Memo - Mtka Mills Sidewalk Update
P.W. - Engineering Division
Memorandum
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
CC: Rick Getschow, City Manager
From: John R. Bradford, City Engineer~
Date: May 13,2008 - Council Work Session
Re: Minnetonka Mills Sidewalk Update
This memo updates the Council on staff recommendations and neighborhood input
on the proposed sidewalk on the north side of Minnetonka Mills Road in preparation
for the bid opening on May 13,2008. After the bids are opened, staffwill tabulate
the costs of the trail and sidewalk for council consideration.
The final count of the resident input is 41 in favor of and 22 opposed to the sidewalk
with 2 abstentions.
The following is a summary of contacts with residents impacted by the proposed
sidewalk and trail:
301 Sweet Briar: Moved sidewalk closer to road, add short shrubbery, resident in
favor of sidewalk
302 Burnes Drive: Moved sidewalk closer to road, remove small ash trees in
ROW, resident opposed to sidewalk
301 Burnes Drive: Moved sidewalk closer to road, no screening, resident
opposed to sidewalk
221 Mtka Mills Rd: Moved sidewalk closer to road, no screening, resident
opposed to sidewalk
226 Campbell Dr: Moved sidewalk closer to road, avoid large oak tree, resident
opposed to sidewalk, would not meet with City.
1
May 9, 2008
225 Campbell Dr: Moved sidewalk closer to road, avoid large oak tree, replace
small trees removed, resident opposed to sidewalk, would not
meet with City.
218 Althea Lane: Moved sidewalk closer to road, avoid large oak tree, replace
small tree removed, resident in favor of sidewalk
217 Althea Lane: Moved sidewalk closer to road, screening to replace lost
hedges, resident opposed to sidewalk
218 Herman T er: Moved sidewalk closer to road, resident in favor of sidewalk
202 Wash. Ave: Not against or in favor, Maintenance concern of sidewalk, no
screenmg
101 Mtka Mills Rd: Moved trail closer to road, unable not contact
103 Mtka Mills Rd: Moved trail closer to road, wants narrower sidewalk instead
of trail
105 Mtka Mills Rd: Moved trail closer to road, replace shrubs, Unable to contact
Attached is an email I received from Marsha Partington who resides at the comer of
Althea Lane and Minnetonka Mills Road.
Also attached is the previous staff memo concerning the sidewalk dated March 18,
2008.
Staff is requesting clear direction from the Council prior to presenting the bids and
recommendations at the May 20, 2008 Council Meeting.
We look forward to presenting the cost information and discussing this item at the
Council Work Session on Tuesday.
2
Page 1 of 1
John Bradford
From:
Sent:
To:
Marsha Partington [marsha-joy@earthlink.net]
Sunday, May 04, 2008 11 :03 PM
John Bradford
Subject: construction on Minnetonka Mills Road
Dear John Bradford,
Thank you for the time you took to speak to me earlier this week to clarify the plans for the impending construction
on Minnetonka Mills road from 5th to Blake Road. I am a resident on the north side of the street with part of my
house facing Minnetonka Millswho would be impacted by the planned improvements. My address is 217 Althea
Lane, and I want to, again, respectfully express my concern for a sidewalk and a boulevard to be placed on the
north side of Minnetonka Mills.
1. It will extract footage from my yard thereby reducing my property value.
2. I don't want a sidewalk on my property - it is more maintance to shovel, and I specifically chose a
neighborhood that did not have a sidewalk.
3. I don't think it is a necessary safety precaution. I am of the firm belief a sidewalk on the south side leading
from Burnes Park to Blake Road would make much more sense and give pedestrians and bicyclists a safe route.
I implore you and the other members of council to leave the north side of Minnetonka Mills as it is. Thank you for
your consideration.
Marsha Partington, homeowner
217 Althea Lane
Hopkins, MN 55343
05/09/2008
P.W. - FngineeringDivision
Memorandum
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
CC: Rick Getschow, City Manager
From: John R. Bradford, City Engineer
Date: March 18, 2008 - Council Work Session after Council Meeting
Re: Minnetonka Mills Sidewalk Update
This memo updates the Council on staff recommendations and neighborhood input
on the proposed sidewalk on the north side of Minnetonka Mills Road.
The data described below is from all of our attempts to get information from the
neighborhood (initial project questionnaire, recent email solicitation, phone
conversations with residents, public meetings, as well as the recent mailing directed
by CounciL) A number of patterns have emerged from the feedback we received.
The first pattern concerns who is in favor of the sidewalk and who is opposed. Of
the 9 properties directly impacted by the sidewalk (i.e. they have the sidewalk
adjacent to their property), 3 are in favor and 6 are opposed. There were 48
respondents who will not have the sidewalk adjacent to their property. Of these, 38
were in favor of the sidewalk, while 11. were opposed.
The second pattern in the responses was in the comments. Of the 17 who opposed
the sidewalk, the two most prevalent reasons were feeling that the trail on the south
side was sufficient, and that the sidewalk on the north side was too invasive for the
property owners. Of the 41 in favor of the sidewalk, the comments were
overwhelmingly about safety. Many noted the danger of walking with small
children and dogs in the street. Others noted that the speed and volume of traffic
made a sidewalk necessary.
The key question that appears to shape the residents' opinion is public safety vs. the
property impacts to those directly affected. Is the safety concern significant enough
to warrant imposing the sidewalk and the perceived negative property impacts? A
1
~
May 9, 2008
second question is can we minimize these impacts through screening and tree
avoidance strategies?
Staffhas discussed the sidewalk with Council on a number of occasions; however,
since we have never presented our recommendation and reasoning in a formal
document, it is included below.
From an engineering perspective, we feel it is important to install the sidewalk on
the north side of Minnetonka Mills Road. The primary reason for this opinion is
enhancing the safety of pedestrians along this street. The AUAR update for
Excelsior Crossings indicates the peak traffic volume will increase from the current
traffic load. As residents leave their neighborhood (via Campbell, Althea, et. al)
destined for the regional trail, we should not force them to cross Minnetonka Mills
Road. The sidewalk is warranted due to the increasing traffic volumes and the fact
that most of the pedestrian traffic seems to originate from the neighborhoods to the
north. It is reasonable to think that residents desiring to walk north on the regional
trail may not cross Minnetonka Mills Road. Instead, they will continue to walk in
the street as they currently do. Additionally, residents that do cross the street will do
so at whatever location they approach from. These random crossings can surprise
motorists and are less than ideal.
Walking in the street will become more hazardous with the addition of curb and
gutter and the narrowing of the street Additionally, the curb will keep storm water
and melting snow along the street edges where many pedestrians would be walking
if there is no sidewalk. Due to the narrowing of the street, traffic will be closer to
pedestrians which may encourage walkers to use the boulevard. This would wear
dirt paths into these lawns as they do on Blake Road. Of course, during the winter
there will be times when it won't be possible to walk on the boulevard.
Staff recommends installation of the sidewalk for the safety benefits described
above. We further recommend providing screening and altering the sidewalk
alignment to minimize the number of trees impacted.
We look forward to discussing this at the Council Work Session on Tuesday.
2