Minutes - Council Work Session - 10/29/2013

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Mr. Chromy confirmed that there is a statistical relationship to rear -end accidents and traffic signals. He noted that there is also bottleneck congestion where Highway 10 moves from a freeway type into stop lights. Planning Commission Chairperson Levine noted that a number of scenarios provide the option of turning left by turning right and using a U -turn and questioned the safety element of that option. Mr. Chromy stated that drivers are usually more cautious to make a U -turn and statistically left turns have a higher accident rate. Mayor Strommen noted that there are times when adding a U -turn option to a left turn signal makes the turn less efficient because of those making U -turns. Mr. Chromy noted that there is a point when the left turn lane can be overloaded. Councilmember Backous noted that he is in favor of low cost high benefit options and questioned if these short term fixes would in essence shoot the City in the foot as the small improvements could delay funding in the long term fix. Mr. Noris stated that part of the problem statement expressed that MnDOT would like to develop elements and projects that while are interim, are not throw away, and would still fit with the long term goal for a freeway. He explained that traffic is disrupted by projects and MnDOT does not want to repeatedly disrupt traffic. Councilmember Backous referenced a left hand turn option and believed that those should be eliminated as possibilities as those cannot move forward into a freeway option. He referenced 252 and noted that once that project was complete it was already obsolete and believed that the project should be built for the future. Councilmember Tossey agreed with the comments made by Councilmember Backous. He did not believe that the Ramsey or Sunfish intersections would be eliminated following the Armstrong interchange and did not want to delay possibilities for the future. He questioned if commercial and big rig vehicles have trouble with the U -turn options. Mr. Chromy advised that the left turns can be designed for commercial sized vehicles while others may not be. Planning Commissioner Bauer referenced the Thurston intersection, which does not cross the railroad tracks, but has a short turning time. He noted that intersection could be lengthened in order to accommodate additional drivers and those accessing the college. Environmental Policy Board Chairperson Max stated that he has seen people fed up with waiting for green lights and therefore run the red light. City Council Work Session / October 29, 2013 Page 8of11