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<br /> <br />November 24, 2021 <br /> <br />Jessica Jagoe <br />City of Arden Hills <br />1245 West Highway 96 <br />Arden Hills, Minnesota 55112 <br /> <br />Jane Kansier <br />Bolton & Menk, Inc. <br />12224 Nicollet Avenue <br />Burnsville, Minnesota 55337 <br /> <br /> <br />Re: Independent School District #621 <br /> North Parking Lot at MVHS / Lake Valentine Road Improvements Project Narrative <br /> Commission No. 212190 / 212191 <br /> <br />Dear Jessica and Jane: <br /> <br />Wold Architects and Engineers, with Bolton and Menk, Inc., is currently working with <br />representatives from Independent School District #621 (ISD #621) and Mounds View High School <br />(MVHS), in the City of Arden Hills, to implement site improvements and associated roadway <br />improvements to Lake Valentine Road. The project is intended to improve site circulation, enhance <br />pedestrian safety, and expand existing parking facilities. <br /> <br />MVHS is located on the south side of Lake Valentine Road and the bus garage is located on the <br />north side. The bus garage property is being improved to accommodate student parking and <br />overflow event parking. Pedestrian and roadway improvements are being constructed to address <br />the expected increase in pedestrians crossing Lake Valentine Road. <br /> <br />Phase I of the project was constructed in 2020, as an interim improvement, that replaced the two <br />existing marked crosswalks on Lake Valentine Road, located at the school driveways with a new <br />centralized midblock crossing with a pedestrian traffic signal. A pedestrian traffic signal was <br />selected for MVHS because it achieves a high rate of compliance and also offers flexibility in <br />operations and timing if a desire exists to manage pedestrian and vehicle movements during peak <br />traffic periods. Phase II of the project will commence in 2022 and will construct site improvements <br />and the remaining roadway improvements to Lake Valentine Road. <br /> <br />Proposed Site Improvements: <br />ISD #621 purchased the existing bus garage during the summer of 2019. The site is to be <br />reconstructed to accommodate student parking and MVHS’s use of the existing garage. <br />Improvements include better circulation as well as beautification including the planting of <br />landscape islands. The current plans meet the ordinance requirements of minimum 10% green <br />space in the parking islands. This layout does not meet the required parking counts of 622 stalls that <br />were previously approved. An alternate plan will be submitted for consideration that will increase <br />parking counts but will not meet the 10% green space requirements. The alternate plan will follow <br />the same general layout and will reduce the size of the landscaped islands. Both options will <br />provide additional parking for the School and provide better pedestrian safety crossing Lake <br />Valentine Road. <br /> $WWDFKPHQW%