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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-10-20 Meeting Packet\\ED-NT8\EngPubWks\Engineering\Infrastructure\Streets\Traffic\TRANSP COMM\Agendas\2011 Agendas\20111020_Agenda.docx AGENDA CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION COUNCIL CHAMBERS OCTOBER 20, 2011 6:00 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER II. ROLL CALL III. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA IV. ADOPTION OF CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of Minutes -- Regular meeting of September 15, 2011 B. Traffic Safety Committee Report of October 6, 2011 V. COMMUNITY COMMENT During “Community Comment,” the Transportation Commission will invite residents to share relevant issues or concerns. Individuals must limit their comments to three minutes. The Chair may limit the number of speakers on the same issue in the interest of time and topic. Generally speaking, items that are elsewhere on tonight’s agenda may not be addressed during Community Comment. Individuals should not expect the Chair or Commission Members to respond to their comments tonight. Instead, the Commission might refer the matter to staff for consideration at a future meeting. VI. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS A. Karen Kurt – Edina Assistant City Manager, Introduction B. Jack Broz – “A complete streets discussion of France Avenue” C. TLC Phase 1 Bike Boulevard – Steve Clark, Transit for Livable Communities D. Parklawn Road/Londonderry Intersection Realignment E. Initial Feedback on LA County Living Streets Policy F. Questions/Updates from Student Members G. Bike Edina Task Force Update H. Grandview Small Area Study Update I. 44th and 70th Street Updates VII. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS VIII. CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS \\ED-NT8\EngPubWks\Engineering\Infrastructure\Streets\Traffic\TRANSP COMM\Agendas\2011 Agendas\20111020_Agenda.docx IX. STAFF COMMENTS X. ADJOURNMENT 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. 1 MINUTES OF CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION COMMUNITY ROOM SEPTEMBER 15, 2011 6:00 P.M. ROLLCALL Answering rollcall were Members Schold Davis, Thompson, Braden, Schweiger, Housh, Nelson, Janovy, Bonneville, McKlveen, Bass APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Chair Janovy proposed to change the meeting agenda as follow: moving the presentation by Karen Nikolai ahead of Traffic Safety, and adding an October meeting date under Chair and Commission Members Comments. Motion was made by member Bonneville and seconded by member Braden approving the amended meeting agenda. All voted aye. Motion carried. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - REGULAR MEETING OF AUGUST 18, 2011 The minutes were amended as follow: page 2, paragraph 2, under France Avenue corridor update/pedestrian bridge: strike Parklawn and change ‘couple’ to ‘three.’ Motion was made by member Thompson and seconded by Nelson to approve amended minutes. All voted aye. Motion carried. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS Karen Nikolai – Hennepin Department of Housing, Community Works, and Transit France Avenue Corridor Study Ms. Nikolai said she is with Hennepin County in Public Works in the department of Housing, Community Works and Transit. She said the Corridor Study was conducted as part of a community works planning grants in 2008. She said Community Works has been around approximately 15 years and serves to stimulate employment development; build bridges for affecting planning and implementation; maintain and improve natural systems; to strengthen communities thru connections and to enhance the tax base. Regarding this project, Ms. Nikolai said Hennepin County called for proposals in 2008 with them providing the planning grant and Edina received one of the grants and URS (Kathryn Ryan) was hired to work with her and Heather Worthington over a 5-6 month period. She said the purpose of the study was to look at land use planning along France Avenue, knowing that it is an ‘A’ minor arterial and matching this with the Comp Plan which states “…defines France Avenue as the central spine of the Greater Southdale District and calls for a development of urban design framework for primary roadway corridor such as France Avenue. Potential improvements call for pedestrian amenities and landscape improvements.” Ms. Nikolai said this is the purview that Ms. Ryan used to develop the study. She looked at existing conditions to see what could be done to match what the City was looking for while working in the existing right-of-way. She said various options were presented to the City to decide what to do and how to go about implementation and Hennepin County’s involvement ended. Ms. Nikolai was asked if the City wants to pursue the study what the procedures are. She said the City would work with one of two departments in Public Works (environmental service and/or housing community works in conjunction with transportation) depending on what is being done. She said projects that Community Works were involved with include Lowry Avenue which was redesigned from four-lanes to two-lanes, turn lanes and bike lanes; Humboldt Avenue which included removing housing as part of the roadway redesign; the Midtown Greenway; bridge over Hiawatha Avenue; and two current projects include Hiawatha-Minnehaha intersection which is in design to make it safer for pedestrians; and Southwest LRT Corridor is the newest to become a Community Works project. She said usually projects go to Hennepin County board for approval and that the head of Community Works, Patrick Connoy, could speak more to this. 2 She said if TIF (HRA) money were to fund this project it be more in the realm of Community Works. Some other possible funding sources for inexpensive items are Roadside Enhancement Partnership Program (REPP) for things such as pedestrian level lighting and some vegetation; and Transportation Enhancements at the Met Council but it is being held up in the senate. Ms. Nikolai was asked why Complete Streets approach was used for the study and she said this approach in conjunction with land use, goes hand-in-hand to make it more appealing instead of having parking lots adjacent to the corridor. In reference to the pedestrian bridge, she said it could end up being used by only one person. Chair Janovy said the ETC has discussed this and other options such as sidewalks and crossings. Ms. Nikolai said she believes they have planning studies money available for 2012 and encouraged the City to apply for a capital improvement program grant for a deeper study of France Avenue. Additionally, she said it does not cost much to do a charette to look at different options with the community or actually going on site with construction cones and staging various layouts so people can see what it feels like. Chair Janovy said this is the first time that they are hearing how the study came about and how Community Works works She said there is a sunset date of March 2012 for the federal funds which is puts them in a tight timeline. Ms. Nikolai suggested contacting MnDOT’s Bicycle and Pedestrian section who could talk about successes and failures of pedestrian bridges and also MnDOT’s newly formed Scott Bradley, Director of Context Sensitive Solutions for MnDOT, to help the ETC inform their decision. Traffic Safety Report of September 7, 2011 Section B. 1. The policy on the web that shows 500 vehicles per day is not updated; it should be 300 vehicles per hour for any 8 hours said assistant engineer Sullivan. Streets with an issue that does not meet volume are addressed separately using engineering judgment. Section C.2. & 3. Chair Janovy said the NTMP is the only Council prescribed way of dealing with traffic calming and asked if there is a different way of handling these in practice to inform them. Mr. Sullivan said they should not have said the above listed items needed further study. He said item 2 was taken off by the requestor and item 3 should have included contacting Hennepin County. Chair Janovy asked that the intersection at Vernon Ave and Interlachen Blvd be added to a future agenda for discussion. Member Nelson said it is being reviewed as part of the Grandview Small Area Study and chair Janovy added that it was looked at as part of NEETS. Section D. 2. Revised to say ‘Seven traffic counts were conducted.’ COMMUNITY COMMENT None. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS Safe Routes to School Conference and Funding Update Member Bass said Safe Routes to School is a federally funded program for infrastructure and non-infrastructure to create safe routes for students to school. She said their goal was to make a connection between safe routes and livable communities. Workshop tracks included the 5 “E”s – education, enforcement, engineering, encouragement, and evaluation; as well as building partnership; youth engagement; policies, etc. She said attendees from Edina included a parent from one of the elementary schools, couple ETC and BETF members, and the City Engineer, and overall attendance was approximately 600. Member Bass said since not everyone attended the conference, she has a contact that could attend an ETC meeting to give a presentation. This will be added to the October agenda. Mr. Sullivan said the South View Middle School campus sidewalk funding application was not approved. Of 82 applications, 16 were approved and he will be reviewing the ones that were approved. 3 Transit for Livable Communities – Bike Boulevard Schedule Update Mr. Sullivan said the city manager sent a letter to TLC expressing the City’s commitment to the project. He said the timeline for the project is to hold an open house on October 6 and a public hearing in November. For clarification, chair Janovy said the ETC’s October meeting will not be a public hearing but residents can attend and comment on the project. Commission Recommendation Process Mr. Sullivan said the form was reviewed and approved by city manager Neal and assistant city manager Kurt. Chair Janovy said the form would be completed by members who would volunteer to write the summary of information. Motion made by member Bonneville and seconded by member Schold Davis that the ETC approves this form as the document which is used for forwarding information to the City Council of the ETC’s position with procedures. All voted aye. Motion carried. Living Streets RFP Update Mr. Sullivan said staff continues to work on the proposals for Living Streets and France Avenue Corridor, and they will be routed to the ETC for review. Transportation Options Committee Member Schold Davis said she spoke with Sue Weigle, Senior Center, who is willing participate and suggested including Susan Howl. She said Sue said there is a lot of history of looking at transportation options and asked about compiling the documents for review. Three people have applied so far with experience on health commission, steering committee and planning commission (Dan Gieske, Andy Brown and Hope Melton). Other participants would be Human Rights and Relation (Susan), Senior Center (Sue), and Planning Commission (Arlene). Motion made by member Schold Davis and seconded by member Braden for approval of the six members. All voted aye. Motion carried. 2012 Proposed Street Reconstruction Update – Residential and State Aid Mr. Sullivan said residents were invited to an open house for the 2012 assessable projects and 103 residents attended. 2013 open house is also scheduled. The next step will be mailing a questionnaire to 2012 residents, followed by individual neighborhood informational meetings. A map of the State Aid street projects was handed out. Mr. Sullivan was asked how Complete Streets fits in and he said reviewing for possible addition of sidewalk. Additionally, he said he anticipates having the feasibility reports to the ETC in November for review and feedback. Discussion ensued about when the ETC should give input or become involved in this process. Is it before the public hearing? Should input be given to Council or to staff? Member McKlveen said plans can change by only a few people getting others to sign a petition. Chair Janovy said they need a policy in place and if there is pressure to go in a different direction, evaluate the pressure. She said further that if the plans adhere to policy document, maybe there should be procedures for handling a challenge. Member Thompson said if sidewalk is part of the Comp Plan a couple residents should not be able to toss it out and Member Schold Davis said Complete Streets will never be implemented in this way. Member McKlveen said he attended the 2012 open house and he said Mr. Sullivan did a good job addressing concerns before they were expressed. He said why the work was being done and how the process works were clearly stated which made the Q&A session easier. He said further that he drove all four neighborhoods and 3 of the 4 clearly need to be reconstructed. Student Update 4 Student member Schweiger said he is a junior at Edina High and have been taking engineering classes at the high school and had a civil engineering internship at MnDOT this past summer. He said his interest is engineering. Student member Housh said she is interested in Safe Routes to School because they’ve just built a round-about at her school because of traffic issues. She said it is working but some people do not know how to drive it properly. Her school is in Mendota Heights. Bike Edina Task Force Update Chair Janovy said Edina Police Chief Jeff Long visited to talk about bicyclist not stopping at stop signs and the BETF said to issue them tickets. Grandview Small Area Study Update Member Nelson said people were selected from different companies to form the consulting team and they will be meeting with them on 9/21. Some issues are multi-modal access to and thru the district; multi-modal circulation within the district; park and ride role; rail and/or mass transit options; connections across TH-100 and reconfiguration of the highway ramps; bus garage alternatives; and infrastructure issues. Chair Janovy said she sent the chair a copy of the Living Streets policy because they are planning on using this approach. 44th and 70th Streets Update Both projects are on schedule and should be completed by mid-October. W. 70th is in phase 3 which is West shore to TH- 100; it is open to local traffic; pedestrian flasher going up at West Shore; and half of the signal is up at Wooddale. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS None CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS Chair Janovy welcomed new student members Housh and Schweiger. Member Bass suggested adding an item to the agenda to hear from student members. Consensus was reached to add this as an agenda item under Reports/Recommendations. Member Nelson noted that the Southwest LRT was moved into preliminary engineering; and that at crosstown and France there is a new sign that conflicts with the old sign which is still in place. Mr. Sullivan will pass this on to MnDOT. Member Bonneville passed around a concept plan for crosstown where Valley View goes underneath for review and feedback, relative to the bike lane. Member McKlveen requested that the timing of the traffic signal at E. Bush Lake and & 78th be looked at because the left turn only lets about three cars through at a time. Mr. Sullivan will pass this on to the City of Bloomington. Member Schold Davis has information on AARP Report for Planning Complete Streets for Aging in America. Chair Janovy asked about Complete Streets workshop and Mr. Sullivan said he is still working on scheduling it. She asked if a flasher is warranted for the crosswalk at 50th next to City Hall. Mr. Sullivan said he did not know offhand and would look into it. STAFF COMMENTS None. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned. Page 1 of 1 Item VI.C. Edina Transportation Commission G:\PW\CENTRAL SVCS\TRANSPORTATION DIV\Transportation Commission\Agendas & RR's\2011R&R\20111020_Item.VI.C_TLC Bike.docx REGULAR TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEETING REPORT/RECOMMENDATION To: Transportation Commission Agenda Item No.: VI.C From: Jack Sullivan ACTION: Assistant City Engineer Recommendation/Motion Date: October 20, 2011 Discussion Subject: TLC Phase 1 Bike Boulevards Information Info/Background: An open house was held at Public Works on October 6th to inform residents of the Phase 1 Bike Boulevard along 54th, Wooddale, Valley View and 69th Street. The invite was sent to over 670 residents who live on or near the proposed route. About 38 households attending the meeting. I have enclosed the power point presentation that was given that evening along with a list of the written and verbal comments made by residents The anticipated timeline for this project is as follows: Draft Project Memo & Draft Plans – End of October Public Hearing – December 6, 2011 Complete Plans and Submit Project Memo – December 2011 Bid Opening – March 2012 Award Contract – April 2012 Begin Construction - May 2012 Complete Construction – July 2012 Page 1 of 1 Item VI.D. Edina Transportation Commission G:\PW\CENTRAL SVCS\TRANSPORTATION DIV\Transportation Commission\Agendas & RR's\2011R&R\20111020_Item.VI.D_Parkwood_London.docx REGULAR TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEETING REPORT/RECOMMENDATION To: Transportation Commission Agenda Item No.: VI.D From: Jack Sullivan ACTION: Assistant City Engineer Recommendation/Motion Date: October 20, 2011 Discussion Subject: Parkwood Rd/Londonderry Rd Intersection Realignment Information Recommendation: If so desired by the Transportation Commission, adopt a motion recommending to the City Council that the proposed realignment of the intersection of Londonderry Road and Parkwood Road is an appropriate improvement to the operations of the local transportation system. Info/Background: Attached is a power point presentation that gives an overview the request presented to the Traffic Safety Committee, subsequent review and ultimately denial of the all-way stop sign at Parkwood Road and Londonderry Road. The Traffic Safety Report was forwarded to Council for review and recommendation. Council directed staff to work with the requestor to address the concern without installation of all-way stop sign. Staff is suggesting a realignment of the intersection as shown in the attached letter dated September 2, 2011. This letter was sent to 106 residents who live near the intersection. Staff has heard limited feedback from only 5 residents. Four were in favor of the realignment and one was in opposition of the change. G:\PW\CENTRAL SVCS\TRANSPORTATION DIV\Traffic Safety Committee\Staff Review Summaries\11 TSAC & Min\10-05-11.doc REPORT/RECOMMENDATION To: Edina Transportation Commission Agenda Item Item No: _IV.B_ From: Byron Theis Action Traffic Safety Coordinator Discussion Date: October 20, 2011 Information Subject: Traffic Safety Committee Report of October 5th, 2011. ACTION REQUESTED: Review and approve Traffic Safety Staff Review of W ednesday October 5th, 2011. BACKGROUND: It is not anticipated that residents will be in attendance at the meeting regarding any of the attached issues. An overview of the comments supplied by the Transportation Commission will be included in the staff report provided to Council at their November 1st, 2011 meeting. ATTACHMENTS: Traffic Safety Review for October 5th, 2011. Traffic Safety Committee Report Page 1 of 5 October 5th, 2011 TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMITTEE REPORT Wednesday, October 5th, 2011 The Committee review of traffic safety matters occurred on October 5th, 2011. The Committee is comprised of staff members included the City Engineer, Assistant City Engineer, City Planner, Police Traffic Supervisor and Traffic Safety Coordinator. From that review, the recommendations below are provided. On each of the items, persons involved have been contacted and the staff recommendation has been discussed with them. They were also informed that if they disagree with the recommendation or have additional facts to present, they can be included on the October 20, 2011, Edina Transportation Commission and then on to the November 1, 2011 Council Agenda. SECTION A: Requests on which the Committee recommends approval of request: 1. Request for a Yield sign at the intersection of Brook Drive and Limerick Lane. The resident recently had an accident at this intersection which prompted the request. He states that because this is an uncontrolled intersection, drivers do not know who has the right-of-way. After a discussion with staff, the resident requested that Yield signs be placed at the intersection of Brook Drive and Limerick Lane. The City policy states that Yield signs may be warranted, “at the entrance to an intersection where it is necessary to establish right of way and where safe approach speed exceeds 10 MPH based on adequate sight distance”. Also the legs of the intersection cannot exceed 800 vehicles per hour for any hour. Limerick Lane is a City street with a Mon-Fri. average daily traffic of 363 vehicles with an 85th-percentile speed of 29.9 mph south of Brook Drive; with a Mon-Fri. average daily traffic of 294 vehicles with an 85th- percentile speed of 25.1 mph north of Brook Drive. Brook Drive is a City street with a Mon-Fri. average daily traffic of 133 vehicles with an 85th- percentile speed of 22.1 mph east of Limerick Lane; with a Mon-Fri. average daily traffic of 87 vehicles with an 85th-percentile speed of 26 mph west of Limerick Lane. Traffic Safety Committee Report Page 2 of 5 October 5th, 2011 Both streets meet the requirement for traffic volumes and they both meet the requirements to have Yield signs placed on them. Brook Drive should be selected for the Yield signs due to the lower traffic volumes on it. Staff recommends the approval of the installation of “Yield” signs on each leg of Brook Drive at the intersection of Limerick Lane. 2. Request for crosswalk at the intersections of Edinborough Way and West 76th Street and for Edinborough Way and Parklawn Avenue. This request comes from a resident who lives at 7500 York Avenue. They are concerned about the visibility of the crosswalks at these intersections. The residents at 7500 York are elderly and have a hard time seeing the crosswalks was the argument made by the requestor. The policy for crosswalks states that crosswalks shall be placed at intersections that have an excess of 20 pedestrians crossing for two hours for any eight hour period. Pedestrian crossing studies were conducted at the intersections of Parklawn Avenue and Edinborough Way and Edinborough Way and West 76th Street. These counts were conducted by observing the intersections and making note of the pedestrians who cross the intersections. The intersection of Parklawn Avenue and Edinborough Way had 21 pedestrians crossing the intersection in two hours. The intersection of West 76th Street and Edinborough Way had 29 pedestrians crossing the intersection in two hours. Both of these intersections meet warrants for painted crosswalks. Staff recommends the approval of marking the crosswalks at the intersections of Parklawn Avenue and Edinborough Way and West 76th Street and Edinborough Way. Traffic Safety Committee Report Page 3 of 5 October 5th, 2011 SECTION B: Requests on which the Committee recommends denial of request: 1. Request for stop signs at the intersection of Glengarry Parkway and Northwood Drive. This request comes from a resident on Glengarry Parkway who is concerned about the speed of the traffic that travels through that intersection. The resident stated that the traffic does not slow down and feels that a stop sign would slow the speed. Glengarry Parkway is a City street with a Mon-Fri. average daily traffic of 194 vehicles with an 85th-percentile speed of 28.4 mph. Northwood Drive is also a City street with a Mon-Fri. average daily traffic of 186 vehicles with an 85th- percentile speed of 22 mph. Stop sign policy states that the total vehicular volume on the intersecting streets must be at least 1000 vehicles per day. This intersection does not meet the warrants for a stop sign on either leg of the intersection. Staff recommends the denial of the request for a stop sign at the intersection of Glengarry Parkway and Northwood Drive due to lack of warrants. 2. Request for an all-way stop sign at the intersection of Drew Avenue and Fuller Street. This request comes from a resident in Beard Court who drives by this intersection frequently. The concern is focused on the school playground which is located on the northwest corner of that intersection. This request was received in May. It was decided that the traffic studies would be conducted during the school year in the fall. Traffic studies were conducted for the intersection. This involved placing traffic counters on each of the four legs of the intersection. Drew Avenue had a Mon-Fri. average daily traffic of 117 vehicles with an 85th-percentile speed of 23.3 mph south of Fuller Street; and had a Mon-Fri. average daily traffic of 268 vehicles with an 85th-percentile speed of 22.6 mph north of Fuller Street. Fuller Street had a Mon-Fri. average daily traffic of 280 vehicles with an 85th-percentile speed of 21.4 mph west of Drew Avenue; and had a Mon-Fri. average daily traffic of 194 vehicles with an 85th- percentile speed of 24.5 mph east of Drew Avenue. Traffic Safety Committee Report Page 4 of 5 October 5th, 2011 The policy for an all-way stop sign to be placed at an intersection requires there to be and average of 300 vehicles per hour entering the intersection for any eight hours. The intersection of Drew Avenue and Fuller Street do not meet the warrants for an all-way stop sign. This intersection also does not meet the warrants for a stop sign on one of the legs. The policy for a stop sign on one of the legs requires there to be a total vehicular volume of 1000 vehicles at the intersection. Staff recommends the denial of the request to place stop signs at the intersection of Drew Avenue and Fuller Street for lack of warrants. SECTION C: Requests that are deferred to a later date or referred to others. 1. Request for the traffic volume to be investigated along Benton Avenue from Hansen Road to Valley View Road. Requestor would like there to be a bike lane and a sidewalk installed. Requestor was advised about the bike route in our comprehensive plan. Further study of traffic and pedestrian volumes will also be conducted. 2. Request for crosswalks and for pedestrian safety on Sunnyside Road near Curve Avenue. The resident has concerns with the traffic around the time the children are waiting for the bus. The bus stops along the south side of Sunnyside Road, with a majority of the children standing on the north side. Resident was referred to David White, the Edina School Bus Supervisor of Transportation 3. Request for replacement of a sign for eastbound on Sherwood Avenue that read, “No Left Turn” at the bus entrance. Referred to Public Works sign shop for replacement. 4. Request for stop lines to be placed at the intersections of Monterey Avenue and West 42nd Street and for Oakdale Avenue and West 42nd Street. Further study about the appropriate use of stop lines is being considered by staff. 5. Request for “No Parking” signs on West 42nd Street across from Golden Years Montessori School. This request was initially made in March of this year. This was approved by the Council on May 17th. After complaints by residents affected by signs, it was determined that more investigation was required. A letter was sent out to residents to determine the opinions regarding the signs. The results of the letter were two Traffic Safety Committee Report Page 5 of 5 October 5th, 2011 residents are opposed to the signs, and four residents who did not contact to submit vote. Investigations of the area during the time parents’ drop-off and pick up their children was also conducted and included in this meeting. Further study about the traffic conditions is required. SECTION D: Other traffic safety issues handled. 1. Call from a resident who wanted information about the number of crashes at the intersection of West 65th Street and France Avenue. Resident was given data from 2001 to 2010 showing 77 crashes at this intersection. 2. Call from a resident who wanted no parking for an event at their house. Referred to Police Department, who authorizes temporary no parking. 3. Call from resident inquiring about the temporary speed table on Sunnyside Avenue. Staff informed resident that the ETC will be creating a policy for future use of temporary speed tables in Edina. 4. Six traffic counts were conducted in residential neighborhoods that are scheduled to be reconstructed in 2012.