WORKSHOP ITEM - Dan Schluender, City Engineer
Title
CENTERVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ACCESS POINT DISCUSSION
Background
Spring Lake Park Schools has submitted plans to convert the existing velodrome site into an outdoor play area/ greenspace. The outdoor play area is located just south of the new Centerview Elementary school.
The applicant is proposing to develop an outdoor play area which will be able to used by Centerview students and community, by incorporating green space and landscaping connected to the school site. Also, 25-foot light standards are proposed on the new drive access and play area to be consistent with the existing school.
In addition, the school district is proposing to remove a portion of the access drive that connects their existing west parking lot to the parking lot of the National Sports Center on the east side of their building. They have proposed to construct a new vehicular access from Davenport Street to align with 103rd Avenue NE. This access road would be constructed on the south side of the proposed outdoor play area. However, both accesses to the school’s west parking lot for staff and buses are proposed to remain in their current location.
City staff and the school district staff have met a number of times on this proposal.
Staff is supportive of the creation of the new access drive to Davenport Street, as it creates a full access intersection with 103rd Avenue. The creation of this new intersection does cause several issues with the applicant’s desire to keep what was the main Davenport Street access as a school only parking lot access. The converted existing driveway is too close to the proposed intersection to allow for the design or construction of standard turn lanes on Davenport Street for this access and the proposed intersection at 103rd Avenue. Staff is recommending the closure of the existing driveway based on the intersection spacing, the inability to construct standard turn lanes for both the access and the intersection, and Davenport Street is designated as a State Aid route on the city’s system that handles over 10,000 vehicular trips on a normal day. Providing a street network with less than the standard roadway design criteria would not be safe or prudent to the driving public.
This item requires a conditional use permit amendment and was originally scheduled for the July 6, 2020 city council meeting. The school district chose to remove the item from the agenda and requested it be placed on a workshop agenda to allow for a discussion on the access points knowing there is disagreement between the staff recommendation and school district’s preference.
The item will be formally acted on at the July 20, 2020 city council meeting.
Recommendation
Discuss the item and provide comments.