July 17, 2000, Garden View Drive Ad Hoc Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes

MINUTES OF GARDEN VIEW DRIVE TRAFFIC AD HOC COMMITTEE

July 17, 2000 - 7:00 p.m.

Apple Valley City Hall

COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Lloyd Lawrence, Neil Evers, Richard Berg, John Bergman, Mark Nelson, Gary Shade, Mary Hamann-Roland, Dave McKeag, Ruth Grendahl, Denise Louis, Arthur Zimmerman, Peg Smith, Mark Heieren

COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: Nathan Koering, Jeff Loch

OTHERS PRESENT: Dakota County Physical Development Director Susan Hoyt, SEH Traffic Engineering Consultant Glen Van Wormer, City Administrator Tom Lawell, Community Development Director Rick Kelley, Police Department Captain Merle Lohse, Administrative Assistant to the City Administrator Andy Pederson

City Administrator Tom Lawell called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. City Administrator Lawell stated that Marlene Libby would not be able to attend the meeting due to the illness of her child.

City Administrator Lawell distributed previously requested information by the Committee including: (a) the School Speed Zone Report along Garden View Drive in front of Southview Elementary School, Valley Middle School, and Westview Elementary School as prepared by Traffic Engineer Glen Van Wormer (Attachment 1); (b) information from the Road Design Manual on channelizing islands as presented by Mr. Van Wormer at the July 10 meeting (Attachment 2); the Dakota County Study at Garden View Drive and Highview Avenue as discussed by Committee Member Berg at the July 10 meeting (Attachment 3); and accident studies completed July 17, 2000, from County Road 46 to Palomino Drive on Garden View Drive (Attachment 4) and other various locations throughout the City (Attachment 5).

City Administrator Lawell requested that the Committee review the July 10, 2000, Meeting minutes changes as forwarded via e-mail. City Administrator Lawell reviewed the proposed changes and include:

Page three: add to the Partial Diverter section the following sentence "Mr. Van Wormer stated that adequate room is needed to install partial diverters, and that they only work when there is enough traffic volume on the street to dissuade individuals from entering the street."

Page five: add the sentence "Committee Members Shade, Louis, Smith, and Zimmerman all expressed interest in the County developing a plan for a channelizing island at Garden View Drive and County Road 46. Susan Hoyt, Dakota County Physical Development Director, stated that the County would like more information on the specific problems that the Committee is trying to solve. Committee Member Zimmerman stated that he would like to know what is acceptable for the County before the Committee proceeds with a recommendation that would be unacceptable for the County."
Page five: add the sentences "Committee Member Berg stated that the statistics show that currently 500 cars per day are a result of Highview Avenue (northbound Highview and south-bound Garden View Drive). Committee Member Berg indicated that the traffic patterns will change as the alignment and the conveniences associated with re-alignment of Garden View Drive and Highview Avenue occur. Don Theisen, Dakota County Engineer, stated that the numbers in the Dakota County study cannot be used to project what the alignment counts will be or extrapolate information other than for what the study was intended."

Page five: Remove the word "capacity" from the sentence, Committee Member Lawrence asked what is an acceptable level of traffic ~~capacity~~ based on the factors that Garden View Drive present.

Page five: add the following information in quotation marks: Committee Member Lawrence asked what is an acceptable level of traffic based on the factors that Garden View Drive, "157^th Street, and Whitney Drive" present. "Committee Member Heieren stated that the SEH statistics show that there are 1,663 cars (4.6 cars per minute or one car every 13 seconds) between the hours of 2:00 and 7:00 p.m. on Garden View Drive at 157^th Street. Committee Member Heieren stated that this level of traffic is unacceptable."

Page six: add the following information in quotation marks: The Committee stated that the current traffic volumes as presented "in previous meeting minute attachments" were unacceptable volumes of traffic on Garden View Drive and the surrounding neighborhoods "and requested that Mr. Van Wormer present one map with all pertinent traffic count information." The Committee did not reach a consensus on the acceptable volume of traffic on Garden View Drive and the surrounding neighborhood, "but did agree that current traffic volumes were unacceptable."

Andy Pederson stated that the requested changes would be reflected in the official Meeting minutes. Mr. Pederson also indicated that the Meeting minutes would be posted to the City of Apple Valley's web site once the requested revisions have been made.

MOTION: of the Committee to approve the July 10, 2000 Meeting minutes. Motion passed unanimously.

MAPPING THE TRAFFIC CONCERNS

Mr. Van Wormer outlined the process of placing traffic concerns on a map. Mr. Van Wormer presented information on a similar process that he had recently conducted to demonstrate to the Committee how the process would evolve from the current list to the final recommendation. The Committee determined that it would focus its attention on one area at a time along Garden View Drive and indicate specific concerns for the particular area.

Garden View Drive from Palomino Drive to County Road 38

The Committee expressed the following concerns on Garden View Drive from Palomino Drive to County Road 38:

45 mile per hour (mph) speed limit;

Perceived property loss as a result of the construction of County Road 38;

Buses turning with no stop from Palomino Drive onto Garden View Drive;

Cut through traffic at Garden View Drive from County Road 38.

Garden View Drive from County Road 38 to 140^th Street

The Committee expressed the following concerns on Garden View Drive from County Road 38 to 140^th Street:

Wide open feeling of the road;

Traffic volume;

Alternate routes impacting other areas of the City;

Lack of defined turn lanes at Garden View Drive and 140^th Street as well as Garden View Drive and County Road 38;

Mechanism (Stop Signs, Traffic Signals) to stop traffic at the intersection of County Road 38 and 140^th Street.

