None CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS Member Janovy asked if there are any noise walls planned between crosstown and W. 50th Street. She said the chain link fences along the ramps at W. 50th Street and TH-100 aren’t in good shape and asked what the process was for replacing them. Transportation planner Nolan will check on these. Chair Nelson said the Park and Ride on the east side of Southdale is now opened with express services to downtown Minneapolis and to the University of Minnesota. Member Bass asked about the timeframe for filling the city engineer’s position. Transportation planner Nolan said they are down to two final candidates and they expect to fill the position by next month. STAFF COMMENTS • Transportation Options - transportation planner Nolan said he met with commissioner Whited to discuss the upcoming Transportation Options workshop and she suggested some things for the ETC to consider before the workshop next month. In response to her suggestions, chair Nelson suggested a formal or informal survey to see what transportation options are currently available. Member Bass said they could also look at data already available like the Quality of Life survey conducted by the City; member Janovy concurred and said the survey asked how people get around the community and it also captures their age. • France Avenue Intersection Enhancement Urban Design - a meeting is being planned to share design concepts; more information to come on the meeting date and time. • W. 54th Street – engineering services agreement was approved; staff is working on a variance for the advisory bike lane which will mostly like be approved; a neighborhood meeting is planned for 1/27 for bridge design feedback. • Xerxes Avenue – the County will mill and overlay from W. 54th to W. 66th in 2014. Member Janovy suggested looking at pedestrian crossings and transportation planner Nolan said the County has agreed to install a crosswalk at W. 64th. • Three Rivers District asked cities to submit proposals for the Transportation Alternative Program Solicitation and Edina was one of six from 27 proposals that were accepted. If funding is approved the money would be used to construct a path at Oaklawn and Parklawn Avenues (an Active Routes to School path). ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned. 5 ATTENDANCE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE - 2014 NAME TERM J F M A M J J A S O N D Work Session # of Mtgs Attendance % Meetings/Work Sessions 1 1 Bass, Katherine 2/1/2014 1 1 100% Boettge, Emily 2/1/2014 1 1 100% Iyer, Surya 2/1/2015 1 1 100% Janovy, Jennifer 2/1/2014 1 1 100% LaForce, Tom 2/1/2015 1 1 100% Nelson, Paul 2/1/2016 1 1 100% Whited, Courtney 2/1/2015 0 0% Sierks, Caroline student 0 0% Van Dyke, Jackson student 0 0% Respectfully submitted, Sharon Allison, Secretary 1 November 12, 2013 Meeting Notes Present: Don Eyberg, Rob Erickson, Sally Dunn, Jennifer Janovy, Peter Kelley, Tim Sudeith Absent: Brad Schaeppi, Larry Olson, Lori Richman Recorded by: Sally Dunn I. Meeting called to order at 7:30 p.m. II. Action items a. Subcommittee scopes and work plans i. Infrastructure Improvements—discussion of advocating for improved maintenance of existing bike lanes and whether city is serving needs of “interested but concerned” cyclists. Interest in focusing on the types of facilities that serve “interested but concerned” cyclists—namely, protected or separated facilities. Discussion of 9MCRT and identifying routes to 9MCRT as focus for 2014. ii. ARTS—discussion of linking ARTS to 9MCRT and of upcoming Tracy Avenue road reconstruction (Benton to 62). iii. Education and Outreach—Peter, Lori and Don met to discuss deliverables for 2014: 1) develop a formal relationship with Bloomington, Richfield, SLP, Hopkins, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, Minneapolis and Hennepin County; 2) pursue and obtain Nice Ride Minnesota location in Edina or near border of Edina/Minneapolis; and 2) develop a communication plan that targets Edina residents, businesses, City staff, City Council, and the Edina School District in 2 order to raise awareness and improve reputation of and service to bicycling in Edina. Begin implementation during 2014. Also discussed was need to develop a comprehensive BETF email list. iv. Bike Friendly Community application—the application is due in February. Sally will check in with Larry and also contact Kirk Johnson to see if he is interested in helping. III. Discussion Items a. Recap QBP mini bicycle summit—Lori, Peter, Sally, Don and Jennifer attended the event, which brought together bike groups from Edina, Bloomington and Richfield. A second summit is tentatively planned for January. b. BETF status—Jennifer sent Mark Nolan a draft agreement that would define relationship between City of Edina and BETF. The draft agreement is currently being reviewed by City staff. c. Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail—discussion that public engagement related to trail design will begin in February. The first section will be from Richfield to the High School area. d. Bike rodeo—discussion of value of bike education at different age levels. Consensus is not to do the bike rodeo this year. There is interest in helping if another organization (such as school district) would like to take it on. IV. Updates a. Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition has posted a link to our new member application, which can be found at bikedina.org. Jennifer plans to send out a press release in January to let people know BETF is looking for additional members. V. Next meeting—January 9 VI. Adjourn at 8:45 p.m. Edina Active Routes to School Comprehensive Plan October 2013 Prepared By: Acknowledgements This Active Routes to School Plan could not have been created without the time, energy, knowledge, and input of the following individuals and agencies: Katherine Bass, Edina Transportation Commission Jennifer Janovy, Edina Transportation Commission and Bike Edina Task Force David White, Edina Public Schools Val Burke, Edina Public Schools Jessica Smith, Bloomington Public Health Julie Zamora, Bloomington Public Health Rick Sansted, Concord Elementary School Principal Chris Holden, Cornelia Elementary School Principal Karen Bergman, Countryside Elementary School Principal Kari Dalquist, Creek Valley Elementary School Principal Peter Hodne, Highlands Elementary School Principal Gerry Lukaska, Normandale Elementary School Principal Beth Russell, South View Middle School Principal Shawn Dudley, Valley View Middle School Principal Eric Nelson, Edina High School Assistant Principal Wayne Houle, City of Edina Engineering Mark Nolan, City of Edina Engineering Table of Contents Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. E-1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Background ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Project Process ........................................................................................................................................ 2 Existing Conditions Assessment ............................................................................................................... 3 Student Data ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Safety .................................................................................................................................................. 7 Infrastructure ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Concord Elementary, Normandale Elementary, and South View Middle Schools .............................. 8 Cornelia Elementary School ........................................................................................................... 12 Countryside Elementary School ..................................................................................................... 14 Creek Valley Elementary School ..................................................................................................... 15 Highlands Elementary School ......................................................................................................... 16 Valley View Middle and Edina High Schools ................................................................................... 18 Policy and Programming .................................................................................................................... 21 City of Edina .................................................................................................................................. 21 Edina Public Schools ...................................................................................................................... 23 Recommendations ................................................................................................................................ 24 Short-Term Improvements................................................................................................................. 24 Mid-Term Improvements ................................................................................................................... 28 Long-Term Improvements ................................................................................................................. 29 Funding and Implementation ................................................................................................................ 31 Appendix ..............................................................................................................................................A-1 Student Travel Tally Results ..............................................................................................................A-2 Parent Survey Results .......................................................................................................................A-3 Resources ....................................................................................................................................... A-15 References...................................................................................................................................... A-20 E-1 Executive Summary The purpose of an Active Routes to School Plan (ARTS) is to identify opportunities and priorities to increase walking and biking to schools, and develop an implementation plan for making improvements in these areas. A comprehensive process involving Edina School District, City of Edina, parents, and residents was begun in 2012 to develop a plan for the nine public schools in Edina. Through site visits, principal interviews, data gathering, and stakeholder input, a set of recommendations has been developed to address the needs of students walking and biking to school. These improvements involve actions by multiple stakeholders and include both infrastructure and policy changes. Introduction Walking and biking to school in the United States has decreased dramatically, from over 60 percent in the 1960s to an average of less than 10 percent today. This reduction in active transportation, and corresponding increase in vehicular transportation, negatively affects students’ health, vehicle congestion, traffic safety, and environmental quality around schools. To reverse this decades-long trend of decreased walking and biking, the nationwide Safe Routes to School (SRTS) initiative was created to increase walking and biking to school through the implementation of each of the five “E’s”: §Education – Teaching children to walk and bike safely §Encouragement – Developing programs that get children excited about walking or biking to school §Enforcement – Having law enforcement support along the designated routes to school §Engineering – Identifying infrastructure barriers to walking and biking §Evaluation – Measuring the effectiveness of the various components of the SRTS project This Active Routes to School Plan plays an important function of connecting the roles of the school district and the city in jointly seeking to increase walking and biking to school. It is intended to complement and support the work and planning already completed, while also capturing all the factors that influence choices about transportation. The plan builds on the infrastructure improvements previously identified, but also addresses the other four areas of ARTS including policy and programming. Edina has already taken a number of significant steps to improve walking and bicycling in the community, including: §Established a bicycle task force. §Completed the Bicycle Transportation Plan (2007). Implementation of the plan is underway. §Created a sidewalk map as part of the City’s Comprehensive Plan (2008). Implementation of the plan is underway. §Completed and implemented the Edina Schools Speed Zone Study (2009). §Created the Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety (PACS) Fund (2012) through franchise fees on gas and electricity. The fees are estimated to generate more than $1 million per year. §Hired a Transportation Planner whose primary role is to administer the PACS Fund (2013). §Adopted a Living Streets Policy and formed an on-going advisory committee to guide Living Streets Plan development (2013). E-2 The benefits of a comprehensive ARTS plan are to provide an all-inclusive picture of the needs throughout the school district and community, allowing for programming and prioritization. In addition, it provides the opportunity to address district and city policies and programs related to walking and biking, and having a plan puts the agencies in a favorable position when applying for funding. At the school and neighborhood level, increased walking and biking to school has been shown to improve student health and academic performance, reduce traffic congestion around the school, and thereby also improve air quality and reduce traffic noise. Project Process This plan was developed with input from the key ARTS stakeholders in Edina, including school staff, parents, school district staff, city staff, and students. The initial phases included significant data collection and assembly, along with site observations at each school, discussions with stakeholders, and development of recommendations. Recommendations The following sections present the recommendations of the Comprehensive ARTS Plan to increase walking and biking to schools in Edina. Some recommendations could be feasibly implemented in the next year, while others may require longer timelines due to policy changes or funding. Each measure has been classified according to the agency that would lead its implementation. Existing Conditions Assessment Site Visits Principal Interviews Parent Surveys ARTS Working Group Data Gathering ARTS Comprehensive Plan Pedestrian/Bicycle Needs/Opportunities Improvement Priorities Plan Recommendations Stakeholder Input E-3 City of Edina Improvements §Provide enforcement in school zones §Establish city policy for crosswalk markings §Modify ordinance language to allow bicycling on sidewalks §Evaluate effectiveness of school speed zone signing and establish city policy for use of school speed zones §Construct pedestrian ramps at W 72nd Street/ Oaklawn Avenue §Construct sidewalk on 58th Street east of Wooddale Avenue §Construct sidewalk or trail on Interlachen Boulevard §Obtain easement and construct sidewalk connection from Oaklawn Avenue to Parklawn Avenue §Construct sidewalk connection from Ayrshire Boulevard to Highlands Elementary §Construct sidewalk on Valley View Road, Tracy Avenue, and Gleason Road §Construct sidewalk on Sun Road, Arbour Avenue, and Olinger Boulevard §Construct sidewalk on Benton Avenue §Construct sidewalk on Claremore Drive, Kellogg Avenue, and Wooddale Avenue §Construct sidewalk on Cornelia Drive from 70th Street to 66th Street Edina Public Schools Improvements §Improve bicycle parking at Edina High School and Valley View Middle School §Improve bicycle parking at Highlands Elementary §Continue or initiate site-level walking and biking activities §Develop a walking and biking section of the school district website §Create a program to improve bicycle parking at all schools §Designate a district Active Routes to School coordinator §Incorporate language regarding walking and biking to school into the district wellness policy §Incorporate walking and biking safety education into the physical education curriculum §Reconstruct and narrow the driveways at Cornelia Elementary School Joint City-District Improvements §Establish a permanent Active Routes to School working group or task force §Create a pedestrian and bicycle safety public education campaign §Continue student travel tallies on at least a yearly basis §Address safety and traffic issues on Valley View Road at Edina High School/ Valley View Middle School Based on its past planning and active efforts to improve its bicycle and pedestrian facilities, Edina is well-positioned to implement infrastructure improvements and effect the cultural and policy changes necessary to see long-term shifts in travel behavior. 1 Introduction Walking and biking to school in the United States has decreased dramatically, from over 60 percent in the 1960s to an average of less than 10 percent today. This reduction in active transportation, and corresponding increase in vehicular transportation, negatively affects students’ health, vehicle congestion, traffic safety, and environmental quality around schools. In Hennepin County, only 24 percent of children age 6 to 17 years get the minimum amount of physical activity recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.1,2 To reverse this decades-long trend of decreased walking and biking, the nationwide Safe Routes to School (SRTS) initiative was created to increase walking and biking to school through the implementation of each of the five “E’s”: §Education – Teaching children to walk and bike safely §Encouragement – Developing programs that get children excited about walking or biking to school §Enforcement – Having law enforcement support along the designated routes to school §Engineering – Identifying infrastructure barriers to walking and biking §Evaluation – Measuring the effectiveness of the various components of the SRTS project Locally, walking and biking projects have been initiated and funded through federal transportation funds, as well as the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP). SHIP is dedicated to promoting active living in communities throughout Minnesota, with the goal of reducing obesity and preventing disease. The purpose of this Comprehensive Active Routes to School Plan (ARTS) is to document the existing walking and biking environment in Edina, identify opportunities and priorities to increase walking and biking to schools, and develop an implementation plan for making the improvements. The comprehensive nature of the plan provides an overall view of the needs and priorities in the community. Nationwide, the efforts to increase the number and safety of students walking and biking to school is generally referred to as “Safe Routes to School”. However, this can be a misleading term as no route can truly be made to be “safe.” In addition, the plan addresses many aspects of active transportation, of which safety is only one component. Therefore, Edina has chosen to identify the scope of activities related to walking and biking to schools as “Active Routes to School”. This name more accurately describes the focus of the plan and its desired outcomes. Background The City of Edina has taken a number of significant steps to improve walking and bicycling in the city, including: §Established a bicycle task force. §Completed the Bicycle Transportation Plan (2007). Implementation of the plan is underway. 