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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-11-20 Minutes 1 MINUTES OF CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION COMMUNITY ROOM NOVEMBER 20, 2014 6:00 P.M. ROLL CALL Answering roll call were members Bass, Boettge, Campbell, Janovy, LaForce, Nelson, Olson, Rummel, Spanhake and Whited. ABSENT Member Iyer. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Motion was made by member Nelson and seconded by member Whited to amend the meeting agenda to add new Item B. Lt. Tim Olson. All voted aye. Motion carried. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 23, 2014 Motion was made by member Olsen and seconded by member Janovy to approve the amended minutes of October 23, 2014. All voted aye. Motion carried. COMMUNITY COMMENT - None. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS Former Public Works Site at Grandview – Redevelopment Plan Update Mr. Bill Neuendorf, economic development manager, updated the ETC on redevelopment plan for the former public works site. Mr. Neuendorf stated that the City Council partnered with Frauenshuh, Inc., and created an eight month process beginning in Dec. to identify what to do with the site. He said the ETC is invited to attend the first session on Dec. 4 where they will discuss strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. The expected outcome by the end of the process is to host an open house where they’ll have at least 2-4 optional designs that will have a combination of public/private features. From Dec. to Mar. they will hold a series of meetings to gather feedback and in May or June, the City Council is expected to make a final decision. Mr. Neuendorf said even though events are already scheduled, he is visiting each board and commission to seek feedback early in the process and the consultant is available if the ETC would like to meet with them. Discussion Member Nelson said he was involved in the initial discussions and transportation elements were discussed and, while the City isn’t planning new roads, he would like to make sure sidewalks and bike facilities are considered and included. Mr. Neuendorf said pedestrian connectivity, surveys, and the Living Streets Policy were forwarded to the consultant but it is still good to remind them of the importance. Member Janovy asked who will be the staff involved and Mr. Neuendorf said he is the lead staff, plus staff from each of the City’s departments. She asked about the traffic study scoping and timeline and Mr. Neuendorf said it was in the CIP for 2014 but they are behind. He said the engineering department will lead the traffic study and he is hopeful that this will begin in quarter one of 2015. He said they do not have a funding source so they are waiting to identify other projects that they can partner with. Member Janovy said transportation improvements should precede redevelopment and asked how the phasing would be planned if they are waiting for funding. Mr. Neuendorf said phasing would be done with planning because they do not know what the exact needs are until the project is identified. In reference to the parking ramp, Mr. Neuendorf said they do not want a traditional parking ramp like there is today; he said a shared parking ramp that allows pedestrians and bikers is preferred. He said he is in discussion with Metro Transit staff and they are entertaining the idea of funding a park and ride in the ramp. He is not sure if the ramp would be horizontal or vertical. 2 Member Spanhake asked how the Grandview Crossing rendering fits in with the broader scope. Mr. Neuendorf explained that the current rendering was the framework that the City Council adopted as a vision plan. He said they will focus on the principles outlined in the plan as guiding documents more so than the rendering. She also asked about the lid over TH-100 and he said they submitted a grant for funding to Hennepin County but it was not approved. He said other cities have had success with lids but they are expensive. There is no timeline on the lid. Member Olsen asked if all options were on the table and Mr. Neuendorf said yes. He asked why a developer was picked and Mr. Neuendorf said they did not pick a developer; he said they wanted someone with development expertise to test their ideas and tell them which ones were possible. Chair Bass suggested a meeting with the consultant to have a focused conversation on the transportation challenges in the area. She suggested a joint meeting with the Planning Commission if they are interested. Member Nelson agreed and cited the Grandview Square Condominiums and said it was not a well thought out plan because residents cannot safely walk to Jerry’s and he does not want to see this repeated. Lt. Tim Olson, Police Department Lt. Olson said he visited to introduce himself because he was recently named the staff liaison to most boards and commissions, including the ETC. He said he also serves on the Traffic Safety Committee. He said the ETC can reach out to him with traffic related issues. Lt. Olson was asked if it was illegal for vehicles to queue on the road to go thru Starbucks drive- thru at Grandview and he said he was not yet familiar with the issue at Starbucks but in general, there is a state law that addresses impeding traffic. Chair Bass thanked Lt. Olson for coming and said it was good to have a contact in the police department. She said they have an annual meeting on their work plan with the police but it would be good to meet more often. Proposed Sidewalk Facilities Map Comprehensive Plan Amendment Planner Nolan said on Nov. 3, the City Council tabled a motion to vote on the Sidewalk Facilities Map and closed the public hearing. He said at least one councilmember requested an advisory communication from the ETC. He updated the ETC on the four meetings that were held to gather feedback from residents. He said majority in the northwest quadrant were not in favor of sidewalks, while the others were more favorable. He said those on Speak Up, Edina! are overwhelmingly in favor and of the emails received recently, at least 80% are in favor. The ETC discussed concerns raised at the meetings by residents and acknowledged the validity of some concerns namely shoveling snow might be difficult for some elderly residents; however, they felt it was still important to move forward with the plan. They brainstormed key points to emphasize in the advisory communication and some suggestions were:  Importance of building out the network  Conservative plan (sidewalk not on every street)  Connects to destination  Plan is data driven (volume/speed)  Cost estimate for public works to do maintenance  Education  Plan is consistent with policy already adopted by City Council  Accept map in its entirety Regarding the 2015 Birchcrest Neighborhood Reconstruction and the sidewalk that City Council did not approve in 2014 for this neighborhood, member Nelson said this sidewalk is on the Sidewalk Facilities Map and he believes it should be constructed in 2015. He said if it is not constructed the road should at least be narrowed to accommodate the sidewalk at a future date. Member LaForce agreed. 