Minutes 11-10-04Richfield Transportation Committee
Richfield City Hall, Council Chambers
Minutes
November 10, 2004
Committee members in attendance: Steve Lindgren (Co-Chair); Barbara Kritzman (Co-Chair); Gary Ness; Maureen Scaglia; Lezlie Vermillion; Council Member Susanne Sandahl; Don Anderson;
Todd Nollenberger; William Kilian; and Robert Shotwell.
Others in attendance: Larry Wozniczka; Fred Wroge; Judy Sarff; John Suek; City Staff: Kristin Asher and Tom Foley.
B. Kritzman served as Chair for the meeting.
At 7:00 p.m. B. Kritzman called the meeting to order.
Motion to approve amended agenda with an item on I-494 Corridor Commission made by B. Kilian, second by S. Sandahl and passed unanimously.
S. Sandahl moved to approve October 13, 2004 minutes, second by B. Kilian, motion passed unanimously.
Stop Sign Policy Work Session
Last month the Committee asked staff to determine any inconsistencies in stop sign placement on the local collector and arterial roadways. The assumption is that when a collector or
arterial road is forced to stop that this stop is controlled with a traffic signal. K. Asher found five four-way stop signs that are inconsistent with that assumption. All of these
intersections have not been investigated as to why the stops are there.
K. Asher had drafted a letter to mail to affected residents proposing to remove the stop control on 76th Street at 3rd Avenue. After discussion the Committee had no objections to sending
the letter. Comments will be collected from the affected residents and presented at the December 8, 2004 Committee meeting.
T. Foley reviewed revisions to the city’s stop sign policy proposed by city staff. The proposal provided two-way stop control at all north-south avenues allowing traffic on east-west
streets to move freely (sub-collector concept). The new policy could be implemented neighborhood-by-neighborhood over a three-year period.
A draft resolution was prepared based on the proposed policy.
Due to much discussion among the Committee members, S. Lindgren moved to table the discussion on the Stop Sign Policy until the December 8, 2004 meeting, S. Sandahl seconded and the
motion passed.
Judy Sarff, 6745 Elliot Ave., spoke on the Stop Sign Policy. She was concerned with the proposed policy, as it would affect east-west streets. She wanted crash data for 2003 and 2004.
She noted a crash at 68th/Elliot that occurred on
September 24, 2004, accident no. 045370. She wanted to make sure that the driver or his insurance company paid for replacement of a boulevard tree.
Updates
K. Asher updated the Committee on the progress of the 7600 block of Lyndale Avenue Project.
K. Asher updated the Committee on the progress of the Lyndale Avenue Bridge project. Mn/DOT agreed to a procedure proposed by the city staff to evaluate the 2000 layout for traffic
operations. The 2000 layout provides access to northbound 35W from Lyndale Avenue.
T. Foley reported on progress made on the 66th Street and Portland Avenue Intersection Study.
T. Foley reported that the new pedestrian crosswalk planned for Lake Shore Drive would be installed in 2005 at the time of the new townhouses that are the last phase of City Bella.
Speed Zoning
Dan Brannan of MnDOT gave a presentation on the policy’s and procedures of setting speed zones in Minnesota. People who attended the meeting raised questions.
Future Agenda Items
S. Sandahl mentioned the I-494 Corridor Commission has invited the Transportation Committee members to attend their meetings at the Southwest Transit Hub in Eden Prairie at 8:00 a.m.
on the second Wednesday of each month. Sandahl also would like the Committee to consider having a joint meeting with the Bloomington Transportation Committee.
S. Lindgren asked that a future agenda item address penalties for damages on construction contracts.
Motion to adjourn was made by B. Kilian. Second by B. Kritzman.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:03 p.m.