02-14-1994 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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t — •/ i I 9II Neighborhood concerned about safety T^lEecdflorT I am one of the frustrated residents of 2nd Avenue that at tended last Monday ’s council meetly. Our neightorhood has organized, gathered data, and discussed the traffic problem that concerns our area in Ex celsior. Not only did we address the problem, we offered reasonable solutions in hopes of resolving the matter. Last April the council asked the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) to complete a traffic study involv ing 2nd and 3rd avenues. Divi sion Street, and Wheeler Drive. It’s unfortunate that the state was never asked to monitor the access from Highway 7 unto Division. - Nor was the state asked to complete a traffic count so one could determine the exact amount of traffic these streets are receiving. Instead of allow ing the state to perform their ex pertise, the city tock it upon itself to do a traffic count. I do not believe the city’s data to be accurate. I saw a group of teenagers jumping on the traffic counter — they found it humorous that a little hop could lick the counter and account for a vehicle. 'The city determined that 414 cars exit off Highway 7 unto Division. Of those, 175 bimed on to 2nd Avenue; the remainder continued down Division. The ci ty staff concluded that an average of 787 vehicles use 2nd Avenue per day. The city's data concludes that very few residents would be af fected if the access from Highway 7 onto Division was closed. Mr. Mason of Mason motors believes shutting off the access will affect the Excelsior business district. Is that a reasonable fear when only 175 vehicles exiting off the highway are using 2nd Avenue? Who is to determine that these 175 cars are going into town to. do business with Bill Mason or anyone else in Elxcelsior? I live on 2nd Avenue, and I see very few cars turn into town these days. .My neighlKirs and I believe that most of the 175 cars turning onto 2nd Avenue are go ing into Chanhassen. The closing of Giristmas Lake Road intensified the problem of Chanhassen residents using our residential streets as a shortcut to get home. I do sympathize with them. 'Their growing com munity does not have direct ac cess onto Mill Street from Highway 7. 'That is a problem, and it affects my neighborhood. It’s too bad that our elected of ficials can’t cooperate with the state’s recommendation to close the access from Highway 7 onto Division. The state recognizes that access to be a safety hazard. It is also very unfortunate that our elected officials neglectfully ignore a serious problem. One would think that the council would be concerned enough to at least assign a task force to in vestigate the situation. But our elected officials pro ceeded in their usual manner — their approach is to ignore the issue and hope it goes a’vay. Our neighborhood will con tinue talking with MnDOT in hopes of flnding a solution for our existing safety problem. We welcome any and all possible solutions. I am sincere whei; I state that I fear for my chil dren’s safety and the .safety of others living among these streets. A child's lixe is worth the effort to resolve this matter. .Many thanks to the Sun-Sailor for the great coverage regar ding this issue. Cindy Studer E.xcelsior ECFETiar~8pei iings for fallrwhitg] The Min” “tonka E^ly Childhood Family Education Pro9*am (ECFE) has several openings in various parent/child classes for the Fall/Winter ses sion that begins the week of Sept 20. mki-h am Clvm tnr the mini-series, “The Spirited Child’’ and the S.T.E.P. paren ting cl^s. ECFE is for ail families with children ages . birth through kindergarten. ECFE helps families meet the challenges of parenting bv provid ing informa- EFCE Rainbow Room expanding Minnetonka'School District’s E^arly Childhood Family Educa tion ’s Rainbow Room preschool is expanding to include an addi tional sessiofK for 4-year-old children. I I ExcelsiodS OLD 14EWSPAPERS AF Save your pape. ROBES • ADDIMOKS • S