|
. =tar tribune/I t~ursOay/June ~d/1~1
<br />
<br /> removal and
<br />Cul-de-sacs can hamper a ..... city's traffic., ~-.:',.fl°w'.~-.;:!:'. snow. . . e ncy response, times,~ ~-~ This :°ne..~ ,~ ~is, ;-~near. Zachary Lane in Plymouth.
<br />Cities lOok hard r at .... eu -d _ .... s
<br /> thin can
<br />
<br />Too much of a' godd
<br />
<br />By Mike Kaszuba'
<br />StaffWriter
<br />
<br />difficult to turn around in them.
<br />
<br />., bad, theY find
<br /> · - :: ' :~.~i: ."-:~ ' ~>-
<br /> '! )epartme~t actually ha~ a pOlicy:: balked Whe~ ii Saw that the new
<br /> .. (regulating) the length ofcul- hOUses would cause Walters Way
<br /> :lc-sacs and the number of cul-de- to become a 1,500-foot-long dead-
<br /> acs." The city has 198 cul-de-sacs end street. Although the city
<br /> ~and now permits only one for eventually allowed the cul-de-sac
<br /> ~:'i~very3?_subdivision lot_s:51~: :.::~ 'i~to remain, the staff scurried to
<br />. .2~ ;. . -' ':':y' ~' find out exactly how many cul-de-
<br />Dick Carlquist, Plymouth's :::. sacs Eden Prairie had.
<br />director of public safety, said the :
<br />t>olice generally don't have'a:i:" ·"I think there's a strong sentiment
<br />. problem getting around because, in the residential areas that cul-
<br />of cul-de-sacs. But he said'fire'- "de-sacs are nice to live in," said
<br />
<br />How many cul-de-sacs are too
<br />many cul-de-sacs?
<br />
<br />It's a question being asked more
<br />frequently in suburbia, where the
<br />cul~-sac, a dead-end street
<br />cr~[ by a small turnaround, is
<br />bg~Increasingly scrutinized.
<br />
<br />Houses on cul-de-sacs frequently
<br />fetch higher prices because of no
<br />through, traffic, fewer speeding.,
<br />car~, quieter neighborhood~and'.
<br />less worry about children playing
<br />in the street.
<br />
<br />"People would prefer to be on cul-
<br />de-sacs," said James Ostenson, a
<br />longtime suburban developer. "A
<br />cul-de-sac (home) costs more.
<br />There's a premium associated
<br />with it."
<br />
<br />But suburban officials are
<br />beginning to wonder whether too
<br />man_l( cul-de-sacs bottle up a city
<br />arl~ake it hard to got acrosg
<br />tol~3ome cities, such as Eden
<br />Prairie, now have a policy
<br />prohibiting "unnecessary" cul-de-
<br />sacs:The Eden Prairie school
<br />district also will not send buses
<br />into. cul-de-sacs because it can be
<br />
<br />Some suburban officials say they
<br />are worried that cul-de-sacs make
<br />· it harder forambulances and fire
<br />trucks to get around thc city
<br />quickly, that they leave
<br />snowplows with no place to pile
<br />snow and can even diminish the
<br />quality of drinking water.
<br />
<br /> When Plymouth last counted, it
<br /> had 480 cul-de-sacs, and up to 15
<br />
<br /> trucks do have a hard time .':' iGene Dietz, the city's public
<br />are added each year. That has ~urning around.in them. '~;. !works director~
<br />resulted in a confusingjumble of .; . -~: ..... ,; ~, ..-~ ~.' .~ ~
<br />~treet~ that'rlon't connect ~for-:, ;-- 4'We have'a lot of them, ' ~ .i. ~'But Dietz ~aid cul-de-sacs create a
<br />instance, 29th Ay. on the east side ..Carlquist said of the cul-de-sacs..~., variety of problems, including a
<br />of the'city and 29th Ay. on the ~Ie ,added with a laugh: "But the lower quality of drinking water.
<br />west never meet. ._ ::~{ity s better designed than what :'~ He said cities are usually forced to
<br /> · :,': .,~hey did with Minnetonka. The:.~:: install a dead-end water main in a
<br />As of last fall, 392 of.Eden . - l~imes I've driven out there I find cul-de-sac. That, Said Dietz,, .
<br />Prairie's public streets ended in ~yselfgoing back to nowhere2[: reduces the number of di[ections
<br />cul-de-sacs, andperhaps 50 more :. water can flow, which can lower
<br />cul-de-sacs were on private roads. ['he issue recently came to a head its overall quality.
<br />Minnetonka, a suburb generally 'n Eden Prairie with Walters- .:
<br />seen as having the most cul-de- ~urgatory Creek: 6th Addition, a "We've got to make sure people
<br />sacs, may have lost count, even-house extension of an can get from Point A to Point B,"
<br /> :xisting subdivisiOn. The . . said Jean Harris, an Eden Prairie
<br />"We probably lost count [eveloper and the neighbors City Council member who wants
<br />somewhere after 400 or 500 .... ~ahted to presetWe a street named more regulations for cul-de-sacs.
<br />We do have an awful lot of them Yalters WaYas a cul-de-sac e/~eri ,Ultimately, the fewer through-
<br />here," said Terry Schwerm, fter the new houses were added, streets we have, the more '
<br />assistant city manager.
<br />
<br />Said Ken Hat-tung a Woodbury
<br />city official: "The Planning
<br />
<br />
<br />
|