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Minutes 06-07-06Richfield Transportation Commission Wednesday, June 7, 2006 7:00 p.m. Richfield City Hall, Council Chambers Minutes Commission members in attendance: Barbara Kritzman (Chair); Bob Elliott (Vice-Chair); Bob Shotwell; Sara Nutter; Mike Titzer; Steve Lindgren; Council member Suzanne Sandahl; Maureen Scaglia; and, Gary Ness. Others in attendance: Larry Wozniczka; and William Svoboda; and City Staff: Tom Foley and Kristin Asher. Randy Matheus was excused from the June 7, 2006 meeting. B. Kritzman called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. Motion to approve the agenda made by S. Lindgren, seconded by G. Ness. Motion passed unanimously. Motion to approve minutes of May 3, 2006 meetings, made by B. Elliott seconded by S. Lindgren. Motion passed unanimously. Annual Advisory Commission Meeting with City Council Chair Kritzman discussed the Commission’s report to the Council on May 9, 2006. She provided the Council with a list of future issues that the Commission will be working on in the future. Lyndale Avenue Bridge T. Foley reported on the May 9 meeting with Mn/DOT, WSB and City of Bloomington staffs. Discussion focused on revisions needed to Layout 6B by Mn/DOT. Bloomington expressed its interest in having Layout Option 6, which provides the same access as Layout Option 6B. The City’s design consultant, WSB, showed that Mn/DOT’s preferred layout deviated from Mn/DOT’s design standards, similar to Layout Option 6B. Based on this Scott Pedersen of Mn/DOT said that he would ask his staff to respond to the revisions WSB would make to Layout Option 6B given that both layouts had design compromises. Tony Heppelmann was asked to provide a schedule for when a design needed to be approved by Mn/DOT. The schedule assumes the construction project is let in May 2008, the old bridge is torn down on January 2, 2009, and the new bridge is opened in December 2009. Mr. Hepelmann explained that we need two layouts to be approved: a short-term design for the bridge; and, a long-term design for the connection to 35W. The two critical design issues are: the type of bridge; and, the main lines under the bridge. He believed that the exact long-term design will change over time as new staff become involved when actual reconstruction of I-494 main lines occurs. He stressed that the bridge should be designed to tie into the final design. Under this scenario, Mr. Heppelmann said we need to begin the layout for the short-term layout in July 2006 and get Mn/DOT approval by January 2007. Mn/DOT would have to prepare the long-term layout concurrently so that they are able to approve the City’s short-term layout in January 2007. S. Sandahl noted that Mn/DOT should have about $1 million in planning funds available to use at 35W/494. Following discussion motion was made by S. Lindgren, seconded by P. Sorensen that “the City Council request that Mn/DOT maintain their right of way, including mowing and fence repair along I-494 and I-35W through Richfield, specifically west of Lyndale Avenue at I-494.” Motion passed unanimously. County Roads Study T. Foley reviewed the planning process and schedule for the County Roads study with the Commission. Past experience with possible changes in street configurations have produced significant controversy. Two examples were the downsizing of 76th Street and the three-lane section proposed on Nicollet Avenue. The study will fit into the update for the Comprehensive Plan that is due in 2008. Foley also mentioned that the Commission will be asked to review options for a cross section of the new 17th Avenue Parkway. L. Wozniczka suggested that the truck traffic be kept off of the 17th Avenue Parkway by moving the roundabout to Cedar Avenue and have the freeway ramps connected to the roundabout. Bicycle Planning T. Foley reported on two meetings held among the four cities of Minneapolis, Bloomington, Edina and Richfield for the purpose of planning commuter bike routes. Minneapolis staff had information on a new federal grant program with $21 million to be administered by Transit for Livable Communities and on suggested spacing guidelines for bike paths. Two maps were shown to the Commission. The first showed possible commuter routes suggested by the four-city working group. The second identified gaps in Richfield’s bike network. L. Wozniczka suggested adding the railroad bridge over 494 as a possible bike crossing. M. Titzer and S. Nutter emphasized the desirability of having off-road bike paths, especially for young children and their parents. B. Shotwell asked if additional signage could improve safety of bike trails. S. Sandahl suggested that residents who bike should be invited to participate in the bike planning process. A video on biking in Copenhagen, Denmark was then shown where the City’s goal is to have 40% percent of all commuting trips to be by bicycle. Crosswalk Policy Tom Foley explained that the proposed policy would be submitted to the City Council on June 13. He suggested that the Council have final authority to remove any mid-block crosswalk. Updates S. Sandahl discussed the interest of 35W Solutions Alliance in having cities promote the 2006 Transportation Constitutional Amendment. T. Foley was directed to provide the Commission members with background information on the proposed amendment including the final language on the ballot before the next Commission meeting. Commission members were invited to a Focus Group meeting on I-94 and I-35W to be held on June 12. Topics for Next Meeting MVST Constitutional Amendment County Road Study 17th Avenue Parkway Adjournment Motion to adjourn by S. Lindgren, seconded by B. Shotwell and passed unanimously. Meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.