Minutes - Council - 11/13/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Yamoutpour stated that he feels with the new design people will make V-turns on the train tracks and he feels this will be a very dangerous situation. He stated that he does not see a traffic concern at the intersection and discussed the hard channelization at Thurston Avenue. Councilmember Elvig stated that the City wants to have a smoother flow of traffic in the area and putting in stop signs will not do that, nor will it make the intersection safer. Mr. Yamoutpour stated that if the access to his business is going to be blocked for safety reasons, he feels it should be proven. He stated that he thinks putting in the median will put him out of business and he does not believe there will be an improvement in safety. He stated that he has spoken with people from the Super America station on Highway 47 and Bunker Lake Boulevard and their business has been greatly reduced because of the median that was put in. Leonard Gandell stated that he was a real estate agent for Sunfish Commons at 6410 Highway 10 and understands that the City Council has a difficult decision to make. He urged the City Council to get as much information as they can before this decision is made. He stated that he does not dispute that there have been 84 accidents at this intersection, but questions whether they were related to other issues, for example, alcohol. He stated that of the 3 options presented by Public Works Director Olson, he feels the 3rd choice is best and feels that the City will have the opportunity again in the future to change this intersection. He stated that, when the hard channelization was put in near the Burger King, they lost 60% of their business, which they have since regained. He stated that for the businesses in Sunfish Commons, losing 60% of their business will put them out of business. He stated that he would like the City Council to consider other ways to improve the situation that will keep the businesses viable. Councilmember Elvig stated that the City Council has not had a lot of time to debate this issue and would like to have adequate time to debate the issue amongst _ the City Council. He stated that while he appreciated the input from the audience, he would the City Council to debate the issue. He stated that he agreed with Councilmember Look's opinion that this is ahead of schedule, but every time he hears about a transportation project that says it should have been done 15 years ago, he is proud that the City has gotten in front of other projects, such as Ramsey Boulevard before the big construction project begin. He stated that he does not want to hurt businesses but if the City doesn't do this now, the City will lose about $700,000 in funding. He stated that he does not think allowing V-turns on Highway 10 is a good idea. He stated that even with the inclusion of a median, he feels he will use this area as much as he does now. He stated that he feels for the businesses, but feels that this will have a huge safety impact. Councilmember Olson stated that she feels this opens up a can of worms and agrees that the intersection needs to be upgraded. She stated that if the City wants to see the project constructed a different way, the City will lose some of the participation from other government entities. She stated that because there are not abundant transportation dollars available in the market today, she feels this creates the need for a cookie cutter approach to designs. She stated that she would like to see some time taken to look at a more creative approach to this situation rather than the currently popular raised median approach. She stated that she would like to see someone from outside the situation give a fresh perspective, but she does not think that can happen unless the City Council denies this request. She stated that she does not feel she can support this project the City Council / November 13,2007 Page 13 of 19