City Council Meeting Date: January 14, 2020
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator
From: Sean M. Simonson, Engineering Manager
David Bennett, Public Works Director/Engineering Manager
Title
2020 Mill and Overlay Final Plan Discussion.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council discusses the Final Plans for the 2020 Mill and Overlay Project.
Summary Report:
The goal of tonight’s work session is to share the final draft plans, discuss project design details, and review input received at the neighborhood meeting in preparation for approving the final plans and authorized bidding on January 21, 2020.
Drainage Analysis and Recommended Improvements (Attachment 1)
The drainage analysis, has been completed for the project. The following items have been identified, and corrections are noted:
• Potholes/Flat Cross Slope Roads
o Paving will correct potholes and flat Cross-Slope road that hold water by re-establishing the crown in the road.
• Curb Settlements/Cracks
o Spot replacement of curb and gutter will correct settlements and cracks that currently hold water.
• Flat Areas/Improper Drainage
o Added catch basins in areas where grades would not allow streets to drain properly.
o This will improve the drainage, however on flat streets drainage will be slow if there is snow, ice, and leaves build up in the gutters.
Tree Removals (Attachment 2)
Staff hired a Licensed Arborist to complete a tree impact assessment on all of the trees located within the Right-of-Way. The Arborist rated the trees on a 0 - 9 scale, 0 being a dead tree, and 9 being a perfect tree. Staff used these ratings, combined with the plan specifics from the Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan discussed at City Council in July of 2017 to compile a list of trees recommended for removal along the Project Corridor. The guidelines for removal are based on the following guidelines:
• Ash Trees with a Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) less than 13 inches regardless of condition (Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan).
• Arborist Recommended removals based on tree condition (Tree Impact Assessment).
• Trees that will be significantly impacted by construction (Determined by the Engineer).
Using the criteria listed above, there are approximately 108 trees scheduled for removal. This breaks down to 69 ash tree removals, 27 arborist-recommended removals, and 12 construction-related tree removals. Attachment 3 is a map of all planned tree removals. New replacement trees are proposed to be planted as part of the mill and overlay project with at least a 1:1 replacement.
As a background on ash trees, the City has 1,909 on City Property including rights of way, with 842 trees under 13 inches in diameter. With removal of 69 trees with this improvement project it will continue to diversify the City’s urban forest.
However, we did want to highlight on Jefferson Road/Heritage Drive, that this will remove the vast majority of trees. An alternative option would be to remove every other tree or every third tree. On Jefferson Rd, 14 ash trees will be removed and 4 trees will remain the west side of the road. On Heritage Drive, 16 ash trees will be removed and 8 trees will remain.
Bikeway Improvements (Attachment 3)
Several bikeway improvements are also planned for the project area. These improvements align with the City’s Complete Streets Policy and Northfield Pedestrian, Bike, and Trail System Plan.
The City of Northfield Pedestrian, Bike, and Trail System Plan calls for bikeways on the following streets within the project area:
• Fourth Street (Nevada Street to Prairie Street)
• Second Street (Washington Street to Oak Street)
• Nevada Street (First Street to Fourth Street)
• Eighth Street (Linden Street to Water Street)
• Heritage Drive (Trunk Highway 3 to 500 feet west of Hidden Valley Road)
• Jefferson Road (Heritage Drive to Hidden Valley Road)
Multiple options were considered for each street and Council provided direction on the type of bikeway improvement on October 15, 2019. Those are shown in Attachment 4 with direction Council provided highlighted in red.
At the improvement hearing and neighborhood meeting, the majority of input we received was about the loss of parking from adjacent residents on Fourth Street and Second Street. Carleton College has indicated they prefer to leave Second Street as is and College Street to keep parking on one-side of the street.
Staff reviewed Carleton College 2019 Campus Circulation Plan and the plan discusses parking needs for the College.
o Carleton College Campus Circulation Plan from August of 2019 indicated that in 2018 the demand for parking spaces is 879 (689 on-campus, 190 on-street).
o Currently there is 894 on-campus parking spaces, exceeding the 879 demand needed by the college. In addition, there are approximately 407 on-street parking spaces around the college.
o The loss of parking with the proposed cycle tracks on College Street, Second Street, and Fourth Street total 221 parking spaces.
Bumpout Analysis
The entire project area was evaluated for the incorporation of bump-outs at intersection crosswalk locations. Bumpouts are design features that, in this case, involves radially pushing the curb line out to the inside edge of the parking lane/outside edge of the driving lane. Bumpouts are an effective means of traffic calming by narrowing the usable roadway for drivers and provide enhanced visibility between drivers and pedestrians at crosswalks while also shortening the distance required to cross the street, which improves safety for pedestrians at these locations. Bumpouts have been utilized in previous City projects.
The criteria for the determining bumpout locations included:
• Intersection Crosswalks Pedestrian Flows Observed and Resident/City Council Input Considered to Identify Higher Traffic Areas.
• Limitations - Bikeway Conflicts, Delivery Routes, Street Width, etc.
• Eliminated: low-density crossings & streets with limitations.
