03-25-1991 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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r , REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD MARCH 25, 1991 ( #12)HIGHVIAY 12 CORRIDOR RECOMMENDATION CONTINUED of lanes should be expanded. We just knew that at some point it would be upgraded from a two -lane to a four -lane. We then had a considerable debate about the design elements of the four -lane road. We did not come to any conclusions, but did compare the future road to existing Highway 7, as it extends from Excelsior through Minnetonka. Another example might be the Old Highway 12 in Wayzata that runs by Perkins. The Planning Commission agreed on the term "minimum wid-h right-of-way roadway ". It was our opinion that no matter what design is. decided upon, the road should be constructed with--,:_n the least amount of right -of -way that is allowed by MNDOT standards. The Planning Commission preferred to have posted speeds at 40 or 45 miles per hour, rather than 55. The Planning Commission would also like to see stoplights with right and left turn lanes. We strongly encourage the Council to consider the findings of the modeling and traffic counts in order to determine how much of an upgrade is needed. It is always possible to torture the facts and circumstances to meet your needs. The Planning Commission felt that the City ought to be certain that the facts are facts, and not what someone wants 'is to conclude from the numbers that we get. I believe that will be one of the most difficult tasks that we have. Especially when we extrapolate those numbers out into the future. As I have mentioned before, the City tried to extrapolate the population of Orono in 1970 and did not do a very good job. The Planning Commission also discussed Highway 55. The recommendation does not include anything about Highway 55, but it was discussed. We talked about the possibility of diverting some of the east /west traffic that is now on Highway 12 tci Highway 55. We considered an option involving a cut -off on Highway 12 just outside Delano that would connect to Highway 55. That is a possibility, and from my personal point of view, is something we should look into. I think we need to consider how we can use Highway 55 and Highway 12 to suit the needs of our Community and those west of us." Kelley read the section of the memo entitled "Impact on Existing Zoning ". He then explained the Planning Commission's position regarding the impact an upgrade of the existing corridor would have on the City oz Long Lake. l-ie said, `The Planning Commission had a good discussion on this issue. I think the Planning Commission tried to view Orono and Long; Lake as one community because the corridor will affect us all. We believe that future consolidation of the two cities makes good planning sense for both communities, although we do not know when it might happen. We brought this up as an issue because the Council is looking to us as a Planning Commission trying to address future issues. The minority opinion on this issue was that such a recommendation could be construed by Long Lake citizens as an - 24 -