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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-07-21 Minutes 1 MINUTES OF CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION COUNCIL CHAMBERS JULY 21, 2011 6:00 P.M. ROLLCALL Answering rollcall were Members Bass, Bonneville, Braden, Franzen, Janovy, McKlveen, Nelson, Scheerer, Thompson and Schold Davis APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Motion was made by Member Franzen and seconded by Member Braden approving the meeting agenda. All voted aye. Motion carried. ADOPTION OF CONSENT AGENDA Motion was made by Member Braden and seconded by Member Franzen approving the consent agenda with the exception of Item IV.A., approval of minutes, regular meeting of June 16, 2011. All voted aye. Motion carried. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - REGULAR MEETING OF JUNE 16, 2011 The minutes were amended as follow: Page 1, item III, strike “Chair Janovy moved for a change on” and replace with “Chair Janovy proposed to change…” Add “amended” to “Commissioner Franzen moved to approve the amended meeting agenda…” Page 2, item C., strike “did not do enough for biking” and replace with “did not meet intended goals of funding.” Top of page 5 strike “France Avenue Study was done for Active Living in Hennepin County, but the study was not done by Hennepin County and does not necessarily have their support” and replace with “France Avenue Study was commissioned by the City and Hennepin County’s Housing, Community Works and Transit Department. It is not known whether it has the support of Hennepin County Transportation or Public Works Departments.” Motion was made by Member Braden and seconded by Member Franzen to approve amended minutes. All voted aye. Motion carried. COMMUNITY COMMENT None. TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS FOR SENIORS Presentation by Elin Schold Davis Population age 65 and older will grow more than 2% annually from 2001 to 2009 and another 60% over the next 15 years; therefore, needing multi-modal solutions. As the ETC think about Complete Streets, they need to think about the abilities of residents in the community and transportation options including physical, vision, cognition and level of assistance. Living Streets is a great start that most communities are adopting; however, nationally, less than one-third addresses the needs of older users. Member Schold Davis said she would like Edina to address the needs of its diverse population. Continuing, she said the five A’s of senior friendly transportation that realtors and others may begin using to score communities are: 1) Availability; 2) Acceptability; 3) Accessibility; 4) Adaptability; and 5) Affordability and she recommended that the ETC use these as measuring tools. HUMAN SERVICES TASK FORCE A request was made for a volunteer to serve on this task force to make recommendation how the City should spend its human services funds. Member Braden volunteered and Member Schold Davis volunteered to be her back-up. 2 COMMISSION DISCUSSION Format for forwarding recommendations to the Council Chair Janovy said at the last meeting two recommendations were made to the Council that have not yet been submitted because there is not a proper way to do so currently and she asked for suggestions. Members Braden and McKlveen each suggested a format. TLC Grant Update Assistant city engineer Sullivan said the BETF has a workshop scheduled for August 3 with the City Council and Manager Neal and this topic will be discussed. He anticipates drafting a formal response to the TLC following the meeting. Discussion ensued regarding the 3-to-2 lane conversion on Valley View Road; Director Houle, consultant (WSB) and TLC working together to develop a plan for the 8/3 meeting; whether or not residents on Wooddale were surveyed; and building ADA compliant ramps on both ends approaching the pedestrian bridge to avoid the Valley View intersection. Motion was made by Member McKlveen and seconded by Member Thompson to recommit their support of the project to secure the TLC grant and to endorse the 3-to-2 lane conversion on Valley View Road. All voted aye. Motion carried. France Avenue corridor update/pedestrian bridge Assistant city engineer Sullivan said the ETC’s recommendation to Council was to support significant enhancement of at grade crossing along France Avenue from crosstown to TH-494 and not support the bridge. He said staff is moving forward with the RFP to secure funding of the bridge. During discussion, it was noted that the cost of the bridge is approximately $3-5M with $1.5M in federal grant and the rest would come from TIF funds. Staff was asked why they were continuing to support the bridge. Mr. Sullivan said when the application was done, there were strong support