Minutes - Public Works Committee - 02/17/2009

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Chair Elvig thanked everyone for being here tonight reminded them to sign in at the back so the City knows who is present tonight. He stated that he knows that this has been a contentious issue, but everyone is welcome to their opinion and asked that things be kept civil tonight and asked that comments not be repeated throughout the evening. He stated that the Public Works Committee will make a recommendation to the Council for a decision. Councilmember Dehen stated that he would like to reiterate that he doesn't care about rhetoric of casting stones, and would appreciate it if everyone would be diplomatic. City Engineer Jankowski stated that he would like to cover the background of the situation and present some solutions that they have heard from the neighborhood and the major advantages and disadvantages of each idea. He noted that this issue goes back to 2004 when MnDot wanted to close the intersection of 142nd and Highway 47. He stated that there were two projects going on at the time, Hwy 47 and the improvement of 116, so it was decided that they should allow for traffic patterns to solidify before changes were made in the neighborhood. He stated that staff presented traffic counts and a report on the number of accidents that had occurred since those two main projects had been completed to the Public Works Committee last year. He stated that it continues to concern staff that the accident rate at this intersection is considerably higher than what they would expect at a similar type of intersection. He stated that there have been a total of 20 accidents since that change and 13 involved turning on the west leg of the intersection. He stated that staff s primary issue is safety at the intersection in addition to the neighborhood issues. He stated that there was a Public Works Committee in November of2008 in which they invited who they thought were the affected neighbors and it seemed pretty clear that closure of 142nd at the frontage road between Argon and Hwy 47 made the most sense. He stated that the Council approved that in December and then the City heard from people expressing their concerns with that, which is why everyone here tonight was invited. Chair Elvig stated that when Hwy 47 changed, it was a 4-way intersection at one time and after several accidents they came up with a 3/4 restriction. He stated that this helps but it did riot fix the problem. He stated that the City tried to get a stoplight, which the State wouldn't allow, so they compromised on the 3/4 intersection to allow access for businesses and residents. He stated that this was the best solution that they saw at the time. City Engineer Jankowski reviewed the options for the City to consider: Make no changes; Close 142nd Avenue between TH 47 Fronta~e road and Argon Street; Close Argon Street south of 142nd Lane; Close 143rd Avenue and 142n Lane east of Dysprosium Street; Install a traffic signal at TH 47 and 142nd Avenue; Install a pedestrian underpass/overpass at TH 47 and 142nd Avenue; Close the median at TH 47 and 142nd Avenue; Reduce the speed in the neighborhood; and prohibit left turns from TH 47 onto 142nd Avenue during peak traffic hours and left turns from Dysprosium onto 143rd Avenue and 142nd Lane during peak traffic hours. Chair Elvig asked about the restriction on the return ride coming out of Landmark Bank area. Public Works Director Olson stated that this hasn't been discussed because this is a private road and the City can't enforce that turning movement. Public Works Committee / February 17,2009 Page 2 of 19