Agenda - Council - 11/09/2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CONSIDER CROSSWALKS ON ALPINE DRIVE By: Steven J Jankowski, City Engineer Background: CASE # 3 Staff received two verbal requests in the past two weeks from residents living north of Alpine Drive for cross walks to assist their children in walking to Ramsey Elementary School. Both of these requests came from the area north of Alpine Drive between CSAH 5 and TH 47. One request was for a crossing at the entrance into City hall at Alpine Drive. The second request was for this same crossing plus a crossing of CSAH 5 at the other entrance to City hall. This second requested crossing also included an adult crossing guard. In order to properly install a pedestrian crossing the pavement must be painted and properly signed. The opportunity to paint pavement is temperature dependant and can continue to be performed only for another couple of weeks. It is because of this time dependency that staff is bringing this request directly to the Council for consideration. The request for these new crosswalks is a result of new neighborhoods which have come into existence since the previous school year. Because posted crosswalks tend to establish long term walking traffic patterns, care should be used to avoid establishing cross walks which may not be desired when future development will cause safer pedestrian routes. In processing this request, it should be noted that the City has no authority for the requested crossing at CSAH 5 or providing an adult crossing guard. An existing trail exists on the north side of Alpine Drive from the entrance at the City hall east to TH 47 were there is a traffic signal, and also on the south side of Alpine Drive between CSAH 5 and TH 47. It would require children to walk some distance east and then backtrack west to utilize this pathway. This extra walking distance is considerable greater for residents in Sunflower Ridge than it would be for those in Evergreen Point. While this extra distance will discourage many walkers from choosing the safer route (crossing Alpine Drive at the traffic light on TH 47), it should be noted that other areas currently exist where walkers must similarly travel extra distance to utilize trails and a supervised crossing to get to the school. Such is the case for residents of Ramsey Meadows, Ramsey Commons, and the portions of Sunny Ponds north of Sunwood Drive. Finally consideration of this request should include the pending installation of future trail segments. The installation of the trail associated with the Alpine Acres development will provide an opportunity for a connection to the trail system at CSAH 5 and Alpine Drive. A safe, direct route could be made to the school by completing an 1100 foot segment between the west terminus of the existing trail on the north side of Alpine Drive and CSAH 5. Although this segment is relatively short it will require installing curb and