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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-04-17 Minutes1 MINUTES OF CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION COUNCIL CHAMBERS APRIL 17, 2014 6:00 P.M. ROLL CALL Answering roll call were members Bass, Boettge, Iyer, Janovy, LaForce, Nelson, Olson, and Van Dyke. ABSENT Members Sierks, Spanhake, and Whited. Election of Chair and Vice Chair Transportation planner Nolan called for nominations for chair. Member LaForce nominated member Bass and the nomination was seconded by member Nelson. Member Bass accepted the nomination. There being no other nominations, the nomination was closed. All voted aye. Motion carried. Member Janovy nominated member LaForce for vice chair and the nomination was seconded by member Nelson. Member LaForce accepted the nomination. There being no other nominations, the nomination was closed. All voted aye. Motion carried. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Motion was made by member Nelson and seconded by member LaForce to approve the meeting agenda. All voted aye. Motion carried. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF MARCH 20, 2014 – Approved as corrected. Motion was made by member Nelson and seconded by member Iyer to approve the amended minutes of March 20, 2014. All voted aye. Motion carried. COMMUNITY COMMENT – None REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail Update Mr. Eric Nelson from Three Rivers Park District gave an update on Edina’s segment of the trail. Mr. Nelson said the trail, which run from Hopkins to Bloomington is 15 miles and only the Edina segment is not built yet (7.5 miles). The trail starts at TH-169 and was originally planned to go under TH-169 but will now go over instead and then down along the creek for the most part. New bridges will be added for the trail to cross TH-62 and TH-100. Property owners along the creek will be offered fence or vegetation as screening options which will be installed as part of the project on owners’ side of the property line with the expectation that they assume ownership and responsibility. Mr. Nelson said in June they will come back to the ETC with the final trail layout and to the City Council on July 1 for final approval. Construction, which is contingent on funding, is scheduled for 2015-16 (funds are already allocated for the east side but not the west side). The following is a summary of the discussion: the trail will be approximately 60/40 on-road/off-road; boardwalk railings are typically 4 ½ ft. tall; crossings at Vernon & Tracy are not designed yet; 70-75 property owners will be allowed to pick their screening option (i.e, plantings, fence, nothing); screening do not need to be uniform but it is hoped that neighbors might gather to discuss a consistent treatment; outreach to property owners may include 2 mailings, surveys, person-to-person meetings, or group meetings; crossing at France & Gallagher will be at grade level and the intersection will be modified to look like the other three intersections that are currently being improved. W. 54th Street Draft Striping and Signage Plan Planner Nolan said the plan was submitted to the ETC for review and comment. Member Janovy commented on the color of the bike signs. Planner Nolan will check to see why the plan includes green and white bike signs that are different from the standard that was adopted last year. Draft Citywide Pedestrian Facilities Maps Planner Nolan said the maps were submitted to the ETC for review and comment. He said the maps shows existing sidewalks and most of the sidewalks listed in the Comprehensive Plan, Living Streets required sidewalks, and the Active Routes to School (ARTS) sidewalks were called out to show priority. He said these maps could replace the Sidewalk Plan in the Comp Plan. Discussion included the following: understanding how the sidewalks that are in the Comp Plan were selected because some areas will have sidewalks while others will not; knowing where the business districts are would be helpful because it would probably help to explain why some areas have more sidewalks than others; this is a 20-year plan that would be broken down into 2-5 year implementation and residents would be informed about the 2-5 year plan; and posting the completed map online. Continuing the discussion, it was noted that the sidewalk on Valley View Rd near Normandale Church was not approved by City Council recently and it is still on the map. The conclusion was that it should remain on the map because although some were not in favor of the sidewalk, it is needed and staff should add justification for the need. Some justification for sidewalks are streets with high volume traffic and speed, connecting to an area adjacent to