At the February 13, 2006 Council meeting, Bruce Snyder was appointed as 3rd Ward Councilmember to fill the vacancy created by the death of Councilmember Jean McConnell. Mr. Snyder’s term of office will run through December 31, 2006.
We hope to have Mr. Snyder as a guest at one of future quarterly association meetings.
Find out more about Councilmember Snyder
Contact information:
Bruce Snyder
4349 Cimarron Court N.W.
Rochester, Minnesota 55901
Home phone – 252-8712
Work phone - 253-3806
At the NWN meeting on 1/26/06, the following traffic and zoning items were discussed. The link to the Rochester City Council web page is at http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/ From this link, you can access the city council agenda, planning and zoning information and other key city items like reporting traffic concerns (at the bottom of the main City page): If you have concerns about specific intersections, roadway segments or general areas of the City, please let us know by filling out the online form. This is the form that the police officer at the meeting suggested that neighbors fill out, not just for traffic issues, but other crime issues as well.
1) Study: 55th St and Circle Drive light moving South to Members Parkway
Study is currently happening on moving the light at 55th St and Circle Drive (by Home Federal Savings and Loan), south to Members Parkway and connecting access to 55th St going west through extention of 41st Ave. No details to this plan yet. This had been orginially designed several years ago to have the connection here, but will be doing a study again on it. Concerns of the neighbors are right turn onto 55th St - will that be preserved, and if not, think it will even more cause traffic problems along Villa Rd (into 55th St Estates). Some neighbors that exit Northpark on Fairway Dr onto 55th St were in favor of this move as this intercection is very hard to get out of onto 55th St and is quite congested.
Individual concerns should be sent to Richard Freese and Rochester City Clerk (for the city of Rochester), and also Mike Sheehan at Olmsted Public works (since this is a combination of a city and county road intercection).
2) 65th St and Hwy 52 update
There is a study currently going on that addresses the 65th Street interchange justification with MnDOT and the Federal Highway Administration identify right-of-way that will be reserved consistent with the right-of-way needs for an interchange at 65th Street and Hwy 52. Understanding is this study is to be completed this spring. The city would like to see this be an interchange, but it does not match the Federal Highway Administration recommendation of interchanges being 2 miles apart. This study needs to complete before progress can be made on the property purchased for the new Menards (called Prairie Crossing development) - see #4 below.
3) Menards - north of 65th St west of Hwy 52
Delayed at City Council meeting on 2/6/06 due to study being done on 65th St interchange
225-230 12) Zoning District Amendment #05-13 by Prairie Crossing, LLC to amend the designation to commercial and M-1 on property located west of TH 52 and north of 65th Street.
231-282 13) General Development Plan #264 to be known as Prairie Crossing West by Prairie Crossing LLC
4) 55th St Estates update on traffic, pedestrian and water issues.
A meeting was held with the 55th St Estate neighbors with the city traffic (David Kramer) on Mon, Jan 23 as a result of a survey that was sent to the neighbors asking for input on street reconstruction and other options. The options from the survey were: Note that for the frontage footage specified, a lot of lots exceeded this and some to a huge extreme as multiple sides of their property are on street.
- Street reconstruction with curb & gutter and storm sewer ($28,000 for approx 400 ft of frontage)
- Contruct pedestrian path or sidewalk, separated from the roadway ($13,100 approx 400 ft of frontage)
- Street reconstruction with gurb nad guter plus sidewalk ($41,100 for 400 ft of frontage)
- Sanitary sewer and watermain ($36,632 charge per lot - in addition to any street reconstruction)
- One way loop - no cost
- Leave streets and drainage as they are - no cost
City received 27 responses out of 29 homes, with 21 having written responses. 22 marked that they wanted the streets and drainage as they are, but recognized there is a problem that needs to be resolved, but none of these options. 2 voted for street reconstruction with curb and gutter, 2 voted for sanitary sewer and watermain, and 4 voted for a one way loop that goes around the neighborhood. Of the written comments, there were 29 vehicle traffic related comments of which 10 indicated they wanted speed bumps, 8 wanted improvements but caused by outside development so don’t charge the neighbors. There were 18 pedestrian related comments, 10 sanitary sewer and watermain comments, 9 drainage related comments, 8 regarding the dollar assessments for doing the work, 7 leaving the neighborhood how it is.
The meeting on 1/23 addressed these with the neighbors and discussed traffic calming ideas:
- Traffic Management is being proposed to the city council to allow neighbors to submit their neighborhood to be considered for traffic calming and address traffic issues. Can formally petition the city to make improvements. Hopefully will be in place spring/summer 2006 with improvements starting 2007. Neighborhoods are put on priority order depending on the issue.
- Noted that it was not ajoining neighborhoods requesting sidewalks. Pedestrian concerns were reported by 55th st owners.
- Traffic calming discussion:
- Speed bumps / speed tables - Bailey Heights has speed tables - neighbors paid for 50% of cost. Slowed traffic to 30mph and was very effective.
- Markings on the road - do not calm and have opposite effect of speeding the traffic since more like highway and speed increases.
- Speed signs do not seem to help
- Ribs before stop sigh and curve - do not halp and are noisy.
- Widening road also increases traffic
- Police cars slow traffic, but temporary solution
- Stop on Red program that the Twin Cities is doing that allows monitoring of traffic and automatically give tickets. Currently under legal challenge and once it gets confirmed may be an option for Rochester.
Most of the discussion at the meeting was on speed tables and also an idea for a separate path for pedestrian that run along Villa Rd. Would need easements for the lots (not clear which side of the road this would be on, if it could go all the way around, or if the path would be elevated). Neighbors would need to petition the city for this. The city would cover the cost of the path.
Also discussed was concern for increased traffic if the light was moved south of 55th St and Circle Dr intersection. 65th St interchange was also discussed as felt this may help divert traffic to the North from Orchad ridge developments.
5) Think Credit Union on Members Parkway
Think Credit Union will be developing a Credit Union Branch office with a drive thru facility to be located on Lot 1 Block 1 Circle Drive, north of Members Parkway NW.
6) General development plans from the area were handed out.
- New Life Worship Center plans
- North Park
- New commercial property along Hwy 52 south of 55th St
- Orchard Ridge
- Noted also that a new elementary school north of 55th St and west of 50th Ave is being planned - contact the Rochester Public School if interested in being involved in the development of this.
Submitted by Northwest Neighbors Traffic & Dev. Committee
