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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/09/2002 z • � Traffic Safety Advisory Committee City of Apple Valley October 9, 2002 7:00 p.m. Municipal Center Minutes 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.by Chair polan. Members Present: Craig Anglin,Linda Dolan, Charles Grawe,Neal Heuer,Arthur Zimmerman Consultants Present: Glen Van Wormer Others Present: Kathy Bodmer, Calvin Hall,LaVonne Hall,Beverly Hermes,Jay Hermes,Tanya Pfeifer,Pastor Chris Smith Members Absent: Dick Asleson,Harald Eriksen 2. Approval of A eg nda Mr. Heuer asked to add a discussion on the speed limits on Gardenview Drive north of County Road 42. MOTION: Mr. Grawe moved, second by Mr. Anglin,to approve the agenda as amended. Motion passed unanimously. 3. Approval of September 11, 2002 Minutes MOTION: Mr. Grawe moved, second by Mr. Anglin,to approve the minutes of September 11,2002. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Audience Items There were no audience items. 5. Traffic Concerns Communicated to the Citv A) Fairgreen Avenue and Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church Traffic Concerns Mr. Van Wormer reported that existing State law prohibits parking in areas that are specific distances from intersections, stop signs,and fire hydrants. In addition,there are potential issues for sight lines from the intersection of 126th Street and Johnny r • i . Cake Ridge Road. Mr. Van Wormer recommended"no parking" signs to address the sight lines,but did not recommend curb painting. Mr. Van Wormer distributed an aerial photo showing where parking would be allowed and not allowed under the proposal. Pastor Smith said that Shepherd of the Valley began the shuttle service from the Falcon Ridge parking lot two weeks ago. He said the shuttle averages about 200 riders per week. Ms.Hermes said she believes that church staff continues to park on Fairgreen Avenue. Pastor Smith said he has and will continue to mention this issue to staff at staff ineetings. Ms.Hermes requested that the bus not use Fairgreen Avenue and 126th Street to reach Johnny Cake Ridge Road on its return trip to Falcon Ridge. Pastor Smith said he would ask the bus driver to exit the church parking lot onto Johnny Cake Ridge Road. Ms.Pfeifer requested that the church continue to ask its members to not exit the parking lot onto Fairgreen Avenue. Ms. Hermes asked if there are other public streets that empty directly into private parking lots. Mr.Van Wormer said that such conditions exist elsewhere. Mr. Van Wormer noted that a cul-de-sac is costly to install and would not change the parking issues. Mr. Smith provided a copy of leaflets the church is distributing to its members. Ms. Hall suggested that Fairgreen Avenue could be made into a one-way street. Mr. Van Wormer explained that this would not work because residents would need to travel the opposite direction through the private church property. Ms.Hermes said that drivers do not respect ihe stop signs that the church erected in the parking lot. Mr. Anglin said such signs erected on private property are not enforceable. Mr.Heuer suggested that improperly placed and unenforceable signs are often not respected by drivers and should be removed. Pastor Smith said the temporary sign was removed and replaced with a permanent sign only facing the northbound traffic coming out of the parking lot. Ms.Pfeifer asked about speeds on Fairgreen Avenue. Mr. Heuer said the 85th percentile speed is 20 miles per hour, which is low for a residential street. Mr.Anglin said he would like fair warning to be given before enforcement efforts begin. Mr.Anglin said he would like to work with Pastor Smith to distribute maps to the congregation members showing the areas with parking prohibitions. MOTION: Mr. Anglin moved, second by Mr.Heuer,to recommend that the City Council prohibit parking on the south side of 126th Street from Johnny Cake Ridge Road to 125 feet east of Fairgreen Avenue; that the Police Department increase enforcement efforts of the State statutes relating to crosswalks, stop signs,and fire hydrants along Fairgreen Avenue and 126th Street; that the City initiate efforts to publicize information relating to the State laws regarding parking prohibitions; and that the City ask the Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church to distribute copies of the parking law information to its members. Motion passed unanimously. � � � B) Traffic