03/22/2004 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 22, 2004 APPROVED 384 lane would not back up onto the road. He indicated the ramp will have 43 cars, and CSAH 14 from •385 Hugo would have 166 cars. He stated that is a queue of two-thirds of a mile. He stated that with the 386 turn lane there would still be 30 cars on the ramp and 33 from Hugo. 387 388 Mr. Swing stated these traffic estimates have no condition factors, such as weather. He stated he also 389 did not see a safety analysis, so he contacted Mn/Dot and Anoka County, and the data indicates this 390 exit ramp has an accident rate nearly double that of other ramps. He reiterated the church would only 391 exacerbate that condition. 392 393 Mr. Swing summarized his concerns, commenting that approving this development in this location is 394 a mistake. 395 396 Councilmember Carlson asked for more information on the number of cars that would back up. Mr. 397 Swing stated his figures are with 87% of the seats occupied, and a police officer and right turn lane. 398 He indicated the 30 cars estimated on the ramp and 33 on the approach from Hugo are with some 399 percentage of the traffic diverted. He stated if traffic is not diverted, it is 43 cars on the ramp and 166 400 coming from Hugo. 401 402 Councilmember Carlson asked why it is such a large drop. Mr. Swing stated 22% of the traffic is 403 suggested to travel further and come around from the other direction. 404 405 Councilmember Carlson asked what the numbers are if 100% of the seats are filled. Mr. Swing 406 indicated in the 100% scenario the queue on the ramp is in the high 40's and from Hugo it is over 4.407 200. Councilmember Carlson stated they have been flooded with information, but she does 408 remember reading a letter with safety calculations of 11.8% and up to 13.8%. She asked if Mr. Swing 409 was familiar with this. Mr. Swing stated he has not seen it. 410 411 Councilmember Reinert asked if the numbers Mr. Swing is quoting is from SRF. Mr. Swing stated 412 that is correct. Councilmember Reinert asked how many cars the highway ramp held. Mr. Swing 413 stated it can hold 52 cars. Councilmember Reinert stated he does not see the safety issue if the ramp 414 can hold more cars than are expected in the queue. Mr. Swing stated if the number of cars can be 415 held on the ramp and not in the traffic lane there is less concern, but if cars are in the through lane the 416 chances of an accident are greatly increased. 417 418 Councilmember Reinert indicated this is a very pivotal part of the discussion, and he is looking for 419 concrete information rather than opinion. Mr. Swing stated as you look at the accident rate, the 420 information says if one accident in 100 cars, with 1000 cars you would have 10 accidents. He 421 indicated the severity of the accidents depends on the flow. He stated on Sunday morning vehicles 422 are not expecting to stop on the highway. 423 424 Councilmember Reinert indicated the question is that cars have 650 feet to slow down, and can they 425 do it. He stated what he is trying to do is decipher the accuracy of the claims. Mr. Swing stated the 426 claims are based on the amount of time it takes to come to a stop. He indicated it appears the distance 427 from 70 mph to zero is 270 feet, with an aggressive deceleration rate. Councilmember Reinert stated 428 that would mean there is enough room if the number of cars on the ramp is expected to be 30, and 429 there is room for 52. • 430 9