CCAgenda_94Jun22 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

City of Falcon Heights Staff Report Date: 15 June 1994 To: Mayor and Councilmembers From: Susan Hoyt, City Administrator RE: Recommendation for the proposal for preparing a Larpenteur Avenue landscaping plan Introduction Frequently people dismiss fully developed cities like Falcon Heights as places without any significant planning or design opportunities. This attitude fails to recognize that that for an urban landscape the old cliche "beauty is in the details" holds true. Mature urban landscapes can be significantly improved by attending to the well established relationships among the existing land uses, the well traveled roadways and the way people use them in developing a streetscape plan. Although retrofitting urban roadways with amenities is challenging because of the limited space available for traffic lanes, landscaping, sidewalks, shoulders and bike lanes, there is Tess guess work involved in how living patterns will impact the landscape over time; and there is time to anticipate small improvements to enhance the existing land uses. Background With the county's plan to reconstruct Larpenteur Avenue from Eustis Street to Dale Street beginning in September, 1996, the city has an opportunity to enhance its major throughway and to visually link the public and private uses along it by preparing a streetscape plan along with the reconstruction plan. The county's street planning process is underway. A county task force on Larpenteur Avenue, comprised of representatives of all affected cities as well as the University of Minnesota, 1666 Coffman, Gibbs Farm and the Minnesota State Fair, has been meeting sporadically over the past year and a half to discuss plans for Larpenteur. In addition to these large group meetings, the Falcon Heights staff met with small groups including the U of M golf course, 1666, the U Fields Committee, the businesses west of Snelling and the State Fair to come up with some preliminary street design ideas. Planner Fred Hoisington and Landscape Architect Mark Schroeder recently joined the staff to discuss possible landscape improvements that could be made along Larpenteur Avenue as part of this project. (Fred Hoisington worked with the community to develop the city's comprehensive plan in 1990 and 1991. His familiarity with Falcon Heights and his firm's experience in landscape and streetscape planning make Hoisington Koegler the logical provider of services.) The significance of Larpenteur Avenue Up to now discussions with the county regarding Larpenteur centered on the traffic lanes, turn lanes, signalization and sidewalks. However, this reconstruction project can create more than a safer and better engineered roadway through the community. Most area commuters and Falcon Heights residents know Larpenteur Avenue as a busy street between Highway 280 and Hamline Avenue as they travel through the city or to key points within the city including the University of Minnesota, Gibbs Farm and the Minnesota State Fair. Given the number of travelers along Larpenteur Avenue, the street's reconstruction provides Falcon Heights with an opportunity to make a busy street into an attractive, busy street as street users go to their locations. With some planning and landscaping expertise, a very busy street can become a key community