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City Council Minutes .august 1, 2022 Page 4 Councilmember Westgaard expressed concerns with how the study reads with stating access points will be closed and there is no agreement in the document on types of allowable intersections. He noted the study shows 171" Avenue as being closed and questioned if the recommendation is to close it. He stated when discussed previously, Council talked about maintaining access at 171" Avenue due to business density. He stated to move the access to Twin Lakes Road, and traffic passing them by, the opportunity is lost to get back to these businesses. He'd like to try to maintain the 171" Avenue access. He felt this study shows the access as being closed and he wants to be careful to show they are accepting of the study. Mr. Femrite stated the city doesn't have to accept the study and tonight is about a first review before bringing it back to MnDOT for comments. He stated we can set a process on what we would like to see and reengage public feedback. He stated language could be added to the final study to support what the community feels and wants to see. Councilmember Westgaard questioned if there was enough right-of-way on the south side of Highway 10 in the northern segment study area to put in a frontage road, noting it seemed like a lot of acquisition would be needed. He stated the southern segment of the study area is even more complicated, as it ties into the City of Ramsey, noting traffic gap issues. Mr. Femrite noted the purpose of the study is to help answer questions and guides us as development occurs and before there is funding and money available to convert Highway 10 to a freeway, which is MnDOT's goal. The study will assist the city in getting dedicated right-of-way needed ahead of freeway development. Mayor Dietz noted there are a lot of access points suggested to be closed along the route. Mr. Femrite stated we have heard concerns on this and should have a response back to MnDOT on community wants/needs. Mayor Dietz stated he would like to preserve as many access points as possible. Councilmember Wagner stated she is assuming that the feedback received doesn't correlate with the study, otherwise the room tonight wouldn't be full. Ms. Stewart stated during their engagement efforts there was a lot of support for grade separation over maintaining signals due to operational and safety issues. She said this is a high-level planning stage document and the concerns are about the details of the project. She outlined the phases of a complex project like this before getting to the point of closing access. She stated the document helps guide future development. She stated as the community gets to the design and development phase there is more one-on-one engagement. Y E A E I I I [N'ATURE]