05-08-2017 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, April 24, 2017 7:00 o'clock p.m. PUBLIC COMMENTS Jim Buck, Orono resident, stated he has a serious concern that has emerged regarding County Road 6 and Old Crystal Bay Road. There are long backups of cars waiting to turn right onto Crystal Bay and left onto County Road 6. As a result, drivers will take turns turning right or left, which generally works okay, but the problem is that the drivers turning left do not always realize that vehicles traveling down County Road 6 at 55 miles per hour do not have to stop. Buck stated he has observed near fatal collisions multiple times and that the problem on County Road 6 will only get worse given the construction on Old Highway 12. Buck indicated he has informed the police and talked to people at the school about this problem and that he is happy to assist somehow in dealing with this situation Crosby asked what the response of the police department was. Buck stated he was told to let the City Council know about the problem. Walsh commented the City needs to have a startup conversation about this, and since it is a Hennepin County Road, the City will need to work with them as well. Walsh recommended the City Administrator reach out to the parties to schedule a meeting to discuss it. Crosby questioned whether that section of County Road 6 should be part of the school zone since then the speed limit could be reduced down to 30 or 35. Stacey Royal, 3135 Jamestown Road, stated Trinity Lutheran Church has recorded 200 accidents near Brown Road and County Road 6 and that she would love to see the speed limit reduced or a stoplight installed on Old Crystal Bay Road. Royal stated there are a significant number of high school kids that drive in that area and someday there will be a fatal accident. Royal stated she would be happy to work with Jim and anyone else from a citizen perspective. Edwards stated Hennepin County could be requested to conduct a speed study, which requires a resolution from the City Council, but the actual speed limits are set by the state. Edwards noted Staff has attempted to work with the school, the County, and Three Rivers as recently as last year to look at solutions to this problem but they were not successful other than Three Rivers Park District did apply for and received a $10,000 grant to study safety at that particular crossing. In addition, the school hired SRF to conduct a traffic flow study and they looked at both intersections. Edwards stated in order to move this forward, the City Council will need to adopt a resolution requesting a speed study. It was the consensus of the City Council to move forward with a resolution requesting a speed study and to schedule a meeting with Hennepin County and perhaps the residents in the area. Darren Rosha stated his office is located at 2160 West Wayzata Boulevard and that he has been working with Brad and Kristi Erickson, the owners of the Orono Gas Station and shopping center. Rosha stated as the road project on Old Highway 12 proceeds forward, a question has arisen about how wide the driveway locations should be to this location. As it is currently configured, there are two driveways, with one driveway being roughly 80 feet. The City's ordinance requires the driveway be 32 feet wide. Rosha noted this is not a change being requested by the Erickson's but by Hennepin County. Page 2 of 12