school, parks for safety, etc. It was noted some areas have more sidewalks because the street network varies so much – areas where the street network are on a grid have more sidewalks. Member Nelson asked about a sidewalk along 66th and the park at Normandale and planner Nolan explained that the idea is to fund less expensive sidewalks now and plan for more expensive ones later on. Member Olson asked about sidewalk in the ARTS plan in the Cornelia area where there is a large student population and planner Nolan said the City has an easement for a sidewalk and is working with Three Rivers on funding and construction as part of the trail that was talked about earlier. Member Iyer suggested creating a matrix to rank each sidewalk based on certain criteria to identify priority of installation and also look for other opportunities like adding a sidewalk with street reconstruction. Planner Nolan said staff is already doing this to some degree. Member Bass asked if staff is still looking at identifying easements that could be used to create walkways to shorten distance for students and constructing sidewalks next to transit stops and planner Nolan said both have been discussed in the past but not to the level that they would be listed on the map. Advisory Communication: Ordinance Change Allowing Bicycling on Sidewalks The advisory communication was drafted by member Janovy and reviewed by members Boettge and LaForce. Attachments to the advisory includes City of Madison biking on sidewalks educational handouts, City of Edina sidewalks page from Understanding Bicycle Facilities in Edina handout, and Transit for Livable Communities article on sidewalk riding. Member Nelson said there was continued push back from the Police that riding on sidewalks is an unsafe practice and that the advisory communication contained inaccuracies. Member Janovy said the Police declined to meet with her and therefore she was not able to find out what the inaccuracies are or their concerns. Member LaForce said it seemed like the Police and ETC is looking for the same thing but they can’t agree on what goes into law. He said it seemed the Police want to maintain the illegality of riding on sidewalks but they don’t actively enforce the law, while 3 the ETC wants to remove the illegality but continue to ride on the street. He said in general, all would probably agree that biking on the street is safer but it is not for everyone, especially for children. Member Boettge said if it is illegal they cannot educate and this is important. She also said adjoining cities allow biking on sidewalks and they do not seem to be having issues. Member Bass suggested including in the advisory the adjoining cities that allow biking on sidewalks pursuant to state statute. She noted that during a discussion with the high school student council regarding ARTS, they brought up the issue of not being able to ride on sidewalks because it was illegal but this is the only place that their parents would allow them ride which leaves them with the choice of disobeying their parents or breaking the law. She said it will be difficult to do outreach and talk about the risks and responsibilities if the action is illegal and furthermore, certain ages should not ride in the street. She said they agree with the Police that there are risks for riding on sidewalks but they cannot talk about it if there is a ban in place. Member Iyer said some ordinances are in place to stop all activities while some try to prevent extreme activities and the police want to be able to enforce nuisance behaviors. He said it is inconsistent to want bikers to use bike lanes and then educate them to use sidewalks. He said they are trying to solve a problem that does not exist and taking away enforcement from the police; the data attached to the advisory shows issues biking on sidewalks; and most people do fine riding on sidewalk. Member Boettge said the police can enforce nuisance behavior under state statute and bike lanes are still necessary because bikers going too fast should not be on the sidewalk. Member Bass asked why Edina is so different when state statute will do. Member Janovy said speed is the main reason why riding on sidewalk is dangerous and while state statute does not address speeding, the proposed ordinance addresses it. She said people will ride on sidewalk and it is critical that they are educated. Motion was made by member Nelson and seconded by member LaForce to forward the amended advisory communication to the City Council. Aye: Bass, Boettge, Janovy, Laforce, Nelson, Olson Nay: Iyer Motion carried. Traffic Safety Committee Report of April 2, 2014 A-1: Planner Nolan was asked if there were data to support using dynamic speed signs and he said there are none that he