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515 Little Canada Road, Little Canada, MN 55117 -1600 <br />(651) 484 -2177 / FAX: (651) 484 4538 <br />MEMORANDUM <br />TO: Mayor Fahey & Members of the City Council <br />FROM: Greg Schroeder, Public Works Director <br />DATE: August 25, 1999 <br />RE: Right Turn Lane from Country Drive onto Little Canada Road <br />MAYOR <br />Michael L Fahey <br />COUNCIL <br />Beverly Scalze <br />Jim LaValle <br />Steve Morelan <br />Bob Pedersen <br />ADMINISTRATOR <br />Joel R. Hanson <br />I reviewed the traffic count data obtained on August 19, 1999 and offer the following <br />observations: <br />1. As expected, there are more total vehicles existing onto Little Canada Road in the <br />afternoon (850 vehicles) than in the morning (314 vehicles). <br />2. Approximately 16% of the total vehicles make a right turn onto Little Canada Road. <br />3. During the afternoon rush hour, an average of approximately 10.5 vehicles were <br />backed up on Country Drive waiting for the traffic light to change. This equates into <br />a distance of approximately 210 feet back from the intersection. Between 4:30 and <br />4:45 p.m., the largest backup occurred with an average of approximately 22.9 <br />vehicles. This equates into a distance of approximately 549 feet back from the <br />intersection. <br />Based on the above, it can be concluded that people trying to get onto Little Canada Road from <br />Country Drive are experiencing significant delays during the afternoon rush hour. The following <br />two solutions were developed to resolve some of these delays: <br />• Construct two left turn lanes to enable more vehicles to get through the intersection. <br />However, major safety and traffic control issues associated with this solution could not be <br />resolved resulting in the deletion of this solution. <br />• Another solution is to construct a combination straight/right turn lane on Country Drive <br />by widening this street. This will allow approximately 16% of the vehicles to get out of <br />the backed up left turn lane into their own lane thus enabling a better flow of traffic. To <br />account for future growth, this additional lane should be 650' long, which would result in <br />this lane starting at our trail access by the Water Works property. Increasing this lane <br />length beyond that point will result in a significant increase in costs due to the amount of <br />fill needed to construct this lane through the Water Works ravine. The estimated cost to <br />Page 17 <br />