3 Motion was made by member Janovy and seconded by member LaForce to write an advisory communication to the City Council that is in strong support of the Sidewalk Facilities Map and to adopt it as presented. All voted aye. Motion carried. Member Boettge will write the advisory communication and members Olson, Janovy and Nelson will review. Traffic Safety Committee Report of November 5, 2014 A.1. Planner Nolan said this item is moving to Section C for further study. B.2. This item was moved to Section C for the following reasons: a. Review locations of ‘Speed Zone Ends Here’ signs to make sure they include all of the school property; b. Clarify the meaning of “When Children Are Present;” c. Check on the number of citations issued for the past year for violation of school speed zone. Motion was made by member Nelson and seconded by member Olson to revise the Nov. 5 report by moving A.1 and B.2 to Section C for further study and forward the revised report to the City Council. All voted aye. Motion carried. Updates Student Members Member Campbell said he was pleased to see enforcement on 66th St. late one night (this area was referred to the police for enforcement based on feedback from member Campbell). Bike Edina Working Group – None. Living Streets Working Group – None. Walk Edina Working Group Motion was made by member Boettge and seconded by member LaForce to approve members Christine Bremer, Annette Gaughan, Lisa Strauss, Marie Pechman and Marcia Friedman, and student members Matthew Jensen, Aanik Lohani and Annika Beringer to the Walk Edina Working Group. All voted aye. Motion carried. Meetings are scheduled for the first Thursday of each month in the Community Room, City Hall, 6-8 p.m., starting Feb. 2015. Communications Committee Member LaForce thanked member Boettge for writing a blog post. Chair Bass asked for suggestions for future blog posts and member Rummel suggested a persuasive blog about why sidewalks are needed and another suggestion was to interview student members on Walk Edina to see why they decided to participate. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS – None. CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS Member Olson reported that a car went through the chain link fence that separates TH-62 and 64th St. again and not too far away a semi-truck tipped over. Planner Nolan said city engineer Millner left a message for MNDOT; however, it may be treated like the chain link fence on TH-100 where funding is not available but residents can chose to be assessed for its replacement. 4 Member LaForce noted that there are two different pedestrian flashers in the Southdale area near the Westin and he believes the one that flashes constantly is ineffective. Planner Nolan said it is scheduled for replacement. Member Janovy asked if planner Nolan was able to get an answer about the use of utility easements for sidewalk and he said no. She asked if it would make sense to add sidewalk as a criteria when prioritizing road reconstruction. Member Boettge said she was walking on 66th St. and the only vehicle that stopped for her to cross the street was a public works truck and she wanted to say thank you to the driver. Chair Bass said Chris Marshall with Edina Community Foundation reached out to her about attending the Dec. ETC meeting. Ms. Marshall directs Connecting with Kids that is working on Edina Challenge which is a steering committee that have identified five priority areas for underserved kids in the community and their goal is providing underserved kids with a total package of support to be fully contributing to the city and transportation was identified as an issue. STAFF COMMENTS  MNDOT is scheduled to redeck the France Ave Bridge over TH-62 in 2019 and City staff is working with MNDOT to see how they can make improvements in the area; ideas and layouts are being discussed, including a pedestrian bridge; Member Nelson said he contacted Fairview Hospital about adding the piece of missing sidewalk along France Ave in front of the hospital and they were receptive and is considering it.  Xerxes Avenue at TH-62 – Strachauer Park residents have been calling about the aesthetics of the bump outs and the Mayor arranged a meeting to discuss adding planters similar to the ones in downtown Minneapolis on 3rd Ave. next to Minneapolis City Hall.  A funding application was submitted for the Active Routes to School (ARTS) sidewalk on the west side of Cornelia School and along Oaklawn Ave; and staff is planning to submit an ARTS funding proposal for Cornelia Dr. from 66th St. to 70th St. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned. 5 ATTENDANCE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE - 2014 NAME TERM J F* M A M J J A S O N D SM 2/27 SM 3/10 WS 3/18 # of Mtgs Attendance % Meetings/Work Sessions 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 12 Bass, Katherine 2/1/2017 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 83% Boettge, Emily 2/1/2017 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 92% Campbell, Jack student 1 1 1 3 25% Iyer, Surya 2/1/2015 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 75% Janovy, Jennifer 2/1/2017 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 100% LaForce, Tom 2/1/2015 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 92% Nelson, Paul 2/1/2016 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 92% Olson, Larry 2/1/2016 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 100% Rummel, Anna student 1 1 1 3 25% Sierks, Caroline student 1 1 1 3 25% Spanhake, Dawn 2/1/2016 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 80% Van Dyke, Jackson student 1 1 2 17% Whited, Courtney 2/1/2015 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 83% *Cancelled due to weather