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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-04-19 Meeting Packet AGENDA Regular Meeting of the Edina Transportation Commission 6:00 PM, Thursday, April 19, 2007 Edina City Hall 4801 West 50th Street Council Chambers I. Call to Order II. Public Comment III. Old Business a. Transportation Impact Analysis IV. New Business a. Metro Transit Bus Route Update – John Dillery b. 7311 France Ave. – Edina Retail, formally “The District”* V. Approval of Minutes a. Regular Meeting of March 15, 2007* b. Special Meeting of March 19, 2007* VI. Planning Commission Update (Commissioner Brown) VII. Open Discussion VIII. Staff Liaison Comments (Sullivan) a. Safe Routes to School Funding* b. City Extra – Email Notification Service* c. Mass Transit Article* d. Valley View Turn Lanes at Schools e. Transportation Comprehensive Plan Update f. I-494 / 169 Improvements g. W. 70 Study Update h. Comprehensive Bike Plan i. Handouts from March 15 2007 Edina Transportation History Overview* IX. Adjournment * Note: Attachment included. During "Public Hearings," the Chair will ask for public comment after City staff members make their presentations. If you wish to speak on the topic, you are welcome to do so as long as your comments are relevant to the discussion. To ensure fairness to all speakers and to allow the efficient conduct of a public hearing, speakers must observe the following guidelines: • Individuals must limit their presentations to three minutes or less. The Chair will modify presentation times, as deemed necessary. • Try not to repeat remarks or points of view made by prior speakers and limit comments to the matter under consideration. • In order to maintain a comfortable environment for all those in attendance, the use of signs, clapping, cheering or booing or any other form of verbal or nonverbal communication is not allowed. During "Public Comments," the Chair will ask to hear from those in attendance who would like to speak about something not on the agenda. Individuals must limit their presentations to three minutes or less and cannot speak to an issue for which a public hearing was previously held and closed or a matter scheduled for a future hearing. Individuals should not expect the [Board or Commission] to respond to their comments. Instead, the [Board or Commission] might direct the matter to staff for consideration at a future meeting. 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. Page 1 of 2 Item IV. a. Edina Transportation Commission G:\PW\CENTRAL SVCS\TRANSPORTATION DIV\Transportation Commission\Agendas & RR's\2007 R&R\20070419_7311France Traffic Impact Study.doc REGULAR TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEETING REPORT/RECOMMENDATION To: Transportation Commissioners Agenda Item No.: IV. a. From: Jack Sullivan, PE ACTION: Assistant City Engineer Recommendation/Motion Date: April 19, 2007 Discussion Subject: Traffic Impact Study – 7311 France, Edina Retail –Cypress Equities Information Recommendation: Staff recommends the Transportation Commission adopt the following motion: “The Edina Transportation Commission recommends approval of the traffic study prepared by Wenck Associates, Inc. dated April 2, 2007, subject to the conditions as indicated in the attached memorandum from the Edina Engineering Department dated April 13, 2007, and the memo from WSB and Associates dated April 12, 2007.” Info/Background: Staff originally received a proposal for re-development of the existing vacant movie theater in September of 2005. The existing building was slated for demolition and a mixed use development was proposed on the site. The uses consisted of 88 condominiums, 20,000 sq. ft. of restaurant space and 66,000 sq. ft. of retail space. The traffic study was approved by the Edina Transportation Commission on September 15, 2005. Since then, the proposed use has shifted to restaurant and retail development without a residential component. The plan calls for 18,500 sq. ft. of restaurant and 67,500 sq. ft. of retail space. Access to the site is via drive entrances along Gallagher Drive, 150 feet and 300 feet east of France Avenue, respectively. This restaurant and retail development results in a higher traffic generator than the previously approved September 2005 study. Wenck Associates, Inc. has submitted a traffic impact study and traffic demand management plan. Staff has also contracted with WSB and Associates, Inc. to review the submittal package. All documents are attached for your review and comment. Page 2 of 2 Item IV. a. Edina Transportation Commission G:\PW\CENTRAL SVCS\TRANSPORTATION DIV\Transportation Commission\Agendas & RR's\2007 R&R\20070419_7311France Traffic Impact Study.doc The following is an excerpt