03-25-1991 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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r i L: PLANNING COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING HELD FEBRUARY 20, 1991 Kelley said, "Let .is not address the issje ot upgrade at r.his time, only location How many residents in this room would like Highway 12 in the same location.” The majority of people raised their ‘'uncs Charles Schroeder, 1925 West Farm Road, as<t;d Highway 5:i is not being given mo* consideration. H? said, That is certainly a s.-lution for t.affic ''^est^ beyonn Long La.<e ana Maple Plain. I nave heard that Highway 55 w’il not address the local problem, but am mystified by that. It seems to me that there are currently four ways to get into Minneapolis. T.ere .is County Road 15, existing 12, 6, possibly 24, and Highw-jy ^ would think that a modest upgrade of Highway 1^ a-id County Road 6 should serve the purpose. If you reside in Deljno or Maple it would not be unreasonable to drive an extra mi.e or so north to get on a fast moving Highw'.y 55. It has oeen determined tb^t people tend to take the faster moving roads even if it is a mile or so out of their way." Cohen stated that the Federal aid State governments^ h.ave spent billions of dollars to construct 1-394. Hu cud, ’Those agencies are not going t.. admit that they made mistake and should have used Highway 55. It is necessary to view their mento ity. 1-394 i.? going to be the funnel of the bulk of the traffic into town because it leads to the parking ramps and downtown accesses. That is not the case with Highway 5^•, which in my opinion is^^more logical for trucks. I think the City has to recognize M.at." Schroeder stated that if the consensus of Orono residents is that they do not want to have a freeway, then Highway 55 offers a viable alternative. Darrell Anderson, 920 VJost VJayzata Boulevard, stated tnac he constructtid his home on Highway 12 in 1967. He said, 'It appeared at that time that the corridor would go behind the cemetery and along the Great Northern railroad tracks. However, there was not enough funding for the project and nothing further was done until now, I sat f. r six minutes one day trying to get out of my driveway onto the H.'.ghway. I lave heard the crashes at the location where Old Long Lake Road intersects. To my knowledge, there have been three fatalities “here. Tiere is no question that there is a problem. However, I io not believe that upgrading the existing Highway 1? i^ a feasible approach. I nate to think what the construction period would be like." Rowlette said, "I would just like to get an opinion for the audience. Since most of you raised your hands indicating that you would prefer the existing corridor, I would like to know how you feel about our responsibility to the town of Long Lake and the business owners along Highway 1?. Is it your opinion that the newly constructed Long Lake shopping center should be torn - 4 -