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2019-02-06 TC Minutes Richfield Transportation Commission Attachment #1 February 6, 2019 - Meeting Minutes 7:00 p.m. | Richfield Municipal Center – Bartholomew Room Commission members: Ted Weidenbach (chair), Wes Dunser, Ken Severson, Gerry Charnitz, Jack Wold, Marco Lanz, Dan Edgerton, Husniyah Bradley Commission members not in attendance: Jeffrey Walz, Francine Legba, Paul Chillman Liaisons: Mary Supple and Sarah Musgrave Liaisons not in attendance: Simon Trautmann and Sean Hayford Oleary City Staff Liaison: Jack Broz Other City Staff: Logan Vlasaty I. Call meeting to Order Commissioner Weidenbach called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm. II. Approval of Agenda Motion by Commissioner Severson to approve the agenda, s/Charnitz. Motion carried. III. Welcome new Commissioners IV. Election of Officers Nomination by Commissioner Severson for Wes Dunser as Chair and Gerry Charnitz as Vice Chair. Motion to approve nominations by Dan Edgerton, s/Wold. Motion carried. Commission formally thanked Weidenbach for his time serving as Chair. V. Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes Motion made by Commissioner Charnitz to approve the January 2nd, 2019 meeting minutes, s/Weidenbach. Motion carried. VI. Updates  Nothing to update regarding the 66th St. project, but Broz noted the roundabouts seemed to function well during snow storms and encouraged Commissioners to observe the function of the corridor during the winter months.  Vlasaty updated the Commission on the Lyndale Ave project: plans are submitted to MnDOT for approval and bids will be solicited and a contractor selected early this spring with an open house to follow in late March or April.  The 77th St. Underpass project timeline has been changed due to some delays brought about by the ROW/land acquisition processes — construction will now commence in 2020 instead of 2019. VII. Transportation Commission Role in Project Development Broz explained the structure and role of the Commission in the project development process: the Commission provides technical analysis with various open houses through preliminary design and the proposed layouts up to the Commission’s official recommendation to Council. After Council approves the preliminary design and projects go into the final design phase, the Commission receives regular updates but is less involved with a given project. VIII. Portland Avenue Bicycle Improvements Broz gave background info on the Portland Ave “Bike Gap” project, noting that it is a maintenance project and not a full reconstruction. The current plan is to mill and overlay the asphalt roadway surface and to spot-repair concrete along the project limits. The Portland corridor from downtown Minneapolis to 494 is a critical link and has been voted as an important gap in the metro bicycle network. Hennepin County and Richfield are also looking to improve safety and traffic flow with a 4-to-3 lane conversion. Jason Staebell and Josh Potter with Hennepin County presented the current plan for the corridor including improvements such as RRFBs at the 66th St. roundabout, elimination of Sunday parking, and potential striping changes to the 66th St. roundabout. Other features include the elimination of the “free right” at the EB Hwy 62 exit ramp at Portland Ave and improved pedestrian and bike crossings at the Hwy 62 exit and entrance ramps. Motion made by Charnitz to recommend to City Council the approval of the Portland Ave preliminary design with the consideration that the 66th St. & Portland Ave. roundabout be single lane exits, s/Severson. Motion carried. Motion made by Dunser to request RRFBs at the center medians of the roundabout in addition to the outer RRFBs to match the Nicollet & Lyndale roundabouts at 66th St., s/Severson. Motion carried. VIII. I-494 Discussion Broz presented the possible impacts of the 494 project, specifically the effects of closing the Nicollet and 12th Ave ramps. Overall, the change in traffic volumes to the north/south arterial streets is minimal and any large traffic volume increases will occur on 77th St. Commission discussed how the City’s streets will handle the changes in traffic, if changes will be needed, and potential traffic impacts regarding future redevelopment. IX. Work Plan Review/Next Steps  65th St. X. Upcoming events/meetings(s)  Next scheduled Commission meeting: March 6th, 2019. XI. Adjournment Motion made by Commissioner Edgerton to adjourn meeting, s/Bradley. Motion carried. Adjourned at 8:59 pm.