Minutes - Council - 03/21/1995 - Public Hearing

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collector roadways to connect Ramsey with Andover and Elk River. There has been a number' of discussions on whether to place a bridge corridor across the Mississippi River. The City Council consensus was to show no bridge crossing in the area. That would be handled in the text of the comprehensive plan amendment. One other item is major additions in land use - mixed density residential. The intent is not to identify a residential use or density this maybe would include a variety of your residential categories. The density could vary depending upon specific plans for specific areas. Bill Smith with Biko Associates presented the transportation plan. The primary focus is the east/west collectors. Because of wetlands, Ramsey does not have continuity. We wanted to look for linkages between Elk River to the west and Andover to the east and possibly to make a stronger connection to Highway gl0 and Anoka to the south. With regard to the Highway gl0 corridor - we were able to identify possible linkage on 173rd, west into Elk River and a connection on Jarvis to the north. Elk River is interested in the linkage as well. Jarvis would become the joint responsibility of the two cities. We looked at potential crossings of the Rum River to the east into Andover. It would enable trips generated from the northeast area of Ramsey to come down and cross the river and back up to a higher capacity street to get to Highway gl0 rather than Highway #47 or County Road #5. One of the major concerns of the study is the condition of Highway #10. There is in excess of 52 direct access points onto Highway gl0 from private properties. That's a dangerous situation; it does not make sense to have that many accesses. There should be a route to consolidate accesses. Another east/west route is the continuation of County Road gl 16. One highway frontage road would be to continue McKinley Street on the north side of the railroad tracks. Access to the south across the railroad tracks immediately on the south side of that would be a two-lane road. This could eliminate the need for direct accesses onto Highway gl0. We could continue it along just west of Sunfish Lake Boulevard and up to Ramsey Boulevard and one driveway west to Armstrong to service other properties. That is an area where an at-grade crossing currently provides access to Highway gl0 which is not a good connection. Bringing Highway #47 down and around wetland and making a more logical connection to Thurston would eliminate the need for these hairpin turns. Mayor Hardin asked that the residents limit comment to three to five minutes due to the number of people wishing to speak. Citizen Input Wayne Johnson of Wayne L. Johnson in Anoka, inquired if, on Highway #47, that would be diverted to the west, north of County Road #116. Mr. Smith replied yes, there is an existing wetland on the west side of Highway #47 fight now; we would want to skirt along that and make a nice transition onto Thurston. Mr. Johnson inquired if this is years away. Mr. Smith replied that this would involve state funding and negotiations with the City of Anoka. He then elaborated on the proposed trail plan. He stated this was done with a lot of input from Ramsey's Park and Recreation Commission. This identifies on-road A trail - a trail that is built within the right-of-way of the roadway. This takes advantage of the shoulder - 8 to 10 feet wide for bicycle and recreational use. On-road B trail is also on the roadway right-of-way but the trail is separated from the road by a grassy boulevard. This could be the ditch in the rural area and in the urban area it could be the space that' separates the sidewalk from the road. Off-road trails are not in the roadway right-of-way; the road may be several feet away. The width is 10 feet for a two-way bicycle trail. We have trees and shrubbery shown in the typical section and a five foot walking path. You have the Trott Brook trail - a 200 foot wide swamp in some areas. There is no guarantee it would be 200 feet wide in the whole area. Snowmobile usc would be allowed. Across Trunk Highway #47 and over to Rum River Park there is a multi-use trail. No Public Hearing/City Council/March 21, 1995 Page 2 of 10