for the bridge, especially during the W. 70th Street (France to TH- 100) planning. He said at that time, current plans by Three Rivers District was not known but it does not mean that modifications cannot be made to align the bridge with their plan. Motion was made by Member Bonneville and seconded by Member Nelson that the ETC reiterate their prior recommendation that the bridge not be built for lack of information and high cost; lack of public input; not knowing connectivity; will not serve users on France Avenue; lack of justification; not warranted for usage; and not judicious, efficient use of public dollars. Rollcall: Ayes: Bass, Bonneville, Braden, Nelson, Janovy, Schold Davis Nays: Franzen, Thompson Motion carried. Temporary traffic control zones and Temporary speed table Assistant city engineer Sullivan said at the last Council meeting questions were raised regarding the meaning of “road closed to thru traffic” and “road closed’ signs at the W. 44th and W. 70th Streets reconstruction projects. He said both streets are heavily used and are currently detoured for reconstruction. He said “road closed to thru traffic” sign means that if you are not a resident on that street or visiting a business, you should not be using that street; and “road closed” means there is activity going on that will prevent you from getting thru, even for residents on that street. Accessing north/south streets by crossing a closed street is not allowed. Mr. Sullivan said these areas are generally patrolled by the police. Temporary Installation of speed table was authorized by Council on Sunnyside Road, east of Townes Road, due to drivers not using the detour as directed and the goal is to readjust drivers’ behavior. Currently, there is not policy in place for the use of speed table; one will need to be developed. 3 Living Streets RFP update Staff is finalizing the RFP and members have recommended some firms to receive it. Bike Edina Task Force Update Chair Johnson has stepped down and the leadership is shared with co-chairs Peter Kelly and Brad Schaeppi. Discussion took place regarding the structure of the BETF and if it would like to remain independent, become a committee of the ETC, or be its own board or commission and this came up because the ETC bylaw does allow for a committee. Grandview Small Area Study Update Member Nelson said they have not been able to attend the meeting as the schedule is the same as the ETC; however a letter of interest were issued to select a consultant to assist in the process and they are reviewing those letters tonight. 44th and 70th Street Updates W. 44th was discussed earlier and is progressing; phase 1 of W. 70th Street was paved yesterday and the goal is to open this phase before school begins. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS None CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS Member Nelson asked if there is a plan for reconstructing concrete streets. Mr. Sullivan said most of the concrete streets still have some time to before needing to be replaced and they are also much more expensive than asphalt. He said they are putting together a plan for concrete street replacement. Member Franzen said the presentation on transportation options for seniors was intriguing and warrant more discussion and perhaps subcommittee to do more research. Member Schold Davis said she would be happy to help with a subcommittee. She said there are some counties that are starting the discussion that they could probably become involved with. Member Bonneville said they should look at the intersection at Interlachen Blvd where it crosses Vernon by the gas station because it is a difficult intersection. He said perhaps the ETC can lend some support to the small area planning group to look at it. Member Bass gave the following update on the state’s budget as provided by a TLC staff: commuter and passenger rail routes remained uncut; transit fares are expected to remain the same; metro area transit service to remain intact; may be slight reduction in a few cities and suburban routes; federal contribution expected to be reduced; MetCouncil received $20M in state bonds to conduct additional studies on new corridors; bicycle and pedestrian trails were included in a $500M bonding bill; Complete Streets legislation remain intact; and the budget for roads and transportation increased. Member Thompson said he received an email from Lynette that was sent by a resident on Pointe Dr. regarding the number of garbage trucks on his street and why the City did not have just one hauler. Chair Janovy said she referred him to the chair of the Energy and Environment Commission. STAFF COMMENTS None. ADJOURNMENT Motion was made Member Bass and seconded by Member Braden to adjourn. All voted aye. Motion carried.