2 §Created a sidewalk map as part of the City’s Comprehensive Plan (2008). Implementation of the plan is underway. §Completed and implemented the Edina Schools Speed Zone Study (2009). §Created the Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety (PACS) Fund (2012) through franchise fees on gas and electricity. The fees are estimated to generate more than $1 million per year. §Hired a Transportation Planner whose primary role is to administer the PACS Fund (2013). §Adopted a Living Streets Policy and formed an on-going advisory committee to guide Living Streets Plan development (2013). This Active Routes to School Plan plays an important function of connecting the roles of the school district and the city in jointly seeking to increase walking and biking to school. It is intended to complement and support the work and planning already completed, while also capturing all the factors that influence choices about transportation by building on the infrastructure improvements previously identified, but also addressing the other four areas of ARTS including policy and programming. The benefits of a comprehensive ARTS plan are to provide an all-inclusive picture of the needs throughout a school district or city, allowing for programming and prioritization. In addition, it provides the opportunity to address district and city policies and programs related to walking and biking, and having a plan puts the agencies in a favorable position when applying for funding. At the school and neighborhood level, increased walking and biking to school has been shown to improve student health and academic performance, reduce traffic congestion around the school, and thereby also improve air quality and reduce traffic noise. Project Process This plan was developed with input from the key ARTS stakeholders in Edina, including school staff, parents, school district staff, city staff, and students. The initial phases included significant data collection and assembly, along with site observations at each school, followed by evaluations, and Edina adopted a Living Streets Policy in 2013 to balance the needs of motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians and transit riders. Source: City of Edina, 2013 3 development of recommendations. Stakeholder input was gathered at several key points in the process, as highlighted in the diagram below. Existing Conditions Assessment The City of Edina encompasses approximately 16 square miles and has a population of nearly 48,000 residents as of the 2010 census. Edina is a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis, and as such, is a fully developed city. However, some of the aspects that have made Edina an attractive city in which to live and work – access to regional transportation facilities (TH 62, TH 100 TH 169, I-494), natural amenities such as lakes and parks, and irregular street network in some areas – also can make it challenging for non-motorized transportation. The following sections document the evaluation of the existing conditions for walking and bicycling to schools in Edina. Student Data The Edina School District serves nearly 8,300 students in six elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. Walk boundaries for each school, which are established by the school district, set the distance within which students are not provided bus transportation. These boundaries for the Edina School District are generally 0.7 mile for elementary schools, and one mile for middle and high schools. However, within these radii students may be provided bus transportation based on hazardous Existing Conditions Assessment Site Visits Principal Interviews Parent Surveys ARTS Working Group Data Gathering ARTS Comprehensive Plan Pedestrian/Bicycle Needs/Opportunities Improvement Priorities Plan Recommendations Stakeholder Input 4 transportation conditions on the route to school, such as crossings of high volume or high speed roadways. The identification of hazardous transportation conditions is established by the school district, per Minnesota State Statute. On a district-wide basis, approximately 16 percent of students live within the walk boundary of their school. A more detailed summary for each school is shown in Table 1. The students who live within the walk boundary represent the greatest opportunities for increasing walking and biking. Table 1. Edina Students within Walk Zone Boundaries School Total Enrollment Students Within Walk Boundary Open Enrolled Provided Bus Transportation Concord Elementary 730 22%10%68% Cornelia Elementary 550 30%13%57% Countryside Elementary 580 24%29%53% Creek Valley Elementary 610 10%9%81% Highlands Elementary 560 12%8%80% Normandale Elementary 640 9%7%84% South View Middle School 1,290 19%17%74% Valley View Middle School 1,360 17%14%69% Edina High School 1,970 10%18%72% Total 8,290 16%15%69% Student travel tallies were conducted for all kindergarten through eighth grade classrooms in the district in fall 2012 using the National Center for Safe Routes to School standard tally forms. The results of the tallies showed that an average of 10.5 percent of elementary students and 12 percent of middle school students walked or biked to school. The predominant mode at all sites was School Bus, followed by Family Vehicle. Nearly 30 percent of all students arrive to or from school by Family Vehicle, which accounts for significant volumes of traffic at each of the school sites.Table 2 shows the average mode results by school. A breakdown of mode for travel to and from school for each site is included in the Appendix. Counts of pedestrians and bicyclists were also conducted as part of the field observations at each site, which are described further in the next section. 5 Table 2. Edina Student Travel Tallies School Modes To/From School Walk Bike School Bus Family Vehicle Carpool Other Concord Elementary 8%6%55%28%3%0% Cornelia Elementary 10%5%47%27%2%9% Countryside Elementary 11%2%47%38%2%0% Creek Valley Elementary 6%6%60%27%1%0% Highlands Elementary 4%0%61%31%3%1% Normandale Elementary 6%1%58%32%2%1% South View Middle School 9%1%57%30%1%2% Valley View Middle School 13%1%60%24%2%0% A parent survey, developed by the National Center for Safe Routes to School, was conducted in June 2013 with 369 responses. The survey questions are directed at concerns and attitudes related to walking and biking, and parents’ perceptions of barriers to walking and biking. As shown in Table 3, for both elementary and middle school students the most-cited reasons by parents for not regularly walking or biking to school were traffic or infrastructure related (amount of traffic, speed of traffic, intersection safety, and presence of sidewalks/pathways). However, starting at the middle school level and especially for the high school level, distance was a significantly more important factor. The age at which parents said they would allow their child to walk or bike to school without an adult was 4th to 6th grade. In the comments section of the survey, the following topics were mentioned five or more times: §Need for sidewalks or paths (34 comments) §Safety concerns along or crossing Wooddale Avenue (13 comments) o Wooddale Avenue/ 50th Street intersection (6 comments) §Heavy backpacks, band instruments, or sports bags make walking or biking not feasible (11 comments) §Safety concerns along Valley View Road (8 comments) §Need for increased enforcement (7 comments) §Safety concerns along 58th Street, specifically need for sidewalk (6 comments) §Safety concerns along Tracy Avenue (5 comments) A full summary of the survey results is included in the Appendix. 6 Table 3. Issues that Affect Decision to Walk or Bike Percent of Respondents Identifying Issue Distance Convenience of Driving Time Before or After School Activities Speed of Traffic Along Route Amount of Traffic Along Route Adults to Walk or Bike With Sidewalks or Pathways Safety of Intersections and Crossings Crossing Guards Violence or Crime Weather or Climate Elementary Schools 9% 1% 3% 4% 14% 16% 6% 14% 15% 3% 5% 7% Middle Schools 10% 2% 7% 7% 12% 14% 1% 12% 16% 1% 5% 10% High School 20% 5% 12% 9% 17% 17% 1% 15% 20% 5% 7% 14% Input was also gathered from the Edina High School Student Council about the reasons students choose their mode of travel to and from school. While K-8 students are most often the focus of ARTS efforts, because they are the most vulnerable population, high school students also face challenges to walking and biking to school. Understanding these challenges will help the city and school district address the issues unique to high school students and the high school campus. The Student Council identified the following key concerns that impacted their ability or willingness to walk or bike to school: §Having sidewalks to walk or bike on, particularly on higher volume roadways. §The illegality of riding bicycles on sidewalks in Edina. §The availability of secure bicycle parking at school. §The need for walking and biking education, for parents, as well as students. §School schedule, specifically “zero hour” that begins at 7:30 am. Students with zero hour do not have the option of riding the bus to school, and students walking or biking to school at this time would be doing so in the dark during some months of the year. Current bicycle parking at Edina High School 7 Safety The pedestrian and bicycle crashes within the City of Edina in the past 10 years (2003-2012) were reviewed to identify the crashes involving school-age children.3 This analysis provides a picture of the overall safety of pedestrians and bicyclists in Edina, but also is used as a comparison to identify key locations or areas where crashes involving young pedestrians and cyclists are of greatest concern. Over the 10-year period, there were 60 bicycle crashes and 27 pedestrian crashes reported in the city, which represents approximately 3 percent of all crashes occurring on the local roadway network (i.e., excluding the freeway system) during that time period. More than 30 percent of the pedestrian and bicycle crashes in Edina involve a pedestrian or bicyclist under the age of 18, with the 14-15 year old age group being most over-represented (approximately 11 percent of all pedestrian and bicycle crashes in the city). This indicates a potential need for increased safety education at the elementary and middle school levels, to give children the skills to safely walk and bike in the community. Note that in the following sections discussing infrastructure and safety at each school site, there may be references to the number of crashes within a specific school’s walk zone and that these numbers may include some of the same crash incidents under multiple school sites if their walk boundaries overlap. Infrastructure Edina has an existing network of sidewalk and bicycle facilities that connect many of the key destinations in the city, as shown in Figure 1. However, because the city does not have a grid street system in some areas of the city, many of the facilities that provide bicycle and pedestrian connections also carry high volumes of traffic. The routes for bicycles and pedestrians can also be very circuitous due to the established street network. The City of Edina provides winter maintenance and snow clearing on all public sidewalks along designated State Aid roadways, within Public School Zones, along parks, and within major business districts. The clearing of all other sidewalks in the city are the responsibility of the adjacent property owner. As noted in the Comprehensive Bicycle Transportation Plan, and further described in the site evaluations, the provision of bicycle parking at Edina Public Schools is generally Sidewalk map from 2008 City of Edina Comprehensive Plan 8 New sidewalk on School Road next to Concord Elementary, constructed in 2013 deficient in terms of the number of spaces, their location, and the design of the racks that does not easily allow bicycles to be securely parked. In addition to a citywide review of infrastructure and safety, observations were conducted during school arrival and dismissal to evaluate the condition of the infrastructure, gather data on existing walking and biking numbers, and also identify the primary walk/bike routes to each school. Existing conditions for each school site are provided in Figures 2-7. Concord Elementary, Normandale Elementary, and South View Middle Schools Three schools – Concord Elementary, Normandale Elementary, and South View Middle School – share a continuous site bounded by Normandale Road (Trunk Highway 100) to the west, South View Lane to the north, Concord Avenue to the east, and School Road to the south. Although each school operates independently within the district, they share much of the same infrastructure and therefore have some of the same challenges. Therefore, the site evaluations, observations, and recommendations were conducted and considered as a whole. Concord Elementary School has approximately 730 students and Normandale Elementary has approximately 640 students in kindergarten through 5th grade. The school day is from 8:35 AM to 3:05 PM at both schools. South View Middle School has 1,290 students in grades 6-9, and the school day is from 7:45 AM to 2:40 PM. There are more than 2,600 students traveling to and from this site in approximately a one-hour period in the morning and afternoon. In terms of infrastructure, Normandale Road, South View Lane, and Concord Road around the perimeter of the site have existing sidewalk. In 2013 a new sidewalk segment was constructed on School Road along the south side of Concord Elementary to fill in a gap in the sidewalk network around the school complex. The construction of this sidewalk segment eliminates the issue of pedestrians walking in the roadway from Concord Avenue to the school entrance. School crossing signing and high visibility crosswalk markings are installed at several key intersections around the school sites, as shown in Figure 2. All-way stop control was also recently installed on Concord Avenue at W 58th Street, which is a major crossing for pedestrians and bicyclists due to the sidewalk on W 58th Street as well as its location near the middle school entrance. There are also push button-activated pedestrian flashers, along with the crosswalk, at the Concord Avenue crossing of Valley View Road due to the higher traffic volumes and speeds on that roadway. School speeds zones that lower the posted speed limit to 15 miles per hour (mph) are posted on 9 Normandale Road, South View Lane, Concord Avenue, and School Road. These zones were installed in 2009 following a study of all the school sites in Edina. The posted zones are in effect when children are present. In terms of bicycle infrastructure, Normandale Road, South View Lane, and Concord Avenue north of W 58th Street/Benton Avenue are identified in the city’s Comprehensive Bicycle Plan as primary bicycle routes and south of W 58th Street/Benton Avenue as secondary bicycle routes. There are not currently on-street or off-street bicycle facilities on these roadways. Bicycle parking is provided near all three school buildings, and is generally located conveniently next to sidewalks and paved areas. However, the racks at Concord and South View are located in unpaved areas that may become difficult to access in wet or snowy conditions and are not easily visible from the school office or classrooms. Best practices for bicycle parking at schools would locate the racks within 150 feet of an entrance, in a paved area, and easily visible from inside the school building. Many of the racks are also older styles that require the bicycle wheel to be locked to the rack, rather than the bicycle frame, which can result in a higher likelihood of vandalism or damage to the bicycle. In addition to the infrastructure, pedestrian and bicycle crashes were reviewed for a 10-year period (2003-2012) within 0.7 miles of the elementary schools and 1.0 mile of the middle school to identify any potential safety issues within the walk radius, but away from the main school campus. A total of 10 bicycle crashes and five pedestrian crashes were reported, with four involving a pedestrian or cyclist under 18 years old. This is a higher rate than seen citywide, which may be in part due to the amount of pedestrian and bicycle activity in this area. Observations were conducted at the site in November 2012 and April-May 2013 during the arrival and dismissal periods to evaluate the safety and operations for pedestrians and bicyclist at each school, which are summarized in the following sections. Existing bicycle parking at South View Middle School 10 Concord Elementary School The primary walking and biking routes to school were observed to be to and from the north along Concord Avenue and to the east on W 59th Street. Student school patrols are posted at the intersections of Concord Avenue/W 59th Street and Concord Avenue/School Road to assist with crossings, since nearly all students walking or biking to school must cross the bus and family vehicle traffic traveling to and from the school. Approximately 20-30 students were observed walking and 30-40 students were observed bicycling to school on good weather days, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the school population. Concord has organized and participated in past National Walk and Bike to School events, with many families choosing to bike. During one observation, the bicycle racks at Concord were nearly parked to capacity. The school’s west parking lot is used for bus loading and unloading, and the east parking lot is designated for family vehicles. The queue of vehicles waiting to pick-up/drop-off students often spills out of the parking lot and onto School Road, which creates challenges particularly for students walking or biking from the south that must cross the line of vehicles to get to the school. During the day, only the main entrance of the school is open, and the lack of sidewalk on School Road or on the school site between the parking lot and main entrance is an issue not only for students walking and biking, but also for visitors to the school. School staff provided input to the reviews and highlighted several of their concerns with walking and biking at Concord: §Distracted driving (e.g., due to cell phone use) in the school parking lot is a significant safety issue during arrival and dismissal §Control of the School Road/Concord Avenue intersection is an issue, even with Bicycle parking at Concord Elementary during Bike to School Week in May 2013 Vehicle traffic queued from the parking lot onto School Road 11 the school patrols, due to the amount of activity and the current intersection control with stop signs on School Road only §Lack of sidewalk on many streets is a major barrier to walking or biking for many families. Normandale Elementary School Due to its location adjacent to TH 100 and its role as a French immersion school, Normandale has the lowest percentage of its students living within the walk boundary of any school in the district. As a result, fewer than 10 students were observed biking to school and approximately 10-15 students were observed walking to school. This represents less than five percent of the population of the school. The primary routes were to and from the north along Normandale Road, St. Andrews Avenue, and Concord Avenue. Two students were observed to utilize the pedestrian bridge to cross to the west side of TH 100. Normandale does not operate a school patrol and has not participated in National Walk and Bike to School Days in the past. The available bicycle parking at Normandale consists of one rack located near door 8, which is on the east side of the building at the Community Center entrance, and one rack at the north entrance. These locations are not visible or convenient to the main entrances of the school. The school principal and administrative staff indicated that students are not encouraged to walk or bike to Normandale. Most students are bussed, with 14 buses serving the school, but there is also a significant volume of family vehicles each day. Buses primarily use Normandale Road for loading and unloading, but some also use the driveway on South View Lane. Parent traffic is directed to use the parking lot and circular drive on the south side of the school, but due to the volume of traffic the queue during afternoon dismissal often spills out of the parking lot and onto Normandale Road, which can impact the bus traffic as well. South View Middle School A relatively large number of students currently walk and bike to South View Middle School. During the on-site observations, as many as 90 students were observed walking to and from school and as many as 40 students were observed bicycling. This represents approximately 10 percent of the student population, or about half the number of students that live within the walk zone. The primary routes for both walkers and bicyclists were south on Concord Avenue, east on W 58th Street, and north on Concord Avenue. South View sometimes operates a school patrol at the South View Lane/St. Andrews Avenue intersection, which is staffed by the Traffic on South View Lane during arrival 12 assistant principal and students who have been assigned to crossing duty. The school has tried to recruit parents to serve as regular crossing guards on South View Lane, but had only one parent volunteer. The volume and speed of vehicles on South View Lane, as well as drivers’ disregard for the school patrols, are a frequent source of concern and complaints by parents. The bicycle racks at South View are located near the south parking lot, along Concord Avenue, but are in a grassy area. The visibility of the racks behind the building, along with the style of racks that do not allow for locking the frame of the bicycle to the rack, do not provide very secure bicycle parking. School staff reported that at times there is also insufficient capacity in the existing racks. Buses load and unload students primarily in the south parking lot. Parents are directed to use the west parking lot, between South View and Normandale, for pick-up and drop-off, but a significant number instead use South View Lane and St. Andrews Avenue. Input from school staff raised a number of additional