5. HRSR 05-02-2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEETING OF THE ELK RIVER KING AVENUE PARKING LOT TASK FORGE HELD AT FIRST NATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTER TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2005 Members Present: Keith Holme, property owner, Kemper Drug; Fred McCoy, McCoy's Pub; John Houlton, First National Bank of Elk River; John Anderson, downtown resident Members Absent: Steve Johnson, property owner, Antiques Downtown; Dr. Tony Jarmoluk, Elk Dental Center; Ty Sunderman, Dare's Funeral Service Staff Present: City Chief of Police, Jeffrey A. Beahen; Catherine Mehelich, Director of Economic Development; Assistant Director of Economic Development, Heidi Steinmetz. Others Present: Lisa Raduenz of LJR, Inc., Transportation and Consultants and Planners Review of March 3, 2005 Meetuig Minutes (Approval of Minutes by Task Force, Ms. Raduenz presented a copy of the March 3 meeting minutes to each meeting attendee and requested comments from Task Farce members or approval of minutes. Mr. Anderson sought a clarification on page 2 of the draft minutes and indicated that his question under paragraph two on that page was a question about the requirements for school buses in terms of having sight lines at a bus stop for safer- purposes_ He stated that his concern about this issue related to school buses which he sees on Main Street that are traveling in both directions and which drop students off at street corners which intersect with Main Street. Mr. Anderson questioned the safety of buses mal~ng such stops as sight lines for other drivers may be restricted at certain locations along Main Street and this makes it difficult for drivers to see the school bus and its discharging passengers. Chief Beahen responded to IvIr. Anderson's questions about this issue and responded that there is no statutory requirement in state law that requires buses to stop at a certain point along a road. Chief Beahen said that school buses are only required to turn on their four- way flashers and extend the stop arm, which effectively prohibits drivers of personal vehicles from passing the bus from either direction when it is discharging students. He said that he thought perhaps Mr. Anderson was questioning the difficulty in seeing the corners near Lowell and Main Street, and said that current signage posted there requires a setback of 30 feet where no parking is allowed because of the sight line problems. Chief Beahen said that it may be possible to extend the yellow striping along the curb to improve sight lines and remind drivers of the no parking issue at these locations. He also mentioned that he thought the new King Avenue Parking Lot plan allowed for this issue at King and Main by putting ADA spaces by the corner rather than regular parking. Ms. Raduenz reminded the group that Mr. Maurer, the City Engineer, had purposely placed these spaces along the corners on Main Street near King so that fewer cars would be parked at the corners over a longer period of time. Ms. Raduenz asked Mr. Anderson if he felt his issue had been addressed sufficiently by the Police Chief and to satisfy his discussion about meeting minutes from the previous meeting. Mr. Anderson responded that he was satisfied with the answer. Members of the Task Force voted to approve the minutes with the answers as noted.