from the May 19, 2005 Transportation Finding of Fact requirement for Traffic Studies (comments for this development are indicated in bold): The Transportation Commission shall consider the following four effects in the evaluation of traffic studies that are warranted by certain zoning, land-use, conditional use permits and final development plan applications prior to the application being submitted to the Planning Commission and Council for consideration: i) Does the development significantly affect the operation and congestion of the adjacent roadways or intersections and/or result in a traffic hazard? According to the Traffic Impact Study, no adverse impact to surrounding roadways or intersections shall occur from this Development. ii) Does the development significantly affect pedestrian safety? The Traffic Demand Impact Management Plan addressed the pedestrian facilities in the area and since the location of existing sidewalks and pedestrian crosswalk at signalized intersections are not to be altered, no adverse impacts shall occur from this Development. iii) Does the development provide opportunities for enhanced transit usage, vanpooling or car-pooling? A Travel Demand Management plan was submitted with the Development’s application. The Development is willing to promote transit use by on-site sales of transit passes, flexible work hours for employees, and having a staff person work with the I-494 Corridor Commission. iv) Does the development provide feasible opportunities to address an existing traffic issue or safety problem? The proposed development does not address existing traffic issues along France Avenue. Since no significant traffic increases are calculated from the Development no improvements are required. The proposed use(s) of the site are allowed in the zoning for this area. From a Traffic Engineer perspective, and based on the Traffic Impact Study, this project will not adversely affect France Avenue or the intersection of France Avenue and Gallagher Drive. MINUTES OF THE Edina Transportation Commission Workshop Thursday, March 15, 2007 Edina City Hall 4801 West 50th Street Council Chambers MEMBERS PRESENT: Warren Plante, Marie Thorpe, Marc Usem, Hilah Almog MEMBERS ABSENT: Les Wanninger, Jean White, Geof Workinger, Steve Brown STAFF PRESENT: Wayne Houle, Jack Sullivan, Sharon Allison I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by co-chair Thorpe. She explained that they were not able to fulfill parliamentary requirements and therefore, the meeting was a workshop. II. Public Comment None III. Old Business No old business IV. New Business a. 7380 France Office Building This item was rescheduled for March 19, 7:30 a.m., in the Mayors Conference Room. b. Edina Transportation History Houle gave on overview of the City’s transportation history as it relates to: o History of development within Edina o History of roadway construction o Volume and speed history o Functional Classification System V. Approval of Minutes Postponed until the next regular scheduled meeting, April 19. VI. Planning Commission Update (Commissioner Brown) No update. VII. Open Discussion Usem said that Microsoft is developing a GPS system that drivers will be able to use to find alternative routes. It should be available by 2008. 2 VIII. Staff Liaison Comments (Sullivan) a. Transportation Comprehensive Plan Update The Comp Plan review is scheduled for March 21, 7 p.m., with a primary focus on land use. WSB is developing the transportation plan. b. Southwest Transit way Alternatives An environmental study is being conducted for one of the alternate routes. c. Highway 100 Update The temporary third lane is in place; the permanent build is scheduled for 2014. d. I-35/Crosstown Update Bids are scheduled to be received and opened March 31 and construction to begin June and completed by 2010. A Mn/Dot staff will be invited to a future meeting to explain the potential impacts of the construction on the City. e. Pentagon Park AUAR Due to the size of a planned redevelopment in Pentagon Park, an Alternative Area-wide Review (AUAR) environmental study is required. Staff expanded the study area to include the area south of West 77th Street over to France and is looking at the study from a regional perspective. This is the first AUAR study being conducted in the City and it is funded by the developer. f. West 70th Street SAC Update The first SAC meeting is scheduled for April 12, 7 p.m. The SAC members will be notified via email and letter. Approximately 4-5 SAC meetings will be held and time will be set aside to educate the committee on transportation in Edina. All meetings are open to the public, however, the format will not include dialoguing. g. Safe Routes to School Application An application was submitted