concerns at the school, including enforcement of the school speed zones, the need for additional sidewalk and bicycle infrastructure, and the desire for traffic calming on South View Lane. Cornelia Elementary School Cornelia Elementary School has approximately 550 students in kindergarten through 5th grades. The school day runs from 9:20 am to 3:50 pm. The walking and biking infrastructure around the school includes sidewalk along W 70th Street, Cornelia Drive and portions of W 72nd Street. School crossing signing and high visibility crosswalk markings are installed at several key intersections around the school site, as shown in Figure 3.The designated school crossings all have pedestrian ramps, except for the W 72nd Street/Oaklawn Avenue intersection. The signalized intersection of W 70th Street/Cornelia Drive is signed No Turn On Red due to the vehicle/pedestrian conflicts, especially during school arrival and dismissal. School speed zones were posted in 2009 on Cornelia Avenue and W 70th Street as a result of the School Speed Zone Study. The segment of W 70th Street from France Avenue to TH 100 was reconstructed in 2011 to include a three-lane roadway section with on-street bicycle lanes and sidewalk on both sides of the roadway. The posted speed limit was also reduced from 30 mph to 25 mph as part of the project. In addition to the school speed zone and school crossing on W 70th Street near Cornelia, there is also a signed pedestrian crossing with flashers at W 70th Street/Wooddale Avenue. Cornelia Drive north of W 70th Street is signed and has on- street markings as a bicycle boulevard and is Reconstructed W 70th Street with improved pedestrian and bicycle facilities 13 identified a primary bicycle route in the Edina Comprehensive Bicycle Transportation Plan. Bicycle parking at Cornelia is located on the west side of the school, near the playground. Although the bicycle racks are located on a concrete pad, which is beneficial for providing convenient parking during wet conditions, the racks are not visible from the school building and are not easily accessible from the main school entrances. The racks are also older styles that require the bicycle wheel to be locked to the rack, rather than the bicycle frame, which can result in a higher likelihood of vandalism or damage to the bicycle. Pedestrian and bicycle crashes were reviewed for a 10-year period (2003-2012) within 0.7 miles of the school to identify any potential safety issues within the walk radius. A total of eight bicycle crashes and five pedestrian crashes were reported, with four involving a pedestrian or cyclist between 15 and 18 years old. Approximately half the crashes occurred during the summer months (June-August) and half during the rest of the year. The rate of crashes involving 15 to 18 year-old pedestrians and bicyclists in this area is higher than seen citywide. During observations in November 2012, approximately 50 students were observed walking and 5 students were observed bicycling to and from school, representing about 10 percent of the student population. However, this is a relatively small portion of the 30 percent of students that live within the walk zone. The primary routes are to the north and south on Cornelia Drive, however the sidewalk on Cornelia Drive ends just north of W 70th Street. There is also a lack of sidewalk infrastructure to the west of the school. Buses load and unload in the main parking lot on the south side of the school. Family vehicles occupy the driveway on the east side of the school, both sides of Cornelia Drive near the school entrance, and also some parts of the south parking lot. The school driveway entrances are very wide and were observed to be the source of conflicts and right-of-way confusion between pedestrians and vehicles, even when the school patrol was present to assist with the crossings of the driveways. Vehicles leaving the school and turning left onto westbound W 70th Street also created conflicts with the school patrols and the pedestrians crossing W 70th Street. Cornelia has participated in past National Walk to School Day events, which was promoted through physical education classes, and has hosted the district bike rodeo for the past two years. Wide crossing of the school driveway creates potential vehicle/pedestrian conflicts 14 In addition to the issues observed during the on-site evaluations, school staff identified several other walking and biking concerns including the lack of sidewalk on Cornelia Drive north of W 70th Street and the need for a sidewalk or trail connection from the Parklawn neighborhood to the school. Countryside Elementary School Countryside Elementary School has approximately 580 students in kindergarten through 5th grades. The school day runs from 9:20 am to 3:50 pm. The walking and biking infrastructure around the school includes sidewalk along the east side of Tracy Avenue and north side of Benton Avenue. School crossing signing and high visibility crosswalk markings are installed at several key intersections around the school, as shown in Figure 4.A 15-mph school speed zone was posted in 2009 on Tracy Avenue as a result of the School Speed Zone Study. The segment of Tracy Avenue from Vernon Avenue to Benton Avenue was reconstructed in 2012 to include a two-lane roadway section and on-street bicycle lanes and sidewalk on the east side of the roadway. The posted speed limit was also reduced from 30 mph to 25 mph as part of the project. In addition to the school speed zone and school crossing on Tracy Avenue near Benton Avenue, there are also signed pedestrian crossings of Tracy Avenue at Grove Street, Warden Avenue, Hawkes Drive, and Hawkes Place and a dynamic driver feedback (YOUR SPEED) sign. Tracy Avenue and Benton Avenue east of Tracy Avenue are identified as primary bicycle routes in the Edina Comprehensive Bicycle Transportation Plan. Bicycle racks at Countryside are located on the southeast corner of the school and near the front entrance. Both locations are placed on concrete pads adjacent to sidewalk and were specifically situated to eliminate potential conflicts with vehicles entering the site. However, both racks are older styles that require the bicycle wheel to be locked to the rack, rather than the bicycle frame, which can result in a higher likelihood of vandalism or damage to the bicycle. Reconstructed Tracy Avenue with bicycle lanes and high visibility crosswalks 15 Pedestrian and bicycle crashes were reviewed for a 10-year period (2003-2012) within 0.7 miles of the school to identify any potential safety issues within the walk radius. A total of four bicycle crashes and zero pedestrian crashes were reported, with one involving a bicyclist between 15 and 18 years old and one crash involving an 11 year old bicyclist (i.e., elementary school age). All of the crashes occurred at intersections along or near Vernon Avenue. During observations in April and May 2013, approximately 50 students were observed walking and 10 students were observed bicycling to and from school, representing about 10 percent of the student population. The primary routes are to the east and west on Benton Avenue, and north and south on Tracy Avenue. All pedestrians and bicyclists traveling on Tracy Avenue or east on Benton Avenue must cross at the Tracy Avenue/Benton Avenue intersection, which has significant traffic volumes, so there is an adult crossing guard with a stop paddle at the intersection to assist with the crossings before and after school. Buses load and unload in the main parking lot on the north side of the school. Family vehicles occupy the parking lot on the east side of the school and the west side of Tracy Avenue. Much of the vehicle traffic to and from the school site also travels through the Tracy Avenue/Benton Avenue intersection. Countryside has participated in past National Walk to School Day events, which was promoted through the school newsletter and in classrooms. Input from school staff indicated that the school’s Site Council and Kids Council are active and open to supporting or promoting future walking or biking events. There may also be opportunities to incorporate walking and biking activities or education into the Kids Club before/after school care. Of the six elementary schools in Edina, Countryside was observed to have the one of the strongest cultures and support structure for walking and biking to school. Creek Valley Elementary School Creek Valley Elementary School has approximately 610 students in kindergarten through 5th grades. The school day runs from 9:20 am to 3:50 pm. The walking and biking infrastructure around the school includes sidewalk along the east side of Gleason Road and north side of Creek Valley Road. School crossing signing and high visibility crosswalk markings are installed at the Gleason Road/Creek Valley Road intersection, as shown in Figure 5.A 20-mph school speed zone is posted on Gleason Road and a 15- mph school speed zone is posted on Creek Valley Road as a result of the School Speed Zone Study. Gleason Road is also identified as a primary bicycle route in the Edina Comprehensive Bicycle Transportation Plan. The segment of Creek Valley Road east of Gleason Road was reconstructed in 2012, and sidewalk was added on the north side New sidewalk and enhanced crosswalks on Creek Valley Road 16 of the roadway. A segment of sidewalk was also recently added on the school site, on the south side of the family pick-up drive, to eliminate conflicts between pick-up/drop-off traffic and pedestrians walking from Gleason Road to the school building. This sidewalk segment was funded by the school’s Parent Teacher Association. Bicycle racks at Creek Valley are located on the south side of the school near the playground. The racks are appropriately placed on concrete pads near the back entrance to the school, and are a newer style that allow for locking the bicycle frame rather than the wheel. However, there are not any bicycle racks located near the front entrance of the school. Pedestrian and bicycle crashes were reviewed for a 10-year period (2003-2012) within 0.7 miles of the school to identify any potential safety issues within the walk radius. A total of one bicycle crash and three pedestrian crashes were reported, with two involving pedestrians between 15 and 18 years old. This is likely due to the proximity of Creek Valley to Edina High School. During observations in November 2012 and May 2013, approximately 30 students were observed walking and five students were observed bicycling to and from school, representing about six percent of the student population compared with the 10 percent that live within the walk zone. The primary walking and bicycling routes are to the south on Gleason Road and to the east and west on Creek Valley Road. No students were observed traveling to the north on Gleason Road. Student school patrols were stationed at the Gleason Road/Creek Valley Road intersection. A number of conflicts were observed at the intersection between pedestrians and the pick-up/drop-off queue that extends out of the school site and south on Gleason Road through the intersection. Vehicles also queue on Creek Valley Road east and west of the intersection after school. Buses load and unload in the main driveway on the west side of the school. Family vehicles occupy the circular driveway on the southeast side of the school, but frequently spill onto the adjacent roadways during the school dismissal period. Creek Valley has had the most active walking/biking program of any of the schools in the district. The school’s Wellness Committee started and continues to support weekly “Walking Wednesdays” during good weather months and holds an annual fun walk/run event before school in May. The school also has participated in National Walk to School Day. Input from school staff indicated that the high school traffic and the lack of connection to students living in the neighborhoods near Tracy Avenue makes walking and biking less favorable to students. Highlands Elementary School Highlands Elementary School has approximately 560 students in kindergarten through 5th grades. The school day runs from 9:20 am to 3:50 pm. The walking and biking infrastructure around the school includes sidewalk along one side of Doncaster Way and a trail on the south side of Vernon Avenue. Most of the streets near the school do not have sidewalk and the lack of connectivity of the roadway network create barriers to finding safe and relatively direct routes from the neighborhoods to the school building. School crossing signing and high visibility crosswalk markings are installed on Doncaster Way at 17 the crossing from the school site to the sidewalk on the west side of the roadway, as shown in Figure 7. A 15-mph school speed zone was posted in 2009 on Doncaster Way as a result of the School Speed Zone Study. Bicycle racks at Highlands are located in the south corner of the school’s parking lot. This is an undesirable location based on the distance and visibility from the building. In addition, the racks are older styles that require the bicycle wheel to be locked to the rack, rather than the bicycle frame, which can result in a higher likelihood of vandalism or damage to the bicycle. Pedestrian and bicycle crashes were reviewed for a 10-year period (2003-2012) within 0.7 miles of the school to identify any potential safety issues within the walk radius. A total of five bicycle crashes and one pedestrian crash was reported, with one involving a bicyclist between 15 and 18 years old. During observations in November 2012 and April 2013, approximately 10 students were observed walking and no students were observed bicycling to and from school, representing only two percent of the student population. The primary routes are to the north and south on Doncaster Way. All of the pedestrians and bicyclists must cross the queue of family vehicles to reach the sidewalk and many also cross the vehicle queue again at Doncaster Way. A student school patrol, with an adult supervisor, operates at the Doncaster Way crossing. However, an adult crossing guard is also needed at the crossing of the parking lot/playground entrance where pick-up/drop-off occurs. Some students also walk through the school site to the east, where there is no walkway, path, or public right-of-way, to reach the neighborhoods north of Ayrshire Boulevard. Buses load and unload in the main parking lot on the west side of the school. Family During dismissal vehicles queue over pedestrian crossing Bicycle racks are located in the corner of the parking lot and are in poor condition 18 vehicles occupy the playground/parking lot on the south side of the school, which extends back to Doncaster Way. There is staff supervision with school patrol flags at the pick-up/drop-off area. In the past, Highlands had a parent group that met for two years and worked to hold walking and biking activities. However, due to the very small population of students within the walk zone and number of infrastructure barriers, the group disbanded. The school does participate annually in National Walk to School Day. Input from school staff identified the need for a dedicated sidewalk or path on Interlachen Boulevard. A trail was previously proposed as part of an improvement project in 2006, but was not approved. Traffic speeds on Ayrshire Boulevard are also frequently expressed as a safety concern, compounded with the lack of designated pedestrian crossing of Ayrshire Boulevard. Valley View Middle and Edina High Schools Valley View Middle School and Edina High School share a site located along Valley View Road. Valley View Middle School has approximately 1,360 students in grades 6 through 9, and Edina High School has approximately 1,920 students in grades 10 through 12, resulting in more than 3,000 students on the site. Due to the topography and wetlands surrounding the site, the only site accesses are from Valley View Road. Valley View’s hours are 7:45 AM to 2:30 PM and the high school’s hours are 8:30 AM to 3:10 PM. Although each school operates independently within the district, they share much of the same infrastructure and therefore have some of the same challenges. Therefore, the site evaluations, observations, and recommendations were conducted and considered as a whole. In terms of sidewalk infrastructure, Valley View Road, and Gleason Road north of Valley View Road all have existing sidewalks. However, there is a notable sidewalk gap on Valley View Road west of Gleason Road. This sidewalk segment is identified in the City’s comprehensive plan as a future project, but has not yet been programmed for construction. School crossing signing and high visibility crosswalk markings are installed at several key intersections around the school sites, as shown in Figure 8. The crosswalk parallel to Valley View Road across the schools’ eastern driveway is very faded and in need of repainting. There are no marked crosswalks where the sidewalk crosses the other two school driveways. School speeds zones that lower the posted speed limit from to 20 mph are posted on Valley View Road and a short portion of Antrim Road. These zones were installed in 2009 following a study of all the school sites in Edina. The posted zones are in effect when children are present. In terms of bicycle infrastructure, Gleason Road, Valley View Road, and Tracy Avenue are all identified in the city’s Comprehensive Bicycle Plan as primary bicycle routes. Antrim Road and Valley View Road/Tracy Avenue south of TH 62 have on-street bicycle lanes. In addition, the Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail is proposed to be constructed through the area north of the schools and cross TH 62. 19 Bicycle parking is generally inadequate considering there are over 3,000 students at the site. Two bicycle racks are located at the southeast corner of the middle school, one bicycle rack is located near door 12 on the east side of the middle school, one bicycle rack is located near the entrance to the Performing Arts Center, and one rack is located near the main entrance of the high school. Most of the racks are in unpaved areas, are not easily visible from the school office or classrooms, and several of the racks do not allow for the bicycle frame to be locked. In addition to the infrastructure, pedestrian and bicycle crashes were reviewed for a 10-year period (2003-2012) within 1.0 mile of the school site to identify any potential safety issues within the walk radius, but away from the main school campus. A total of five bicycle crashes and two pedestrian crashes were reported, with two involving a pedestrian under 18 years old. One crash occurred at the Valley View Road/Chapel Lane intersection at school dismissal and involved a high school aged driver and pedestrian. This location has a number of pedestrian/vehicle conflicts during school dismissal and is an area of safety concern identified by the school, students, parents and residents in the neighborhood. Observations were conducted at the site in April-May 2013 during the arrival and dismissal periods to evaluate the safety and operations for pedestrians and bicyclist at each school, which are summarized in the following sections. Valley View Middle School The primary walking and biking routes to and from school were observed to be to and from the east and west along Valley View Road, with the greatest number of students traveling to and from the east. A few also walked to the north, across the fields, towards Creek Valley Elementary School. Students who walked to the west were observed walking from the school building diagonally across the parking lot towards Valley View Road. This is the most direct walking route, but results in pedestrian/vehicle conflicts and safety concerns in the parking lot and at the parking lot exit onto Valley View Road. A trained traffic monitor (school staff) typically directs traffic and assists with pedestrian and bicycle crossings at the Valley View Road/Antrim Road intersection before and after school. Approximately 120 Bicycle parking conditions at Valley View Middle School and Edina High School 20 students were observed walking, but less than 10 students were observed bicycling to school. While this is a large number of pedestrians, this represents slightly less than 10 percent of the student population. The school’s east parking lot is used for bus loading and unloading, and the southwest parking lot (near the high school) is designated for family vehicles. Many parents also use the parking lane on the north side of Valley View Road. The queue of vehicles waiting to pick-up students in the parking lot after school often spills out of the parking lot and onto Valley View Road, even when there are parking spaces available in the lot. The large number of school buses exiting the parking lot after school, combined with large volumes of vehicle and pedestrian traffic on Valley View Road result in conflicts, congestion, and the perception