02-20-1991 Planning Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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r K.'-" fv.'-' tt'; ■. PLANNING COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING HELD FEBRUARY 20, 1991 Kell'^y said, "Let us not address the issae of upgrade at this tirae^ only location. How many residents in this room would like Highway 12 in the same location." The majority of people raised their hands. Charles Schroeder, 1925 West Farm Road, asked why^^ the Highway 55 is not being given more consideration. He said, "That is certainly a solution for traffic west beyond Long Lake and Maple Plain. I have heard that Highway 55 will not address the local problem, but am mystified by that. It seems to me that there are currently four ways to get into Minneapolis. Taere is Countv Road 15, existing 12, 6, possibly 24, and Highway 55. I would"think that a modest upgrade of Highway 12 and County Road 6 should serve the purpose. If you reside in Delano or Maple it would not be unreasonable to drive an extra mile or so north to get on a fast moving Highway 55. It has been determined that people tend to take the faster moving roads even if it is a mile or so out of their way." Cohen stated that the Federal and State governments have spent billions of dollars to construct 1-394. He said, "Those agencies are not going to admit that they made mistake and should have used Highway 55. It is necessary to view their mentality. 1-394 is going to ba the funnel of the bulk of the traffic into town because it leads to the parking ramps and downtown accesses. That is not the case with Highway 55, which in my opinion is^^more logical for trucks. I think the City has to recognize that." Schroeder stated that if the consensus of Orono residents is that they do not want to have a freeway, then Highway 55 offers a viable alternative. Darrell Anderson, 920 Viost V7ayzata Boulevard, stated that he constructed his home on Highway 12 in 1967. He said, "It appeared at that time that the corridor would go behind the cemetery and along the Great Northern railroad tracks. However, there was not enough funding for the project and nothing further was done until now. I sat for six minutes one day trying to get out of my driveway onto the Highway. I nave heard the crashes at the location where Old Long Lake Road intersects. To my knowledge, there have been three fatalities there. Tiere is no question that there is a problem. However, I do not believe that upgrading the existing Highway 1? is a feasible approach. I late to think what the construction period would be like." Rowlette said, "I would just like to get an opinion for the audience. Since most of you raised your hands indicating that you would prefer the existing corridor, I would like to know how you feel about our responsibility to the town of Long Lake and the business owners along Highway 12. Is it your opinion that the newly constructed Long Lake shopping center should be torn - 4 - .4 .»> t t ?i ^-d._ ^ ^ -- - -- - -.m I