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Minutes 10-05-05Richfield Transportation Commission Wednesday, October 5, 2005 7:00 p.m. Richfield City Hall, Council Chambers DRAFT Minutes Commission members in attendance: Steve Lindgren (Chair), Barbara Kritzman (Vice-Chair); Council Member Suzanne Sandahl; Council Member Bill Kilian; Bob Elliott; Bob Shotwell; Don Anderson; Todd Nollenberger; Lezlie Vermillion; Sara Nutter; Maureen Scaglia; Gary Ness; and, Mike Titzer. Others in attendance: Mayor Martin Kirsch; Council Member Fred Wroge; William C. Svoboda; Tim Teachout; Morris N. Nilsen; Dawn Nilsen; Terri Drimel; Diane Peterson; Jody Thiesfeld; June & Henry Lundquist; Kim Lundquist; Dave Vogel; Larry Wozniczka; Bill Claflin; Jennifer Turrentine; Terri Drimel; George Drimel; Marcia & Ron Schoeneman; Scott Finn; Mike Mohinani; John Hafertepe; Heidi Lindenfelser; Dave Grossklaus; Larry Rogers; Jack Mooney; Herman Swanson; Nel Swanson; Tony Heppelmann of WSB and Associates, City Staff: Kristin Asher, Tom Foley, Mike Eastling; Bruce Palmborg and Bruce Nordquist. S. Lindgren called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Motion to approve agenda made by T. Nollenberger, second by G. Ness. Motion passed unanimously. Motion to approve minutes of September 7, 2005 and September 28, 2005 meetings made by T. Nollenberger, second by Lezlie Vermillion. Motion passed unanimously. 66th Street/17th Avenue Intersection Study Discussion T. Heppelmann reviewed the results of ratings done by nine Commissioners for the two alternative designs. The roundabout scored higher for all nine evaluators. Discussion followed: make sure advance signage is clear and visible at night and during adverse weather conditions; it is critical that design of roundabout be safe by having a second expert review the design; and Hennepin County’s input is crucial by October 25. Chair S. Lindgren asked those who spoke at the Sept. 28 public hearing if their comments were correct. Dave Grossklaus asked that the record be corrected to say that he agreed with the comments made by Andrew Hartle about the roundabout at Minnehaha Falls. The record will be corrected. Motion: Given that this is a Hennepin County road, the Transportation Commission recommends to the City Council for their approval a roundabout design for the 66th Street and 17th Avenue intersection within the parameters that Hennepin County is on board as well. The rationale is based on: the roundabout having best safety with fewer crashes and reduced severity relative to all other alternatives; the design handles transit; provides adequate capacity and reasonable access with U-Turns to gain access to nearby land uses; there is adequate spacing with nearby signals; and, the design offers long-term savings on maintenance costs. Based on concern for the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, the City should perform a secondary design review of pedestrian and bicycle movements. Motion was made by T. Nollenberger, seconded by L. Vermillion and passed unanimously. 66th Street/Portland Avenue Intersection Study Discussion T. Heppelmann reviewed three options to improve signal timing in response to concerns raised by residents at the open house and public hearing. The separation of the 66th/Portland signal from a coordinated signal network along 66th Street showed the best improvement as a short-term solution. K. Asher informed the Commission that the County agreed and had separated the signal today from a coordinated signal network on 66th Street. This will provide longer green time for Portland Ave. traffic but will not improve safety. The option of having green arrows on all approaches did not improve capacity or safety and the option of split phasing where each approach has it’s own green time would result in significant delays and queues. T. Heppelmann discussed the alternative of not having raised medians. This option was dropped early on as failing to correct the safety needs of the intersection. T. Heppelmann reviewed the ratings by the Commission of the five design alternatives. The roundabout was ranked first in all of the evaluations. A double left-turn lane ranked second, although all three signalized alternatives had fairly similar scores. Chair S. Lindgren invited comments from those who had not commented at the public hearing. Roger Waldick, owner of Victoria Manor Apartments, was concerned about moving 66th Street alignment to the north, closer to his building. The road could affect the rentability of units on that side of the building. He was also concerned about the road’s impact on the two driveways accessing his property. T. Heppelmann explained that the roundabout would have the least impact and the double left-turn lane option would have the most impact on his property. Mr. Waldick’s driveways may not have to move. David Grossklaus- expressed neighborhood concern with the loss of businesses on the corner of 66th St. and Portland Ave. Left turns will be hard to make out of ice arena parking lot onto 66th Street because of fewer gaps in traffic if roundabout is chosen. Nel Swanson- Concerned with the safety of children, as pedestrians and bikers. This should be the primary concern in choosing a design. Commission members discussed the relative merits of one left-turn lane versus the double left-turn lane alternatives. Also, a clarification of the deadline for federal funds was made. The project must be ready for bid letting by September 30, 2006. Motion- Present the roundabout design to the City Council as the preferred alternative for the 66th Street and Portland Avenue intersection with the final alignment shifted where right of way impacts are best. The rationale is: the roundabout will address safety concerns that both statistics and testimony show exist there today; it can safely move pedestrians, bicycles and vehicular traffic; it has no affect on transit; accommodates access issues; the design minimizes the amount of right of way needed; it can be built for the lowest cost; and, a separate review of the design for pedestrians and bikes should be performed by a consultant to assure pedestrian and bicyclist safety. Motion made by G. Ness, second by M. Scaglia, and passed unanimously with one abstention by Chair S. Lindgren. The Commission discussed its role in recommending a possible alignment preference. It was decided that the Planning Commission would provide a recommendation on alignment on Oct. 24th by talking to Donna Drummond while the Transportation Commission recommended the preferred design to the City Council. The Commission members who made and seconded the motions on both projects would attend the October 25th Council meeting and present the recommendation to Council. They are: T. Nollenberger and L. Vermillion on 66th St. and 17th Ave., and G. Ness and M. Scaglia on 66th St. and Portland Ave. The Commission asked T. Heppelmann to show the Planning Commission the impacts of different alignments including the centered alignment. The land use consultant will be able to advise the Planning Commission on land use options now that a specific design has been recommended. Next Meeting The Commission will be asked to take action on the Proposed Stop Sign Policy at the November 2, 2005 meeting. B. Shotwell asked to discuss the concern of motorized wheelchairs in public streets and the lack of sidewalk connections from public streets to private building entrances for wheelchairs. Commissioners asked for bikeways to be discussed on future agendas. Adjournment Moved by D. Anderson, seconded by B. Elliott to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed and the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 PM.