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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes 06 January 6,2004 Page 6 1 In addition to the ill-advised decision to locate a fire station in a R-1 residential zone, there is a 2 second serious issue that bothers many petitioners, and which the City Council has not 3 addressed. This is their concern about traffic safety on Silver Lake Road in the vicinity of the 4 fire station location. It is a concern about what traffic safety engineers call the vertical curve site 5 problem and traffic flow that has been expressed since the Silver Lake Road site was first 6 mentioned as a candidate location, and which has been repeatedly dismissed without the benefit 7 of any serious or professional traffic safety analysis. (Mr. Lindgren displayed a picture of the 8 site.) When Paul Archambault, chair of the Public Facilities Study Group, presented the Silver 9 Lake Road site recommendation to the City Council on May 13, 2003,he addressed this concern 10 at that time. He said he had stepped out onto Silver Lake Road in front of the fire station site 11 and done an eyeball survey,but didn't see any problem. The Study Group had no obligation to 12 do any more than that; however, the City did have a duty to follow up with a professional traffic 13 safety evaluation because of public concern. 14 15 The fact is that Silver Lake Road is a County-State Aid Road and there are certain protocols for 16 municipalities to follow in such cases as this where traffic safety may be a problem. An expert 17 engineering study of the relevant issues is appropriate, and the Hennepin County Highway 18 Department can provide such professional service to municipalities upon request. The County 19 and the State Department of Transportation take matters such as this very seriously because of 20 past instances of injury or death to fire fighters and others as a result of inappropriately located 21 fire stations. Without an obligatory traffic safety report in hand before making its decision to 22 authorize a fire station at the site on Silver Lake Road, the City Council did not assure itself or 23 the residents of St. Anthony Village that this is a safe location. The petitioners continue to 24 believe this is not a safe location. 25 26 In summary, this is the eleventh hour. Admittedly, it is late in the site selection process, a 27 process in which zoning and traffic safety issues received inadequate consideration, especially 28 by the City Council. But it is not too late to address this shortcoming. Through this petition, 29 more than one thousand voices are calling out to you, the voices of those who elected you to 30 represent them, asking you to listen and to change course before it is too late. Specifically,the 31 City Council is being asked to stop all work on the fire station site at 3501/05 Silver Lake Road, 32 reopen the site selection process, conduct appropriate public hearings, and conduct a 33 professional engineering study of relevant site traffic safety issues. 34 35 This petition is about protecting residential property rights, our quality of life and safety. These 36 values are our biggest assets. They are fundamental to raising our families and help us find rest 37 from the challenges of daily life. For most of us, our homestead is our castle, our safety, our 38 peace and quiet. We don't want these values to be lost for the next 50 years, and we sincerely 39 ask your help in protecting the residential integrity of St. Anthony Village." 40 41 Mr. Lindgren presented copies of the petition of 1,100 signatures to the Mayor and City Council. 42 43 Paul Archambault, Chair of the Public Facilities Study Group, stated he was asked to speak 44 tonight on behalf of the task force he chaired for nine months and to explain the process for 45 arriving at the site they recommended above other sites they studied. 46