Minutes - Public Works Committee - 04/19/2005

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Chairperson Elvig stated as he recalled, they were talking about doing the improvements themselves. City Engineer Jankowski stated that he would ask about that issue. He stated there were two elements that were requested by the Committee that had not been incorporated into the plan. One of them was that a pedestrian signal would be installed in the vicinity of 142nd Avenue and the other is for turn lanes to be added on 180th Avenue. The reason for the turn lanes at 180th Avenue is due to the fact that they do the right-of-way, which they don't have time to get, and also that the turn lanes go back into the bridge over Fordbrook. They would only have to widen that bridge. He stated that they did indicate they could possibly do that under another project that might go through four years from now. City Engineer Jankowski stated he spoke with somebody from Brown Intertech that manufactures signal lights, and they set up a meeting to find out what type of hardware or of installations they have. He had specifically indicated interest in what they might have on this, so he will meet with them in the next week. He stated they aren't requesting any action on this item. Mayor Gamec stated it had been mentioned to do something with the road at the Golf Course on 167th Avenue. Case #7: Receive Traffic Volume Information for Mallard Ponds - Flintwood Hills Area City Engineer Jankowski reviewed that at the January 18, 2005 Public Works Committee meeting, it was explained that the closure of Barium Street, a private roadway accessing onto CR 116 was anticipated as an element of the County road project scheduled to take place this fall which would upgrade the segment of CR 116 from TH 47 to Germanium Street as a four lane divided highway. There was support for the closure of Barium Street onto CR 116 from both the residents of the Mallard Ponds subdivision and the City. However the closure of Barium Street would leave the Mallard Ponds subdivision with a single access point at 140th Avenue. The consensus of the Public Works Committee was that there needs to be more than one access into this subdivision. There was also direction to staff to research the feasibility of closing the connection of 142"d Avenue between Argon Street and TH 47, such that the emergency gate access on the south end of Argon Street might be removed and thereby provide a second access point to the Mallard Ponds subdivision. City Engineer Jankowski explained that in an effort to begin an analysis of the traffic impacts that any changes may cause, it is important to establish a sound background of the current traffic patterns within the area. After consultation with a traffic engineer, traffic counter were set out at the locations identified on the attached exhibit. A complete summary of these traffic counts will be made available at the Committee meeting. In evaluating the magnitude of the traffic impacts, a next logical step would be to temporarily modify the street system in the area by (a) closing 142nd Avenue east of Argon Street; (b) opening the gate at the south end of Argon Street; and (c) barricading the access of Barium Street onto CR 116. Public Works Committee / April 19, 2005 Page 17 of 21