10-10-2022 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING September 26, 2022 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 3 of 13 uses of Fox Street well into the future. Their request is to get that opportunity right. He is asking the City Council to direct Staff to conduct an additional feasibility study for provision of bike and pedestrian safety, including community and neighborhood outreach. This would be a relatively minimal expense and if the budget were a concern, he and others would be willing to contribute to that effort. Most importantly it is an opportunity for resident engagement and education. He noted this would also allow time to explore additional funding options. Mr. Dayton has been in touch with Commissioner LaTondresse at Hennepin County, as well as Representative Dean Phillips and Representative Kelly Morrison. This potential investment in clean, forward-looking, climate-conscious infrastructure aligns with County, State, and Federal funding priorities and he thinks there is an opportunity there. Mr. Dayton thanked Edwards for his guidance and said he has been great and represented the City well. Barbara Schmidt, 50 Landmark Drive, asked if this stretch of road is part of the Comprehensive Plan approved by the City for bike trails. Edwards replied the City does have a bike trail plan and this stretch of road is not included. Penny Saiki, 2874 Casco Point Road, was here for the presentation from the soils engineer who explained that portions of the road that go over the wetland are always going to heave every year. If they widen a road the tendency is to go faster; she noted the upland area surrounding is treed, landscaped, and if they widen it the landscape goes away and it is decades of recovery. She thinks everyone here in Orono came out not because it looks like downtown Minneapolis, Edina, or Eden Prairie, they came out because of the setting and she thinks they need to respect that. To change the wetland, she noted John Miller stated at the previous meeting that in the old days people just went straight from one point to another and it did not matter what the soils or landscape were, it was about the shortest route. Today, in being more educated and with the engineering background, she thinks they need to respect that. Nivin Macmillan stated she has lived on or within 1.5 miles of Fox Street for 45 years. She dreads sounding like a crotchety old lady that doesn’t want anything to change and she certainly wants the children to be safe. It is hard for her to see the pressing need, of course they need to do something about Fox Street, but she does not see the pressing need for the bike lane. They have miles of biking around them and from where she lives on Fox Street it is exactly .3 of a mile to the Dakota Trail and perhaps a little over .5 miles to the Luce Line. It seems like a tremendous expense, she is concerned about the Watershed, and she is not an expert and cannot speak to it specifically but they know what the water is like in the low place at the east end of the road and they have geese swimming there some years. She feels very protective of the wetlands. Ms. Macmillan noted it is hard to argue about taking the children to ice cream because that is good; however, one must weigh the value of the ice cream and the short distance with all that would be involved in widening the road. The final embarrassing thing she has to say which may seem like a very small and unimportant factor, it was “real country” when she moved out there in the 1970’s and they do have a little island of something out there that does not feel like downtown and she feels very protective of that. While she hates to be in opposition to her good friend Eric Dayton and wants his boys to have ice cream, she is against putting a bike and walking trail on Fox Street. Robert McNae 1840 Fox Street, stated as the populations grows in Orono he thinks it is imperative to stay in the forefront of growing with the rest of the City, State, and world. He thinks they must move forward and while it is only half a mile to get to the Dakota or Luce Line, one takes their life in their hands to get there. No matter how wide or narrow that road is, unless they do something to protect pedestrians and