• Prioritized locations near specific destinations based on Origin-Destination trip generation: institutions, schools, parks, high children crossings, etc.
Staff used the criteria above, and has narrowed down the bumpout locations to the following locations and provided recommendations: (Attachment 4)
• Third Street and College Street
o Across Third Street - Recommended due to the volume of pedestrians crossing here.
• Third Street and Winona Street
o Across Third Street - Recommended due to the volume of pedestrians crossing here.
o Across Winona Street - Adjacent to Central Park a destination for the neighborhood and should be considered.
• Third Street and Union Street
o Across Third Street - Requested by First UCC. Not recommended due to all-way stop at this intersection. However, First UCC is a destination and council may consider this location.
• Third and Washington Street
o Across Third Street - Requested by First UCC. Not recommended due to stopped condition at Third Street. However, First UCC is a destination and council may consider this location.
• Winona Street and Fourth Street
o Across Winona Street - Adjacent to Central Park a destination for the neighborhood and should be considered.
• Winona Street and First Street
o Across First Street - Adjacent to Carleton College and should be considered.
• Nevada Street
o Across First Street - Adjacent to Carleton College and should be considered.
• Oak Street and Third Street
o Across Third Street - Not recommended due to truck movements.
o Across Oak Street - Not recommended due to truck movement and Oak Street is Narrower.
o Note - Laura Baker has indicated they do not want a bumpout due to driveway offset and deliveries.
• Seventh Street and Water Street
o Across Seventh Street - Not recommended due to stop condition for Seventh Street traffic.
o Across Water Street - Recommended due to vehicle traffic and speeds on Water Street.
Truck Turning Movements
As mentioned above, part of the bumpout analysis was to evaluate possible delivery routes and bumpout locations. Truck turning movements were performed on the following intersections: (Attachment 5)
• Water Street and Seventh Street
• Oak Street and Third Street
Staff will discuss turning movements with Council during the Work Session.
Seventh Street Turn-Around (Attachment 6)
Included in this project is the Seventh Street Turn-Around on the west dead end of Seventh Street adjacent to Riverside Park. The 40’ radius cul-de-sac will allow a turn-around point for the proposed canoe access that is scheduled for installation along the Cannon River.
Neighborhood Meeting Feedback
Staff held the Second Neighborhood Meeting on January 8, 2020. From this meeting, the following questions and comments were heard:
• Can residents have more time to think about the proposed changes for the bikeways?
• Were residents notified of loss of parking?
o No specific notice was mailed to residents about the proposed bikeway and potential loss of parking. All properties were mailed notices for both neighborhood meetings and the improvement hearing at Council.
• Can the neighbors have a vote and decide the bikeway on Fourth Street and if they support loss of parking?
o Staff is sharing feedback with City Council. The main discussion from the Neighborhood meeting was about the loss of parking mainly on College St., Second St., and Fourth St.
• Can the striping portion of the project be pulled for now until a larger discussion can be had that better involves the residents’ input and allow the residents to vote on their preferred option since striping will not occur until the end of the project?
o Staff recommends including - not delaying the project.
• The shared driveways on Fourth Street rely on adjacent parking?
o If the cycletrack moves forward, resident’s guest would need to park on adjacent streets.
• Is the College paying more?
o Carleton has indicated they will pay for the bikeway on College St. from First St. to Third St. Carleton has indicated bike lanes - not the cycle track - to preserve parking on one side. Otherwise, Carleton will be assessed based on the benefit appraisal amounts.
• How many parking stalls are lost with the proposed cycletracks?
o College Street will lose 45 parking spots
o Second Street will lose 131 parking spots
o Fourth Street will lose 45 parking spots
o Nevada Street will lose 33 parking spots
o Eighth Street will lose 20 parking spots
• College students need to park on Second Street to unload for the dorms at move in and move out times, so loss of parking is concerning.
• Can the City eliminate some of the concrete sidewalk/curb and gutter spot replacement if they are just hairline cracks?
o City Staff will walk the project again in the spring prior to construction and focus on sidewalk/curb and gutter spot removals that create walking hazards/and or drainage issues.
• Many events (graduation, reunion, Jesse James Days, etc.) throughout the summer will make construction difficult.
o A construction phasing plan will be developed so that only portions of the project are closed which will limit parking at a time. There will still be construction effects for these events, but we will do our best to limit these as much as we can, while accommodating delivery routes, etc.
• Notes were left about the potential re-dimensioning of the Fourth Street & Second Street bikeways to potentially accommodate an added parking lane.
o Staff will provide minimum design requirements for facility widths at the 1/14 Work Session.
• A question was left about the need to remove tree #2557 that was marked as an Arborist recommended removal and requested the City to take a second look.
o The City will have their Forester take a look at the tree and provide a second recommendation. The resident will be contacted in order to discuss.
Alternative Options:
Staff will be open to any City Council alternatives discussed at the meeting.
Financial Impacts:
N/A
Tentative Timelines:
Council is scheduled to Approve Plans and Specifications, and Order Advertisement for Bids at the January 21, 2020 City Council meeting. (Attachment 8)