City Council Meeting Date: November 12, 2019
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator
From: David Bennett, Public Works Director/City Engineer
Subject:
TITLE
Discuss Jefferson Parkway & Trunk Highway (TH) 246 Roundabout Final Landscape Design and Provide Direction on High School Pedestrian Crossing Options.
BODY
Action Requested:
Staff recommends that Council share individual reaction and input on the Roundabout Landscaping and give direction on the preferred High School Crossing Option and Crossing Location.
Summary Report:
City staff and the project engineer SEH are preparing the final plans for the Jefferson Parkway and TH 246 Roundabout. As part of that process, staff will present the draft landscape plan and receive feedback from Council on what is proposed. SEH Landscape Architect Karl Weissenborn will discuss the landscape plan. A summary of the landscape plan is below.
Landscape Overview
The Northfield TH246 and Jefferson Parkway Roundabout landscaping plan proposes themes derived from the previous Gateway Corridor Improvement Plan (Gateway Plan). These themes comprise the qualities found in native prairies, natural woodlands and cultural influences of past agricultural uses in the region. Features that exhibit these qualities include areas of native upland prairie grasses and wildflowers, small groupings of native overstory and understory trees, massings of native shrubs, intentionally placed plantings of perennials and low shrubs, boulevard trees planted in linear form and hints of evergreen wind rows. Additional features for enhancing the project area include public art, wayfinding signage, trailhead amenities, site furnishings and pedestrian scale lighting.
Plantings
The landscape plan further defines the experiential quality of the Gateway Plan themes by the placement of the naturalized prairie, shrub and tree groupings on the slopes between the proposed roadways and trails. This provides a quality e...
Click here for full text