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Approved added in the cost could go as high as $3 million. O’Keefe asked what the funding sources for this project are. Wyffels replied that the funding for this project is the land sale proceeds, possibly state aid, and County maintenance dollars, which is a similar approach the City used for Rice Creek Road. O’Keefe inquired if the state aid is Ramsey County’s state aid or the City’s. Wyffels replied that the City would be spending it’s off system dollars. Schiferl stated that unless the County is insisting that the road has to stay at 40 miles per hour, that the road should be changed to 30 to 35 miles per hour. He added that area may generate alternative transportation and the bike lane should be left to accommodate it. He is concerned if the bike lane taken out it will never be added back in. Horn replied that design speed and posted speed are two separate issues. They picked the design speed of 40 miles per hour due to it’s rating of an A Minor Arterial and the nature of the road way. A posted speed is established by a speed study and if a speed study was done today, the speed limit would most likely increase. The road has been designed to help slow and clam traffic and change the character of that whole area. O’Keefe agreed that the proposed design will help slow the speed of the vehicles down. Horn stated that they have heard through out this process that there is a need to meet a variety of transportation. The trail systems map of the area shows a number of ways in to the area besides Old Hwy 8. Wyffels added that the City has proposed a nine foot wide trail on the west side of Old Hwy 8 that would be continuous from north to south. Dan Solar, Ramsey County, has advised the City that people who use these trails will be divided into two groups. 95 percent will be families with children and people out for recreation will use the off road trails and remaining 5 percent would be the hardcore bicyclist who will use the on road bike path. Schiferl stated that while those may be percentages used today, that can shift quickly, and we should plan for the future to allow for flexibility. Baker stated that he finds the bike path on Option 1 to be a potential safety issue, since it’s between parked cars and two lanes of traffic. Horn replied that there are several similar designs in St. Paul that work very well and there should be enough space between the parking and driving lanes for a bicyclist to avoid a car, however the safety issue may still exist. Howard inquired where the bus stops will be located in this design. Horn replied that through the final design process they will work with Metro Transit to identify where they would like to have the stops. Howard asked if in Option 2 if the path would accommodate walking and biking. Horn replied that the path would become the bike trail, and there has been some discussion to emphasize that is a trail versus a plain sidewalk. Howard stated that it is a sidewalk with people riding their bikes on it. Wyffels replied that the distinction is that this trail is nine feet wide versus five feet, when the trail is larger than eight feet wide it is considered multipurpose. Howard replied that communities are trying to connect to existing trails and biking will increase over the I:\COMMISSIONS\PLANNING\Minutes\2006\08-15-2006.docPage 13 of 14