Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-06-21 Minutes 1 MINUTES OF CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION COMMUNITY ROOM JUNE 21, 2012 6:00 P.M. ROLLCALL Answering roll call was Members Bass, Braden, Franzen, Iyer, Janovy, LaForce, Nelson, Schweiger, Thompson, and Whited. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - REGULAR MEETING OF May 17, 2012 The minutes was amended as follows: page 3, CHAIR AND COMMISSION COMMENTS, First sentence ‘Member Janovy….because it did not include…’ Second sentence ‘use of an advisory communication might…’ It was noted that the attendance sheet did not include the work session meeting that took place in April. Motion was made by member Braden and seconded by member Thompson to approve the amended minutes. All voted aye. Motion carried. COMMUNITY COMMENT – None. REPORT/RECOMMENDATIONS Traffic Safety Committee (TSC) Report of June 6, 2012 Assistant city engineer Chad Millner noted that the Temporary Speed Table Policy Process was revised to say ‘The City Engineer will determine where the temporary speed table will be installed.” He said also that staff is reviewing all traffic policies and will eliminate any that is inconsistent with Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Page 3, Section B – Member Whited inquired about Section B. She said the report does not reflect that the speed limit is 25 mph and asked if the percentile should be changed. Member Janovy said the area keeps coming up and is not being resolved. Member Janovy said the Temporary Speed Table Policy needs further discussion because one was placed in her neighborhood but not for the reasons listed in the policy. She said she did not see the connection why road reconstruction would increase speed on another street and not volume and is not sure how the policy will be used in practical terms. She is also concerned that the speed hump purchased previously was paid for by special assessment to a neighborhood but it has use in multiple neighborhoods. Discussion ensued and included: what specifically is speed tables used for; some things noted at last meeting was not included in the policy revision; discussion to possibly buy two more speed tables; only in place for a season; assigned on a first come first serve basis; likes that neighbors making request was taken out because it creates conflict with NTMP; policy is a good first step; everything cannot be spelled out, staff must have some discretion; do see cut through traffic that tend to go faster; and obvious use is for deterring traffic. Policy revision discussion included the following: Purpose: The purpose of a Temporary Speed Table is to provide a temporary traffic calming method for local street. that are experiencing an increase in speed of traffic due to road construction on nearby roadways. Process:  Contact the Traffic Safety Coordinator.  The City Engineer may initiate the installation of a temporary speed table.  The traffic Safety Coordinator will gather the pertinent facts to help define the problem and seek a solution. 2  The City Engineer will determine where the temporary speed table will be installed.  Contact the Traffic Safety Coordinator. Policy Delete items 2 and 5 and instead refer to engineering judgment. Chair Nelson said these changes do not address the concern of how they are paid for but from last discussion, he said it appeared the city engineer was going to find resources other than special assessment for the new purchases. How do you define significant increase? Would like to include opportunity for fire department to review and be informed where they are being placed. Fire will never approve speed table. Focus more on the process to indicate duration and if based on speed, determine the speed. Would like to see another draft. Motion was made by Member Janovy and seconded by member Iyer to forward the TSC report to the City Council with the exception of the Temporary Speed Table Policy with a request that staff revise the policy to include the ETC’s comments and bring it back to them for review. All voted aye. Motion carried. Updates Student Member - No update. Bike Edina Task Force – Minutes of May 10, 2012 Member Janovy said the BETF discussed riding bikes on sidewalk, which is not allowed in Edina, and she is recommending a code change to provide a basis for safety education and building in requirements for safe riding. She handed out a memo outlining the situation, background, analysis and recommendation and requested that the ETC review it and provides feedback at the next meeting. Whether or not the police enforce this rule is not clear; however, some in the community are aware that biking is not allowed on the sidewalk. BETF has discussed becoming a working group of the ETC and she forwarded the bylaws to them. There is a free application from the Met Council called Cycle Tracks that cyclists can sign up for at Google Play Store or Apple’s iTunes Store. Member LaForce said since being a member of the ETC, he has learned that there are anti-bike sentiments in the community and some feel that the ETC only care about bikers. Member Janovy said the TLC Bike Blvd was approved recently but France Avenue is pedestrian-focused. Member Whited said she has learned that the same sentiment exist for sidewalks. Member Bass said Blue Cross Blue Shield has done focus groups testing on key messages around Complete Streets and the same sentiment is strong across the country. She said it is important to start with the idea that the City has a responsibility to create the infrastructure that moves all residents, including about 1/3 of people who do not drive. Member Bass said there were strong sentiments against bike lanes on W. 70th and asked if residents could be surveyed to see how they feel now. Motion was made by Member Bass and seconded by Member Iyer to draft an ETC advisory communication to field a survey of resident in the W. 70th area to get a post construction survey. All voted aye. Motion carried. Nine Mile Creek Trail received grant funding of $5.5M for the Tracy to France portion. Grandview Small Area Study Chair Nelson said to date there was nothing new to report. 