Title
TRAFFIC CONCERNS ON 121ST AVENUE WEST OF SUNSET AVENUE (CONTINUED FROM AUGUST 9, 2017)
Background
The Engineering and Police Departments have received complaints of speeding on 121st Avenue west of Sunset Avenue. The Traffic Commission reviewed the following data collected on 121st Avenue at their July 12, 2017 meeting. The Commission directed staff to send a letter to the adjacent property owners inviting them to discuss their concerns at their next Traffic Commission meeting on Wednesday, August 9, 2017. The Traffic Commission continued this item to their September 5, 2017 meeting due to the original mailing not being sent to the Woodland Village portion of 121st Avenue. A new letter was sent on August 18, 2017 to all property owners on 121st Avenue from Woodland Parkway to Sunset Avenue.
On 121st Avenue just west of Sunset Avenue and adjacent to the rural residential lots, the speed limit is 55 MPH by Minnesota Statute. When you travel west, just before Opal Street, you encounter urban sized residential lots where the speed limit drops to 30 MPH. The traffic counts in 2007 were 155 vehicles per day and as development has increased in the area, the traffic counts have increased to 872 in 2017. The 85th percentile speed has been between 39 to 42 MPH just west of Sunset Avenue and in 2017, the 85th percentile speed was 36 MPH in front of 4813 121st Avenue, the first house in the 30 MPH zone.
In February of 2016, the Police Department monitored this area for two afternoons and did not issue any tickets. In June of 2017, the Police Department set up the speed trailer for a week at 4813 121st Avenue. This is part of the neighborhood education program of reminding drivers of the transition to the 30 MPH speed limit. The 85th percentile speed in front of this house was 36 MPH. The Patrol Unit also conducted 17 hours of traffic enforcement since June, making 27 traffic stops, including 5 citations issued for speeding.
Traffic Commission asked staff to research the rural residential speed limit in Minnesota Statutes. Attached is portions of Statute that relate to regulatory speed limits discussed in this report. It appears that this area will meet statutory requirements for the Traffic Commission to recommend to City Council to establish the area between Sunset Avenue and the 30 MPH speed limit as a rural residential district in order to post the first quarter mile off Sunset Avenue as 35 MPH.
121st Avenue was extended to Woodland Parkway in 2013. 121st Avenue from Sunset Avenue to Woodland Parkway is a Municipal State Aid (MSA) route that connects the surrounding residential area to the adjacent County Road system.
Some of the concerns/requests raised by residents on 121st Avenue at the August 9th meeting were construction dumpsters in the road, solar powered speed monitoring sign, poor visibility with the bend in the road in Woodland Village, need for a lower speed limit, speeders on 121st Avenue, vehicles not yielding to pedestrians at intersections, high density traffic, speed humps, painted crosswalks, three way stop at Lever Street or Opal Street and 121st Avenue, school bus stop at Opal Street and 121st Avenue, and additional plantings along the boulevards.
As stated in the background information, the first quarter mile west of Sunset Avenue may qualify for a 35 MPH designation if approved by City Council. The 30 MPH speed designation for the remainder of the route to Woodland Parkway cannot be lowered as this speed limit is set by Minnesota Statutes for residential streets throughout the entire state.
The City has a crosswalk policy for determining where to install marked crosswalks. The location that could be considered for a marked crosswalk would be the north side of the 121st Avenue and Woodland Parkway intersection since it is where the sidewalk connects to the Lexington Athletic Complex. When crossing 121st Avenue at Opal Street or Lever Street, pedestrians should not enter the intersection if vehicles are approaching. Pedestrians are urged to cross with caution at any street crossing, marked or unmarked.
With 121st Avenue designated as a MSA route, the State of Minnesota does not permit installation of speed humps. The City will be re-examining all of our MSA designated routes this year with our 2040 Comprehensive Plan update. 121st Avenue does serve as a collector route to connect the residential area to the County Road system, so the current MSA designation does fit into the City’s overall street network.
Before a three way stop can be installed, it must meet the criteria listed in the Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The criteria includes five or more reported crashes in a 12-month period, traffic volumes of at least 300 vehicles per hour on the major street for any 8 hours of an average day, combined vehicular/pedestrian/bicycle volume entering the intersection from the minor street of at least 200 units per hour for the same 8 hours. The Manual states that stop signs should not be used for speed control.
Staff checked in with the Planning Department on trees planted with the Woodland Village plats. Trees were required to be planted on each residential lot, but not in the boulevard due to buried private utilities of electric, telephone, gas and cable.
One solution to help slow traffic on the roadway would be to install a white edge stripe on both sides of the street and double yellow centerline stripes to narrow the drive lanes to eleven feet. Traffic enforcement will continue to be utilized to help slow traffic in this area.
Additional information is attached to this item from the 2015 MNDOT Traffic Safety Fundamentals Handbook. Pages C38 - C46 provide information on pedestrian safety, neighborhood traffic control measures, speed zones and speed reduction efforts.
Recommendation
Take public comment and by motion, send any recommendations to City Council.
Possible recommendations:
• Establish a rural residential district for the first quarter mile west of Sunset Avenue and post as 35 MPH.
• Add a marked crosswalk on the north side of 121st Avenue at Woodland Parkway.
• Install a white edge stripe on both sides of 121st Avenue and a double yellow centerline strip to narrow the drive lanes to eleven feet from Sunset Avenue to Woodland Parkway.
• Continue traffic enforcement.