is aware of but he could probably find some. Member Janovy said the dynamic speed sign modifies behavior but not regular speed sign. She would like to see speed limit enforced at a lower level (manager Neal’s Friday report recently noted that average speeding ticket was 15 mph over the speed limit). Member Nelson said the road is wide and asked if they considered narrowing it to slow the speed or any other options and planner Nolan said they discussed this and the road is scheduled for reconstruction soon and they will look at options then. A-4: Planner Nolan was asked what the principle for the no parking signs was because there are other areas where this could also be applied and he said issues like mail not being delivered because vehicles are parked in front of the mail box and the request was from Park and Recreation. Member Nelson said he would like to see equal treatment for all the parks because the same request for Creek Valley was denied not too long ago. B-1: Planner Nolan was asked what the principle was and did the Fire Dept. comment. He said the Fire Dept. did not comment and it was based on the draft Living Streets Plan that minimum width is 24 ft. wide on local streets with parking on one side, plus staff and the requestor agreed that excess snow played a role in narrowing the roadway. D-3: Change Valley View Elementary to Creek Valley Elementary. In reference to speeding, Chair Bass said they are scheduled to meet with the Police next month so they can talk with them about speeding and also about school zone enforcement which was brought up often during ARTS discussions. Motion was made by member Janovy and seconded by member Nelson to forward the April 2, 2014 report to the City Council. All voted aye. Motion carried. 4 New Bike Edina Transportation Commission Working Group Member Janovy gave a brief history of Bike Edina and she explained that to make Bike Edina a working group of the ETC, they need to modify the bylaws. She said Bike Edina would become a standing working group and City Council would nominate all current members; future members would be selected by Bike Edina and be approved by ETC. Member Olson, a member of Bike Edina, said liability was a big issue and is the main reason for reorganization as a working group. Motion was made by member Nelson and seconded by member Boettge to approve changes to the ETC and Bike Edina bylaws, recommend that Bike Edina become a working group of the ETC and that appointing existing Bike Edina members and chair. All voted aye. Motion carried. Updates Student Members - None Bike Edina See ‘New Bike Edina Transportation Commission Working Group’ discussion above. Living Streets Working Group Planner Nolan said a joint work session with City Council and the working group is scheduled for July 1, and on April 1 a joint work session with City Council and staff is scheduled to discuss the 2015 Arden Park D Neighborhood Reconstruction project which will incorporate principles of Living Streets. Communications Committee Member LaForce said they met recently and provided feedback on the Living Streets branding. Secondly, he said there is a lot of communication regarding the project on France Ave and the benefits to pedestrians and cyclists and their suggestion is to tap into the benefits for cars and include them also. Thirdly, he said they talked about the language they use to describe what they are doing, like referring to bike lanes and sidewalks as amenities and alternative transportation. He said they are providing transportation options and safe facilities for everyone, not amenities. And, alternative transportation mode sounds like it is an alternative to the normal, presumed to be automobiles. He said they forwarded their suggestions to Planner Nolan. Planner Nolan said it was forwarded to the Communications Dept. for review and comment. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS - None CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS Member Olson said Bike Edina is looking for new members and those interested can apply online at BikeEdina.org. Member Iyer gave a presentation called SE Edina: Routes to School. He said the southeast quadrant does not have good access to get across TH-62. He said the pedestrian bridge that is there now is not sufficient for cyclists and is not ADA compliant. He noted that there are at least 3-5 access points in other quadrants of the city but only one in the southeast. He said there are no short or long-term plans for an ADA pedestrian bridge and the current bridge only seem to serve as access for those in the northeast to get to shopping. Member Iyer suggested eliminating the Valley View Road approach in the ARTS plan and instead construct a new under/overpass bridge across TH-62 