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<br />CITY COUNCIL <br />WORK SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />ITEM NO. 1 <br /> <br />STAFF ORGINATOR: Diane Hankee, City Engineer on behalf of the Traffic Safety <br />Committee <br /> <br />DATE OF WORK SESSION: September 5, 2023 <br /> <br />TOPIC: Tart Lake Road <br />______________________________________________________________________________ <br />BACKGROUND <br /> <br />The Traffic Safety Committee comprised of engineering, public works, planning, and public <br />safety representatives evaluates traffic related concerns as they are brought to the attention of <br />City staff. Over the years complaints regarding traffic and speed on Tart Lake Road have been <br />evaluated in coordination with the City’s Traffic Policy. The Traffic Policy outlines procedures for <br />evaluating traffic related requests. It addresses items such as speed limits and stop signs. The <br />Traffic Policy can be found on the City’s website at Traffic-Policy-PDF (linolakes.us) <br /> <br />Tart Lake Road from Otter Lake Road (CR 84) to 24th Avenue/Elmcrest Avenue has been studied <br />numerous times to respond to speed and “cut-through” traffic concerns of the neighborhood <br />residents. Over the years, the main requests of residents have been for sidewalks, road closures <br />at 24th Avenue/Elmcrest Avenue, intermittent trail crossings, and additional stop signs. City <br />staff is continuing to receive complaints and requests to address speed, traffic volumes, and <br />safety along the road. <br /> <br />In Minnesota, the statutory speed in an urban district is 30 mph. Speed limits are set by state <br />statutes and decisions on changing speeds are based on speed studies. Speed limit changes are <br />determined using the 85th percentile speed. The 85th percentile speed is defined as the speed at <br />or below which 85 percent of the traffic is moving at a comfortable speed for the conditions of <br />the roadway. <br /> <br />Tart Lake Road is a 32-foot wide roadway. A 32-foot wide roadway can accommodate 2,500 <br />AADT. However, there are other factors to consider such as road curvature, visibility, driveway <br />accesses, and pedestrian traffic, when evaluating roadway capacities. <br /> <br />The City has completed multiple speed studies over the years which are summarized in the <br />attached report. The most recent Tart Lake Road Speed Study in 2022 / 2023 included <br />pedestrian traffic. The speed data is gathered at three different sections of roadway west, <br />middle by the park, and easterly. The data showed that in the easterly portion of the Tart Lake <br />Road the west bound traffic 85th percentile speed was 34 mph. The remainder of the speed