10/27/2004 Park Board Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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• • • Lino Lakes Public Services Department 600 Town Center Parkway Lino Lakes, MN 55014 (651) 982 -2440 Fax (651) 982 -2439 October 21, 2004 Mr. Doug Fischer Anoka County Highway Department 1440 Bunker Lake Blvd. NW Andover, MN 55304 Dear Mr. Fischer, The purpose -of this letter is to obtain Anoka County's comments regarding the City of Lino Lakes' interest to complete the trail system along the north side of Birch Street. Specifically, the new trail would be installed from Black Duck Drive to Sherman Lake Road. I have met with Jon VonDeLinde and Nick Eeloff on several occasions and they have indicated their full support for this critical trail segment. The City Council has designated $237,000 to make this project a reality. This project has been under consideration for several years and will alleviate the most critical and visible trail shortcoming in Lino Lakes. The recent development projects along Birch Street (Stoneybrook, Miller's Crossroads, Spirit Hills) have increased the urgency to complete the missing trail segment along Birch Street. This trail project will be a tremendous asset for our residents. For example, this trail connection will provide more residents pedestrian access to the Regional Park Reserve's trail system. Residents in the Quail Ridge subdivision will have the opportunity to enjoy the parks and trails system. From a safety perspective, this will provide an alternative for pedestrians /bicyclists who regularly utilize the narrow shoulders along Birch Street. The distance between Birch Street and the existing trail varies between four and thirty -five feet. The proposed trail will have the same design and "look" as the existing trail along Birch Street. It is my understanding that the County's standard for new road /trail construction is a twenty -two foot buffer along rural roadways. Since we are attempting to "retrofit" a segment of trail along an existing roadway, I am hopeful that the Anoka County Highway Department will allow us to proceed with this project. Our intent is to maximize the distance between Birch Street and the new trail as much as possible. However, wetland areas and steep slopes along portions of Birch Street will necessitate the placement of the trail closer to Birch Street than the County's new standard of twenty -two feet.