01-24-2000 Council Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

I I I A principal goal of Orono's planning program is the protection of natural resources and environmental amenities, particularly the water quality of Lake Minnetonka. This goal has its most profound impact on Orono's land use policies and is therefore indirectly linked to transportation concerns. The most direct connection, however, is that occasioned by County Road 1 5's location along Lake Minnetonka's shoreline. As the western Lake Minnetonka communities have grown and developed they have generated more commuters and the resulting traffic on County Road 15 has increased significantly. Yet there is no room to e.xpand the road without filling into the lake or removing a significant number of lakeshore homes. Any increase in road size, or any appreciable increase in roadway use, will only create an intolerable barrier between these homes and their platted riparian shoreline. Thu s-.-Qrono's Orono maintains a deep concern for finding alternative routes for these commuters in order to protect Lake Minnetonka and to preserve shoreline amenities, landowner's property rights, and the general public's ability to e.xperience a slow-paced journey along Lake Minnetonka's most scenic and most accessible shoreline. Mass transportation alternatives are scarce in Orono and other Lake Minnetonka cities. Region-wide, mass transit has been the neglected stepchild of the post-war auto boom. Lver since Minneapolis's last streetcar ran in 1954, the only public transit has been a less than adequate bus system supplemented by e.xpensive taxis. Metropolitan fransit Authority control of the bus network has increased service lev els including the prov ision of regularly scheduled routes through Orono. This serv ice is provid ed through Navarre and most of our more densely populated urban neighborhoods, but schedules are spread out and off»peak-serv ice is minimal. MetroTransit. which operates the Twin Cities metropolitan mass transit system under the auspices of the Metropolitan Council, provides a limited level of express bus service to the Navarre, and Long Lake areas. While most of Orono's more densely populated urban areas are served bv the express routes, schedules are spread out, and off-peak ser\ ice is limited. Orono residents do have the option of using Park-and-Ride facilities in Navarre or Wavzata. Rural Orono. however, has no direct bus service. A new experimental Tonkamobilc tixcd timc-flcxiblc route seivicc is being tried in 1 9 80. Th is serv ice will fill a prev ious voi d of .serv ’icc bet ween Nava rre and nxcel.sior. but additional serv ice withi n Orono is still to b e desired. 0 CMP 4A - 7