CC MINUTES 04081986 - Laserfiche WebLink

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-6- The engineer responded to statements made at the last hearing to the effect that "once you pave the street, you'll change it from a slow speed parkway to a high speed freeway" by saying he had driven at a higher speed than would be permitted down that road and seen for himself that the road surfaces condition permits cars to travel at almost any speed drivers might want, which is certainly not true of the same street further up the hill past the golf course. Because of this, Mr. Van Wormer indicated he doubted that with a smooth surface street, residents would notice any appreciable increase in speed which would probably not be true for the other stretch of roadway between the two highways where paving the street could certainly be expected to accelerate the driving speeds, If MSA funds are to be used for the reconstruction of the western section of St. Anthony Boulevard, Mr. Van Wormer advised it would be necessary for the Council to adopt a resolution to be sent to the state indicating that the City is willing to restrict parking on both sides of the street if St. Anthony is allowed to retain the 32 foot width for the project. When Councilmember Marks inquired whether a bike lane would be possible with the new design, the transportation engineer told him that as a matter of fact, the street could be striped four feet from the curb for bike traffic which might also discourage parking and would provide a barrier against cars driving behind the stripes. He said the stripes might even give the motorists the impression that the street was narrower than they might have expected. When the discussion was opened for input from those residents present that evening, Don Evertz . commented that when he was raking away the sand which had collected over the winter in front of his home at 2901 St. Anthony Boulevard, he became very • conscious of "how carelessly and fast people drive on that road". He indicated, however, that he perceived the engineers had proposed a "fantastic alternative" and that striping the road in the manner they had suggested, should assure that "we're not creating a four laner". Mayor Sundland agreed that striping the four feet on either side of the street might at least visually reduce the motorists' perception of its width. R. A. Knox, 2809 St. Anthony Boulevard, indicated he doubted the engineer's ability to foretell a reduction in speed from the proposed project and the homeowner wanted to know what possibility there might be for installing a stop sign at the Wilson Street corner. Mr. Van Wormer told him studies of traffic speeds, at actual installations had shown stop signs to be very effective in slowing down traffic for the first 100 to 150 feet on either side of the sign but beyond that point, he said, speeds have actually increased where signs have been put up in a location where it's not obvious to the motorist that he's on a :lower speed street. The engineer indicated speed measuring devices have actually shown the tendency is to first drive above the speed limit and then to slow down for the stop sign. Mr. Knox asked if that were also true about the sign which had been erected at Crestview Drive on 29th Avenue N.E. Mayor Sundland said some friends of his who live near that sign have reported &.avers in that area seem to be going faster and some slide through the stop sign when the roads are icy, resulting in more accidents at that spot than before the sign was installed. Councilmember Makowske indicated she lived in that same area and said she perceives the sign creates a false sense of security "which doesn't always happen". The Councilmember indicated her own • family had come "very close to being broadsided at that corner because of that expectation". Mayor Sundland recalled that there had been more accidents at the intersection of - Stinson Boulevard and Kenzie Terrace since the County had put in traffic semaphores