of unsafe conditions. There have also been past concerns expressed by parents and students regarding vehicles and buses not stopping at the sidewalk as they exit onto Valley View Road. Edina High School The primary walking and biking routes to and from school were observed to be to and from the east and west along Valley View Road, similar to Valley View Middle School. The largest number of students traveled to and from the east. A few also walked to the north, across the fields, towards Creek Valley Elementary School. Approximately 100 to 110 students were observed walking, but less than 10 students were observed bicycling to school. This is a smaller number of pedestrians/bicyclists than the middle school, even though the high school has over 40 percent more students, which is most likely due to the large number of students who drive to school. Students who walked to the west were observed walking from the school building diagonally across the parking lot towards Valley View Road, crossing through the double queue of vehicles waiting to exit the parking lot onto Valley View Road. There were many pedestrian/vehicle and vehicle/vehicle conflicts observed at the high school exit and at the Chapel Lane intersection. Trained traffic monitors (school staff) typically direct traffic and assist with pedestrian and bicycle crossings at the Valley View Road/Tracy Avenue intersection and at the high school driveway exit onto Valley View Road before and after school. During dismissal, the traffic monitors at the driveway exit stop traffic on Valley View Road to allow vehicles in the parking lot to exit. This causes vehicles to queue in both directions on Valley View and results in pedestrians crossing Valley View Road at Chapel Lane to cross between the queue of westbound vehicles that are queued through the intersection as well as attempting to see a gap in eastbound traffic when those drivers may not be able to see the Vehicles queue over the school crossing, causing pedestrian conflicts and limited sight lines 21 pedestrian. In addition, there is right-of-way confusion between pedestrians approaching the driveway on the sidewalk and the line of vehicles exiting the parking lot (i.e., pedestrians do not know if the vehicles are going to stop behind the sidewalk). After school, the queue of vehicles waiting to exit the site extended to the north parking lot and took approximately 15 minutes to clear. The school’s east parking lot is used for bus loading and unloading, and the southwest parking lot (near the high school) is designated for family vehicles. Student parking is in the north parking lot and school administration reported that approximately 400 to 440 student parking permits are issued by the high school, representing more than 20 percent of the student population. The primary safety concerns and issues expressed by school staff were related to the dual lane traffic exiting the parking lot onto Valley View Road and also the conflicts between the driveway traffic and the pedestrian crossing of Valley View Road. Policy and Programming City of Edina As part of the development of this plan, a Safe Routes Working Group was established that includes City of Edina Engineering staff, Edina Transportation Commission (ETC) representatives, Edina School District staff, Bloomington Public Health staff, and an Edina school principal representative. The role of this group is to share information, identify and discuss challenges and opportunities to walking and biking to schools in Edina, and discuss the implementation and prioritization of measures to increase walking and biking to school. The Bike Edina Task Force and the Edina Transportation Commission will continue to play key roles in providing input to the City Council on walking and biking related issues. The City of Edina has a number of plans and polices in place with specific goals to improve walking and biking in the city. The 2008 City of Edina Comprehensive Plan4 contains 10 transportation goals that lay out the vision and objectives for transportation in the community, several of which can directly or indirectly be tied to the goals of Active Routes to School: Goal 1. Maintain and enhance mobility for residents and businesses through creation and maintenance of a balanced system of transportation alternatives. Goal 3. Minimize the impacts of the transportation system on Edina’s environment and neighborhood quality of life. Goal 7. Provide multiple travel options for transit users, pedestrians, bicyclists, and rideshare users, as well as for drivers of private automobiles. The Comprehensive Plan also contains policies relevant to the construction of new roadways: Pedestrian Facilities Financing of proposed sidewalks are separated into four categories: 22 1.State Aid. Costs cover any proposed sidewalk located adjacent to a State-Aid designated roadway and are paid 100 percent by State-Aid funds. 2.Public School Zone. Costs will be split using 25 percent City funds, 25 percent School funds, and 50 percent Special Property Assessments. 3.Destination Zone. Costs will be split between 25 percent City funds and 75 percent Special Property Assessments. 4.Local / Low Volume Street Zone. Costs will be finances 100 percent through Special Property Assessments. Roadway Design Policy 4. Design/enhance residential street systems to discourage through traffic and to be compatible with lower speed bicycling and walking. This includes consideration of traffic calming measures on local streets and, in some cases, collector streets. Policy 5. Design/enhance collector and arterial roadways to minimize through traffic on local streets in the functional classification system, and to be compatible with other transportation modes including transit, bicycle, and pedestrian. Roadway Maintenance and Operation Policy 8. Complete speed zone studies and establish speed zones for Safe Routes to School. However, the funding of sidewalk and bicycle facilities in Edina has changed since the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan. The PACS fund was approved by the Edina City Council in December 2012 to provide dedicated funding to make the community more walkable and bikeable. Revenue for the PACS is generated by a franchise fee ordinance and will be used exclusively for improvements to the City’s non- motorized transportation network, including sidewalks, trails, and other bicycle infrastructure. The PACS fund may also be used to maintain existing sidewalks, signing, pavement markings, lighting, and pedestrian crossing signals. The Comprehensive Bicycle Transportation Plan also contains a number of recommendations that support and complement the Active Routes to School program such as creating a bicycle coordinator position within the city, adopting a Complete Streets policy for street design, improving bicycle parking facilities at Edina public schools, and providing recurring bicycle safety training, education, and encouragement programs in Edina schools. The City of Edina has made progress on these recommendations in the creation of a Transportation Planner position to focus on bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and adopting a Living Streets policy. The Comprehensive Plan identifies future sidewalk and bicycle facilities for improvements, which are summarized in Figure 8.However, one of the challenges to implementation of these policies and projects is public opposition. On several past projects in the city, construction of new sidewalks was opposed by residents and was ultimately removed from the proposed projects. In a 2013 survey5, a 23 majority of residents indicated there are “about the right amount” of sidewalks (58 percent of respondents) and trails/bikeways (83 percent of respondents). Yet the most common issue and concern expressed by school administration and parents is the lack of sidewalk infrastructure to schools. This conflict in public perception is an issue that will continue to be a challenge to implementation of new infrastructure to support walking and biking in Edina. Edina Public Schools The Edina School District established a Wellness Policy in 2008 that addresses nutrition guidelines, nutrition education, physical activity, and parent education. Although it does not specifically address walking or biking to school, several of the policy statements align well with the goals of the ARTS program: II. General Statements of Policy A.The school board recognizes that nutrition education and physical education are essential components of the educational process and that good health fosters student attendance and education. B.The school environment should promote and protect students’ health, wellbeing, and ability to learn by encouraging healthy eating and physical activity. D. Children need access to healthy foods and opportunities to be physically active in order to grow, learn, and thrive. E. All students will have opportunities, support, and encouragement to be physically active on a regular basis. In addition, the Guidelines within the Wellness Policy provide support for physical activity outside of the school day: III. Guidelines E. Communication with Parents 2. The school district will support parents’ efforts to provide a healthy diet and daily physical activity for their children. 4. The school district will provide information about physical education and other school-based physical activity opportunities and will support parents’ efforts to provide their children with opportunities to be physically active outside of school. The School District also has a Wellness Committee that includes the director of business services, the manager of food services, the director of teaching and learning, the coordinator of health services, and at least three parent representatives. However, there is not a representative of the Transportation Services Department included on the committee. 24 A number of localized ARTS activities have also been occurring at the individual school sites, such as participation in International Walk to School Day in the fall and National Bike to School Day in the spring, and hosting of a bike rodeo. Most of the schools have bicycle parking available and the elementary schools operate a school patrol to provide for safe crossings immediately next to the school but the school patrol consists of students which is not a best practice. However, there are not currently district- wide ARTS activities or walking/biking curriculum, and there are varying degrees of infrastructure, support, and encouragement for walking and biking among the various school sites within the district. Recommendations The following sections and Figures 9-14 present recommendations to increase walking and biking to schools in Edina. The implementation timeline for each recommendation has been identified (short- term, mid-term, long-term, or on-going) as well as identifying the agencies or organizations that would most appropriately take the lead in implementation. The recommendations identified as short-term are generally actions that could be implemented in the next two years, mid-term improvements are generally considered to require two to four years to implement, and long-term recommendations are expected to require more than four years. Recommendations considered to be long-term may also trigger other processes such as policy changes or identification of significant funding sources. In some cases, the recommendations in this plan support or reiterate projects or recommendations already contained within the Comprehensive Transportation Plan. Funding of the recommendations is discussed further in the Funding and Implementation section of this report. Short-Term Improvements §Improve bicycle parking at Edina High School/Valley View Middle School and Highlands Elementary School.These two school sites were identified as having the most immediate needs for improvements in bicycle parking. The school sites currently have bicycle racks that are in poor condition and not well-located for convenience and security. Racks should be installed in paved areas that are visible and proximate to the main entrances of the schools. A fenced and monitored bicycle corral could also be considered at the same time for the high school and middle school, or this could be implemented as a later phase. Implementation lead: Edina Public Schools. Example of a bicycle corral at Richfield Middle School 25 §Address safety and traffic issues on Valley View Road at Edina High School/ Valley View Middle School.Site observations and stakeholder input identified this area as one of the most significant safety concerns in the city. There are multiple conflicting priorities at both sites including bus traffic, parent vehicle queuing, student vehicle parking and traffic, pedestrians, and bicyclists. These issues are complex and although there have been past efforts to improve the conditions, they have not resolved the safety concerns. The City and School District should convene a group of stakeholders to discuss and attempt to find solutions to improve safety for all users of the site.Implementation lead: City of Edina and Edina School District. §Provide enforcement in school zones.Zones establishing lower speed limits around schools were installed in 2009 following a comprehensive study of the school sites in Edina. Some of these locations continue to have driver behavior issues such as failure to yield to pedestrians and speed violations. Regular enforcement and issuing of warnings or citations to drivers that exhibit unsafe behavior or travel even a few miles per hour above the posted school speed limit is one way to improve driver behavior and educate drivers. The city could also consider enacting an ordinance banning use of cell phones (talking or texting) within school zones. Other states and cities that have implemented this type of statute or ordinance include Texas, Arkansas, Illinois, and Kenosha, Wisconsin. Additional research would need to be done to determine whether such an ordinance is allowable under current Minnesota state law. Implementation lead: City of Edina. §Create a pedestrian and bicycle safety public education campaign. Many drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists do not know or need to be reminded of basic safety rules and practices.Implementation lead: City of Edina and Bloomington Public Health. §Continue student travel tallies on at least a yearly basis to track changes in walking and biking to school. The travel tallies provide an easy way to measure the progress of the SRTS activities. In addition, having current data will support funding applications.Implementation lead: Edina Public Schools and Bloomington Public Health. §Establish a permanent Edina Active Routes to School Working Group.The purpose of the Active Routes committee would be to provide on-going support and organization for walking and biking activities, as well as maintain communication and coordination among each of the agencies that have a role in walking and biking to school (City, School District, Public Travel Tally form created by the National Center for Safe Routes to School 26 Example of walking/biking section of Minneapolis Public Schools website Health, etc.). Some potential activities that the working group may want to consider are planning of a Walk/Bike to School Day, organizing a family walking/biking even outside the school day, and preparation of funding applications.Implementation lead: City of Edina and Edina Public Schools. §Continue or initiate site-level walking and biking activities.The most successful Active Routes programs have site-level champions and leaders that engage teachers, parents, and students in walking and biking activities on an on-going basis. The champion could be a principal, teacher, or parent and consideration should be given to involving these leaders in the Edina Active Routes to School Working Group. Site-level programs and activities could include holding designated weekly or monthly walk/bike to school days, training and scheduling of adult crossing guards, initiation of walking school buses or bicycle trains, organization of classroom competitions for number of miles walked/biked, or similar ideas to encourage increased walking and biking. Additional ideas and resources are available from the National Center for Safe Routes to School, which is included in the Resources section of this plan.Implementation lead: City of Edina. §Develop a walking and biking section of the school district website. Walking and biking should be treated as equal transportation alternatives to riding the school bus. The webpage should list pedestrian and bicycle safety rules and tips and could also contain the school walk/bike maps. The school district’s page should also be coordinated and linked to the city’s webpage listing walking and bicycling resources. Implementation lead: Edina Public Schools, with support from Bloomington Public Health Department. §Establish a citywide policy for crosswalk markings.Minnesota state statute 169.21 states that drivers must stop for pedestrians in a marked or unmarked crosswalk. There are many unmarked crosswalks in Edina, as well as crosswalks marked in one of several styles, including parallel lines (also referred to as transverse markings), zebra (also known as continental markings), and patterned. The zebra crosswalks are considered to be high visibility markings, and have been shown in studies to be detected by drivers further in advance of parallel markings6 and may improve pedestrian safety at intersections7. However, the high visibility markings are also more costly to install and maintain. A policy establishing criteria for installation of marked crosswalks and for high visibility markings in the city should be created, with locations such as mid- block crossings and school patrolled crossings identified as prioritized locations for high visibility markings. Per the standards in the Minnesota Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MN MUTCD) and guidance from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), patterned pavements or 27 markings must have two white parallel lines to be considered a marked crosswalk.Implementation lead: City of Edina. §Incorporate specific language regarding walking and biking to school into the school district wellness policy. The language of the current policy could be strengthened to encourage walking and biking to school as having health benefits, as well as environmental benefits around the school. Having this type of policy can also mitigate potential liability concerns. Several example policies are provided below. The Minnesota Public Health Law Center also has resources and training available to help address this issue, including a summary of liability for schools. This document has been included in the Resources section of the Appendix.Implementation lead: Edina Public Schools. o National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity:The school district will assess and, if necessary and to the extent possible, make needed improvements to make it safer and easier for students to walk and bike to school. When appropriate, the district will work together with local public works, public safety, and/or police departments in those efforts. The school district will explore the availability of federal "safe routes to school" funds, administered by the state department of transportation, to finance such improvements. o Clinton Central School District, New York:Clinton Central School District will work with school board members, parents, and local public works and police personnel to implement a “SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL” program in support of walking/biking to school. o Marin County Office of Education, California:While Marin County has a number of transportation concerns, there has been increasing funding in the County to improve routes for safe walking and biking. Districts should encourage parents and students to walk and bike to school where safe routes are available and assist parents in organizing adult supervised groups. Parent and student groups may also consider assessing walking and biking access to their school and apply for funding to improve this access §Modify city ordinance language to allow bicycling on sidewalks. Current city ordinance prohibits bicycle riding on sidewalks anywhere in the city. However, guidance by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) suggests that children aged 10 and under do not have the judgment and skills to ride on the roadway. Even many high school aged and adult bicyclists do not feel Examples of marked crosswalk types 28 comfortable riding in an on-street facility, particularly on higher volume roadways or where there is not a dedicated bicycle facility. Most municipalities in Minnesota and nationwide do not prohibit riding bicycles on sidewalks, except in specific areas with high pedestrian volumes such as central