04-24-1995 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE REGULAR ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON APRIL 24, 1995 (##2 - Old Beach Road - Continued) • All emergency vehicles will be coming to Old Beach Road from County 15. The one access from County 15 to Old Beach Road will be adequate to provide for emergency vehicle access. The construction of the cul -de -sac is recommended to include the retention of an eight foot wide section of pavement from the southern edge of the cul -de- sac to CoRd 19. This will provide an alternate access for emergency vehicles in the case of a blockage at the northern portion of Old Beach Road. Lastly, in relation to how this solution would relate to other roads that have been proposed for cul -de -sacs, this has been found to be a unique roadway. The sheer volume of traffic on Old Beach Road is many times higher than the volumes on any other residential streets where cul -de -sacs have been or could be requested. The design, layout and topography of the street make this roadway particularly prone to safety problems with higher volumes and higher speeds. This closure would shift a very high volume of turning movements to a much safer location, a signalized intersection. Both CoRd 15 and CoRd 19 are in place and built to handle the traffic. Callahan asked Moorse if a study in time differential has been conducted. Moorse replied that the Staff did not conduct such a study, but a resident study indicated the cul -de -sac would result in a somewhat longer trip between County Roads 19 and 15. Chief Sullivan was asked to comment on any problems since the temporary closure was • made. Sullivan said there has been one major accident after the closure. There has shown to be only minor inconvenience, otherwise, and noted roads available to divert around on North Shore Drive. There generally has been no problems, and Sullivan voiced his support of the effort to permanently close the road. Callahan asked the public for a general show of Orono residents present and opened the forum to the public for comments. Kirk Sherman of 2505 Old Beach Road represented the 15 homeowners along Old Beach Road, who support the recommendation to permanently close the road. Sherman said an intense study has been done for the last year. During 1992 -93, the City was adverse to closing by cul -de -sac and looked at other options with John Gerhardson. Sherman said the key issue of safety came to a head with school bus incidents. The road by design is narrow. If a car attempts to pass the bus, the car narrowly misses the children. Three such incidents occurred in a one week period. A petition was passed around and lead to the temporary closing in January. •