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-8- <br /> in the community where- parking is permitted on both sides of the street. He added <br /> .... that parking is restricted on •Chandler Drive only because that is a truck and- MTC <br /> route. The sign opponent distributed­a colored photo of .the street which •showed• <br /> two cars passing easily between parked vehicles on..both sides of the- street. <br /> Mr. Madden:.concl uded his i nput'•to the discussion -by commenting that he. believed the <br /> Caravel-le signatures should -not be considered as relevant to the decision since <br /> the apartments are too far north of the townhomes to be affected by .the parking <br /> in front of Fosston. Mr. McDonough agreed with that- assessment and reported he <br /> had .measured the street and found it to be 35 feet wide._ Mrs. Madden supported <br /> the staff'sremoval of the sign north of the driveways. <br /> Chief Hickerson cited the traffic accident report for the past five years for <br /> Foss Road and similar residential streets near Foss, all of which intersect .37th <br /> Avenue N.E. Foss had fewer accidents than Highcrest, Edward, Belden, or Macalaster <br /> and the Chief said parking -had been a factor in none of the incidents on Foss Road. <br /> He also said, if traffic counts on Foss had been taken, they had been done by <br /> . Ramsey County in conjunction with the rebuilding of 37th and he. would have to get <br /> those figures from them. <br /> Mrs. Dobrzynski responded that she did not consider Foss Road, which serves two <br /> townhome complexes, an apartment complex, and a nursing home, to be a typical <br /> residential street. Ms. Getman said most of the Caravelle residents drive all <br /> the way around to Chandler to avoid the Foss Road slope onto 37th in the winter. <br /> She responded to Mr. McDonough's statement that there are sidewalks on Fosston <br /> property which walkers could use, if they were only shoveled, by saying these <br /> "internal pathways" have never been shoveled because residents oppose the <br /> implementation of an assessment to keep them cleared. Mrs. Koch reiterated the <br /> difficulty she and another Fosston resident experience trying to get home from the <br /> bus line in the winter because the snow storage narrows the roadway between parked <br /> cars. It was her contention that during a winter like the previous one, there was <br /> no way the Fosston sidewalks could be kept open. <br /> Mr. Miller recalled that at- one time all parking on the west side of Foss Road had <br /> been prohibited. He commented that the nursing home administration had recognized <br /> the parking problems on that roadway and had built a blacktop apron. for guests to <br /> park who wished to use the Foss Road entrance to the nursing home. <br /> Chief Hickerson told those present he had not been aware of the controversy when <br /> he had made his assessment of need for parking in that area, and still maintained <br /> the only sign which was essential for safety was the one near the busy intersection. <br /> He concluded by saying 90% of the residential streets in the City are the same <br /> width as Foss Road and those residents all have to walk on the streets, even when <br /> they get narrower after it snows. He questioned whether the fact that drivers <br /> might have to wait for another vehicle to pass really constituted a good enough <br /> reason to justify restricting all parking away from the intersection traffic. <br /> The general consensus of the Council and Mayor was that it would be very difficult <br /> to not support the staff recommendation on this matter and they agreed it might be <br /> advisable to monitor the street during the different seasons to see if there is <br /> enough concrete evidence to justify the Council 's taking another. look at the <br /> Association's request, probably after the rebuilding of 37th is completed. <br /> Motion by Councilman Enrooth and seconded by Councilman Marks to implement the City <br /> staff's recommendations to put up only one "No Parking" sign on the east .side of <br /> Foss Road between the intersection of 37th Avenue N.E. and the Fosston driveways and <br /> to institute a study for the next .four months which might provide justification for <br /> reconsideration of the Association's request in the spring. <br />