Marie Avenue Traffic-Calming Proposed for 2012

A petition from residents on Marie Avenue could prompt Mendota Heights city staff to incorporate traffic-calming measures into plans for a 2012 street rehabilitation project.

Two dogs have been hit; one young driver was rear-ended while pulling out of a driveway; one child is driven to school rather than allowed to cross the road to catch the bus—these are just some of the stories resident Jeff Holland said he collected while gathering the 26 signatures presented to the Tuesday night.

After hearing Holland explain the safety concerns that he and his neighbors share about speeding drivers on Marie, the council extended Tuesday's public hearing for the project to replace the asphalt and make other repairs to Oct. 18 to give engineering staff time to consider safety options available.

Narrow Feel, Slower Speeds?

Options include restriping the road to visually narrow the lanes and make the south parking lane more prominent, moving mailboxes to the owner-side of the road, placing a speed monitoring sign on the street either temporarily or permanently, and creating “bump-outs” in the curb to better define the parking lane and again narrow the feel of the road.

Bump-outs could affect drainage and may not be a feasible option for the 2012 project, said interim city administrator John Mazitello, but could happen at a later date.

There is a city ordinance prohibiting placement of a permanent digital display sign on the road. Planning commission chair and Marie Avenue resident Steve Norton suggested that the ordinance could be revisited.

Diane Road, Mendota Heights Road Projects Praised

Residents present Tuesday had a few questions and a lot of praise for two other road rehabilitation projects approved for summer of 2012.

As part of the city’s five-year street improvement plan, roads in the Diane Road neighborhood, Marie Avenue from Delaware to Dodd Road, and Mendota Heights Road from Delaware to Dodd Road will be repaired.

“When I received the notice, I was delighted,” said one resident of Eagle Ridge Road, part of the Diane Road project.

A right turn lane on westbound Mendota Heights Road onto Dodd Road was approved as part of that project.

Also planned for 2012 is the more intensive reconstruction of Lemay Lake Road. A public hearing for that project is scheduled for Nov. 15.*

The rehab projects should take six to eight weeks, according to interim city engineer Ryan Ruzek.

Costs not paid for through assessments will be picked up by a mix of bonding, Municipal State Aid money and infrastructure improvement funds.

Assessments to property owners can be paid over 10 years at six percent interest. After the assessment hearing, which won’t happen until each project is substantially complete, residents also have a window of time to prepay their assessment.

Correction: This article has been edited to report the accurate date of the Lemay Lake Road public hearing. Patch regrets the error.