Minutes - Council - 01/13/2009 - Laserfiche WebLink

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and this closure was a good thing. He expressed concern about someone coming in after the fact. He felt this is a good thing - a temporary fix and he is weighing in on this to close this tomorrow. Councilmember Wise stated that public safety is being brought to the forefront but if you close roads, it is safer, but less useable. Councilmember McGlone stated he grew up in Farmdale, Long Island and at that time, there were farms there - which no longer exist, but there were cut-through streets where he grew up and the authorities put up signage. He inquired of the residents what the name of their development was to which they replied Flintwood. He asked why they did not say they lived in Flintwood and they replied because they live in Ramsey. He stated that we are the whole City. If we are going to grow up and be a city, this is a part of it. He stated that he was at the Public Works meeting and voiced his opinion as to why the road should not be closed. Councilmember McGlone stated he is not a proponent for closing any roads. When the City pays for a portion of the road project, that gives him the right to use that road as well. Motion carried. V oting Yes: Mayor Ramsey, Councilmembers Look, Jeffrey, McGlone, and Wise. Voting No: Councilmember Dehen. Absent: Councilmember Elvig. Councilmember Jeffrey clarified that the previous vote was just accepting the information and moving it to the Public Works agenda. Motion by Mayor Ramsey, seconded by Councilmember Look to delay the road closure to March 31, 2009. Further discussion: Mayor Ramsey stated he was in the meeting when this was directed to be closed and it was clear the people who wanted it to be closed did not come. He did not see this as a big public safety hazard. Councilmember Look stated he was a part of these discussions and part of the closure decision. People were notified but those who are for something usually do not show. It has become apparent that some did not show up. Out of fairness, it comes to the majority. Maybe there should be a simple petition - closure or no closure. He inquired what the numbers were for the traffic counts to which Mr. Olson replied about 1,100 cars daily. Councilmember Look expressed concern about that number for a small neighborhood. This amount of traffic will deteriorate a road faster. We should let everyone weigh in on it and we will go from there. It is prudent to push out the closure again. Mayor Ramsey asked what the date of the traffic study was to which Director of Public Works Olson replied August, September and October. The study was not done in 2006 - we waited to do them until the traffic patterns settled down. Mr. Olson stated that if any modifications are done to this, he felt it is important to notify the neighborhood in its entirety because changes, such as no left turns, etc., could have a significant impact on the neighbors who have not been notified of that meeting. If this turns out to be a closure of the median on 142nd, there are more people impacted and we will have to notify them. With regard to the accident history at 142n and TH #47 - there were 20 accidents in two years. Thirteen of the 20 were caused by left turning vehicles. The idea behind the closqre was to decrease the cut-through traffic and decrease the number of vehicles. Mayor Ramsey stated this debate will be on the Public Works Committee meeting. Director of Public Works Olson stated that if the City Council City Council/January 13,2009 Page 15 of31