Agenda - Council - 08/09/2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CASE # ".03 CONSIDER AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR THE INSTALLATION OF CONCRETE SIDEWALK ALONG 150TH LANE NW By: Tim Himmer, City Engineer Background: A concerned resident e-mailed a request to Ramsey Elementary School requesting that a sidewalk be installed along 150th Lane NW from Nowthen Boulevard to Helium Street. It was their feeling that parents parking along both sides of this street during afternoon pick up of students created poor visibility for pedestrians walking in the street, which is exacerbated during the winter months when snow piles accumulate and there isn't an open area available to walk along the road edge. They felt the installation of a sidewalk or limiting parking for improved visibility would be worth exploring for increased safety. This request was then forwarded to the City for consideration. This item was discussed at the Public Works Committee on January 19, 2010, and the Committee felt that this sidewalk segment was warranted and deserved to be heard by the entire Council. A case was prepared for consideration and discussed at the February 9, 2010 regular City Council meeting. At that meeting Council authorized staff to prepare plans and specifications, and solicit quotes. Quotes for this project will be received on Friday, August 6th, and forwarded to the Council via the ftp site and/or e-mail. The information will also be presented at the meeting on August 9th for Council consideration. Observations: The main crosswalk from the school crosses Nowthen Boulevard at 150th Lane. Once on the east side of Nowthen Boulevard pedestrians can go north or south along the existing bituminous trail that currently runs from Alpine Drive to Lord of Life Church. Anyone that chooses to proceed east through the neighborhood along 150th Lane must do so in the street or boulevard area as no sidewalk or trails exist. The City has applied for a federal grant through th~ Safe Routes to School program in the past, but was unsuccessful in our attempt. This area was targeted for some improvements to serve the neighborhood to the east. The bituminous trail segments along the east side of Nowthen Boulevard from Alpine Drive to 150th Lane and Sunwood Drive to Lord of Life Church, in addition to the crosswalk at Alpine Drive that were part of this grant application have since been installed using developer escrow dollars supplemented with the City's trail fund. Future Safe Routes to School project solicitations are contingent upon the next Federal Transportation bill and are therefore unavailable at this time. Staff has been in contact with all residents that will be affected by this project, and to date all has gone well. There has been no negative feelings related to this project, and aside from a few coordination issue (irrigation systems, driveway impacts, etc.) the affected residents are supportive of the overall project.