business districts. To improve the ability for bicyclists of all abilities to comfortably travel through the city, the existing ordinance should be modified to allow for bicycling on sidewalks subject to several conditions, including yielding to pedestrians, riding at lower speeds, and not riding on sidewalks where posted.Implementation lead: City of Edina. §Incorporate walking and bicycling safety education into the physical education curriculum. Walking and bicycling safely are life-long skills for a healthy lifestyle. Students should receive education and training about how to safely walk and bicycle to school, with or without sidewalks, as well as how to safely cross at intersections. Examples of physical education curricula are found in the Resources section of this plan.Implementation lead: Edina Public Schools. Mid-Term Improvements §Create a program to improve bicycle parking at all schools.Many of the existing bicycle racks on the school sites are poorly located and are older style racks that provide less secure parking. These should be systematically replaced over the next five years. Bicycle corrals should be considered for the middle school and high school sites, which have the greatest potential for high bicycle mode share. In addition, bicycle parking capacity should be increased to meet the criteria of one bicycle parking space per 10 students.Implementation lead: Edina Public Schools. §Designate a district ARTS coordinator. Individual school sites need support to plan and implement walking and biking education and activities. Coordination of resources and events across the district will maximize the effectiveness of these efforts, as well as providing a single point of contact for school administration and other agencies such as the City of Edina and Bloomington Public Health. The ARTS coordinator would be able to assist schools in implementing encouragement activities such as walking school buses, remote pick-up/drop-off, and walking/biking events.Implementation lead: Edina Public Schools. New bicycle parking at Creek Valley Elementary 29 §Construct pedestrian ramps at the school crossing at W 72nd Street/Oaklawn Avenue.The intersection lacks pedestrian ramps, which are needed for accessibility for all pedestrians.Implementation lead: City of Edina. §Evaluate effectiveness of school speed zone signing and establish city policy for use of school speed zones.The currently posted school speed zones are all signed to be in effect “When Children Are Present”. Past studies have drawn differing conclusions on the driver response to this type of static signing, static signing stating the times the speed zone was in effect, and/or the inclusion of flashers. However, many of the other studies were conducted on high speed (greater than 45 mph) roadways. Evaluating the speed zone compliance and effect of signing and flashers within Edina should be used to determine the appropriate city-wide standard for existing and any new school speed zones. Implementation lead: Edina Public Schools. Long-Term Improvements §Reconstruct and narrow the driveways at Cornelia Elementary. The existing driveways onto Cornelia Drive are both very wide and results in a vehicle/pedestrian conflicts and right-of- way confusion. The driveways should be reconstructed to shorten the crossing distances for pedestrians.Implementation lead: Edina Public Schools. §Construct sidewalk connection from Oaklawn Avenue to Parklawn Avenue near Cornelia Elementary School.Cornelia Elementary students that live in the multi- family housing along Parklawn Avenue are The school crossing on W 72nd Street near Cornelia Elementary lacks pedestrian ramps Potential sidewalk connection from Parklawn Avenue to Oaklawn Avenue 30 within ½ mile of the school, but due to the lack of direct roadway or sidewalk route, must walk approximately one mile to school with part of the route along the heavily traveled France Avenue. An easement should be pursued in order to build a direct and more comfortable sidewalk connection from Parklawn Avenue to Oaklawn Avenue, which would benefit not only Cornelia Elementary students but also members of the community that use Cornelia School Park. Implementation lead: City of Edina. §Construct sidewalk on W 58th Street east of Wooddale Avenue.The city’s Comprehensive Plan identified sidewalk to be constructed on W 58th Street all the way to France Avenue. W 58th Street is already a primary route for South View Middle School students, and extending the existing sidewalk east of Wooddale Avenue will continue to improve connectivity and routes to the school. Implementation lead: City of Edina. §Construct sidewalk connection from Ayrshire Boulevard to Highlands Elementary School. Highlands Elementary students that live in the neighborhood east and north of the school along Ayrshire Boulevard within ¼ mile of the school, but due to the lack of direct roadway or sidewalk route, either walk between residential homes and through the wooded area next to the school, or walk more than ½ mile to school with part of the route along the heavily traveled Vernon Avenue. An easement should be pursued in order to build a direct and more comfortable sidewalk connection from Highlands Elementary to the neighborhoods surrounding the school. Implementation lead: Edina Public Schools and City of Edina. §Construct sidewalk on Valley View Road, Tracy Avenue, and Gleason Road.These roadways are planned for repaving in the city’s capital improvement program and are also identified for future sidewalk in the Comprehensive Plan. The sidewalk should be implemented along with the roadway projects, improving the connectivity between the school and the neighborhoods south and west of the school.Implementation lead: City of Edina. §Construct sidewalk on Sun Road, Arbour Avenue, and Olinger Boulevard near Countryside Elementary School.These roadways are planned for repaving in the city’s capital improvement program and are also identified for future sidewalk in the Comprehensive Plan. The sidewalk should be implemented along with the roadway projects, improving the connectivity between the school and the neighborhoods south and west of the school.Implementation lead: City of Edina. §Construct sidewalk on Benton Avenue adjacent to Countryside Elementary School.There is currently no sidewalk along Benton Avenue in front of the school, although it is shown in the city’s Comprehensive Plan as future sidewalk. The existing walking/bicycling route to the east the school includes a set of stairs to reach Tracy Avenue, which is a challenge for bicyclists or mobility-impaired pedestrians. The sidewalk on Benton Avenue in front of the school would provide an alternate route for these users.Implementation lead: City of Edina. §Construct sidewalk on Claremore Drive, Kellogg Avenue, and Wooddale Avenue near Cornelia Elementary. These sidewalk segments are identified in the city’s Comprehensive Plan and would improve accessibility and connectivity to the neighborhoods west of Cornelia Elementary. Implementation lead: City of Edina. §Construct sidewalk on Cornelia Drive from W 70th Street to W 66th Street.Sidewalk on Cornelia Drive currently ends just north of W 70th Street, and does not connect to Lake Cornelia Park or the 31 existing sidewalk on W 66th Street. This segment of sidewalk was previously removed from the sidewalk plan in the city’s Comprehensive Plan, but is an important north-south sidewalk link between France Avenue and TH 100.Implementation lead: City of Edina. §Construct sidewalk or trail on Interlachen Boulevard.A trail was previously proposed along Interlachen Boulevard in 2006, but was not approved, and this sidewalk segment was removed from the city’s Comprehensive plan. Interlachen Boulevard, although not serving as a direct route to a school site, is one of the few opportunities for a direct east-west route in the northern part of the city. This sidewalk or trail segment could also then be connected to Highland Elementary School via Mirror Lakes Drive and Highlands Park.Implementation lead: City of Edina. Funding and Implementation Funding for the various recommended projects may come from a variety of sources depending on the type of project and who is implementing it. Some potential funding opportunities that currently exist and may be used to fund these recommendations include, but are not limited to: §Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota §Mini-grants through the National Center for Safe Routes to School §Federal Transportation Enhancement (TE) funds administered through the Metropolitan Council §Safe Routes to School funds administered through the Minnesota Department of Transportation §Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety Fund Over the past four years, Minnesota Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) funds have been administered by the Minnesota Department of Health through cities and counties around the state in the form of Safe Routes to School grants, Active Living grants, and assistance with preparing grant applications for other programs. These funds may be available in some form in the future, and continued communications between school districts, cities, and counties will help identify opportunities and needs for funding in the future. No one of the E’s of Safe Routes to School will by itself increase walking and biking, which emphasizes the need for cooperation among school, city, county and other agencies in the implementation of the recommendations identified in this plan. The process used to develop this plan is only the start of on- going efforts that will be needed to result in cultural changes and significant increases in walking and biking. 169 169 IndianheadLake ArrowheadLake MirrorLake HawkesLake High landsLake Melo dyLake LakeHarvey LakeHarriet LakeCornelia LakePamela LakeEdina Centennial Lake WilliamWardwellLewis Park NormandaleParkHeightsPark LakeLocklear McGuirePark LakeEdinaPark AdamsHill Pa rk DonaldsonPark MonroeField Fairwoo dParkJeffersonPark FremontPark Sherid anPark MadisonPark KennyPark YorkPark PamelaPark ArdenPark GardenPark BirchcrestPark CountrysidePark Bredese nPark WalnutRidgePark Van valken burgPark ToddPark PershingPark UtleyPark 50th St 50th St France Ave Penn Ave 70th St 58th St V e r n o n A v e Gleason Rd 52nd St 66th St Shore Dr McCauley Trl Tracy Ave 54th St Wa s hi n gt o n Av e Schaefer Rd 67th St 64th St Valley View Rd Blake Rd 77th St 53rd St York Ave Cahill Rd 57th St Interlachen Blvd Belmore Ln Cornelia Dr Newton 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Rd Hankerson Ave Lois Ln Cumberland Rd Adams Ave Lochloy Dr H y d e P a r k D r Arcadia Ave Porter Ln Susan Ave Wycliff e R d K e l s e y Te r Lee Valley Rd Grimes Ave Monroe Ave Aspasia Ln Ar ct i c Wa y Ashc roft Ln L a g u n a D r Colonial Way C r e e k D r Pine Grove Rd T i m b e r R d g S c o t i a D r Sedu m Ln Samuel Rd Dunham Dr Deville Dr York Ter F l y in g C l o u d D r Madison Ave C r e e k V a ll e y R d Dupont Ave Harrison Ave Fox Meadow Ln Forslin Dr Brookside Ter Oak Gln Glouchester Dr Irving Ave Oaklawn Ave Claremore Dr Juanita Ave R o l l i n g G r e e n P k w y S h a d y O a k R d Jefferson Ave Cooper Ave M c I n t y r e P t Richmond Curv Navaho Trl Lynmar Ln Oxford Ave Timber Trl Naomi Dr Dawson Ln Tamarac Ave Tyler Ave Whiting Ave Rabun Dr W y m a n Av e E d e n P r airie R d Balde r L n R i d g e P l Park Valley Dr Newport Dr 49 1/2 St Ridgeway Rd Bristol Blvd Virginia Ln Sh an n on Dr Hunter St Parkside Ln P o s t L n Cherokee Trl Van Buren Ave Hillside Ct N o r d ic C ir D u bl i n R d Forestdale Rd Tralee Dr Shane Dr W a s h b u r n C i r Vernon Hills Rd W o o d hill W a y E a s t v i e w D r Lake Harriet Blvd Stauder Cir B e l l o D r Glenroy Rd 48th St Belvidere Ln Marth Ct Scriver Rd Westbrook Ln Dalrymple Rd Roycar Rd Ring Rd Waterman Ave Jeffrey Ln Plaza Dr Heatherton Trl Sa i nt Pa t r ick s L n Londonderry Dr C r o m w e l l D r Melody Ln N o b H ill D r L e sl e e L n Antrim Ct Disc D r Glouchester Ave Lakevie w Ave Concord Ter 59th S t Lakeview Dr Wa r wi c k P l A rb o ur L n Gorgas Ave Amundson Ave Roberts Pl Hidden Ln Ri c hw oo d D r Monardo Ln Mackey Ave Grandview Ln Clover Rdg Abbott Pl Ikola Way Sherwood Rd Camelback Dr Cahill Ln G la s g o w D r John St Grace Ter Hamilton Rd Aspasia Cir I n d i a n H ill s P a s s Rosemary Ln Lexington Ave P oppy Ln 7th St C e c i l i a C i r Clare d on Dr Stuart Ave Data Park C o v e n t r y P l John Harris Dr Braeburn Cir P a d d o c k R d Doron Ln 5th St Village Dr Edinbrook Ln Saint Andrews Ave Evanswood Ln G le n b r a e C ir Mendelssohn Ln D u n c a n L n Coventry Way Sp ur Rd Sherman Cir Goya Ln Bruce Pl Lo ch m e r e Ter Olinger Cir Heather Ln Tara Rd Tyler Ct Telemark Trl G a t e P a r k R d Summit Ave Brookwood Ter Tamarac Ln Bridge Ln G la cie r P l Iroquois Cir Polar Cir H arv e y L n M eridia n Xin g Inner Colony Way Woodview Ct M a v e l l e D r Weston Cir Brookside Ct S c h a e f e r C i r Westwood Ct G r i m e s L n G l e a s o n C i r Sc an d ia Rd Creek View Ln Woodland Cir Dever Dr Blake Ridge Rd Cr oy d e n L n Humboldt Cir Tanglewood Ct Kellogg Pl Iv y W a y W o o d d a l e L n 65 1/2 St S h a w n e e C ir Kenney Pl Millers Ln Wood End Dr Link Rd R o s e C t T u cker L n Oriole Ln Lewis Ridge Pkwy Lyle Cir W e l l e s l y P l Thomas Cir Townes Cir P h l o x Ln Sandpiper Ct Woodland Ln Shaughnessy Rd Kresse Cir P arkla w n Ct N o r m a n d a l e C t Oak Ln Bristol Cir Claremore Ct Margarets Ln Interlachen Cir Interlach e n B lf H o l b o r n A v e Prescott Cir Ga rd e n Av e Russ e ll C t C o m a n c h e C t Saint Albans Cir Chalice C t Doron Dr Nancy Ln D a r c y L n Re d Cedar Ln E w i n g C i r R ic h m o n d L n Hill A Way Ct B e r n e C i r B r e n d a n C t G i r a r d C t Blossom Ct Edina Ct Beard Ct Be nton Ave 64th St 64th St Morgan Ave Sheridan Ave 62nd St 59th St Oaklawn Ave 52nd St Drew Ave Heatherton Trl K e l s e y T e r 75th St 65th St Emerson Ave Lynmar Ln 55th St Code Ave Ryan Ave Thomas Ave Washburn Ave Brookview Ave York Ave Blake Rd Morgan Ave Sheridan Ave Wilryan Ave Knox Ave Zenith Ave Warden A ve 49th St Thomas Ave 62nd St James Ave Logan Ave Girard Ave 6 1 s t S t Thomas Ave 49th St Russell Ave James Ave Oliver Ave 64th St 68th St Queen Ave 72nd St 64th St Xerxes Ave Parnell Ave 58th St N o r m a n d a l e R d 77th St Newton Ave 62nd St 76 t h S t 52 n d S t Valley View Rd Tracy Ave 57th St 64th St 61st St 74th St Girard A ve 58th St 69th St 73rd St V a ll e y V i e w R d Grove St R a m p Normandale Blvd 64th St Arthur St 61st St Emerson Ave Fremont Ave 48th St Newton Ave Juanita Av e Queen Ave 78th St P a r k w o o d R d 59th St 52nd St Zenith Ave Humboldt Ave Newton Ave Girard Ave Humboldt Ave Vincent Ave 48th St Sh an n o n D r S t a u d e r C i r 58th St Upton Ave York Ave Waterman Ave 62nd St62nd St Abbott Ave Xerxes Ave Beard Ave 71st St 69 th S t Girard Ave Hansen Rd 63rd St 47th St Newton Ave Upton Ave Oaklawn Ave 74th St 55th St 76th St Lincoln Dr Bristol Blvd Oaklawn Ave Upton Ave 73rd St Washburn Ave Normandale Rd Sheridan Ave 69th St Queen Ave Upton Ave Emerson Ave 48th St Windsor Ave Londonderry Rd 51st St Parnell Ave Wooddale Ave 62nd St Viking Dr 63rd St 72nd St Emerson Ave O l i v e r A v e Abbott Ave 65th St Oliver Ave Humboldt Ave 59th St 63rd St Irving Ave Sheridan Ave 57th St Washburn Ave Knox Ave Dewey Hill Rd Girard Ave Logan AveCreek Valley Rd Lo gan Ave 54th St Washburn Ave Morgan Ave 59th StTingdale Ave Oliver Ave 74th St Queen Ave Dunham Dr Morgan Ave Vincent Ave Southtown Dr Grove St Xerxes Ave Normandale Blvd Drew Ave Oxford Ave 53rd St 51st St Russell Ave 56th St Beard AveDrew AveEwing Ave 62nd St Sherwood Ave 47th St Newton Ave 49th St 64th St Chowen Ave Knox Av e Russell Ave Halifax AveValley V ie w R d James Ave Humboldt Ave Cahill Rd Logan Ave 56th St Zenith Ave Kellogg Ave Knox Ave Vincent Ave Interlach e n Blvd Vincent Ave Fremont Ave Chowen Ave 55th St Fremont Ave 62nd St Circle Dr Kellogg Ave Vincent Ave 59th St 59th St Irving Ave 74th St Park Pl Queen Ave James Ave View Ln Thomas Ave Limerick Ln Washburn Ave 60th St Russell Ave Hali f a x A ve Stat e Hw y 100 Josephine Ave 64th St Morgan Ave 61st St Knox Ave 60th St 78th St Washburn Ave Loga n Ave Oliver Ave Ryan Ave York Ave Saint Johns Ave York Ave Humboldt Ave 60th St 48th St E m e r s on A v e Washington Ave 59th St Biscayne Blvd 76th St Queen Ave Ewing Ave Wooddale Ave 65th St Russell Ave 53rd St 62nd St 66th St 61st St 67th St 77th St 47th St Girard Ave Kellogg Ave 62nd St 75th St Thomas Ave 55th St C h u r c h P l C h o w e n C u r v Cheyenne Cir C h a p e l L n C a s c a d e L n Brookview Ave Brook Ave B r i d g e L n Bren Rd Bonnie Brae Dr B l a c k f o o t P a s s Beard Ave Arrowhead Pass Apple Ln Akers Ln 9 M i l e C v 68th St 65th St 65th St 64th St 60th St 57th St 53rd St 51st St 51st St51st S t 49th St 48th St 46th St46th St Queen Ave P o n d w o o d D r Pheasant Ct Payton Ct Pawnee Rd P a i u t e P a s s Orchard Ln Oakland Ter O a k B e n d L n N o r t h f i e l d A v e North Ave N or m a n d ale R d N o r m a n d a l e B l v d Morgan Ct M o c c a s i n V a ll e y R d Minn e ha h a Blvd Millpond Pl Mildred Dr M i l dr e d Av e M e l o d y L a k e D r M c C a ule y T er M c C a ule y C ir M a i t L n Lynwood Blvd Lin c oln Cir Le xi n g ton A ve Lee Valley Cir La nt a na L n L a n g f o r d C t Lake Shore Dr Lake Ridge Rd Lafayette K i n g s b e rr y D r K els e y C t Judson Ln John St James Ave Jackson Ave Interlachen Ct In d ia n Wa y I n d i a n H i l l s C i r Hollywood Rd H i l l s i d e C i r Heatherton Cir H a w k e s D r H a ro l d W o o d s Ln Hansen Rd Gus Young Ln Grove Pl Grove Cir Grimes Ave G r e e n F a rm s C t G r e e n F a r m s C i r G r a n d v i e w S q Go rg a s Ave Glen Pl Gleason Ter E m e r s o n L n Edgebrook Pl Edenmoor St Duggan Plz Dearborn Ct C r o s s t o w n C ir Cromwell Ct C r e s c e n t T e r Crescent Dr Crescent Dr Creekridge Cir Coventry Ct Co un try Clu b R d C o rn e l ia C i r Coolidge Ave Continental Dr Wooddale Ave Wooddale Gln Wooddale Ave White Oaks Rd Wexford Rd Washburn Ave Vernon Ln V e r n o n C t Vernon Ave Valley View Rd Stonewood Ct Southdale Cir South Dr Shan n on Cir Sandell Ave Saint Johns Ave Ridgeview Cir Ri dg e R d Ridge Park Rd R ic h m o n d C ir Red Fox Ln Edina High School Concord Elementary Highlands Elementa ry Country side Elementary Creek Valley Elementary Valley View Middle School Corn elia Elemen tary Normandale Elementary South View Middle S choo l 0 0.5 10.25 Miles Figure 1. Edina City-WideExisting B icycle and Pedestrian Co nditions Legend Edina Schools Off Street Trail Sidewalks On Street Bicycle Facility 0.7 Mile Walk Rad iu s 1 Mile Wa lk Radius Municipal Boundaries Melody Lake Lake Harvey Melody Lake Park 100 Pedestrian bridge Pedestrian bridge 64th St 56th St Tower St Grove St Woodland Rd Philbrook Ln Virginia Ln 59th St 62 Concord Elementary Normandale Elementary South View Middle School 0 450 900225 Feet Figure 2. Concord & Normandale Elementary and South View Middle School Existing Conditions Map Legend Traffic Signal All-Way Stop Signed Pedestrian Crossing Marked School Crossing School Patrolled Intersection Sidewalks On Street Bicycle Facility Off Street Trail Bike Racks Speed Zone Half Mile Radius Southview Middle School Enrollment: 1,294 students Number in walk zone: 250 students Normandale Elementary School Enrollment: 639 students Number in walk zone: 58 students Concord Elementary Enrollment: 730 students Number in walk zone: 158 students Lake Cornelia Centennial Lake Lake Edina Park Lake Edina Lake Cornelia Park Arneson Acres Park School route gap High traffic volumes and speeding concerns Pedestrian/vehicle conflicts at driveways Enhanced crosswalks Cornelia Elementary Gilford Dr Mavelle Dr 0 620 1,240310 Feet Figure 3. Cornelia Elementary Existing Conditions Map Legend Signal All-Way Stop Signed Pedestrian Crossing Marked School Crossing School Patrolled Intersection Sidewalks On Street Bicycle Facility Off Street Trail Bike Racks Speed Zone Half Mile Radius Enrollment: 551 students Number in walk zone: 165 students Hawkes Lake Garden Park Birchcrest Park Countryside Park Bredesen Park 62 Enhanced crosswalks Ayrshire Blvd 60th St Countryside Rd Olinger Cir Highlands Elementary Countryside Elementary 0 625 1,250312.5 Feet Figure 4. Countryside Elementary Existing Conditions Map Legend Signal All-Way Stop Signed Pedestrian Crossing Marked School Crossing School Patrolled Intersection Sidewalks On Street Bicycle Facility Off Street Trail Bike Racks Speed Zone Half Mile Radius Enrollment: 584 students Number in walk zone: 137 students Indianhead Lake d Bredesen Park 62 Heights Park Creek Valley School Park Krahl Hill High traffic volumes Enhanced crosswalks Vehicles queue onto Gleason Rd during pick-up Valley View Rd Olinger Cir Edina High School Creek Valley Elementary Valley View Middle Scho o l 0 625 1,250312.5 Feet Figure 5. Creek Valley