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* <br />1 •April It. 1996 <br />Likely Hwy. 12 plan hinted at <br />By P«ttv MacDonald <br />▼ A ▼hile stopping short of <br />\i\l a formal announce- <br />W V tnent, Minnesota <br />Department of Transportation <br />engineer Tom O'Keefe strongly <br />hinted that a transportation <br />management system option for <br />Highway 12 will be getting the <br />nod April 22 when MnDOT <br />plans to narrow the 10 alterna­ <br />tives now under consideration. <br />His remarks were made dur­ <br />ing a workshop session with the <br />Wayzata Qty Council prior to its <br />regular meeting on April 3. The <br />session was attended by a group <br />of residents from Wayzata, <br />Orono and Plymouth who are <br />fighting the idea of an inter­ <br />change access to Highway 12 off <br />North Femdale Road. <br />Ramps off Femdale Road are <br />part of the conceptual plans for <br />the management system and <br />would be mcluded as possibili ­ <br />ties tor future study. MnDOT <br />officials hop>e to have final deci­ <br />sions on which elements of the <br />management system would be <br />constructed bv October 1997. <br />O'Keefe said he was sending <br />"as clear a message as I'm able to <br />give" while explairung that there <br />are two magir obstacles to a four- <br />lane highway altemabve: a lack <br />of highway construction fundii^ <br />in the metro area and the fact <br />that the Metropolitan Council <br />does not favor such an expan­ <br />sion past the dty of Lxing Lake. <br />He also said that the traffic man­ <br />agement system alternative <br />grew out of mediation proceed ­ <br />ings between the department. <br />Long Lake and Orono. <br />Under the management sys­ <br />tem option, Femdale Road <br />North would serve as a collector <br />route for tra ffic off County Road <br />6. Although w'Keete told the <br />audience that tbt* road could <br />remain a two-lar thoroughfare, <br />Plynmouth Counalmember Tim <br />Wold said the dty would install <br />a four-lane road if traffic became <br />heavy. Femdale Road North lies <br />half in PlvTnouth and half in <br />Orono. The two cities would <br />have to agree on that matter <br />before any expansion took place. <br />The Plymouth City Council <br />opposes any Highwav 12 access <br />off of Femdale Road North. <br />Wold told O'Keefe he felt <br />MnDOT was trying to shift the <br />problem of expanding the high ­ <br />way through Long Lake onto <br />the neighborhoods in the <br />Femdale Road area. <br />julie Streeter Dallin read a <br />statement from the board o <br />directors of the Wayzata <br />Chamber of Commerce oppos ­ <br />ing the interchange option <br />because it would cause traffic to <br />bypass the Wayzata business <br />district. <br />Several citizens urged the <br />Wayzata City Coundl to oppiose <br />’.he idea, although Mary Himes <br />requested that the council <br />remain neutral until ail the facts <br />are in. <br />"It would be criminal to <br />change the character of that <br />street," said Nancy Curry. <br />O'Keefe responded to objec­ <br />tions by stating, "You folks are <br />convinced that we don't need <br />an interchange but 1 am not con ­ <br />vinced of that. At this time I <br />would not recommend that we <br />eliminate any elements of the <br />TMS." <br />At the regular coundl meet­ <br />ing, after OKeefe left, the coun ­ <br />dl voted 4-0 to draft a position <br />paper opposing an interchange <br />at the site. Mayor Bob Gisvold <br />was absent. <br />Prior to the vote, dty traffic <br />consultant Charlene Zimmer of <br />SRF Consulting, told the coundl, <br />"Our feeling is that ramps at <br />Femdale don't make much dif- <br />fererKe (to the TMS) at all."