at the end of January for funds to create a template around school zones that would be usable by other Minnesota cities. School zones are typically set by the School District for walking/biking. There are approximately 5% walkers in the school district, which is high said Rickart. Thorpe said she would like to see the walking zone expanded. h. Mn/DOT Speed Study for Local Roads The Cities of Edina and St. Paul are meeting with Mn/DOT to discuss reduction of speed limit to 25 mph. They will look at accidents, especially pedestrians, past speed studies, etc. The goal is to get the legislators to change the speed limit. Mn/DOT, as well as law enforcement, is not typically in favor of reduced speed limits. i. Edina’s Advisor, Commissions and Committees Annual Meeting The Mayor’s Annual Dinner is scheduled for March 19. j. Draft Transportation Impact Analysis The draft was developed with the assistance of WSB. Some suggestions were to make the impact area boarder; make the impact analysis available to the ETC at least 2-3 weeks before it goes to the Planning Commission; involving the City’s traffic consultant earlier in the process; Mn/DOT’s involvement when appropriate; impacted neighborhood’s involvement but not necessarily to approve project; and adding an addendum or glossary. If it is determined that 3 the roadway cannot handle the proposed traffic, a mitigation plan will be necessary, as well as reducing the density of the development. k. Valley View Roadway and Sidewalk Improvements This project has been rescheduled for 2008 due to a lack of funds. This is a state aid roadway and the $1-2 million in state aid funds is already designated for other projects. A temporary fix will be done this summer. West 70th Street and Metro Blvd, also a state aid project, was also pushed back to 2008. IX. Adjournment Meeting adjourned. The next meeting is scheduled for April 19, 2007, 6-8 p.m., in the Council Chambers, City Hall. MINUTES OF THE Special Meeting of the Edina Transportation Commission Monday, March 19, 2007 Edina City Hall 4801 West 50th Street Mayor’s Conference Room MEMBERS PRESENT: Warren Plante, Marie Thorpe, Jean White, Steve Brown, Hilah Almog MEMBERS ABSENT: Les Wanninger, Geof Workinger, Marc Usem STAFF PRESENT: Jack Sullivan, Sharon Allison This special meeting of the ETC, to review the traffic study for 7380 France Avenue, was called to order by co-chair Thorpe. Sullivan explained that developers are proposing to replace a two story office building with a three story office building at 7380 France Avenue. He said staff and the City’s consultant, Chuck Rickart of WSB, received and reviewed the traffic data management and original traffic counts. He said the Planning Commission reviewed the redevelopment plans and voted favorably for the project with the condition that the ETC review the traffic study before final approval. Rickart explained that the study looked at existing and future traffic impacts and the study shows that future impacts will be minimal. His only concern was with the right-in/right-out only driveway and drivers weaving across two lanes to make a U-turn at Parklawn Avenue. He asked Jim Benshoof with Wenck Associates, Inc, the developer’s traffic consultant, to look at what impact this will have once the site is fully developed. Rickart said the only mitigation plan to preventing the U-turns would be a “no crossing” sign during peak hours. He said this will not stop all drivers but it will restrict some movements. Benshoof explained that the redevelopment is replacing an existing building with a slightly bigger one that will have similar traffic patterns. He said the building is currently vacant and therefore, they could not do existing traffic counts; however, existing is estimated to be 31 trips and the larger building is expected to create 55 trips. He stated that his review of the right- in/right-out only driveway should not pose a problem because during peak hours, they expect only approximately 12 vehicles to make a U-turn. He said there are bus stops and sidewalk in the area and management has committed to providing transit information to the occupants. Concerns and questions raised by commissioners are as follows: • With such a short distance coming out of the site, will this be a safety concern with drivers making U-turns? Rickart said this is what he referred to as the weave. • Removing the deceleration lane to provide more green space and boulevard to make the area more pedestrian friendly was suggested. Rickart said they would have to look at how 2 traffic would be impacted on France. Sullivan said they would probably look at the entire corridor instead of an individual site. • Has Hennepin County looked at the plans? Rickart said access control is