| 10/27/2008 2:17:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | Mendota Heights traffic complaints inspected
Danielle Cabot
Review Staff
A new Traffic Safety Committee in Mendota Heights presented its first report at the City Council meeting, Oct. 21. The committee is working to respond to concerns brought to the council by residents regarding traffic in the city and met for the first time Oct. 14.
The Traffic Safety Committee members are Council Member Jack Vitelli, Mendota Heights Police Chief Mike Aschenbrener, Mike Povolny from the Planning Commission, City Administrator Jim Danielson, Mendota Heights City Engineer John Mazzitello and Fire Chief John Maczko. Maczko is also the city traffic engineer for St. Paul, and deals with these concerns on a daily basis.
Traffic Safety Committee observations and recommendations:
-Complete speed study in the Avenues Neighborhood
The speed studies will be done in the First, Second, Third, and Fourth avenues area in response to concerns that drivers are going faster on the newly paved streets.
-Install a crosswalk at Brown College
Aschenbrener said the crosswalk at Brown College will be the final piece in a long process of rearranging parking and pedestrians. "The movement of students has really been in flux."
-Remove temporary stop signs at Maple Street and Linden Street
The temporary stop signs in the Village area, used to help with construction, will be removed to see how traffic flows without them.
-No further action at Decorah Lane at this time
The department teamed up with University of Minnesota engineering students to study speeding on Decorah Lane between Dodd Road and Huber Drive. The students surveyed whether the cars were local or not and how fast they were going. The study found that speeding on the street was extremely rare, and most cars were holding to the 35 mph speed limit.
-Continue discussion with Convent of the Visitation School and St. Thomas Academy about traffic concerns and potential improvements
Formerly, it was the sole responsibility of the police chief to make decisions about traffic management. "He was often asked to make calls, decisions in regard to stop lights, stop signs, speed bumps etc.," said Vitelli. Those are hard decisions to make, and often become the target of criticism. The new committee will help make those decisions and support them, Vitelli added.
The most common concern heard from residents is speeding in residential neighborhoods, and subsequent requests for stop signs. "If we followed all the concerns of citizens we would have stop signs everywhere and speed bumps," said Vitelli. However, stop signs are not necessarily the answer, and the committee has to balance what the homeowners want and what makes sense from a safety and logistics perspective, he said.
Aschenbrener said stop signs are meant to control traffic, not change people's behavior.
The committee has caught up with residents' concerns for now, but will meet quarterly to address issues as they arise.
Danielle Cabot can be reached at southwest@lillienews.com or at 651-748-7815.
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