08-22-2011 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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r„ • MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, August 22, 2011 7:00 o'clock p.m. (PUBLIC COMMENTS, Continued) Kempf commented this plan is not perfect but that it is a way to utilize the Park Fund.' Gaffron indicated he and the City Engineer met with Bo Carlson from Three Rivers Park District and Bob Beyers from Hennepin County Transportation approximately one week ago and that they had this exact same discussion about what is considered a trail and a sidewalk. Gaffron indicated he received the impression from that discussion that the county is not likely to consider funding this project if it is something different than a sidewalk. Bob Beyers is researching some items on this project to see if there is a way to accomplish it utilizing some of their funds. Gaffron stated the City may have a three -way partnership but that it is dependent on whether they would be able to use trail funds to construct a sidewalk. There are also some width issues. Gaffron stated the double strip may be centered in the right -of -way but that there is the possibility that the right -of -way is not centered. Gaffron indicated there will also be a significant amount of vegetation impacted, which will need to be taken into account. Gaffron stated he expects to hear back from Bob Beyers in a couple of weeks. Kellogg noted the City does not have a designated trail for the first block and that the only trail connection there would be, if the City does not do upgrades to the first section, would be from Livingston to the trail, so it would not be a true trail connection from the Navarre parking lot to the trail. • Kellogg indicated they did look at a wider trail when the first section was designed. When the original sidewalk was constructed in 2003, it was designed to be a 7 -foot wide concrete sidewalk but some obstacles were encountered in terms of improvements that would be required on one corner lot, which then resulted in the sidewalk being narrowed in order to limit the impacts to that property. The first section was never designed at eight feet in order to be considered a trail. Kellogg stated it is also his understanding that the roadway is not centered in the right -of -way. Whether or not there is a full 33 feet from the centerline is questionable. There is a 12 -foot traffic lane and a six foot striped bike lane, which brings the distance to 18 feet. Curb and gutter would also need to be installed to preserve the bike lane. That brings it up to 20 feet before you are able to start your sidewalk. Kellogg stated if the road was centered in the right -of -way that would leave 13 feet to work within. Due to the existing slope and trees and close proximity of the houses to the top of the slope, it would make the work very difficult. It would also be necessary to leave three to four feet for a retaining wall. Kellogg commented he is not saying it is impossible but that it would need to be explored further. Kellogg indicated he can bring the cross - sections for that section to the next Council meeting which would show how much right -of -way the City has to work with based on the existing design of a 6 -foot wide sidewalk. Franchot asked why the City cannot take back the bike path from the County and create a bike /walk path. Gaffron indicated you would need to convince the County that they should give up that 6 -f6ot existing bike path in order to construct a new trail/bike path. • Kellogg asked if Council Member Franchot is talking about taking back the 6 -foot bike lane for a block. Page 3 of 14