the primary concern for the County and in this case they are not changing the access point. He said further that this is a small project that will have very little impact on France Avenue and when they are working on projects that will have significant impacts to county roads they are usually involved; one such project is the roundabouts on W. 70th Street. Sullivan said they are not typically notified on every project; however, they could include them in the impact analysis statement that is being revised. • With 69th and York they did “intersection management” and did not look at the impacts to the wider area. How will this project affect the wider area and, are there applications in process that might have further impacts on the area? Brown said they do have Cypress Equities in the works; however, this redevelopment was a simple discussion for the Planning Commission because the developers made an effort to conceal the access and it is not going to have a major impact on traffic and furthermore, the building could become a medical building which would reduce the number of trips generated. Rickart said they are studying 84 intersections in the southwest area as part of the synchro-model plan and when this is completed, developers will be told which intersections they must include in their traffic study. This tool, he said, will help them see the impacts on the general area better than they can now. Staff recommendation is as follow: Review the attached memos dated February 2 and March 8 from Jim Benshoof regarding the development plan and if so desired by the Transportation Commission, adopts a motion recommending that traffic generated from the proposed submittal of 7380 France Office Building (Development) does not adversely affect the adjacent transportation system. Info/Background: Staff received the proposal for re-development of an existing 2 story 25,000 square foot office building located along the west side of France Avenue north of Parklawn Avenue. The existing building would be torn down in order to construct a new 3 story 44,000 square foot office building in approximately the same location. Wenck Associates, Inc. (formerly Benshoof and Associates) has submitted a traffic impact study and traffic demand management plan. Staff requested that an analysis of the intersection of France Avenue and Parklawn Avenue be performed. Wenck Associates, Inc. have included a memo, dated March 8th, addressing this intersection. Staff also contracted with WSB and Associates, Inc. to review the memorandums. The following is an excerpt from the May 19, 2005 Transportation Finding of Fact requirement for Traffic Studies (comments for this development are indicated in bold): The Transportation Commission shall consider the following four effects in the evaluation of traffic studies that are warranted by certain zoning, land-use, conditional use permits and final development plan applications prior to the application being submitted to the Planning Commission and Council for consideration: i) Does the development significantly affect the operation and congestion of the adjacent roadways or intersections and/or result in a traffic hazard? 3 According to the Traffic Impact Study, no adverse impact to surrounding roadways or intersections shall occur from this Development. ii) Does the development significantly affect pedestrian safety? The Traffic Demand Impact Management Plan addressed the pedestrian facilities in the area and since the location of existing sidewalks and pedestrian crosswalk at signalized intersections are not to be altered, no adverse impacts shall occur from this Development. iii) Does the development provide opportunities for enhanced transit usage, vanpooling or car-pooling? A Travel Demand Management plan was submitted with the Development’s application. The Development is willing to promote transit use by on-site sales of transit passes, flexible work hours for employees, and having a staff person work with the I-494 Corridor Commission. iv) Does the development provide feasible opportunities to address an existing traffic issue or safety problem? The proposed development does not address existing traffic issues along France Avenue. Since no significant traffic increases are calculated from the Development no improvements are required. The proposed use(s) of the site are allowed in the zoning for this area. From a Traffic Engineer perspective, and based on the Traffic Impact Study, this project will not adversely affect France Avenue or the intersection of France Avenue and Parklawn Avenue. Plante motioned to approve the traffic study as recommended by the consultant and staff. Motion was seconded by Brown. All voted aye. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned.