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<br />McKinley Street and in front of Sunfish Commons. He stated that he had gathered information, <br />including information from the County that is contrary to the concerns raised by the business <br />owners about this having a negative impact on the businesses. He stated that statistics gathered <br />by County Engineer Doug Fischer, show that this intersection is the 5th worst in the State. He <br />stated that he looked at the accident history for the last seven years and between 2001 and now <br />there has been a total of 84 accidents, 2 that were fatalities, 13 personal injuries and 58 were <br />property damage accidents. He stated that there was different information shared at the open <br />house in April. He stated that some people have raised the idea of doing intersection <br />improvements at Armstrong Boulevard first. He stated that he had reviewed the statistics. and <br />found there were about half the total accidents at that intersection than there were at Sunfish <br />Lake Boulevard with 1 fatality and 5 personal injury accidents. He stated that the accidents on <br />record for Ramsey Boulevard, after the recent intersection improvement, were only 6 property <br />damage accidents. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig asked for the timeframe on the Ramsey Boulevard information. <br /> <br />Public Works Director Olson stated that the intersection was completed in 2005, so there were 6 <br />accidents in about 2 years. <br /> <br />Councilmember Look asked how many of the accidents at Sunfish Lake Boulevard were train <br />related because he thinks this is pertinent information to consider. He stated that the City <br />Council has asked for this information and it has never been supplied. He stated that he feels <br />many of the accidents are related to the cars stacking up because a train is present. <br /> <br />Public Works Director Olson stated that he does not think this information is available. He <br />stated that the two key issues for this intersection are safety and the impact to businesses. He <br />stated that after the open house, the County changed the design to allow for full access at <br />McKinley Street. He stated that the County is not willing to support a median opening at the <br />intersection of Sunfish Lake Boulevard for the Sunfish Commons business. He stated that he has <br />gathered information about the economic impact of having a raised median and it indicates that <br />there is not an economic impact. <br /> <br />Public Works Director Olson introduced a video from Anoka County that was prepared by the <br />Transportation Research Board regarding Access Management. The video reiterated the <br />information gathered by Public Works Director Olson that raised medians are unlikely to have a <br />negative impact on businesses. It stated that customers will come to businesses for product and <br />service. It noted that before and after studies found that a majority of businesses along these <br />raised median corridors experience similar or greater sales after the projects are completed. It <br />also stated that turn-over and vacancy rates do not increase after the intersection changes are <br />made, nor are real estate prices affected. It did state that some businesses will be adversely <br />affected during the construction process, but the access management improvements of a safer <br />intersection can even enlarge the market reach for the businesses. <br /> <br />Public Works Director Olson stated that he had also included some other economic studies <br />regarding access management. He stated that there was a study done in Kansas that showed <br />there was a negative impact on 2 gas stations because patrons had to travel 2 miles out of their <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / November 13, 2007 <br />Page 4 of7 <br />