Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Public Works Director Olson indicated there have been zero accidents on Bunker Lake <br />Boulevard in the area of the access between SuperAmerica and Wendy's since the median was <br />installed and there were seven accidents the year prior to the median being installed. <br /> <br />Mr. Ramsey stated there have been accidents west of Bunker Lake Boulevard in the area of <br />Thurston Avenue doing u-turns. <br /> <br />Mr. Fischer indicated the County relies on the police reports submitted into a statewide safety <br />database. It does not include all the accidents; there are a lot of fender benders and side swipes <br />where people exchange information and the accident is not reported. <br /> <br />Mr. Larry Hickman, Business owner on the corner of Sunfish Lake Boulevard and Highway #10, <br />stated some days the traffic he gets is at 100 cars per minute. He moves his traffic out to Sunfish <br />Lake Boulevard instead of Highway # 10; Highway # 10 is dangerous with the speed. He draws <br />70% of his business from 50 miles away. He will now have to route his traffic out onto Highway <br />#10 with a u-turn and there will be more accidents. Spectators will have a real problem and the <br />State or County will need to buy that business totally out. He has been on this corner for 30 <br />years and most of the accidents he sees are people trying to shoot the light. Fixing the light will <br />help to have a lot less accidents. Cutting off the Shell Station will ruin their business by 70 to <br />80%. The City, State or County needs to do something and pay for businesses if they want to <br />save lives. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec noted there is the access and the road problem, and the right way to really do this. <br />The other problem is how to help the existing businesses. There is a lot of heat coming from the <br />industrial park and people from the north that are tired of Sunfish Lake Boulevard; there is no <br />right answer and they need to make a decision one way or another. <br /> <br />Mr. Hickman asked when the project will take place. <br /> <br />Mr. Fischer replied in August 2008. A full construction season is not needed to do the project <br />and the County has agreed to do the construction in the latter half of the construction season. <br /> <br />Councilmember Look stated there is a right way of doing this, which has to do with acquiring <br />these properties. This would require more time and more RALF funds are needed. They should <br />take the funding they have and build the road, leaving out the channelization. As soon as the <br />money is available to acquire the properties the channelization can be built. The failure is in not <br />marrying the road project and the acquisition project together; if they can marry them together <br />there will not be business owners complaining. Without the channelization they are only looking <br />at paving and running the traffic the way it currently is. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec pointed out if the project is not done the federal funding will be lost. <br /> <br />Mr. Fischer noted one option is to do the project with dispute resolution; the federal money is for <br />the railroad crossing. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / June 26, 2007 <br />Page 8 of 10 <br />