Volumes on Dublin Road Mr. Heuer said he received contact from a resident concerned about the traffic volumes on Dublin Road. The resident also expressed concerns over the traffic speeds. Mr.Heuer reported that traffic counts taken earlier in the year showed 800 trips per day. Later counts in September showed 700 trips per day. The 85th percentile for traffic speeds is 30 miles per hour. The traffic volumes and speeds appear to be less than the amounts considered a problem for residential streets. Ms. Dolan asked if temporary signs would be helpful. Mr.Van Wormer said temporary signs tend not to be effective in instances like this. After discussing the situation in detail,the group's consensus was to take no specific action at this time. C) Police Mr. Anglin said there were no specific concerns at this time. He noted that on October 15th,Apple Valley will be jointly participating with Lakeville and the State Patrol to enforce trucking regulations on 160th Street. Efforts will include officers checking vehicle weights, commercial vehicle inspectors making safety inspections, and Depariment of Revenue representatives checking the fuel types. Mr. Anglin said the same government entities will work jointly on Driving Under the Influence(DU� enforcement on October 26th. D) Fublic Works Mr. Heuer distributed the monthly list of concerns. He said he is currently providing the Fire Department information on the rationale for striping and for no left turn lanes at Greenleaf School on Galaxie Avenue. He said he also provided information to a resident regarding the rationale for the striping on Highview Avenue in Lakeville that was intended to encourage traffic to turn onto 160th Street and not travel straight onto Gardenview Drive. Mr.Heuer reported a complaint about parking on Dory Avenue for athletic events in the neighboring park. The parking is causing sight line issues. MOTION: Mr. Heuer moved, second by Mr. Grawe,to recommend that the City Council place parking restrictions on Dory Avenue off Diamond Path in accordance with the recommendations by the City's traffic consultant. Motion passed unanimously. E) Speed Limits on Gardenview Drive North of County Road 42 Mr.Heuer said that the Minnesota Department of Transportation(MNDOT) conducted a speed study on areas of Gardenview Drive north of County Road 42 in 1999. As a result of the study,MNDOT recommended the City change the signage for speed limits such that it is posted 30 miles per hour from County Road 42 to North Walnut Lane and 40 miles per hour from North Walnut Lane to Palomino Drive. The City has not yet taken action to change the signage. Mr. Heuer said there were concerns about the traffic speeds that would take effect adjacent to Westview School. With the school speed zone established in Apple Valley,Mr.Heuer asked a � � Mr. Van Wormer to examine the implementation of the MNDOT recommendations while maintaining low speeds adjacent to the school. Mr. Van Wormer distributed a diagram of his recommendations including installing an advisory 30 miles per hour sign and establishing a school speed zone. With the school speed zone and with the reduction of the speed limit from 45 miles per hour to 40 miles per hour north of Walnut Lane,the new speeds on Gardenview Drive should be superior to the existing condition. MOTION: Mr. Heuer moved, second by Mr.Anglin,to recommend the City Council direct the Public Works Department to post the revised signage as presented and as recommended by the City's traffic consultant. Motion passed unanimously. F) Other Concerns Communicated to the City There were no other concerns raised. 6. Traffic Safetv Educational Efforts a) Debrief on Apple Valley High School Fall Festival The City provided an informational booth at Apple Valley High School Fall Festival on September 29. The group agreed that a considerable amount of information was distributed. The sports cards with safety tips,chewing gum, and activity books for young children were especially popular. The volunteers were busy throughout. The consensus was to staff the booth at next year's event. b) Monthly Newspaper Article Mr. Van Wormer said he would write a future article on laws pertaining to parking. Mr. Anglin requested an article on the laws pertaining to yielding to emergency vehicles. 7. Other Business There was no other business. 8. Adj ourn MOTION: Mr. Zimmerman moved, second by Mr.Anglin,to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m.