Minutes 04-14-04Richfield Transportation Committee
Minutes
April 14, 2004
Committee members in attendance: Steve Lindgren(Co-chair); Barbara Kritzman(Co-Chair); Todd Nollenberger; Scott Pawelko; William Kilian; Don Anderson; Bob Elliott; Robert Shotwell; Lezlie
Vermillion; and, Council member Susanne Sandahl.
Others in attendance: Judy Goebel; Dan Casey; Larry Wozniczka; Ken Meter; Gordon Maenke; Council member Gertrude Ulrich; Kim Carlson; Dick Stembridge; Dale Schwie; Bill and Lois Andersen;
Lori and Bruce Rick; Ginger Bohr; Patrick Dillon; Tim Corter. Richfield staff: Tom Foley, Kristin Asher and Mike Eastling. MnDOT staff: Alana Getty and Chris Roy. WSB staff: Tony Heppelmann
and Nancy Hanzlik.
Barbara Kritzman served as Chair for the meeting.
The minutes of the March 10, 2004 meeting were modified to include Bill Kilian in attendance then accepted in a motion by Bill Kilian, seconded by Steve Lindgren and passed unanimously.
Visualization – Alana Getty demonstrated what the Fly Over Alternative could look like utilizing graphics and visualizations. Alana explained that the visualizations were prepared in
a short time frame and represents an artistic impression of the proposed improvements, not an exact representation of the proposed layout of the area. The two graphics included enhanced
photos depicting the before and after construction conditions; one looking south along the I35W corridor toward the 76th Street interchange and one looking at the east noise wall. The
visualizations included a 360o spin overlooking the I35W/76th Street Interchange and a helicopter flight along I35W and a simulation as if you were driving along I-35W. Concerns were
raised by Ken Meter regarding noise levels created by the structure, Chris Roy explained that the noise generated from the ramp would be minimal compared to I-35W generated noise.
The noise wall next to the fly over on the eastside will likely have a 5 – 6 foot noise wall above ramp deck. Scott Pawelko agreed with Ken Meter that white noise (meaning constant
noise from I-35W) is more permissible than random noise (from a highway access ramp).
Scoring & Final Alternatives – Tony Heppelmann reviewed the scoring differences and explained that the impacts related to shifting the shifted alignment further west (modified shifted)
were the same for both the Compressed Diamond and Half Single Point alternatives. The fly over alignment was not shifted the additional amount because no additional right-of-way was
needed to avoid taking homes on the eastside. Chris Roy added the modified shifted alignment has not been thoroughly reviewed by Mn/DOT and compromises highway safety on I35W more
than the shifted alignment because of the sharper curve. Chris also stated that design standards used by Mn/DOT are a minimum guideline for design and other elements must be included
in evaluating the application of standards at a given location. Therefore, the modified shifted alignment may not be an acceptable I35W alignment for Mn/DOT. It would have
to be evaluated further by Mn/DOT before he felt comfortable saying it would. Chris clarified that the original shifted alignment was acceptable to Mn/DOT.
After significant discussion on the three alternatives Lezlie Vermillion made a motion recommending to City Council Alternative No. 4 (Fly Over Ramps) and to include HOV lanes as part
of the design, the motion was seconded by Robert Shotwell. Todd Nollenberger started discussion questioning the need for the HOV lane and the possibility of it being too expensive
to be feasible. Sue Sandahl stated that there are plans for a transit hub at the Best Buy campus and we need to be working with the community. Steve Lindgren requested that Lezlie
Vermillion state her points for inclusion in the Fly Over Ramps motion. They were: considers safety on I-35W; one access point on 76th Street is safer for vehicles, bikes, school access
and pedestrians; cost seems the same among all three options; can maintain west frontage road; minimizes right-of-way impacts on the eastside, and will not significantly impact the
park. Lezlie Vermillion amended the motion to include these points as reasons for selecting Alternative 4, she also mentioned looking at the width of the east frontage road and if it’s
possible to reduce the width to further minimize the eastside impacts. Robert Shotwell seconded the amendment. Scott Pawelko agrees with Alternative No. 4. Bill Kilian likes the Fly
Over, but finds the massive structure a sticking point for himself. Motion passed unanimously.
18th Avenue Connection to Cedar Avenue – Tom Foley presented three alternatives to reconnect Cedar Avenue to 66th Street. Alternative No. 1 was rejected by everyone at the open house,
Alternative No. 2 was accepted by most everyone that attended and by both directly affected property owners, and Alternative No. 3 is undesirable because it forces the adjacent property
owners to provide access themselves. Bill Kilian motioned to adopt Alternative No. 2 as preferred alternative, seconded by Bob Elliot. During discussion Steve Lindgren asked for rationale
for selection and Bill responded with; severing the connection will bring about traffic calming; vacating ½ block rather than whole block is desirable for residents affected; public
opinion highly supported Alternative No. 2 at the open house. Motion passed unanimously.
Crosstown Municipal Consent Timeline – Tom Foley went over the proposed municipal consent timeline for review of TH 62/I-35W Crosstown Design. Tentatively, June 16th the Committee will
host an open house followed by the public hearing.
Public Appearances – Steve Lindgren asked how the Committee should handle requests for public appearances. Sue Sandahl thought public appearances were okay as long as you were clear
on if you were speaking as a member of the Committee, or for the Committee. There was a request to appear on public access to rebut a previous showing of citizen’s comments. The decision
to accept or decline will be postponed and decided at the May meeting.
Lyndale Bridge Funding – Tom Foley reported that Congressman Sabo has inserted $7 million for the Lyndale Bridge in the U.S. House Transportation Bill. The City of Bloomington has offered
$1.4 million for its local share of the project.
MISC – American Boulevard Bridge will go out for bid on June 14th. Steve Lindgren thanked the engineers for their time and effort.
Meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
Attachments
Summary of Average Weighted Scores for Selected Alternatives
Key Differences between Selected Alternatives
Summary of Right-of-Way Impact (Shifted Alignment vs. Modified Shifted)