Minutes - Public Works Committee - 10/16/2007

Home

Motion carried. Voting Yes: Chairperson Elvig, Councilmembers Olson, and Dehen. Voting No: None. COMMITTEE BUSINESS Case #1: Consider Request for Stop Signs at Alpaca Street and RiverdaleDrive City Engineer Jankowski stated that after receiving a petition from residents, the City Council directed staff to conduct an investigation to determine whether it would be appropriate to place stop signs on any legs of the intersection of Alpaca Street and Riverdale Drive. He stated that as part of the review, the accident history was reviewed. He noted that looking back 5 years from January 1, 2007, there were no reported accidents at the intersection, however, area residents have noted that there have been several near misses. He stated that traffic counts were taken on October 8, 2007. The results of this traffic volume study are as follows: Daily Peak Street Leg Traffic Hour Alpaca North 231 23 Alpaca South 118 12 Riverdale East 193 19 Riverdale West 353 35 Intersection 448 45 He stated that they also took a look at the sight lines and found that there were some Siberian Elm trees that had branches extending to ground level that staff has since trimmed. He stated that the Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices provides guidance for when it is appropriate to place stop signs and this situation is considered a low traffic volume and stop signs are not warranted. He stated that staff agrees that the existing signage is appropriate and that there should not be stop signs placed at this intersection. Patrick Boedigheimer, 7944 142nd Avenue NW, stated that he initiated the petition. He stated that he spoke with about nine of the people who signed the petition and they have all had or seen near misses at the intersection. He stated that people come through the intersection at 45 or 50 mph and there is a big fear among residents that someone will get hit. City Engineer Jankowski stated that the City can work with the neighborhood to enforce the speed limit in the area. He stated that in addition to bringing the speed to the attention of the police department, the City could also put the speed trailer at the intersection. Councilmember Dehen confirmed that the study took a look at the possibility of placing stop signs at both Alpaca Street and Riverdale Drive. City Engineer Jankowski clarified that the study looked at both and the traffic volume was deemed to be too low to warrant placement of stop signs at any of the intersections. Chair Elvig asked what the traffic volumes would need to be to warrant a stop sign. Public Works Committee /October 16,2007 Page 2 of 12