Elementary Existing Conditions Map Legend Traffic Signal All-Way Stop Signed Pedestrian Crossing Marked School Crossing School Patrolled Intersection Sidewalks On Street Bicycle Facility Off Street Trail Bicycle Racks Speed Zone Half Mile Radius Enrollment: 607 students Number in walk zone: 62 students Hawkes Lake Highlands Lake Melody LakeGarden Park 60th St Ayrshire Blvd Countryside Rd 59th St South Dr Grove St Highlands Elementary Countryside Elementary 0 625 1,250312.5 Feet Figure 6. Highlands Elementary Existing Conditions Map Legend Traffic Signal All-Way Stop Signed Pedestrian Crossing Marked School Crossing School Patrolled Intersection Sidewalks On Street Bicycle Facility Off Street Trail Bike Racks Speed Zone Half Mile Radius Enrollment: 555 students Number in walk zone: 67 students Lack of direct walking routes Lack of direct walking routes High traffic volumes and speeding concerns Bike racks in poor condition Indianhead Lake Lake Locklear McGuire Park Countryside Park 62 Heights Park Creek Valley School Park High traffic volumes and congestion before and after school Pedestrian/vehicle conflicts Staff directs traffic at dismissal Sidewalk gap Valley View Rd Edina High School Creek Valley Elementary Valley View Middle School 0 460 920230 Feet Figure 7. Valley View Middle and Edina High School Existing Conditions Map Legend Traffic Signal All-Way Stop Signed Pedestrian Crossing Marked School Crossing School Patrolled Intersection Sidewalks On Street Bicycle Facility Off Street Trail Bicycle Racks Speed Zone Half Mile Radius Edina High School Enrollment: 1,951 students Number in walk zone: 190 students Valley View Middle School Enrollment: 1,362 students Number in walk zone: 236 students 169 169 IndianheadLake ArrowheadLake MirrorLake HawkesLake High landsLake Melo dyLake LakeHarvey LakeHarriet LakeCornelia LakePamela LakeEdina Centennial Lake WilliamWardwellLewis Park NormandaleParkHeightsPark LakeLocklear McGuirePark LakeEdinaPark AdamsHill Pa rk DonaldsonPark MonroeField Fairwoo dParkJeffersonPark FremontPark Sherid anPark MadisonPark KennyPark YorkPark PamelaPark ArdenPark GardenPark BirchcrestPark CountrysidePark Bredese nPark WalnutRidgePark Van valken burgPark ToddPark PershingPark UtleyPark 50th St 50th St France Ave Penn Ave 70th St 58th St V e r n o n A v e Gleason Rd 52nd St 66th St Shore Dr McCauley Trl Tracy Ave 54th St Wa s hi n gt o n Av e Schaefer Rd 67th St 64th St Valley View Rd Blake Rd 77th St 53rd St York Ave Cahill Rd 57th St Interlachen Blvd Belmore Ln Cornelia Dr Newton Ave Vincent Ave 44th St 75th St 49th St Concord Ave 2nd Ave 63rd St Ewing Ave Zenith Ave Beard AveBenton Ave Lincoln Dr Chowen Ave View Ln Maloney Ave 56th St Metro BlvdSally Ln 68th St 65th St Abbott Ave60th St Arden Ave Olinger Blvd Golf Ter E d e n A v e Brook Dr Malibu Dr 47th St Bruce Ave Ridgeview Dr Sunnyside Rd Dunberry Ln Hansen Rd 70 1/2 St Dewey Hill Rd 72 nd St Parklawn Ave Mirror Lakes Dr Braemar Blvd Halifax Ave I n d i a n H i l l s R d Xerxes Ave Drew Ave B r i d g e S t Bernard Pl Dundee Rd Oliver Ave D a k o t a T r l Grove St Fairfax Ave H i l l s i d e L n Ayrshire Blvd Oh ms Ln Kellogg Ave Willson Rd Danens Dr Hibiscus Ave Olinger Rd Code Ave Warren Ave Morgan Ave Dale Ave 74th St 76th St Barrie Rd Ashcroft Ave Fremont Ave Hazelton Rd Limerick Ln V alle y L n Lanham Ln Park w ood R d Brow n d a l e A v e Minnesota Dr Virginia Ave Div ision St Chantrey Rd Antrim Rd Russell Ave Humboldt Ave Merilane Ave Emerson Ave Tifton Dr Drexel Ave Casco Ave Upton Ave Arbour Ave Dovre Dr Li m e ric k D r Londonderry Rd Ridge Rd Wilryan Ave Townes R d Galleria Walnut Dr Normandale Rd Brookside Ave Southdale Rd Delaney Blvd Brittany Rd Gilford Dr Glengarry Pkwy Sunrise Dr West Trl Rolf Ave Norm andale Blvd Larada Ln 51st St Tingdale Ave Johnson Dr Edina Blvd 62nd St Jeff Pl Oak Dr Villa L n C r es c en t Dr Fuller St D o n c a s t e r W a y Point Dr Galw a y D r Birchcrest Dr Tower St Edinborough Way Gallagher Dr 71 1/2 S t 69th St Villa Way Meadow Rdg Thomas Ave Green Farms Rd 71st St Windsor Ave By w ood St Gir ard Ave Westridge Blvd Maple Rd C h ey e n n e Trl Parkwood Ln Brookview Ave Kn ox Ave Moorland A v e Edina Industrial Blvd Abercrombie Dr Beard Pl L o n g Bra k e Trl Creston Rd Washburn Ave Fondell Dr C l o v e r D r Rutledge Ave Erin Ter Upper Ter 61st St S k y l i n e D r Trillium Ln Grass Lake Ter Sunnyslope Rd Amy Dr Sun Rd Mark Terrace Dr Logan Ave P ark T er Hillsid e R d H a li f a x L n Heritage Dr Arthur St Fleetwood Dr Griffit St S o u t h c r e st D r Everett Pl Parnell Ave Kent Ave Van d er vork Ave Queen Ave School R d Saint Johns Ave Josephine Ave Wooddale Ave McGuire Rd Computer Ave William Ave S c h e y D r Knoll Dr Woodcrest Dr I d y l w o o d L n Killarney Ln Lake Harriet Pkwy Warden Ave Nordic Dr Robbins St Dale Dr Meadow Rd H i gh w oo d D r Bedford Ave Smetana Dr Annaway Dr Larkspur Ln Chapel D r Garrison Ln Saxony Rd Iroquois Trl Gl e a s on Ct Philbrook Ln Mildred Ave Paiute Dr Kemrich Dr Richmond Dr Tu p a D r Mohawk Trl Biscayne Blvd Duggan Plz Loch Moor Dr Colony Way Wilford Way Ja mes Ave Picture Dr Indianola Ave Ellsworth Dr Highland Rd Ba l fa n z R d Woodland Rd Field Way Willow Wo o d R d Northwood Dr Ka ym ar Dr Idylwood Dr Hillcrest Ln Sheridan Ave Opportunity Ct Lake Shore Dr Countryside Rd Sherwood Ave P a r k D r Ryan Ave Aspen Rd Minnehaha Pkw y Merritt C ir Merold Dr 55th St Maddox Ln Peacedale Ave An do v er Rd Forest Dr Langford Dr Yvonne Ter P a r k P l Sioux Trl 73rd St Johnson Ave Duncraig Rd Hankerson Ave Lois Ln Cumberland Rd Adams Ave Lochloy Dr H y d e P a r k D r Arcadia Ave Porter Ln Susan Ave Wycliff e R d K e l s e y Te r Lee Valley Rd Grimes Ave Monroe Ave Aspasia Ln Ar ct i c Wa y Ashc roft Ln L a g u n a D r Colonial Way C r e e k D r Pine Grove Rd T i m b e r R d g S c o t i a D r Sedu m Ln Samuel Rd Dunham Dr Deville Dr York Ter F l y in g C l o u d D r Madison Ave C r e e k V a ll e y R d Dupont Ave Harrison Ave Fox Meadow Ln Forslin Dr Brookside Ter Oak Gln Glouchester Dr Irving Ave Oaklawn Ave Claremore Dr Juanita Ave R o l l i n g G r e e n P k w y S h a d y O a k R d Jefferson Ave Cooper Ave M c I n t y r e P t Richmond Curv Navaho Trl Lynmar Ln Oxford Ave Timber Trl Naomi Dr Dawson Ln Tamarac Ave Tyler Ave Whiting Ave Rabun Dr W y m a n Av e E d e n P r airie R d Balde r L n R i d g e P l Park Valley Dr Newport Dr 49 1/2 St Ridgeway Rd Bristol Blvd Virginia Ln Sh an n on Dr Hunter St Parkside Ln P o s t L n Cherokee Trl Van Buren Ave Hillside Ct N o r d ic C ir D u bl i n R d Forestdale Rd Tralee Dr Shane Dr W a s h b u r n C i r Vernon Hills Rd W o o d hill W a y E a s t v i e w D r Lake Harriet Blvd Stauder Cir B e l l o D r Glenroy Rd 48th St Belvidere Ln Marth Ct Scriver Rd Westbrook Ln Dalrymple Rd Roycar Rd Ring Rd Waterman Ave Jeffrey Ln Plaza Dr Heatherton Trl Sa i nt Pa t r ick s L n Londonderry Dr C r o m w e l l D r Melody Ln N o b H ill D r L e sl e e L n Antrim Ct Disc D r Glouchester Ave Lakevie w Ave Concord Ter 59th S t Lakeview Dr Wa r wi c k P l A rb o ur L n Gorgas Ave Amundson Ave Roberts Pl Hidden Ln Ri c hw oo d D r Monardo Ln Mackey Ave Grandview Ln Clover Rdg Abbott Pl Ikola Way Sherwood Rd Camelback Dr Cahill Ln G la s g o w D r John St Grace Ter Hamilton Rd Aspasia Cir I n d i a n H ill s P a s s Rosemary Ln Lexington Ave P oppy Ln 7th St C e c i l i a C i r Clare d on Dr 7 8 1 /2 S t Stuart Ave Data Park C o v e n t r y P l John Harris Dr Braeburn Cir P a d d o c k R d Doron Ln 5th St Village Dr Edinbrook Ln Saint Andrews Ave Evanswood Ln G le n b r a e C ir Mendelssohn Ln D u n c a n L n Coventry Way Sp ur Rd Sherman Cir Goya Ln Bruce Pl Lo ch m e r e Ter Olinger Cir Heather Ln Tara Rd Tyler Ct Telemark Trl G a t e P a r k R d Summit Ave Brookwood Ter Tamarac Ln Bridge Ln G la cie r P l Iroquois Cir Polar Cir H arv e y L n M eridia n Xin g Inner Colony Way Woodview Ct M a v e l l e D r Weston Cir Brookside Ct S c h a e f e r C i r Westwood Ct G r i m e s L n G l e a s o n C i r Sc an d ia Rd Creek View Ln Woodland Cir Dever Dr Blake Ridge Rd Cr oy d e n L n Humboldt Cir Tanglewood Ct Kellogg Pl Iv y W a y W o o d d a l e L n 65 1/2 St S h a w n e e C ir Kenney Pl Millers Ln Wood End Dr Link Rd R o s e C t T u cker L n Oriole Ln Lewis Ridge Pkwy Lyle Cir W e l l e s l y P l Thomas Cir Townes Cir P h l o x Ln Sandpiper Ct Woodland Ln Shaughnessy Rd Kresse Cir P arkla w n Ct N o r m a n d a l e C t Oak Ln Bristol Cir Claremore Ct Margarets Ln Interlachen Cir Interlach e n B lf H o l b o r n A v e Prescott Cir Ga rd e n Av e Russ e ll C t C o m a n c h e C t Saint Albans Cir Chalice C t Doron Dr Nancy Ln D a r c y L n Re d Cedar Ln E w i n g C i r R ic h m o n d L n Hill A Way Ct B e r n e C i r B r e n d a n C t G i r a r d C t Blossom Ct Edina Ct Beard Ct Be nton Ave 64th St 64th St Morgan Ave Sheridan Ave 62nd St 59th St Oaklawn Ave 52nd St Drew Ave Heatherton Trl K e l s e y T e r 75th St 65th St Emerson Ave Lynmar Ln 55th St Code Ave Ryan Ave Thomas Ave Washburn Ave Brookview Ave York Ave Blake Rd Morgan Ave Sheridan Ave Wilryan Ave Knox Ave Zenith Ave Warden A ve 49th St Thomas Ave 62nd St James Ave Logan Ave Girard Ave 6 1 s t S t Thomas Ave 49th St Russell Ave James Ave Oliver Ave 64th St 68th St Queen Ave 72nd St 64th St Xerxes Ave Parnell Ave 58th St N o r m a n d a l e R d 77th St Newton Ave 62nd St 76 t h S t 52 n d S t Valley View Rd Tracy Ave 57th St 64th St 61st St 74th St Girard A ve 58th St 69th St 73rd St V a ll e y V i e w R d Grove St R a m p Normandale Blvd 64th St Arthur St 61st St Emerson Ave Fremont Ave 48th St Newton Ave Juanita Av e Queen Ave 78th St P a r k w o o d R d 59th St 52nd St Zenith Ave Humboldt Ave Newton Ave Girard Ave Humboldt Ave Vincent Ave 48th St Sh an n o n D r S t a u d e r C i r 58th St Upton Ave York Ave Waterman Ave 62nd St62nd St Abbott Ave Xerxes Ave Beard Ave 71st St 69 th S t Girard Ave Hansen Rd 63rd St 47th St Newton Ave Upton Ave Oaklawn Ave 74th St 55th St 76th St Lincoln Dr Bristol Blvd Oaklawn Ave Upton Ave 73rd St Washburn Ave Normandale Rd Sheridan Ave 69th St Queen Ave Upton Ave Emerson Ave 48th St Windsor Ave Londonderry Rd 51st St Parnell Ave Wooddale Ave 62nd St Viking Dr 63rd St 72nd St Emerson Ave O l i v e r A v e Abbott Ave 65th St Oliver Ave Humboldt Ave 59th St 63rd St Irving Ave Sheridan Ave 57th St Washburn Ave Knox Ave Dewey Hill Rd Girard Ave Logan AveCreek Valley Rd Lo gan Ave 54th St Washburn Ave Morgan Ave 59th StTingdale Ave Oliver Ave 74th St Queen Ave Dunham Dr Morgan Ave Vincent Ave Southtown Dr Grove St Xerxes Ave Normandale Blvd Drew Ave Oxford Ave 53rd St 51st St Russell Ave 56th St Beard AveDrew AveEwing Ave 62nd St Sherwood Ave 47th St Newton Ave 49th St 64th St Chowen Ave Knox Av e Russell Ave Halifax AveValley V ie w R d James Ave Humboldt Ave Cahill Rd Logan Ave 56th St Zenith Ave Kellogg Ave Knox Ave Vincent Ave Interlach e n Blvd Vincent Ave Fremont Ave Chowen Ave 55th St Fremont Ave 62nd St Circle Dr Kellogg Ave Vincent Ave 59th St 59th St Irving Ave 74th St Park Pl Queen Ave James Ave View Ln Thomas Ave Limerick Ln Washburn Ave 60th St Russell Ave Hali f a x A ve Stat e Hw y 100 Josephine Ave 64th St Morgan Ave 61st St Knox Ave 60th St 78th St Washburn Ave Loga n Ave Oliver Ave Ryan Ave York Ave Saint Johns Ave York Ave Humboldt Ave 60th St 48th St E m e r s on A v e Washington Ave 59th St Biscayne Blvd 76th St Queen Ave Ewing Ave Wooddale Ave 65th St Russell Ave 53rd St 62nd St 66th St 61st St 67th St 77th St 47th St Girard Ave Kellogg Ave 62nd St 75th St Thomas Ave 55th St C h u r c h P l C h o w e n C u r v Cheyenne Cir C h a p e l L n C a s c a d e L n Brookview Ave Brook Ave B r i d g e L n Bren Rd Bonnie Brae Dr B l a c k f o o t P a s s Beard Ave Arrowhead Pass Apple Ln Akers Ln 9 M i l e C v 68th St 65th St 65th St 64th St 60th St 57th St 53rd St 51st St 51st St51st S t 49th St 48th St 46th St46th St Queen Ave P o n d w o o d D r Pheasant Ct Payton Ct Pawnee Rd P a i u t e P a s s Orchard Ln Oakland Ter O a k B e n d L n N o r t h f i e l d A v e North Ave N or m a n d ale R d N o r m a n d a l e B l v d Morgan Ct M o c c a s i n V a ll e y R d Minn e ha h a Blvd Millpond Pl Mildred Dr M i l dr e d Av e M e l o d y L a k e D r M c C a ule y T er M c C a ule y C ir M a i t L n Lynwood Blvd Lin c oln Cir Le xi n g ton A ve Lee Valley Cir La nt a na L n L a n g f o r d C t Lake Shore Dr Lake Ridge Rd Lafayette K i n g s b e rr y D r K els e y C t Judson Ln John St James Ave Jackson Ave Interlachen Ct In d ia n Wa y I n d i a n H i l l s C i r Hollywood Rd H i l l s i d e C i r Heatherton Cir H a w k e s D r H a ro l d W o o d s Ln Hansen Rd Gus Young Ln Grove Pl Grove Cir Grimes Ave G r e e n F a rm s C t G r e e n F a r m s C i r G r a n d v i e w S q Go rg a s Ave Glen Pl Gleason Ter E m e r s o n L n Edgebrook Pl Edenmoor St Duggan Plz Dearborn Ct C r o s s t o w n C ir Cromwell Ct C r e s c e n t T e r Crescent Dr Crescent Dr Creekridge Cir Coventry Ct Co un try Clu b R d C o rn e l ia C i r Coolidge Ave Continental Dr Wooddale Ave Wooddale Gln Wooddale Ave White Oaks Rd Wexford Rd Washburn Ave Vernon Ln V e r n o n C t Vernon Ave Valley View Rd Stonewood Ct Southdale Cir South Dr Shan n on Cir Sandell Ave Saint Johns Ave Ridgeview Cir Ri dg e R d Ridge Park Rd R ic h m o n d C ir Red Fox Ln Edina High School Concord Elementary High lands Elemen tary Countryside Elementary Creek Valley Elementary Valley View Middle School Corn elia Elementary Normandale Elementary South View Mid dle School 0 0.5 10.25 Miles Figure 8. Edina City-WidePlanned Bicycle and Ped estrian Improvements Legend Edina Schools Sid ewa lks On Stre et Bicycle F acility Off Street Trail Pro posed Sid ewalks Pro posed Priority Regional Trail Pro posed Primary Bicycle Route Pro posed Secondary Bicycle Rou te 0.7 Mile Walk Radius 1 Mile Walk Radius Municip al B oundaries Melody Lake Lake Harvey Melody Lake Park 100 Implement planned sidewalk Improve bicycle parking 64th St 56th St Tower St Grove St Woodland Rd Philbrook Ln Virginia Ln 59th St 62 Concord Elementary Normandale Elementary South View Middle School 0 450 900225 Feet Figure 9. Concord & Normandale Elementary and South View Middle School Recommendations Map Legend Traffic Signal All-Way Stop Signed Pedestrian Crossing Marked School Crossing School Patrolled Intersection Sidewalks On Street Bicycle Facility Off Street Trail Proposed Sidewalks Proposed Priority Regional Trail Proposed Primary Bicycle Route Proposed Secondary Bicycle Route Bike Racks Speed Zone Half Mile Radius Southview Middle School Enrollment: 1,294 students Number in walk zone: 250 students Normandale Elementary School Enrollment: 639 students Number in walk zone: 58 students Concord Elementary Enrollment: 730 students Number in walk zone: 158 students Lake Cornelia Centennial Lake Lake Edina Park Lake Edina Lake Cornelia Park Arneson Acres Park Obtain easement and construct sidewalk connection Construct sidewalk to Lake Cornelia Reconfigure driveway exit to narrow pedestrian conflict area Construct sidewalk on west side of the school site Extend proposed sidewalk to 70th St Improve bicycle parking Construct pedestrian ramps Cornelia Elementary Gilford Dr Mavelle Dr 0 625 1,250312.5 Feet Figure 10. Cornelia Elementary Recommendations Map Legend Signal All-Way Stop Signed Pedestrian Crossing Marked School Crossing School Patrolled Intersection Proposed Sidewalks Proposed Priority Regional Trail Proposed Primary Bicycle Route Proposed Secondary Bicycle Route Sidewalks On Street Bicycle Facility Off Street Trail Bike Racks Speed Zone Half Mile Radius Enrollment: 551 students Number in walk zone: 165 students Hawkes Lake Garden Park Birchcrest Park Countryside Park Bredesen Park 62 Construct sidewalk as part of planned roadway project Ayrshire Blvd 60th St Countryside Rd Olinger Cir Highlands Elementary Countryside Elementary 0 625 1,250312.5 Feet Figure 11. Countryside Elementary Recommendations Map Legend Signal All-Way Stop Signed Pedestrian Crossing Marked School Crossing School Patrolled Intersection Sidewalks On Street Bicycle Facility Off Street Trail Proposed Sidewalks Proposed Priority Regional Trail Proposed Primary Bicycle Route Proposed Secondary Bicycle Route Bike Racks Speed Zone Half Mile Radius Enrollment: 584 students Number in walk zone: 137 students Construct sidewalk as part of planned roadway project Indianhead Lake d Bredesen Park 62 Heights Park Creek Valley School Park Krahl Hill Improve bicycle parking Valley View Rd Olinger Cir Edina High School Creek Valley Elementary Valley View Middle Scho o l 0 625 1,250312.5 Feet Figure 12. Creek Valley Elementary Recommendations Map Legend Traffic Signal All-Way Stop Signed Pedestrian Crossing Marked School Crossing School Patrolled Intersection Sidewalks On Street Bicycle Facility Off Street Trail Proposed Priority Regional Trail Proposed Sidewalks Proposed Primary Bicycle Route Proposed Secondary Bicycle Route Bicycle Racks Speed Zone Half Mile Radius Enrollment: 607 students Number in walk zone: 62 students Hawkes Lake Highlands Lake Melody LakeGarden Park Obtain easement and construct sidewalk or trail connection Construct sidewalk or trail 60th St Ayrshire Blvd Countryside Rd 59th St South Dr Grove St Highlands Elementary Countryside Elementary 0 625 1,250312.5 Feet Figure 13. Highlands Elementary Recommendations Map Legend Traffic Signal All-Way Stop Signed Pedestrian Crossing Marked School Crossing School Patrolled Intersection Sidewalks On Street Bicycle Facility Off Street Trail Proposed Sidewalks Proposed Priority Regional Trail Proposed Primary Bicycle Route Proposed Secondary Bicycle Route Bike Racks Speed Zone Half Mile Radius Enrollment: 555 students Number in walk zone: 67 students Replace bike racks Indianhead Lake Lake Locklear McGuire Park Countryside Park 62 Heights Park Creek Valley School Park Consolidate driveway access/pedestrian crossing Construct proposed sidewalk as part of planned roadway paving Install bike corral Improve bicycle parking Construct sidewalk Valley View Rd Edina High School Creek Valley Elementary Valley View Middle School 0 470 940235 Feet Figure 14. Valley View Middle and Edina High School Recommendations Map Legend Traffic Signal All-Way Stop Signed Pedestrian Crossing Marked School Crossing School Patrolled Intersection Sidewalks On Street Bicycle Facility Off Street Trail Proposed Sidewalks Proposed Priority Regional Trail Proposed Primary Bicycle Route Proposed Secondary Bicycle Route Bicycle Racks Speed Zone Half Mile Radius Edina High School Enrollment: 1,951 students Number in walk zone: 190 students Valley View Middle School Enrollment: 1,362 students Number in walk zone: 236 students A-1 Appendix A-2 Student Travel Tally Results School Modes To/From School (Fall 2012) Walk Bike School Bus Family Vehicle Carpool Other AM PM AM PM AM PM AM PM AM PM AM PM Concord Elementary 5%10%6%6%55%56%30%25%4%3%0%0% Cornelia Elementary 8%11%5%5%48%47%28%25%2%3%9%9% Countryside Elementary 10%11%2%2%46%49%41%35%1%3%0%0% Creek Valley Elementary 5%6%6%6%60%60%28%26%1%2%0%0% Highlands Elementary 3%5%0%0%59%63%35%27%3%4%0%1% Normandale Elementary 4%7%1%2%66%50%28%35%1%3%0%3% South View Middle School 6%12%1%0%57%57%32%28%2%0%2%3% Valley View Middle School 9%16%1%2%59%60%29%20%2%2%0%0% A-3 Parent Survey Results School Number of Survey Responses Concord Elementary 66 Cornelia Elementary 27 Countryside Elementary 38 Creek Valley Elementary 27 Highlands Elementary 22 Normandale Elementary 41 South View Middle School 48 Valley View Middle School 57 Edina High School 38 Total 364 Question 1. What is the grade of the child who brought home this survey? School PK K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Concord Elementary 0% 27%21%36%27%37%33%0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Cornelia Elementary 50% 4% 12%22%12%9% 6% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Countryside Elementary 33% 23%24%3% 20%24%3% 0% 0% 0% 6% 0% 0% 0% Creek Valley Elementary 0% 8% 6% 14%17%15%12%0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Highlands Elementary 17% 15%18%8% 10%2% 9% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Normandale Elementary 0% 23%18%17%12%13%30%0% 4% 0% 0% 0% 11%0% South View Middle School 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 0% 6% 45%50%30%50%0% 0% 0% Valley View Middle School 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 55%46%67%44%0% 0% 0% Edina High School 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 3% 0% 100%89%100% Total 6 26 33 36 41 46 33 31 28 30 16 13 9 16 A-4 Question 2. Is the child who brought home this survey male or female? School Male Female Concord Elementary 22%13% Cornelia Elementary 6%9% Countryside Elementary 8%13% Creek Valley Elementary 8%6% Highlands Elementary 7%5% Normandale Elementary 10%13% South View Middle School 13%13% Valley View Middle School 17%14% Edina High School 9%12% Total 193 171 Question 3. How many children do you have in Kindergarten through 8th grade? School 0 1 2 3 4 