09-20-1993 Planning PacketC - Laserfiche WebLink

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...• -«« ;■ > . EJu:•i•.or/S^CMVMM Sun^aKDi . Mjy. >>gL^3^ ^ - 1 *« • • !•*• . ■ ■ :.' • f i ' M •« • - >.* .• ^ * •>| . ! ••. ! 1 ^ t V*. ” 1^ N»; . - .-.*» -t Neighborhood asks for dosing High\53)Ll_a£c^s By^io hn Mm^ord--------- The Iasi lime a group of neighbors from ihe area of Divi sion Street and Second and Third avenues showed up at Ex celsior City Hall, they had no formal group name, and for that matter, no formal group But Monday, the Excelsior Ci ty Council got to hear from members of Save Excebiur’s Neighborhood (S E N ), the growing group that wants the exit from Highway 7 onto Dm- sicn Street closed They say pedestrians and children who play ui the area are m danger because of Chanhassen motorists who use the exit to travel down Second Avenue to Mill Street. About 20 members of S E N were at the meeting, as well as a handful of people who were op posed to the group’s desire to dose the exit. As was the case at a June meeting, council members told the group of neighbors that they would not close off the exit, nor wodd they ask the Mmnesola Depa.tment of Transportation (MnDOT) to do so. And, the council also s;»id it would not lake S.E N. up on its latest proposal to have the city pay for a study to determine whether the 130-foot exit ramp is safe “This IS something that is totally controlled and governed by the slate." said Coun- cilmember Bob Murphy. “It’s out of our hands.'* And. as was the case after the June meeting, the residents of the area said they have only begun to fight. “I'm disappointed in the coun cil because we re a large p.»rt of ibe citv.‘* said Sieve Young, of Divi.si’on Street "Hut this dtHMi'l iman we’ll give up We're just getting going.” The members of the group say they ’re going to continue work ing with MnDOT officiaLs to try and get the exit closed. Or. they at least want someone to acknolwedge that the exit is not a safe one At previous council meetings in which the residents had siwken. Cindy Sluder led the wav for the group liul at .Monday s meeting, several speakers presented SEN’S case “You refer to us as Cindy Sluder s group.” said Chene EXCELSIOR Gordon, of Third Av enue “She's sUU one of our representatives, but we’ve become much more than that. We had a meeting m which 44 people attended.” Gordon asked if the council would consider gelling together in a meeting with MnDOT and the neighbors. “We keep heanng from the ci ty that It’s MnDOT’s problem.” she said. ".And we hear from MnDOT that it’s the city’s pro blem. We want to get ail sides together and figure this out ' Wlien council members said they only have the power to ask MnDOT to consider c las mg the exit, the residents asked why Koberl Dixon, a dislncl super visor with MnDOT, had written a letter stating that the city could close the e.xil if it wanted to. As Gordon read a letter from Dixon in which the MnDOT of ficial said the slate is m favor of having cities closing off unsafe exits, Murphy began laughmg. “Is tliere somelhmg funny here?” Gordon and several others asked Murphy. Earlier. Murphy had said that because MnDOT is in a budget- crunch. it would love to have cities close up exits on state highways. “Of course it would be at the expense of the cities,” Muprhy said John Chrislme. of S E.N., ask ed council members if they realized that the exit was unsafe and that cars exiting onto Divi- sion Street cannot see fxHiestnans or other cars ui the neigliUnhaxl. And Young askwl if council membeiN were aware that MnDOT rii oimr.ends licit exits bucli a.-5 the one on Ili^’.hwav 7 Iv at least 3U) feet long, He also said the recommendtxi stopping dLstance for a car traveling W mph IS l‘A3 feel “Did yixj know that exit is on ly 130 fcxfl long”’ Young said ' But City Manager Carl Zieman said many exits on Highway 7 don’t meet MnlXl’P’s requirements •Tlieir bpixifications change ail the lime. ■ Mayor John Anderson said “Tliey’re res^xm- sible for changing them We don t want this to gel mtoa com- muiulv against die city type of dung. We’re irv mg to work with you and hav. jone a lot for your neighhorhiXKi ” Several residents from Linden Street and a business owner, Ann Kenger, spoke against clos ing the exit. “I wanted to mention that JX) people signed a petition agamst closmg the exit. ” said Jack Kerr, of Linden Street. "The question is whether this will solve the problem of traffic on Stxond Avenue People will just exit on (Thristmas l.ake Road and go back through your neight»rhood. Some of us see this as an inconvemence.” Bea Kinghom, also of Linden Street, said she often sees children piaymg ui the street on Second Avenue “I don't think that's safe,” she said “Right now when 1 drive ta Excelsior. I have one mile. But if this is closed. I’ll have two miles. Also, the police say there are no major accidents there.” THE MOST VALUABLE COMMODITY'S INFORMATION Alter years cf providing extraordinary research for industry, the INSTITUTE is proud to oiler its services to you. the consuiiKr! Our expertise is now accessible to individuals who want to raise their ‘‘quality of life”. It is our goal to provide you with U.e best informaaon available. There arc no “miracle methods ” or "quick fixes”. 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