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MINUTES <br />CITY COUNCIL <br />MARCH 24, 1993 <br />was somewhat slanted, and he did not believe that a <br />narrower street resulted in slower traffic and safer <br />driving practices. The Engineer also pointed out that <br />in areas where there are no sidewalks for the kids to <br />play, kids will be playing in the streets. A narrower <br />street provides less reaction time for a driver should <br />a child run out into traffic. <br />The Engineer also pointed out that parking will occur <br />on residential streets. A 30-foot width would allow <br />parking on one side of the street since 30 feet <br />provides for two 11-foot lanes and one 8-foot parking <br />lane. The Engineer stated that he felt more <br />comfortable with a 28-foot width versus 26-foot width <br />since 28 feet allows for one 9-foot lane, one 11-foot <br />lane and one 8-foot parking lane. <br />Aanson pointed out that in older areas of the City, <br />homes are set further back from the street than the <br />30-foot minimum, thus providing more area for snow <br />storage in the winter. Homes in newer areas are <br />generally set back at the 30-foot minimum. <br />The Engineer reported that 20 years ago cities were <br />building streets with 40 foot widths, and now street <br />are being built 36 or 32 feet wide. The Engineer <br />reported that people are pushing for narrower streets <br />since they do not want to spend as much on streets. <br />Some communities are building 24 and 26 foot wide <br />streets, however, the Engineer felt that in the long <br />run this may not be the best for the community. <br />Pedersen asked if a 28 foot width included the gutters <br />or was just a measure of the blacktop. <br />The Engineer replied that a street width is measured <br />from the "V" of one qutter to the "V" of the other <br />qutter. <br />Pedersen reported that he lives on a street that is 28 <br />feet wide and he never felt the road was narrow. <br />Scalze pointed out that it is not often that cars meet <br />on limited access roads, and when they do it is just <br />common practice for one car to pull over to let the <br />other buy. Scalze also indicated that cars generally <br />do not pick up much speed on a street that is one block <br />in length. <br />Page 2 <br />