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May 19 Virtual Open House: Questions and Comments Received 14 We are opposed to the permanent closure of this Intersection for the numerous reasons cited below. It’s difficult to discuss/debate an issue when one doesn’t have all of the pertinent documentation that went into MnDOT’s decision to close the Intersection. We still have unanswered questions from MnDOT Data Practice department. During the May 19, 2020, Joy Miciano, MNDOT Consultant said that MnDOT would post the transcript of the May 19, 2020 meeting, including the answers to the questions that were not answered during the meeting by May 26, 2020. That date has come and gone and MnDOT has not posted the transcript. We reserve the right to submit additional comments if the May 19, 2020 transcript is ever posted. As MnDOT knows, additional traffic is being diverted to Snelling Avenue because of the Highway I-35 three-year construction project. So right now there is not a true picture of the area. Even MnDOTs PowerPoint presentation Snellingt_Hamline_3_noVolume shows why the intersection should remain open. A number of Minnesota taxpayers made the left hand turn on numerous days if not daily. And continue to make that turn even if that requires an illegal U-turn at the Glenhill intersection. It should not matter to MnDOT where vehicles go after turning left. What should matter is how many vehicles access the left hand turn and should the Intersection be left open. MnDOT claims, without any substantiating evidence, that there were backups at the Intersection. We have not seen a backup of traffic attempting to make a left hand turn at the Intersection. If MnDOT claims there are backups then they should provide evidence of such backups. If the length of the turn lane is an issue, make the turn lane longer. MnDOT continues to refer to the December 2017 fatality at the Intersection as the basis for its decision to close the Intersection. This is hard for us to understand because if one (1) fatality is MnDOT’s major basis for extreme modification, then MnDOT would have numerous projects throughout the year at various locations. The labor and cost would be exorbitant; MnDOT would run out of money. According to 2017 MN Department of Public Safety report, the number of seniors involved in traffic crashes increased since 2011. December 2017 was “more senior-driver involved crashes than any other month.” Failure “to yield right of way was listed most often.” (Minnesota Motor Vehicle Crash Facts, 2017. MnDPS) MnDOT purports that “safety” is the reason for the closure. From 2008-2018 there were 3 fatalities on Snelling between County Road C and County Road E: County Road C; Hamline; and on Snelling just south of the County Rd E access. Although no one wants to see any type of accidents, compared to other locations, three (3) fatalities in 10 years is an extremely low statistic. From 2016-2018 there were 135 accidents on Snelling Avenue from County Road C to Highway 694. There were 58 accidents at the County Road C intersection; 12 at the Lydia intersection and 12 at the Hamline intersection. We do not see anything being done at the County Road C or Lydia intersections because of the accident count at those locations.