12-16-2003 PC MIN - SPECIAL - Laserfiche WebLink

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. . . Planning Commission Minutes December 16, 2003 Page 5 Mr. Pape presented an overview of the Transportation plan discussing the existing conditions, the future anticipated congestion and recommendations for short-term, mid- term, and long-term improvements. He also reviewed policies regarding stop signs, dead end streets and development of corridors Chair Pederson opened the public hearing. Commissioner Lemke stated that the City Council did not pass the Comprehensive plan nor the joint recommendation regarding a development moratorium. He felt that moratorium is appropriate based on the transportation planning needs of the City. He is concerned regarding the interchange footprints and that fact that projects may be presented and approved which would increase the future costs of interchange construction. Commissioner Lemke stated that the City should take the lead with MnDOT and other jurisdictions and not just work with them to make the transportation improvements happen. He felt that the truck highway was showing its ware and the citizens need additional choices for vehicular movement in the community other than the trunk highways. Commissioner Stevens stated that he agreed with Commissioner Lemke. He felt that there were grounds to support a development moratorium and that citizens are experiencing a rising frustration with transportation issues in the community. He felt that the City should develop corridors first for development as opposed to reacting to development proposals. Commissioner Offerman stated that he agreed with the two previous commissioners. Highway 169 is a major transportation issue that is dividing the community and that will ultimately cause businesses and residents to avoid locating in Elk River. He felt that 169 was dividing the community east and west because of the difficulty in crossing the highway. He stated that he was concerned with Elk River becoming a bottleneck once the Otsego projects were completed in 2006 and 2007. T eny Maurer, City Engineer, provided some background regarding the scheduled meetings with MnDOT and how MnDOT operates with regard to interchange construction. He stated that his conversations with MnDOT staff led him to believe that planning monies would be available to move to the next step so that if additional monies become available, MnDOT can then buy land for the interchange sites. He stated that he is also building a better working relationship with the county and that monthly staff meetings and quarterly staff council and commissioner meetings have been established. Mark Oswald, Vision Transportation, stated that safety is a serious issue and that they often have accidents with their busses when vehicles rear-end them, and this is due to spacing issues. They have not had any fatalities as a results of a rear-end collision since 1984, and he hoped to keep it that way, but that transportation improvements were important in the community. Commissioner Offerman stated that he would like to see the highway 169 interchange planning accelerated from the timeline noted in the plan. Mr. Maurer suggested a joint meeting with the Council to discuss transportation priorities as a sole meeting subject. Commissioner Stevens stated that east/west corridors leading to the interchanges should be an equally strong focus, as these appear to be a weak link in the plan in that" accidental corridors" have been created to date.