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MINUTES OF THE
<br /> ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
<br /> Monday,May 11,2020
<br /> 6:00 o'clock p.m.
<br /> refinements. They would like to review potential routes with the Council to make sure they are okay with
<br /> Three Rivers Park District(TRPD)going public with them,which they will do after they meet with all of
<br /> the City Councils involved. He asked for feedback, comments, and support from the Council.As far as
<br /> public engagement,they will try to get out as they are allowed and engage in community events if they
<br /> occur. The public engagement process will be oriented more online and on the website due to COVID-19,
<br /> especially if community events are canceled or restricted.The website will include a map where people
<br /> can make comments, similar to placing a pin on a Google Map, which TRPD can preserve. After the
<br /> public engagement process,they will create what they think is the best route for the community,bring it
<br /> back for Council approval, and draft a master plan document,which will include a 30-day comment
<br /> period containing a resolution of support from the City Council. After that process, TRPD will go through
<br /> approvals with its own Board and the Met Council.He then displayed potential routes through Orono and
<br /> stated when the route comes out of Medina,they are looking at 3 alternatives. With the northwest route,
<br /> they are not able to go through properties such as Wolsfeld Woods due to SNA regulations, but they hope
<br /> to be adjacent to it because it would be a scenic area.The middle route coming out of Medina would be
<br /> road-based along Tamarack Drive within the road right-of-way. The easterly route would come down
<br /> Hunter and also be road-based but would connect to the Holy Name Lake area and head north into
<br /> Corcoran.Moving south on the map, he said they would like to utilize Spring Hill Road either on the west
<br /> or east side. If the route is on the west side,they would look at a potential underpass on Highway 6. There
<br /> are trail options along Spring Hill Road to East Long Lake Road; and he understands the City plans on
<br /> reconstructing that portion of the now-abandoned East Long Lake Road into a trail. TRPD would like to
<br /> take advantage of that route because there are not any good ones that could bring the trail to the south.
<br /> They would prefer to be along the east side of Long Lake. The trail route would go to Summit Park,
<br /> which would be an area they would consider as a trailhead,which consists of some signage,a parking lot,
<br /> an access for the trail,and information about the trail. Heading south, along East Long Lake Road,they
<br /> understand the area will be a challenge given the steep and narrow road. They have looked into going
<br /> through Summit Park, but the topography does not allow for that on the western side.An alternative
<br /> would be to secure an easement from the property owners in order to build a trail adjacent to the road; but
<br /> if that cannot happen, consideration may be given to a shared-road situation: cars,bikes,and pedestrians
<br /> would share the road for that distance until reaching the park. He said there are 5 homes and the park that
<br /> the road would access, so it would not be much traffic volume. He discussed the option of going along
<br /> Old Long Lake Road through the SNA property using the road right-of-way, so people could experience
<br /> it but not be on it. He noted there is a small parking lot in the area so people could get off the trail,park
<br /> their bikes,and walk through the SNA property. He said that this corridor is one of the nicest areas to get
<br /> to Dayton. Another route could take users to Wayzata Boulevard,to the existing trail that was built with
<br /> the reconstruction of the highway,and then come back to the Luce Line and utilize the trail that is there
<br /> now. Other trail options moving east would be to either stay on Luce Line all the way to Ferndale or go
<br /> on Old Long Lake Road to Wayzata Boulevard. Using another map, he discussed utilizing the existing
<br /> bridges crossing over Highway 12,whether it is along Wayzata Boulevard, which is an 8-foot paved path
<br /> on the north side,and/or Ferndale. There is an option in the future to make improvements to the bridge
<br /> structure deck to accommodate a wider trail crossing over. He stated the trail could continue south into
<br /> Wayzata, continuing down Ferndale to Dakota Rail, and staying on Wayzata Boulevard over to Barry to
<br /> Lake Street,which is where the Dakota Rail project is being constructed, and extending the trail to
<br /> Broadway. He stated that although it was not part of the trail project,he wanted to let the Council know,
<br /> panning to the east and south on the map,that there are a couple other search corridors in the area. He
<br /> said they are looking at a master plan that would extend Dakota Rail all the way through Wayzata to the
<br /> Minnetonka City Hall/Community Center,which would connect to the Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail.
<br /> They are also looking at a search corridor that would go along Bushaway Road and over to Central and
<br /> work its way north, essentially parallel with the DLRT but farther east.
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