3 Living Streets Working Group Update Member Thompson said the group met on June 14 and the consultants shared a report that mirrored LA’s Living Streets policy. He said the working group will be reviewing the report and giving feedback and the rest of the ETC can also provide feedback. The consultants will be presenting their findings and recommendation at the July ETC meeting. This will be followed by presentations to other groups to get their input. Member Janovy said there was a Living Streets related item was on the City Council agenda recently, vacation of easement in the Morningside area, and the City Council did not approve it. She said this is consistent with the Living Streets draft policy. She said further that there are right-of-ways or undeveloped land, like the vacation that was not granted, that could be used as short-cut walkways for pedestrians and they should be inventoried. She asked if they were already inventoried and staff said no. Transportation Options Working Group Member Whited said the working group is starting over by reviewing their charge and then they will create a checklist of community needs. She said member Brown has been working on an Edina street car option that could move people around the shopping areas that he would like to present to the ETC. She said he has spoken with the Chamber of Commerce, Southdale Hospital, and is in talks with Target for possible funding. This would be modeled after one in Oregon. France Avenue Pedestrian and Bike Crossings Member LaForce gave an update on Stakeholder 1 meeting. He said they were asked to create a grand vision, which they did, only to be reminded in the end that they only had a small amount of money for three intersections. He said he was not sure why they took this approach. Member Iyer expressed the same feelings considering the financial constraints. Member Janovy said she felt the same way and that they did not provide concrete information on certain design aspects. Regarding the grand vision, she said there is money in the CIP for studying the whole area and they would like whatever is done now, to be based on the grand vision. She said the urban design portion was not presented in a context based on this project. Member Bass said she appreciates the opportunity to think longer term than they have funding for and the approach may have been to let the Hennepin County staff that was in attendance see what the City’s grand vision is for France Avenue. The next stakeholder meeting is scheduled for June 26. Member Iyer suggested making the agenda clearer for the next meeting, including the desired outcome. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS – None CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS Member Janovy handed out a memo on the ETC policy and the NTMP for future discussion or an advisory communication with a recommendation to eliminate them. Chair Nelson said he spoke with city engineer Houle and he suggested waiting until the Complete Streets policy is done because other policies will become obsolete at that time. Member Janovy said waiting to do everything at once could complicate things. Motion was made by Member Janovy and seconded by Member Iyer to recommend an advisory communication to the City Council recommending elimination of the ETC policy and the NTMP, which is part of the ETC policy. All voted aye. Motion carried. Member Bass said the Edina Community Education received a grant funding from Blue Cross Foundation to do a social connectedness project and they are focusing on the Parklawn Neighborhood to do a series of ‘meet on the sidewalk’ to get to know the neighbors. The first meeting was last Tuesday and it was attended by the Police and Park and Recreation Departments, as well as Community Education. She said Community Education and Park and Recreation reported that this neighborhood does not use City services as much as other parts of the community so it was a good 4 opportunity to present the services available. It was also attended by Do.Town staff who talked about the goals of the project to create a healthier community. The high density apartment complexes do not have a structured playground and the nearest park is Cornelia with no safe route to get there. At the last City Council meeting, Councilmember Sprague, who was in attendance at the ‘meet on the sidewalk,’ motioned to have a feasibility study done to construct a playground and create a safe route to Cornelia Park. Member Whited said she formed a task force that will offer assistance or refer people to where they can help within their community instead of having to go outside of the community since Hennepin County is closing their service hub in Minneapolis and she would like to discuss this further with the ETC. Additionally, she was asked to present on alternative transportation design for Carver County and asked when was the last time Edina did a similar thing. Member Bass said past member Schold Davis did a presentation last year but it was not strictly focused on this topic. Regarding W. 56th, Member Whited said the shrubs were trimmed but the traffic is getting worst at Pizza Lola. Chair Nelson said his neighborhood had a Neighborhood Open House organized by the Do.Town staff. Approximately 15- 20 residents were in attendance and the discussion included Living Streets, bump outs, place making, benches, places to meet, etc. Member Bass said it is called a Supper Club and the idea is to do more residents engagement and the Do.Town staff is willing to assist with organizing around any topic. STAFF COMMENTS Preview of 2013 Neighborhood Reconstruction Projects Assistant city engineer Millner presented the 2013 projects. He said an open house was held last fall and one is scheduled for this July. Draft feasibility studies are expected to be presented to the ETC in September with public hearings in December. The sidewalk and bike plans were reviewed and there are none planned for any of these neighborhoods. Draft Sidewalk Projects Feasibility Studies Assistant city engineer Millner presented the draft sidewalk projects feasibility studies that were done for City Council and they are in draft form until the City Council finds a funding source for these projects. An informational meeting was held for the Xerxes Ave sidewalk and three residents attended and he’s received emails from approximately 10 others and most are not in favor of the sidewalk. He said one resident in favor uses a scooter and she would no longer have to ride in the street. Regarding the W. 60th sidewalk, member Laforce asked about an area that is already being used a cut-thru that seem like it would be a natural path instead of the proposed location. Assistant city engineer Millner said they would be putting pedestrians in traffic. This will be discussed further when the official feasibility study is presented. TLC Bike Boulevard Update Assistant city engineer Millner said this project is going through the approval process at the Federal Highways. Construction is still planned for this summer. I-494 Update Start date for this project is July 23. 2012 Human Services Task Force This task force is looking for a member from the ETC. Member Braden volunteered. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned. ATTACHMENT Attendance Spreadsheet