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Minutes 10-03-07Richfield Transportation Commission Wednesday, October 3, 2007 7:00 p.m. Richfield City Hall, Council Chambers DRAFT Minutes Commission members in attendance: Bob Elliott(Chair); Bob Shotwell; Gary Ness; Steve Lindgren; Barbara Kritzman; Sara Nutter; Pat Sorensen; Jay Hermann; Maureen Scaglia; and, Martin Kirsch (Vice-Chair); and, Council Member Sue Sandahl. Others in attendance: Mayor Debbie Goettel; William Svoboda; Larry Wozniczka; Mike Elliott of LaMettry’s; Jayne Parker; Deborah Williams; Roger Ose; Chad Wiederholt; Jen Lux; Jack Broz of H.R. Green; and, City Staff: Tom Foley; and Kristin Asher. Excused absence: Jackie Heinen. B. Elliott called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Agenda was amended to include Roger Ose speaking on 68th Street and 10th Avenue Stop Signs as 3A. Agenda as amended was approved in a motion moved by S. Lindgren; and seconded by J. Hermann. Motion passed unanimously. Motion to approve September 5, 2007 meeting minutes was made by M. Kirsch, seconded by B. Kritzman. Motion passed unanimously. 68th Street and 10th Avenue Roger Ose of 6824 10th Avenue spoke on the need for 4-way stop signs at 68th Street and 10th Avenue. He is aware of six crashes and witnessed three crashes that occurred there this year; one included a school bus. Proposed Resident Parking Permit Program T. Foley reviewed a memo explaining that the city code section 1310 already contained a simple residential parking permit program. It can be established by Council resolution in response to a petition. Jen Lux read a letter from Dale & Melinda Brady of 7632 Aldrich Ave. Jen Lux, Deborah Williams, Jayne Parker and Chad Wiederholt, all residents of 7600 block of Aldrich Ave., spoke about the proposed resolution discussed in the memo. They opposed fees for the permit application and for the cars. They wanted visitor stickers for guests not limited to a specific day. They also wanted the parking restricted for 24 hours per day and seven days per week. T. Foley explained that the City of Rochester recommended a short time period for parking restrictions. Aldrich residents claimed parking problems occur at different times of the day and night, and on weekends, too. T. Foley clarified that service trucks would be allowed to park on the street in a residential parking district. Some Commission members suggested that fees should be consistent with city costs, others opposed fees. S. Nutter suggested a waiver of fees in this case. City staff will draft a resolution and mail it to the residents on both sides of the 7600 block of Aldrich Avenue. The Commission will be asked to make a recommendation to Council. 76th Street Bridge Mn/DOT is holding a public information meeting on the proposed new 76th Street Bridge over I-35W. The meeting is set for October 10th from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Richfield City Hall. T. Foley gave a brief history of the project and discussed some issues that may interest the residents. 66th Street and Portland Avenue T. Foley reported that Council approved the submission of the plans to the Minnesota Department of Transportation by September 30, 2007. This action ensures that the project will obtain federal funds to build the project. A copy of the Power Point presentation to the City Council and a follow-up letter from James Tobaben of Parsons Brinckerhoff of Kansas City, MO were included in the agenda packet that was distributed to the Commission. 75th/76th Street Metro Sanitary Interceptor Sewer Jack Broz of H.R. Green explained the planning process he will use in developing a design for 75th & 76th Streets following the construction of the interceptor sewer. He wants to gain community input on their values so he can incorporate them into the street design. He distributed a work schedule and alerted people of the upcoming public meeting on October 25. Commissioners then provided their ideas to improve the street design, such as: medians won’t work for high number of driveways on 76th St.; on-street parking for homes located by Roosevelt Park; storm drainage near Roosevelt and Washington Parks; burying of utility lines; are signals still needed; and, 76th St. can still serve as backup road to 77th St. Comprehensive Plan Update T. Foley asked the Commissioners to provide comments on the first draft of the Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan. Staff will prepare a list of issues that residents can use to have input to the Comprehensive Plan without reading the entire document. S. Lindgren asked that the document be the primary topic of discussion at next month’s Commission meeting. A citywide public meeting on the entire Comprehensive Plan will be held on November 15th. Roundabout Communications K. Asher discussed possible additional steps the city can take to educate the public. Ideas suggested were: look for partners-county, Target, Ryan Companies; driver of city van to drive residents through roundabout; videos and brochures at high schools for homeroom, social studies or drivers education. Springtime would be good for an educational event. 6300 Block of Lyndale Avenue K. Asher reported that the appraisal to acquire a narrow strip of land on the east side of the block would cost $53,000. She will recommend to Council that the land not be purchased. This will result in an 8.5 feet wide sidewalk on the east side of Lyndale Avenue. J. Hermann suggested narrowing the bike lanes to 5 feet to make room for a 10-foot wide sidewalk on the east side of Lyndale. Future Agenda Items The Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan and the Aldrich Avenue residential parking permit program will be on next moth’s agenda. Upcoming Meetings The next Transportation Commission meeting will be held on November 7th at 7:00 p.m. at the Richfield City Hall. Other Business The City staff was directed to inform citizens who want to speak to the Commission on topics not already on the monthly agenda that they will be heard in the last 15 minutes of the meeting. Adjournment Motion to adjourn by S. Lindgren, seconded by B. Kritzman and passed. Meeting was adjourned at 9:07 p.m.