near Concord Avenue and West Shore Drive to create a direct route for all of the southeast residents to South View Middle School and the rest of NE Edina. He said over 1,200 properties would be served by this route. He said the ARTS plan should include the best possible options and the SE Edina: Routes to School plan should be included because it is the right thing to do. Member Nelson said they’ve talked about improving the pedestrian bridge and asked if was planned for 5 improvements and planner Nolan said there are no plans at this time. Member Janovy said member Iyer suggested this before and asked why it did not make into the plan. Chair Bass said she is not sure why it was not included but the ARTS plan is not approved yet so it can still be added and she would contact the consultant. Member Janovy suggested including pedestrian bridges on the Citywide Pedestrian Facilities Map. Member Janovy thanked member Nelson for his service as chair. She said she was in Los Angeles recently and attended their version of open streets where they closed down Wilshire Blvd for six miles and she brought back some handouts that included a brochure that had safety tips for all modes of transportation. She said if they decided to do an open street, they’ll need to be very intentional and have a clear vision for why they are doing it. Chair Bass said she presented the ARTS plan to the Edina School District Community Services Education Board and they were supportive. She attended a presentation at South View Middle School by 7th graders around the lack of sidewalks and icy sidewalks. She said it was a great opportunity to hear from youth. She noted the condition of the street in front of Trader Joe’s (W. 78th) and wondered what Bloomington’s plans were for this stretch of roadway; planner Nolan will reach out to Bloomington. STAFF COMMENTS France Avenue Intersection Improvements started this week and 7,900 postcards were mailed to the southeast quadrant of the city announcing the start of the project and 10,000 brochures will be distributed by the project manager. Hazelton Road intersection will be improved the same as the other intersections. Promenade Phase 4 is postponed to 2015 because of delayed construction in the area. Bids were opened for the Birchcrest B Neighborhood Roadway Reconstruction project. Bids were submitted separately to replace the concrete street with bituminous or repair the concrete streets. Staff is recommending replacing the concrete with bituminous. A small section of sidewalk at 70th and Xerxes will be filled in as part of a watermain project on Xerxes Avenue this summer. This completes the sidewalk segment. Xerxes Avenue Bridge over TH-62 will be closed for three months. Centerpoint is replacing a gas main near this project area. Hennepin County will host two meetings for the mill and overlay that is planned for this summer; the first meeting is April 23 for residents south of 60th and five days later for residents north of 60th. Staff is still waiting to hear from Hennepin County about striping the bike lane on Vernon Avenue. City of Hopkins is working with Hennepin County on the Blake Road Corridor Study and planner Nolan is on the technical advisory committee. The total cost of the study is $150,000; Edina is funding $10,000 and the County $100,000. The study area is Blake Road north of Interlachen Blvd to 36th and is for the Southwest LRT station and Edina is included because the geographical area extends into Edina. He said he’s shared with them the desire to maintain bike lanes and the Living Streets criteria. Member Janovy asked if there was a link on our website for the Xerxes Avenue project and if it was time to talk to the County about lowering the speed limit on Vernon and chair Bass asked if they’ve done a speed study. Planner Nolan said there isn’t a link on our website and he is not aware that there is anything to link to. The consensus was to discuss the speed limit on Vernon at a future meeting. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned. 6 ATTENDANCE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE - 2014 NAME TERM J F* M A M J J A S O N D SM 2/27 SM 3/1 0 WS 3/18 # of Mtgs Attendance % Meetings/Work Sessions 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 5 Bass, Katherine 2/1/2014 1 1 1 1 4 80% Boettge, Emily 2/1/2014 1 1 1 1 1 5 100% Iyer, Surya 2/1/2015 1 1 1 1 1 5 100% Janovy, Jennifer 2/1/2014 1 1 1 1 1 5 100% LaForce, Tom 2/1/2015 1 1 1 1 1 5 100% Nelson, Paul 2/1/2016 1 1 1 1 1 5 100% Olson, Larry 2/1/2016 1 1 1 3 100% Sierks, Caroline student 1 1 2 40% Spanhake, Dawn 2/1/2016 1 1 2 67% Van Dyke, Jackson student 1 1 2 40% Whited, Courtney 2/1/2015 1 1 1 3 60% *Cancelled due to weather Respectfully submitted, Sharon Allison, Secretary