4.1. SR 08-30-1993 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

A.( -\.( ( II rlk River ITEM 4.1. TO: MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL FROM: PHIL HALS, STREET/PARK SUPT. DATE: AUGUST 23, 1993 SUBJECT: GATES AVENUE AND 5-1/2 STREET Wally Fox, a neighborhood resident, has expressed his concern with the steep embankment on the east side of Gates Avenue at 5-1/2 Street. As you will note in the attached drawing, this section of Gates Avenue only has 33 feet of right-of-way. The area to the east of the street right-of-way is a 20 foot utility easement that is attached to the lots in Presidential Estates. This narrow width makes sloping the embankment very difficult. Last fall, the Street Department graded the area and sloped it as much as the width would allow, but the present slope is approximately 3 to 1 in the steepest area. After grading the slope, we seeded the disturbed area. That seeding, along with a seeding this year proved to be failures. - Mr. Fox has expressed two concerns to me; one being the dirt eroding onto the street and the other being kids from Presidential Estates using the area as a playground; which may account for our lack of success with grass seed. Mr. Fox feels that a retaining wall would be one possible answer to the problem. I do not feel this is the best solution for the following reasons: 1. A wall would limit the amount of snow that we could push into the corner. 2. A wall over 32" high must have a handrail or fence. Would this be more hazardous for the children to play on than a slope? 3. In an area that is not mowed or maintained now, who would have to mow and weed whip around a fence and wall. 4. The cost for a wall would be about $1400. The fence would be about $500 and the labor to install about 60 hours. I would suggest that we try something other than grass to the area (perhaps crown vetch ground cover), or possibly the area and have the police encourage the children to elsewhere. seed sod play e P.O. Box 490 · 13065 Orono Parkway · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425