Agenda - Council - 12/09/2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Case #3 Consider Site Distance Clear Zones at Intersections Background: Staff is requesting that with the number of townhouse units with shorter setbacks, and Ramsey Town Center with possibly no setbacks, that the City should review its standards with site distance clear zones at intersections. City Engineer Jankowski advised that in researching the basis for establishing standards, it appears the major factor is providing reaction time for two converging vehicles to make speed adjustments or evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision. Reaction time at various speeds translates into distance which form sight triangle. The National Committee on Urban Transportation recommended that the unobstructed view across each comer of two local residential streets should be formed by a triangle whose sides are each 110 feet measured along the centerline distance of the approach lanes from their point of intersection. The City of Ramsey 60-foot rights-of-way would result in a 50-foot sight triangle meeting this recommendation. City Engineer Jankowski noted that if they were to implement such a policy they would have recognized pre-existing situations. One advantage for implementing such a policy is that if a clear zone area is identified up front the City could place an easement over the property to prevent planting within the area. This could be information that could be included in the development agreement. Action: No action required. COMMITTEE INPUT 1) Response from MnDOT regarding median openings on TH47 Background: In September, Staff reported verbally that MnDOT had indicated that a median opening would not meet geometric standards, but they would be open to signalization at 142nd Avenue, which Council chose not to proceed with. The letter presented to the Committee was a follow up letter from MnDOT of what was reported verbally by Staff. 2) Update on monitoring of Commercial Asphalt plant Background: Community Development Director Frolik was present to explain that the City agreed to monitor the odors coming from the Commercial Asphalt plant on a daily basis, which ended on November 1. She reported that 75 percent of the time there was no detection of odor and the other 25 percent was mild or minimal. After the monitoring stopped on November 1st and the temperatures dropped they received several complaints. At this time Staff was seeking direction as to how they want to handle the issue for next year. Reviewed by: Assistant Public Works Director/Principal City Engineer CC: 12/09/03