02-14-1994 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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I !.. I1 V'^ fy f-!^ J:)- •iy., •. • \ \ Highway From page 3A munity,” Mason's letter states. “Hie thorougMares are for the use of the entire populous, and should not be closed to anyone ’s use unless it can be proven to be a benefit to all.” And one by one, council members spoke in opposition to closing the exit ramp. Councilmember Bob Murphy said he was not in favor of mak ing “private streets” for any residents in the city. “First of all, the impact bn the businesses is not being taken in- jto account here,” Murphy said. “The thing is, if we close this ex it off, they ’ll simply go down to Christmas Lake Road and come back through your nei^borhood. That won ’t be -solving anything.” And Murphy said if more traf fic is diverted . through downtown, the fiveway in tersection at Second and Mill streets, near the Excelsior Post Office, will become even more dangerous. He suggested that' if the residents wanted to ensure the safety of their children, they should petition the city to build sidewalks, at the expense of the residents in the area. Other council members pointed to a recent traffic study conducted by the city. The study indicated that 414 cars per day exit off Highway 7 onto Division Street. Of those, the study show ed, 175 trav^ed to Second Avenue. ‘Tm going along with the rest of the council,” said Coun cilmember Patti Sue Selseth. “It seems only 2S percent of the traffic on Second Avenue came from Highway 7.” Other council members pointed out that MnDOT left it up to the city to decide the issue. However, Cindy Studer, of Se cond Avenue, said an official with MnDOT indicated that the amount of traffic going throu^ the neighborhood was high. Studer went to the MnDOT of fice Monday to retrieve a letter from R.E. Dixon, a traffic studies supervisor, and deliver it to Mayor John Anderson. The letter states: ‘Hie [Divi sion Street] access apparently funnels more traffic through residential neighborhoods th^ can comfortably be ac comodated. MnDOT feels that closing unsignalized access points on a majw highway such as Trunk Hi^iway 7 is a good safety measure and we recom mend doing so wherever possi ble; however, it is the city ’s decision to make.” Murphy said MnDOT was simply trying to save its^ “$7,000 or $8,000” by having the city close off the exit. Anderson told residents that the city has already helped them out and will continue to do so by adding more safety signs to the neighborhood. But outside the council chambers, Studer and several others said they will try to work _ with MnDOT to close the exit. “We feel shrugged off,” Studer said. “The council did nothing to help us.” U.S. Savings Bonds ior {ducation grow ALMOST AS f AST AS KIDS DO. Buy U S Savings Bonds — foe haH their face value — where you work or bank. If you keep them five years or more, you'll earn competitive, market-basTO rates or a guaranteed minimum rate, whichever is higher. For current rate information, call ^ .__ Sun^SaUor Newspaf Hk Snn*Sailv vmloaoMS oommenuke for Utebest readmg. Tber tbe writer end the name of the the week before an electkn. The scHur A Our best ever previev Sc r I I I I L Come tc “Christm SPECSPEC 4 Get your weekend off to a flying start with an Enterprise Rent-a-Car. Our special weekend rate is only $13-99 per day when you rent a subcompaa tOLini^ize car^' for 3-5 ^ys, including a ■ " Saturday and Sunday. A * one time fuel deposit of $6.00. (Optional CDW is available at $8.00 per day. . HOPKINS ST.L 1710 Hwy. 7 6801 1 /\'to oo'ie ■ tr/