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i-'V‘ >. <br />O O <br />/^TTT/cy/ZSW^ <br />CITY of ORON <br />< r > <br />MunicipaJ ()fT\cl*^ <br />PrtM OfTWr ttti\ bo <br />CnMaJ Ba\. MinncMiu 55.'1> <br />June 1991 <br />RE: Newsletter to Citizens - Highway 12 <br />Dear Resident/ <br />As you are probably aware the Minnesota Department of <br />Transportation is currentl'^ performing a corridor studj^ on <br />Highway 12. This letter is being sent to you to keep you updated <br />and advised of progress to date. <br />Why is there a corridor study? <br />Highway 12 currently carries over 18/000 cars a day on two <br />lanes as it |>a68es Willow Drive in Orono. This situation is <br />unsafe/ and the cities of Orono and Long Lake have been able to <br />achieve some relief through signalization of that intersection/ <br />together with some related traffic improvements between North <br />Brown and Old Crystal Bay Road. This, however, is a short-term <br />solution and the City is concerned about the projected 30 to <br />35/000 cars a day that this corridor will be asked to carry over <br />the next 20 years. <br />Because of the local safety issue, plus the expressed needs <br />of people living along the western reaches of the corridor for a <br />better access to the Cities, the Minnesota Department of <br />Transportation undertook the current study to determine what <br />corridor should be selected for an upgraded Highway 12. <br />The Orono City Council has encouraged this as it is easier <br />to develop and then plan around whatever corridor is selected now <br />than if we were to wait for another 20 years. <br />What happened to the old route? <br />As many of you know, an upgrade of Highway 12 has been <br />talked about sporadically since the 1950's. In the late 1960 s <br />various routes were dravm and the City's 1974 Comprehensive Plan <br />showed a corridor near Watertown Road bypassing downtown Long <br />Lake and going back up to the current corridor. When the City <br />redid its Comprehensive Plan in 1980, the Minnesota Department of <br />Transportation indicated to us that there was no plan for <br />upgrading Highway 12 for the next 20 years and thus the corridor <br />was eliminated from our Comprehensive Plan. <br />TELEPHONE - 473-7357 • FAX -4734K10