5+ Concord Elementary 0%14%20%37%33%0% Cornelia Elementary 4%10%9%2%0%0% Countryside Elementary 4%13%10%8%11%50% Creek Valley Elementary 0%3%11%12%11%0% Highlands Elementary 2%11%3%8%0%0% Normandale Elementary 0%11%14%10%22%0% South View Middle School 9%15%13%14%0%0% Valley View Middle School 9%18%18%6%22%0% Edina High School 64%5%1%0%0%50% Total 45 122 141 49 9 2 A-5 Question 6. On most days, how does your child arrive and leave for school? Arrive to School School Walk Bike School Bus Family Vehicle (only children in your family) Carpool (children from other families) Transit (city bus) Other (skateboard, scooter, inline skates, etc.) Concord Elementary 15%27%21%14%13%0%0% Cornelia Elementary 15%0%7%5%0%0%100% Countryside Elementary 26%9%7%13%0%0%0% Creek Valley Elementary 6%9%9%7%0%0%0% Highlands Elementary 0%0%8%7%0%0%0% Normandale Elementary 0%0%14%12%7%0%0% South View Middle School 9%36%13%14%0%0%0% Valley View Middle School 21%18%16%15%7%0%0% Edina High School 9%0%6%12%73%0%0% Total 34 11 209 91 15 0 1 A-6 Question 6 (continued). On most days, how does your child arrive and leave for school? Leave from School School Walk Bike School Bus Family Vehicle (only children in your family) Carpool (children from other families) Transit (city bus) Other (skateboard, scooter, inline skates, etc.) Concord Elementary 18%18%21%16%0%0%0% Cornelia Elementary 16%0%7%4%0%0%50% Countryside Elementary 22%0%8%15%0%0%0% Creek Valley Elementary 4%9%7%12%0%0%0% Highlands Elementary 0%0%8%8%0%0%0% Normandale Elementary 0%0%13%16%11%0%0% South View Middle School 13%36%16%7%0%0%0% Valley View Middle School 24%18%17%10%5%0%0% Edina High School 2%18%4%11%84%0%50% Total 45 11 211 73 19 0 2 A-7 Question 7. How long does it normally take your child to get to/from school? Travel Time to School School < 5 minutes 5-10 minutes 11-20 minutes More than 20 minutes Don't know Concord Elementary 25%21%16%0%0% Cornelia Elementary 14%5%5%0%20% Countryside Elementary 14%11%5%11%20% Creek Valley Elementary 9%9%7%4%0% Highlands Elementary 3%4%12%0%20% Normandale Elementary 10%6%8%54%0% South View Middle School 14%16%14%4%0% Valley View Middle School 10%16%19%14%40% Edina High School 3%12%14%14%0% Total 80 128 116 28 5 Travel Time From School School < 5 minutes 5-10 minutes 11-20 minutes More than 20 minutes Don't know Concord Elementary 28%21%15%8%0% Cornelia Elementary 10%5%6%8%25% Countryside Elementary 16%11%7%5%0% Creek Valley Elementary 10%6%7%8%0% Highlands Elementary 4%4%10%3%25% Normandale Elementary 12%7%7%39%0% South View Middle School 7%19%14%5%0% Valley View Middle School 6%16%22%11%50% Edina High School 4%11%12%13%0% Total 67 114 134 38 4 A-8 Question 8. Has your child asked you for permission to walk or bike to/from school in the last year? School Yes No Concord Elementary 24%10% Cornelia Elementary 7%7% Countryside Elementary 9%10% Creek Valley Elementary 9%5% Highlands Elementary 4%10% Normandale Elementary 7%18% South View Middle School 18%7% Valley View Middle School 15%17% Edina High School 7%16% Total 212 145 Question 9. At what grade would you allow your child to walk or bike to/from school without an adult? School PK K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9+ Concord Elementary 0% 14%20%0% 12%32%25%14%16%20% 5% Cornelia Elementary 0% 0% 0% 9% 15%6% 10%3% 6% 7% 7% Countryside Elementary 0% 57%40%9% 18%4% 10%8% 6% 7% 9% Creek Valley Elementary 0% 0% 20%27%15%10%7% 5% 3% 0% 5% Highlands Elementary 0% 0% 0% 0% 6% 4% 3% 5% 13%7% 16% Normandale Elementary 0% 0% 0% 18%9% 11%13%9% 13%0% 18% South View Middle School 0% 14%0% 9% 9% 11%14%15%26%40% 2% Valley View Middle School 0% 0% 20%9% 6% 18%11%27%3% 13% 25% Edina High School 100%14%0% 18%12%4% 7% 15%13%7% 14% Total 1 7 5 11 34 72 71 66 31 15 44 A-9 School Distance Convenience of Driving Time Before or after- school activities Speed of traffic along route Amount of traffic along route Adults to walk or bike with Sidewalks or pathways Safety of intersections and crossings Crossing guards Violence or crime Weather or climate Concord Elementary 15% 10% 10% 15% 23% 24% 32% 19% 18% 29% 17% 15% Cornelia Elementary 7% 10% 1% 4% 5% 5% 10% 6% 4% 6% 9% 5% Countryside Elementary 7% 5% 4% 6% 8% 10% 14% 11% 7% 10% 11% 8% Creek Valley Elementary 5% 5% 6% 8% 6% 5% 14% 8% 8% 13% 5% 9% Highlands Elementary 6% 0% 1% 4% 9% 9% 5% 8% 8% 3% 3% 3% Normandale Elementary 15% 14% 16% 11% 11% 10% 17% 12% 13% 13% 15% 11% South View Middle School 13% 24% 22% 17% 10% 13% 3% 12% 15% 0% 14% 18% Valley View Middle School 19% 10% 22% 22% 18% 16% 3% 17% 17% 10% 17% 18% Edina High School 15% 24% 17% 13% 9% 8% 2% 8% 9% 16% 11% 12% Total 136 21 69 72 184 210 59 180 212 31 66 117 Question 10. What of the following issues affected your decision to allow, or not allow, your child to walk or bike to/from school? A-10 School Distance Convenience of Driving Time Before or after- school activities Speed of traffic along route Amount of traffic along route Adults to walk or bike with Sidewalks or pathways Safety of intersections and crossings Crossing guards Violence or crime Weather or climate Concord Elementary 15% 10% 10% 15% 23% 24% 32% 19% 18% 29% 17% 15% Cornelia Elementary 7% 10% 1% 4% 5% 5% 10% 6% 4% 6% 9% 5% Countrysid e Elementary 7% 5% 4% 6% 8% 10% 14% 11% 7% 10% 11% 8% Creek Valley Elementary 5% 5% 6% 8% 6% 5% 14% 8% 8% 13% 5% 9% Highlands Elementary 6% 0% 1% 4% 9% 9% 5% 8% 8% 3% 3% 3% Normandale Elementary 15% 14% 16% 11% 11% 10% 17% 12% 13% 13% 15% 11% South View Middle School 13% 24% 22% 17% 10% 13% 3% 12% 15% 0% 14% 18% Valley View Middle School 19% 10% 22% 22% 18% 16% 3% 17% 17% 10% 17% 18% Edina High School 15% 24% 17% 13% 9% 8% 2% 8% 9% 16% 11% 12% Total 136 21 69 72 184 210 59 180 212 31 66 117 Question 11. Would you probably let your child walk or bike to/from school if this problem were changed or improved? A-11 Distance Convenie nce of Driving Time Before or after- school activities Speed of traf fic along route Amount of traffic along route School Yes No Maybe Yes No Maybe Yes No Maybe Yes No Maybe Yes No Maybe Yes No Maybe Con cord Elementary 11% 16% 19% 11% 17% 21% 12% 16% 19% 12% 21% 19% 22% 11% 20% 22% 14% 24% Cornelia Elementary 4% 5% 13% 6% 4% 7% 0% 5% 15% 0% 3% 12% 2% 4% 20% 3% 4% 14% Cou ntryside Elementary 8% 16% 6% 9% 11% 7% 8% 12% 7% 11% 12% 0% 10% 7% 4% 10% 7% 5% Creek Valley Elementary 9% 9% 10% 11% 6% 11% 9% 4% 15% 12% 3% 15% 7% 7% 12% 7% 4% 14% Highlands Elementary 10% 2% 6% 9% 7% 7% 6% 7% 7% 5% 5% 15% 8% 4% 4% 9% 7% 5% Normandale Elementary 18% 14% 16% 14% 14% 21% 12% 18% 15% 16% 14% 19% 14% 15% 12% 14% 14% 10% South View Middle Scho ol 14% 5% 6% 14% 11% 4% 23% 5% 7% 12% 10% 4% 11% 7% 4% 10% 11% 5% Valley View Middle Scho ol 13% 20% 13% 9% 17% 11% 14% 23% 4% 14% 21% 12% 17% 26% 4% 16% 18% 10% Edina High Scho ol 13% 14% 10% 17% 11% 11% 15% 11% 11% 18% 10% 4% 9% 19% 20% 8% 21% 14% Total 91 44 31 35 70 28 65 57 27 57 58 26 165 27 25 174 28 21 Question 11 (continued). Would you probably let your child walk or bike to/from school if this problem were changed or improved? A-12 Question 12. In your opinion, how much does your child's school encourage or discourage walking and biking to/from school? School Strongly Encourages Encourages Neither Discourages Strongly Discourages Concord Elementary 21%33%15%15%0% Cornelia Elementary 0%5%7%8%0% Countryside Elementary 11%7%9%0%17% Creek Valley Elementary 37%21%1%0%0% Highlands Elementary 21%5%6%0%0% Normandale Elementary 0%4%15%8%0% South View Middle School 11%20%12%8%33% Valley View Middle School 0%4%22%31%0% Edina High School 0%1%12%31%50% Total 19 76 216 13 6 Question 13. How much fun is walking or biking to/from school for your child? School Very Fun Fun Neutral Boring Very Boring Concord Elementary 33%19%13%20%9% Cornelia Elementary 8%6%3%0%0% Countryside Elementary 13%8%3%20%18% Creek Valley Elementary 14%10%6%0%0% Highlands Elementary 5%6%1%0%0% Normandale Elementary 12%9%4%0%18% South View Middle School 8%20%21%0%0% Valley View Middle School 5%16%30%40%27% Edina High School 1%6%18%20%27% Total 76 100 67 10 11 A-13 Question 14. How healthy is walking or biking to/from school for your child? School Very Healthy Healthy Neutral Unhealthy Very Unhealthy Concord Elementary 23%17%11%0%0% Cornelia Elementary 7%5%3%0%0% Countryside Elementary 10%5%8%0%0% Creek Valley Elementary 10%6%5%0%0% Highlands Elementary 7%6%3%0%50% Normandale Elementary 9%16%13%0%0% South View Middle School 13%18%5%0%50% Valley View Middle School 15%18%24%0%0% Edina High School 7%10%29%0%0% Total 184 101 38 0 2 A-14 Question 15. What is the highest grade or year of school you completed? School Grades 1 through 8 (Elementary) Grades 9 through 11 (Some High School) Grade 12 or GED (High school graduate) College 1 to 3 years (Some college or technical school) College 4 years or more (College graduate) Graduate School (Masters degree or doctorate Prefer not to answer Concord Elementary 0%0%100%22%18%21%17% Cornelia Elementary 0%0%0%11%9%4%0% Countryside Elementary 0%0%0%11%9%8%0% Creek Valley Elementary 20%0%0%0%11%5%0% Highlands Elementary 0%0%0%0%8%6%0% Normandale Elementary 0%0%0%0%12%12%0% South View Middle School 20%0%0%22%12%15%0% Valley View Middle School 40%0%0%33%14%16%50% Edina High School 20%0%0%0%8%13%33% Total 5 0 1 9 159 149 6 A-15 Resources 1.National Center for Safe Routes to School, Ongoing Activities guide.saferoutesinfo.org/encouragement/ongoing_activities.cfm 2.Two Day Travel Tally, National Center for Safe Routes to School www.saferoutesinfo.org/program-tools/evaluation-student-class-travel-tally 3.Parent Survey, National Center for Safe Routes to School www.saferoutesinfo.org/program-tools/evaluation-parent-survey 4.Minnesota Department of Transportation Safe Routes to School resources and funding opportunities www.dot.state.mn.us/saferoutes/ 5.Minnesota Public Health Law Center legal and liability resources http://publichealthlawcenter.org/topics/active-living/physical-activity-schools/resources 6.Examples of walking and biking curriculums for elementary and middle school students http://www.dot.state.mn.us/saferoutes/toolkit.html/elementary-srts-curriculum.pdf http://www.dot.state.mn.us/saferoutes/toolkit.html/middle-school-bicycle-education.pdf 7.Information and examples of pedestrian and bicycle safety campaigns http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/local_rural/pedcampaign/ http://www.bikesbelong.org/resources/stats-and-research/research/bicycle-safety-campaign- review/ Ы¾´·½ Ø»¿´¬¸ Ô¿© Ý»²¬»® èéë Í«³³·¬ ߪ»²«» ͬò п«´ô Ó·²²»­±¬¿ ëëïðë ©©©ò°«¾´·½¸»¿´¬¸´¿©½»²¬»®ò±®¹ êëïòîçðòéëðê Ô·¿¾·´·¬§ Û¨°±­«®» º±® ͽ¸±±´­ Û¿½¸ ­½¸±±´ ¼¿§ °®»­»²¬­ ²»© 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®»¼«½» ¬¸» ´·µ»´·¸±±¼ ±º ¾»·²¹ ­«»¼ò Ú±® ³±®» ·²º±®³¿ó ¬·±²ô °´»¿­» ®»º»® ¬± ¬¸» Ы¾´·½ Ø»¿´¬¸ Ô¿© Ý»²¬»® º¿½¬­¸»»¬ ±² É¿·ª»®­ ¿²¼ λ´»¿­»­ô ¿ª¿·´¿¾´» ¿¬ ¸¬¬°æññ©©©ò°«¾´·ó ½¸»¿´¬¸´¿©½»²¬»®ò±®¹ñ®»­±«®½»­ñ³·²²»­±¬¿ó®»½®»¿¬·±²¿´ó«­» A-20 References 1 Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department. SHAPE 2010 Adult Data Book, Survey of the Health of All the Population and the Environment, Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 2011. 2 Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department. SHAPE 2010 – Child Survey Data Book, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 2011. 3 Minnesota Crash Mapping Analysis Tool (MnCMAT), Minnesota Department of Transportation. 4 Edina Comprehensive Plan Update 2008.http://edinamn.gov/index.php?section=comprehensive_plan 5 Edina Residential Survey, Decision Resources Ltd., 2013. 6 Crosswalk Marking Field Visibility Study, FHWA, 2010. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/pedbike/10067/ 7 An Empirical Bayesian Evaluation of the Safety Effects of High-Visibility School (Yellow) Crosswalks in San Francisco, Fehr & Peers Transportation Consultants, 2009. www.westernite.org/annualmeetings/sanfran10/Papers/Session%207_Papers/ITE%20Paper_7C- Feldman_Manzi.pdf REPORT / RECOMMENDATION To: Edina Transportation Commission From: Mark K. Nolan, AICP, Transportation Planner Date: January 16, 2014 Subject: Edina Active Routes to School Presentation Action Requested: No action requested. Agenda Item #: VI. B. Action 111 Discussion Information Information / Background: Engineering staff along with ETC members Janovy and Bass have been working with Edina Public Schools, Bloomington Public Health and consultant Kimley Horn Associates on the Edina Active (Safe) Routes to School (ARTS) Plan. The final draft of the Plan is complete, with the goal to be considered for Council approval in February. Member Bass will give a presentation of the Plan. Attachments: Edina Active Routes to School Plan Executive Summary G:\ Engineering \ Infrastructure \Streets \Traffic \ TRANSP COMM\ Agendas & RR's \ 2014 R&R\ 20140116 \Item VI.B. Edina Active Routes to School Presentation.docx City of Edina 4801 W. 506 St. - Edina, MN 55424 11 iiipp, Statewide Health 1 Improvement Program HEALI -I REFORM Kimley-Horn 1 N and Associates, Inc. Executive Summary The purpose of an Active Routes to School Plan (ARTS) is to identify opportunities and priorities to increase walking and biking to schools, and develop an implementation plan for making improvements in these areas. A comprehensive process involving Edina School District, City of Edina, parents, and residents was begun in 2012 to develop a plan for the nine public schools in Edina. Through site visits, principal interviews, data gathering, and stakeholder input, a set of short-, mid-, and long-term improvements have been developed to address the needs of students walking and biking to school. These improvements involve actions by multiple stakeholders and include both infrastructure and policy changes. Introduction Walking and biking to school in the United States has decreased dramatically, from over 60 percent in the 1960s to an average of less than 10 percent today. This reduction in active transportation, and corresponding increase in vehicular transportation, negatively affects students' health, vehicle congestion, traffic safety, and environmental quality around schools. To reverse this decades-long trend of decreased walking and biking, the nationwide Safe Routes to School (SRTS) initiative was created to increase walking and biking to school through the implementation of each of the five "E's": • Education —Teaching children to walk and bike safely • Encouragement— Developing programs that get children excited about walking or biking to school • Enforcement— Having law enforcement support along the designated routes to school • Engineering — Identifying infrastructure barriers to walking and biking • Evaluation — Measuring the effectiveness of the various components of the SRTS project This Active Routes to School Plan plays an important function of connecting the roles of the school district and the city in jointly seeking to increase walking and biking to school. It is intended to complement and support the work and planning already completed, while also capturing all the factors that influence choices about transportation. The plan builds on the infrastructure improvements previously identified, but also addresses the other four areas of ARTS including policy and programming. Edina has already taken a number of significant steps to improve walking and bicycling in the community, including: • Established a bicycle task force. • Completed the Bicycle Transportation Plan (2007). Implementation of the plan is underway. • Created a sidewalk map as part of the City's Comprehensive Plan (2008). Implementation of the plan is underway. • Completed and implemented the Edina Schools Speed Zone Study (2009). • Created the Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety (PACS) Fund (2012) through franchise fees on gas and electricity. The fees are estimated to generate more than $1 million per year. • Hired a Transportation Planner whose primary role is to administer the PACS Fund (2013). • Adopted a Living Streets Policy and formed an on-going advisory committee to guide Living Streets Plan development (2013). Existing Conditions Assessment i, Data Gathering Site Visits Parent Surveys I ARTS Working Group Principal Interviews Stakeholder Input ARTS Comprehensive Plan 1 Pedestrian/Bicycle I 1 Needs/Opportunities Improvement Priorities Plan Recommendations 1 SHI HEALT H R E FORM MINIV11 Kimley-Horn 2 and Associates, Inc. 7414r,, Statewide Health ; Improvement Program --- Ediia ACI,.,kve Routes, to 0choOl Com reheiThive, Plan _ The benefits of a comprehensive ARTS plan are to provide an all-inclusive picture of the needs throughout a school district or city, allowing for programming and prioritization. In addition, it provides the opportunity to address district and city policies and programs related to walking and biking, and having a plan puts the agencies in a favorable position when applying for funding. At the school and neighborhood level, increased walking and biking to school has been shown to improve student health and academic performance, reduce traffic congestion around the school, and thereby also improve air quality and reduce traffic noise. Project Process This plan was developed with input from the key ARTS stakeholders in Edina, including school staff, parents, school district staff, city staff, and students. The initial phases included significant data collection and assembly, along with site observations at each school, discussions with stakeholders, and development of recommendations. Stakeholder input was gathered at several key points in the process, as highlighted by the blue boxes in the diagram below. Recommendations The following bullets present recommendations to increase walking and biking to schools in Edina. Some recommendations could be feasibly implemented in the next year, while others are longer term and may trigger other processes such as policy changes or identification of significant funding sources. Each measure has been classified according to the agency that would lead its implementation. City of Edina Improvements • Provide enforcement in school zones • Establish city policy for crosswalk markings • Modify ordinance language to allow bicycling on sidewalks • Evaluate effectiveness of school speed zone signing and establish city policy for use of school speed zones • Construct pedestrian ramps at W 72nd Street/ Oaklawn Avenue • Construct sidewalk on 58th Street east of Wooddale Avenue • Construct sidewalk or trail on Interlachen Boulevard • Obtain easement and construct sidewalk connection from Oaklawn Avenue to Parklawn Avenue • Construct sidewalk connection from Ayrshire Boulevard to Highlands Elementary • Construct sidewalk on Valley View Road, Tracy Avenue, and Gleason Road • Construct sidewalk on Sun Road, Arbour Avenue, and Olinger Boulevard • Construct sidewalk on Benton Avenue • Construct sidewalk on Claremore Drive, Kellogg Avenue, and Wooddale Avenue • Construct sidewalk on Cornelia Drive from 70th Street to 66th Street Edina Public Schools Improvements • Improve bicycle parking at Edina High School and Valley View Middle School • Improve bicycle parking at Highlands Elementary • Continue or initiate site-level walking and biking activities • Develop a walking and biking section of the school district website • Create a program to improve bicycle parking at all schools • Designate a district Active Routes to School coordinator • Incorporate language regarding walking and biking to school into the district wellness policy • Incorporate walking and biking safety education into the physical education curriculum • Reconstruct and narrow the driveways at Cornelia Elementary School Joint City-District Improvements • Establish a permanent Active Routes to School working group or task force • Create a pedestrian and bicycle safety public education campaign • Continue student travel tallies on at least a yearly basis • Address safety and traffic issues on Valley View Road at Edina High School/ Valley View Middle School Based on its past planning and active efforts to improve its bicycle and pedestrian facilities, Edina is well-positioned to implement infrastructure improvements and effect the cultural and policy changes necessary to see long-term shifts in travel behavior. rilpip Statewide Health c Improvement Program HEAI PP" IMINVIVN Kinnley-Horn 3 rk,- ow I and Associates, Inc. I 0 I; 1n4 To: Edina Transportation Commission From: Mark K. Nolan, AICP — Transportation Planner Date: January 16, 2014 Subject: Traffic Safety Committee Report of January 2, 2014 Agenda Item #: VI. C. Action Discussion DI Information 111 Action Requested: Review and recommend Traffic Safety Committee (TSC) Report of Thursday January 2, 2014, be forwarded to City Council for approval. Information / Background: It is not anticipated that residents will be in attendance at the meeting regarding any of the attached issues. An overview of the comments from the Edina Transportation Commission (ETC) will be included in the staff report provided to Council for their February 18, 2014, meeting. Attachments: Traffic Safety Committee Report for January 2, 2014. G:\ Engineering \ Infrastructure \ Streets \Traffic \ Traffic Safety Committee \ Staff Review Summaries \ 14 TSAC & Min \01-02-14 Cover.docx City of Edina 4801 W. 50th St. Edina, MN 55424 Picture: Rabun Dr. and 70th St. taken from Google maps TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMITTEE REPORT Thursday, January 2, 2014 The Traffic Safety Committee (TSC) review of traffic safety matters occurred on January 2. The Interim City Engineer, Public Works Director, Transportation Planner, Traffic Safety Coordinator, Sign Coordinator and the Assistant City Planner were in attendance for this meeting. From these reviews, the recommendations below are provided. On each of the items, persons involved have been contacted and staff recommendation has been discussed with them. They were informed that if they disagree with the recommendation or have additional facts to present, they can be included on the January 16 Edina Transportation Commission and the February 18 City Council agenda. SECTION A: Request on which the Committee recommends approval: Al. Request for more or improved signage for "do not block intersection" signs at intersection of Rabun Drive and 70th Street. This request comes from a resident living in the neighborhood to the north of the intersection. The requestor states; vehicles are blocking the intersection of Rabun Drive and 70th Street during peak rush hour times, particularly between 4 and 5 pm. Vehicles are ignoring the "do not block intersection" signs. The requestor would like to see more or improved signage for "do not block intersection". Currently there are two do not block intersection signs located on eastbound 70th Street, located at the intersection. 