Agenda - Public Works Committee - 06/20/2006

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CASE CONSIDER TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS ON CITY STREETS By Steven Jankowski, City Engineer Background: Within the past several months the City has received complaints regarding outside traffic traveling through residential neighborhoods as a result of road closures due to construction projects. Specifically two such neighborhoods have been identified and include the Welcomes Road Neighborhood east of Vadolite Street and the Regency Ponds Neighborhood. In preparing for this case, notification of this meeting was mailed to individual property owners in these neighborhoods advising them that this topic is to be discussed at tiffs evenings meeting and inviting them to participate. Copies of the notification letters and mailing areas are attached to this case. Each neighborhood has unique cimumstances which will be addressed separately below, however, a common element relating to traffic regulation bears on both of these situations. City streets are public spaces which the general public has a right to use providing they do so in compliance with laws and ordinances. For example, City police can enforce speed limits however they cannot define who is "local" or whether any particular vehicle has a valid reason for using the street. Welcomes Road Neighborhood This neighborhood consists of the unpaved streets west of Variolite Street which include 163~ Lane, Uranimite Street, 164t~ Lane, Sapphire Street, and 164th Avenue. These streets provide an east/west connection between Variolite and Ramsey Boulevard between Alpine Drive (one mile to the south) and CR 63 (1 ¼ mile to the north). Because of this unique geography this street facilitates traffic beyond that of the use of the fi'onting residents. Concern has been expressed over the use &the street by construction traffic utilizing the roadway to transport equipment and materials between the proposed Brookfield Addition and the proposed Sweet Bay Ridge subdivision. Staff feels the traffic being experienced with the transport of materials and equipment between these two sites is due to a construction contract which requires utility installation both on CR 5 and on Variolite and Armstrong. This traffic is anticipated to cease with the completion of this utility work. Future construction traffic associated with the infi'astructure and building construction within these subdivisions are anticipated to primarily utilize CR 5 for Brookfield and Variolite for Sweet Bay Ridge. Regency Ponds Neighborhood This neighborhood has been impacted by the closure of the intersection of Bunker Lake and Ramsey Boulevards. Traffic is traveling through the neighborhood to circumvent the intersection closure which is anticipated to remain in place until August Ist.