Minutes - Public Works Committee - 09/16/2008

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neighborhood. He stated that the worst times are in the morning when the kids are standing at the bus stops. City Engineer Jankowski asked ifhe was seeing people cut through other than at peak times. Mr. Backous stated that the main problems are peak hours in the morning and evening. He stated that he asked for this study because there are a lot of accidents. He stated that the three- fourths median was a good attempt to make it safer, but it really is almost more dangerous that it used to be because both sides of the left turn lanes are directly lined up, so you can't see around each other to see if it is safe to go. He stated that he would suggest that the City block off 142"d from TH 47, which would force people to go to Dysprosium and 5 to get to TH 47. He suggested that perhaps there could be a gate for emergency vehicles to be able to get through when they needed to. . Chairperson Elvig stated that this would eliminate through traffic on 142"d after the frontage road, behind the Landmark Bank. He suggested that perhaps the City could look at opening the gate at Mallard Pond again. Public Works Director Olson stated that this is why they did not invite any neighborhoods yet. Chairperson Elvig stated that perhaps the road behind the bank should be up to City standards, but that may be a challenge because of wetland issues. He stated that if the City entertains changing anything, he feels that road would have to be improved. He reiterated that he would like to take a look at the Mallard Ponds gate again. Fire Chief Kapler stated that the big argument against opening the gate in the past was that they felt it was going to be a through way, however, if 142" is cut off, there wouldn't be access, so that concern should disappear. Councilmember Dehen stated that if the City closed the 142"d access why would the road behind the bank need to be improved because there would be less traffic. Chairperson Elvig stated that may be true and suggested that a traffic study be done. City Engineer Jankowski reviewed the accident history. He noted that since 2004 there have been a total of 31 reportable accidents, 21 of which involved property damage, 8 were personal injuries and 2 were fatal. He noted that there was a summary of the accidents as well as the accident reports beginning on page 66 of the packet. He noted that for an accident to be reportable, there has to be more than $1,000 in property damage or an injury. Councilmember Dehen stated that the fact that there have been that many accidents at this intersection is huge. Chairperson Elvig stated that he agreed, however, it shows only 4 accidents so far in 2008. Mr. Backous stated that he thinks this number has been higher than that. Public Works Committee / September 16,2008 Page 10 of 17