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MINUTES OF THE REGULAR ORONO CITY COUNCIL <br />MEETING HELD ON APRIL 24, 1995 <br />(#2 - Old Beach Road - Continued) <br />Lawrence Murray of 145 West Point Court in Tonka Bay presented a petition with 658 <br />signatures for the reopening of Old Beach Road. These included 571 petitions from <br />Tonka Bay, Shorewood, and Excelsior Murray passed out information on a review <br />conducted in ’93-'94 on safety and traffic counts He noted the timeliness as this is when <br />the neighbors moved in and initiated action on closing the road The motor vehicle <br />accident files show 5 accidents, with one personal injury, at CoRd 15 and Old Beach <br />Road, 2 accidents, no personal injury, at CoRd 19 and Old Beach Road, and 61 <br />accidents, 14 with personal injury, at the Navarre intersection of CoRds 15 and 19 He <br />asked the Council whose safety they are concerned with those that live there or those <br />who need to go through the intersection of CoRds 15 and 19 <br />Murray suggested upgrading Old Beach Road to alleviate the problems in Navarre saying <br />this traffic is easier to divert He also felt the counts noted regarding traffic volume were <br />incorrect Murray said he had spoken with the County office representative regarding the <br />two counters used One counter was reported as not working and one counter double <br />counted. Murray said the study was not for a 24-hour period but from 5 a m to midnight <br />and projections were made Murray said there is little traffic at night and less during the <br />day and late afternoon than noted He said if most traffic was occurring during the <br />morning and evening times, compressing these figures would result in a car every 12 <br />seconds, which he felt was not credible. <br />Hurr asked him who he spoke with from the County. Murray said the name was <br />Lundberg, or Lundgren, but was the person in charge of traffic counts. <br />Murray also noted that maps from 1896 show Old Beach Road. Jabbour noted that the <br />standards followed today are not those of 1896. Callahan said the cost to upgrade the <br />road would be $400,000, and funds were not available. Murray said he pays by way of <br />his taxes <br />Jabbour noted the need to deal with facts and reality and not emotions. <br />Callahan said he agreed with the traffic peaks at the a m and p m. hours. <br />Hurr asked why Old Beach Road was not eligible for MSA funding. Minnetonka Beach <br />is not on the state aid system, and part of Old Beach Road is in Minnetonka Beach. <br />Ellsworth Peterson of 45 Fariboe Avenue in Tonka Bay, noted when making right hand <br />turns, there are no problems. The only problem is when left turns are made. Peterson <br />suggested building an overpass at each end to eliminate the problem. Peterson has lived <br />in Tonka Bay for 25 years.