Garden View Drive from 140^th Street to Walnut Lane

The Committee expressed the following concerns on Garden View Drive from 140^th Street to Walnut Lane:

Traffic volume generated from the High School;

Safety and pedestrian crossing at the Alimagnet Lake Trail;

Traffic volume and speed;

School zone speed limit;

45 mph speed limit;

45 mph to 30 mph speed limit change;

Entrance and pedestrian crossing to the Westview Elementary School;

Fragmentation of the neighborhood;

Ability to cross the street;

Southbound line of sight;

Quality of life issues;

Traffic speed on curve near Walnut Lane and Strese Lane;

School bus concentration from Walnut Lane to 143^rd Street;

Commercial area cut through traffic;

Pedestrian accidents.

Garden View Drive from Walnut Lane to Whitney Drive

The Committee expressed the following concerns on Garden View Drive from Walnut Lane to Whitney Drive:

County Road 42 right-turn to southbound Garden View Drive;

School pedestrian crossings on County Road 42 and frontage roads;

Commercial driveways line of sight at the County Road 42 and Garden View Drive intersection;

Stopped traffic blocking the frontage roads at the intersection Garden View Drive and County Road 42;

Parking in front of Southview Elementary and Valley Middle School;

Traffic circulation in Southview/Valley Middle School parking lots;

Speed limit, actual speeds, and traffic volume;

School zone speed limit;

Access to Garden View Drive from Baldwin Drive;

Quality of life issues;

Ability for pedestrians to walk in the area;

Diverted traffic;

Number of empty MVTA buses;

Wide open feeling of the road;

Stop sign violations;

Pedestrian accidents.

Garden View Drive from Whitney Drive to Hyland Pointe Court

The Committee expressed the following concerns on Garden View Drive from Whitney Drive to Hyland Pointe Court:

The intersection of Garden View Drive and Whitney Drive is being utilized as a four lane road to avoid waiting for turning vehicles;

How much time school kids actually spend in the roadway while crossing the street;

Wide open feeling of the road;

Diverted traffic from potential signal at Garden View Drive and County Road 46;

Line of sight;

Driveway access and blockage;

Traffic volume and speed;

Sun slowdown;

157^th Street and Garden View Drive pedestrian crossings;

Effectiveness of traffic enforcement;

Diverted traffic on 157^th Street;

Pedestrian accidents.

Garden View Drive from Hyland Pointe Court to County Road 46

The Committee expressed the following concerns on Garden View Drive from Hyland Pointe Court to County Road 46:

Access from Highview Avenue and Ipava Avenue;

Access for Lakeville residents to reach Independents School District 196 schools;

Other intersection operations and the diversion of traffic;

Emergency vehicle and snow plow operations;

Cut through traffic;

Existing traffic volumes;

Platoons of traffic;

Lack of alternate north-south Dakota County corridor;

Pedestrian safety.

Other Concerns

Mr. Van Wormer requested that the Committee raise any other concerns associated with Garden View Drive traffic. The Committee expressed the following concerns in other areas:

Alternate routes and the diversion of traffic;

Traffic speed and volume on Hayes Trail near Longridge Park;

Intersection of the 153^rd Street and Pennock Avenue;

That the Community Education schools at Grace Lutheran are going to continue at their present location for at least another year, and that MVTA bus service be maintained to the facility to help shuttle people to these schools each day.

The Committee discussed the potential restriction of access at the intersection of Garden View Drive and County Road 46 and the impacts any such restriction would have on Harmony Way, Harwell Avenue, Hyland Pointe Court, and Garden View Drive. The Committee discussed the potential of a median along County Road 46 to alleviate any potential diverted traffic. Committee Member Evers asked how residents would access their neighborhoods if such a restriction was placed on County Road 46. The Committee discussed the potential of such impacts.

FUTURE SCHEDULE

City Administrator Lawell stated the Committee had set a target date of August 1^st to establish a recommendation and then present it to the City Council. City Administrator Lawell discussed the remainder of the process with the Committee and established the following agenda items for the remaining scheduled meetings:

July 24, 2000

Present the summary of concerns as established in the meeting;

Brainstorm potential solution concepts;

Compare potential solutions concepts to the summarized concerns; and

Review Mr. Van Wormer's materials and information from other Committee's work and open house formats.

July 27, 2000

The Committee requested that the completed School Zone Sign Report as amended to include Whitney Drive in front of Southview Elementary School be forwarded to the City Council for their consideration at its July 27, 2000, meeting.

July 31, 2000

Present information on potential solutions and their potential effectiveness;

Present rough cost estimates for potential solutions;

Discuss phasing and implementation plan; and

Seek solutions consent.

August 7, 2000

Finalize recommendation; and

Prepare for open house.

August 21, 2000

Open house to be held at Valley Middle School from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

August 28, 2000

Summarize comments from open house.

September 14, 2000

Present recommendation to the City Council.

ACTION ITEMS

Mr. Van Wormer stated that he would summarize and categorize the concerns presented at this meeting and mail each Committee Member a copy this week for their review. Mr. Van Wormer also stated that the Committee Members should begin to consider potential solutions to meet the concerns presented in the meeting.

The Committee for the next meeting requested the following action items:

The Committee requested that Mr. Van Wormer present one map with all pertinent traffic count information.

Present a map of the proposed alignment of Garden View Drive and Highview Avenue, and Lakeville development map.

Present a map of the City of Lakeville Street system that impacts the Garden View Drive area.

Dakota County to provide a concept layout of Garden View Drive and County Road 46.

Meeting adjourned at 10:07 p.m.