1986-06-10 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

I I I Council Meeting Minutes June 10, 1986 Public Hearings, continued Kathy O'Neil, 1951 Long Lake Road, agrees there should be no Left Turn Lane at Rice Creek Road which is not needed and which would utilize more front yard space; would like to keep the speed limits down on Long Lake Road; and, regarding the proposal, asked if the two months of construction would begin at 19th Street or at County Road H near the high school. Benke stated the intention would be to do the area north of the railroad tracks first, with the sidewalk being installed before roadwork for safety reasons, with the County permitting work only to the extent that there is a fairly high probability that it can be completed by, or a hard surface provided during, the winter. Benke stated that, in all probability, the work south of the railroad tracks would be done in the Spring of 1987. Regarding O'Neil's question, Benke stated the assessments will be certified to the County in October of 1987 and would be on prop- erty tax statements with taxes payable in 1988. Ron Erickson, 1247 Long Lake Road, noting that because what is approved by council tonight would influence the second phase of the project, stated he favors a sidewalk for safety reasons; and feels the bike lane is a good idea, but would like it to be de- signed differently to avoid having the lanes be used for parking or passing (ie. one lane separated with a boulevard which would clearly designate it as a bike lane, separation would be a safety element, would not invite illegal parking, would not encourage careless passers to run into bikers, and, from an aethestics standpoint, it would look much better). Gunderman asked how residents on Long Lake Road would have access to their property; Erickson stated one bike path could be striped in the middle and access to property would be similar to a side- walk situation. Benke stated that if council were to adopt a de- tached bikeway, we will still need to provide, in addition to the two lanes, a shoulder for emergency stopping, etc. Leonard believed the road width could be reduced from 40 to 36 feet and still provide an emergency lane; however, the initial discussion with the city involved an eight foot wide detached bituminous path on one side of the road and a concept of a side- walk on the other; after a lot of discussion, the decision was to make a 40 foot road with bike lanes. Leonard further explained that the County provides funds for a detached bituminous bike path as a safety factor, but the problem is that older kids and adults will ride on the street; feels the community put a lot of discussion into that, and if a detached patch were put in, a lot of trees on the east side would be affected. Leonard stated there are good reasons for doing it either way, and feels the County has come up with the best plan. Page Six