70th Street is a divided 4 lane roadway. The south leg of the intersection is an entrance for a parking lot. The north leg of the intersection, Rabun Drive, is the only entrance on the south side of Brookview Heights neighborhood. The MNMUTCD does not give further recommendations for placement of "do not block intersection" signs, only stating "Traffic Signal signs may be installed at certain locations to clarify signal control. It is stated "A STATE LAW plaque (R4-X5) may be installed above these signs to remind road users that the regulation applies at all locations." Traffic Safety Report Page 1 of 11 January 2, 2014 .17 -41A0 Prif ,tan 612. ! (1V;1! 5.617 111 , 5616..w - art It Map: South View and Dalrymple After discussion the staff recommends installation of orange plaques above and below the existing "do not block intersection" signs to help draw attention to the signs. Map: Rabun Dr. and 70 th St. SECTION B: Requests on which the Committee recommends denial: 131. Request for additional signage for crosswalk at the intersection of South View Lane and Dalrymple Road. This request comes from a resident who lives on Dalrymple Road. The requestor states; traffic is not yielding to pedestrians. The resident would like additional signage to help warn drivers of pedestrians in the area. This location is near schools and a community center. Currently there's a painted crosswalk with pedestrian crossing signs, a sidewalk on the south side of the road and a pedestrian landing on the north side. There is a stop sign on southbound Dalrymple. There are no recorded crashes at the intersection of South View and Dalrymple. The criterion for placement of crosswalks and type of control is outlined in the Appendix section 2A. Traffic Safety Report Page 2 of 11 January 2, 2014 Map: Benton Ave. parking bay Counts of pedestrians were taken at the intersection. A maximum total of 19 pedestrians were recorded crossing South View Lane within a two-hour period. The ADT for this intersection is 3701 vehicles with the peak hour being 7:00 am. A gap study was performed during the peak hour, resulting in 8.8 gaps. After discussion the staff recommends denying the request for additional signage, since existing signage and markings are already adequate based on the city policy. Photo: South View Ln and Dalrymple Rd from the north B2. Request for a No U-Turn sign in the area of the Benton Avenue parking bay. This request came from a City of Edina employee. The requestor states; vehicles are making U-Turns in a parking bay at the intersection of Benton Avenue and Tracy Avenue. This might cause a traffic safety concern. The requestor would like to see a no U-Turn sign installed in the area. Currently Benton Avenue has a one-way traffic circle with three exists. There are parking bays on the west and east sides of the traffic circle as shown on the map. A traffic study was performed, with a camera set up to the west of the parking bay. In a 24 hour period; 2839 vehicles passed the parking bay, 5 vehicles parked in this area, 1 vehicle performed a U-Turn. After discussion the staff recommends denying the request for a No U-Turn sign. B3. Request for replacing the Yield signs with Stop signs at the intersection of St. Johns Avenue and Garrison Lane. This request comes from a resident living near the intersection. The requestor states; vehicles crossing St. Johns Avenue are being hit by people going too fast down St. Johns. Also, the Yield signs on Garrison and Ashcroft Lanes are hard to see and are not being observed. Currently there are Yield signs for traffic crossing St. Johns Avenue. Traffic Safety Report Page 3 of 11 January 2, 2014 Photo: St. Johns Ave. looking south Map: York Ave. and Edinborough Way The criterion for placement of Stop signs is found in the Appendix section 1A. In 2000 a traffic count was completed for St. Johns Avenue north of Garrison Lane resulting in an ADT of 101, and an 85th percentile speed of 26.9 mph. In 2004 a traffic count was completed for Garrison Lane east of St. Johns resulting in an ADT of 212 and an 85th percentile speed of 28 mph. There are two recorded auto crashes; a crash resulting in property damage in 2002, and a crash resulting in personal injury in 2013. During the December 4, 2013 meeting, the traffic safety committee recommended looking further into the crash from 2013 to determine if it was an unavoidable crash. In an overview of the crash, the driver of the vehicle struck crossing St. Johns slowed down, but did not see the vehicle traveling down St. Johns. It was noted the Yield sign has a tree near it with a branch hanging down which may or may not be blocking the Yield sign. After discussion the staff recommends denying the request for replacing the Yield signs with Stop signs. Staff will check to make sure the Yield signs are clear of obstruction. SECTION C: Requests that are deferred to a later date: Cl. Request for "police enforcement or signage" at the crosswalk located at the intersection of York Avenue and Edinborough Way. This request comes from a resident who lives in the area and states; the crosswalk on the north leg of the York Avenue and Edinborough Way intersection is "dangerous". They state "very few cars stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk. Also, there are senior living apartments nearby." The requestor would like for police enforcement or signage at the crosswalk. Currently there exist crosswalks on the north and west legs of the intersection, but without any signage. There is a median, crossing island, crossing York Avenue which can be used as a safe haven for pedestrians. There are stop signs on Edinborough Way. The speed limit on York Avenue is 35 mph. Traffic Safety Report Page 4 of 11 January 2, 2014 Picture: York Ave and Edinborough Way from NW The criterion for placement of crosswalks can be found in the Appendix section 2A. The ADT for this intersection was found to be 11,662, with the peak hour occurring at 4:45 pm. A gap study was performed during this peak hour. The MNDOT Traffic Signal Timing and Coordination Manual states on divided roadways; a divided road is one with a median island over 6 feet wide and includes a pedestrian pushbutton in the median. If a pushbutton is not in the median, the recommended practice, pedestrian clearance interval must cross them completely from near side curb to far side curb. This means for the gap study the crossing island should not be considered a "safe haven". The gap study resulted in 0.8 gaps on average for a 5 minute period. If the crossing island were to be considered a "safe haven", the gaps for northbound traffic were 10.5 and for southbound traffic were 14.3 gaps on average for a 5 minute period. The Local Traffic Control list recommends installation of an overhead mounted flasher for less than 3 gaps, and pavement markings and signage for above 5 gaps. After discussion the staff recommends further study and communicating with Hennepin County before making a recommendation. C2. Request for additional signage for the crosswalk at the intersection of York Avenue and Parklawn Avenue. This request comes from a resident who lives in the area. The requestor states; traffic does not stop for pedestrians crossing the street at the intersection of Parklawn Avenue and York Avenue. The requestor would like additional signage in the area. Currently there are painted crosswalks on the south and west legs of the intersection. There are crosswalk warning signs located on York Avenue north, south, and immediately at the crosswalk. No signage is located on Parklawn Avenue. York Avenue is 6 lanes wide, including 2 turn lanes at the crosswalk, with a distance of 126 feet from curb to curb. Parklawn is 4 lanes wide, with a distance of 65 feet from curb to curb. There have been 9 accidents at this intersection since 2009. Map: York Ave. and Parklawn Ave. Traffic Safety Report Page 5 of 11 January 2, 2014 111 The criterion for placement of crosswalks can be found in the Appendix section 2A. A traffic gap count was taken during the peak hour, 5 pm. The average gaps per 5 minute period on York Avenue were 0. The average gaps per 5 minute period going across Parklawn Avenue were 1.7. Both of these were below 3 gaps, according to the Local Traffic Control list it's recommended to install an overhead mounted flasher. After discussion the staff recommends further study and communicating with Hennepin County before making a recommendation. Picture: York Ave. and Parklawn Ave. from the south C3. Request for an All-Way Stop sign at the intersection of Valley View Road and Valley Lane. This request comes from a resident who uses the intersection. The requestor states; the volume of vehicles at the intersection of Valley View Road and Valley Lane is causing delays and possible traffic safety issues. The requestor would like for an All-Way Stop sign at the intersection. Currently there exist a stop sign on Valley Lane westbound. There is a left turn lane for southbound Valley View Road. There are 8 recorded crashes at this intersection since 2008, including several failures to yield the right-of-way and a vehicle making a left turn. Picture: Valley View Rd. and Valley Ln. facing west The criterion for installation of Multi-Way Stop signs is found in the Appendix section 1B. The volume of traffic entering the intersection from Valley View Road (major street) did not average at least 200 vehicles per hour over the same 8 hour period. There were a total of 980 southbound left turns, 712 northbound right turns, 842 westbound right turns and 374 westbound left turns during the 24 hour study. Traffic Safety Report Page 6 of 11 January 2, 2014 Valley View Road vs. Valley Lane: Vehicles per Hour Time Vehicles Per Hour Major Vehicles Per Hour Minor 10:00 351 66 11:00 365 46 12:00 386 69 13:00 451 69 14:00 454 91 15:00 4 '7C,'1,-...1 65 16:00 501 99 17:00- 707 112 18:00 934 :i .r.) 19:00 988 33 20:00, 377 58 Average 505 79 After discussion the staff recommends including study of this intersection along with traffic analysis of Tracy / TH 62 associated with future Tracy Avenue reconstruction before making a recommendation. Map: Valley View Rd. and Valley Ln. Peak Hour Turning Movements SB Left Turns NB Right Turns WB Left Turns WB Right Turns 166 260 33 79 Peak Hour: 5 ).m. 1046 i/eoiciles throidah :ntersection C4. Request for an All-Way Stop or a traffic signal at the intersection of Valley View Road and Tracy Avenue. This request comes from a resident in the area. The requestor states; trying to cross Tracy Avenue is impossible to do at peak driving times. The requestor would like to see an All-Way Stop or a traffic signal at this intersection. Currently there are stop signs located on westbound Valley View Road and the exit ramp from highway 62. The exit ramp has a right turn only lane and a left turn or through lane. Tracy Avenue has a left turn only lane northbound. The closest stop signs on Tracy Avenue are located at Olinger Boulevard to the north, and no close stop signs are located to the south. The criterion for placement of All-Way Stop signs is found in the Appendix section 1B. Picture: Tracy Ave. and Valley View Rd. from north Traffic Safety Report Page 7 of 11 January 2, 2014 There most reported crashes in a 12-month period were four from 4/06 through 4/07, all of which were right angle collisions due to a failure to yield the right-of-way. As shown in the above table, during an 8 hour period greater than 300 vehicles per hour entered the major street approaches and greater than 200 vehicles per hour entered the minor street approaches. The average delay for vehicles crossing Tracy Avenue was calculated during the peak hour for the minor approaches, 17:30 to 18:30. The average delay was calculated to be 54 seconds. It should be noted this delay may have been greater, only vehicles which could be seen were counted, some vehicles may have been out of view of the camera. This delay is still greater than the minimum requirement of 30 seconds. Map: Tracy Ave. and Valley View Rd. After discussion the staff recommends including study of this intersection along with traffic analysis of Tracy / TH 62 associated with future Tracy Avenue reconstruction before making a recommendation. C5. Request for No Parking or No Pick Up on Gleason Road in front of Creek Valley Elementary School. This request comes from a resident living in the area, they drive Gleason Road frequently. The requestor states; vehicles picking up children after school, at approximately 4 pm, are parking on and blocking Gleason Road, making it unsafe for travel. The req uestor would like to see No Parking or No Pick Up on Gleason Road in front of the school. Currently there is a school speed limit of 20 mph on Gleason Road. There is No Parking on the east side of the road. There is No Parking on the east side of the road. There is an area for student drop off / pick up located on the school property as seen on the map. Gleason Road is 34 feet wide in this area. Map: Gleason Rd. at Creek Valley School Traffic Safety Report Page 8 of 11 January 2, 2014 Picture: Gleason Rd. from the south Tracy Ave and Valley View Rd: Vehicles per hour Hour SB/NB EB/WB 12:30 387 192 13:30 339 217 14:30 539 235 15:30 879 268 16:30 949 254 17:30 958 334 18:30 766 318 19:30 354 225 Average 651 255 After discussion the staff recommends coordination with the Parks Department and the School District for further study. SECTION D: Other traffic related issues handled. Dl. Email from resident concerning semi/trailer traffic down residential streets in 'Presidents' neighborhood. The resident would like for their concerns to be communicated with Super Value. Super Value was contacted, and agreed to send out a memo to drivers asking them not to use residential streets. The resident was informed of inquiry with Super Value. D2. Request was made for a Deaf Child sign to be installed on Bonnie Brae Drive. This was approved to be installed, will need to wait for spring to install due to frozen ground. D3. Email from resident concerned with vehicles through the turn lane to Normandale Road (south) and cutting people off to continue east on West 70th Street. The resident would like to see an occasional posting of a patrol car at the intersection. This request was forwarded to the Edina Police Department. Traffic Safety Report Page 9 of 11 January 2, 2014 Appendix 1A. (MNMUTCD 2B.4) YIELD or STOP signs should be used at an intersection if one or more of the following conditions exist: A. An intersection of a less important road with a main road where application of the normal right-of-way rule would not be expected to provide reasonable compliance with the law; B. A street entering a designated through highway or street; and/or C. An un-signalized intersection in a signalized area. In addition, the use of YIELD or STOP signs should be considered at the intersection of two minor streets or local roads where the intersection has more than three approaches and where one or more of the following conditions exist: A. The combined vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian volume entering the intersection from all approaches averages more the 2,000 units per day; B. The ability to see conflicting traffic on an approach is not sufficient to allow a road user to stop or yield in compliance with the normal right-of-way rule if such stopping or yielding is necessary; and/or C. Crash records indicate that five or more crashes that involve the failure to yield the right-of-way rule have been reported within a 3-year period, or that three or more such crashes have been reported within a 2-year period. YIELD or STOP signs should not be used for speed control. 1B. (MNMUTCD 2B.7) Multi-Way STOP The following criteria should be considered in the engineering study for a multi-way STOP sign installation: A. Where traffic control signals are justified, the multi-way stop is an interim measure that can be installed quickly to control traffic while arrangements are being made for the installation of the traffic control signal. B. Five or more reported crashes in a 12-month period that are susceptible to correction by a multi-way stop installation. Such crashes include right-turn and left-turn collisions as well as right-angle collisions. C. Minimum volumes: 1. The vehicular volume entering the intersection from the major street approaches (total of both approaches) averages at least 300 vehicles per hour for any 8 hours of an average day; and 2. The combined vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle volume entering the intersection from the minor street approaches (total of both approaches) averages at least 200 units per hour for the same 8 hours, with an average delay to minor-street vehicular traffic of at least 30 seconds per vehicle during the highest hour; but 3. If the 85th-percentile approach speed of the major-street traffic exceeds 40 mph, the minimum vehicular volume warrants are 70 percent of the values provided in Items 1 and 2. D. Where no single criterion is satisfied, but where Criteria B, C.1, and C.2 are all satisfied to 80 percent of the minimum values. Criterion C.3 is excluded from this condition. Other criteria that may be considered in an engineering study include: A. The need to control left-turn conflicts; B. The need to control vehicle/pedestrian conflicts near locations that generate high pedestrian volumes; C. Locations where a road user, after stopping, cannot see conflicting traffic and is not able to negotiate the intersection unless conflicting cross traffic is also required to stop; and Traffic Safety Report Page 10 of 11 January 2, 2014 D. An intersection of two residential neighborhood collector (through) streets of similar design and operating characteristics where multi-way stop control would improve traffic operational characteristics of the intersection. 2A. Marked Pedestrian Crosswalks A. Marked crosswalks are placed at locations that are unusually hazardous or at locations not readily apparent as having pedestrian movement. B. Marked crosswalks will only be placed in an area that has in excess of 20 pedestrians crossing for a minimum of two hours during any eight hour period. C. Marking for crosswalks will be established by measuring the "Vehicle Gap Time". This is the total number of gaps between vehicular traffic recorded during the average five minute period in the peak hour. Criteria for markings are: 1. More than five gaps — Pavement marking and signage only. 2. Four to five gaps — add activated pedestal mounted flasher 3. Less than three gaps — add activated overhead mounted flasher. D. Crosswalks will not be placed on arterial roads or roads with a speed limit greater than 30 mph unless in conjunction with signalization. E. Other conditions that warrant crosswalks: 1. Routes to schools 2. Locations adjacent to libraries, community centers, and other high use public facilities. 3. Locations adjacent to public parks. 4. Locations where significant numbers of handicapped persons cross a street. 5. Locations where significant numbers of senior citizens cross a street. F. Crosswalks will only be placed at intersections. Traffic Safety Report Page 11 of 11 January 2, 2014