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<br />. <br /> <br />Arden Hills Council <br /> <br />3 <br /> <br />March 29, 1993 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Option 1: No change - intersection would remain closed <br />permanently <br />Rationale for this option would be that it is <br />the safest and least expensive, and turning <br />movements would be eliminated, The effects <br />would be a decrease of mobility; traffic, <br />safety and pollution concerns would "move <br />elsewhere", <br />Option 2: Build frontage road between Old Snelling and Lydia <br />Avenue on the west side of T.H, 51 <br />This option is thought to be nearly as safe <br />as closing the intersection, and it <br />eliminates turning movements at Snelling/51; <br />however, it would be very expensive and <br />traffic, safety and pollution concerns would <br />"move" to the Lydia Avenue intersection, <br />mobility would be improved for some users and <br />worsened for other users. <br />Option 3: Snelling/51 intersection would remain closed and <br />the County Road E Bridge would be widened to <br />accommodate higher levels of traffic using County <br />Road E as an alternate route <br />This option would be very expensive and would <br />"attract" more traffic to County Road E, <br />Traffic counts on County Road E have not <br />raised significantly since closure of the <br />Snelling/51 intersection, therefore, MNDOT <br />does not believe bridge widening is <br />warranted. If this option were chosen, the <br />project would have to compete for funding. <br />Option 4: Redesign, signalization and reopening of <br />Snelling/51 intersection <br />This option would improve mobility, but it <br />would be very expensive, it is expected it <br />would be less safe than the unsignalized <br />intersection which existed in the past, and <br />it would slow "through" traffic in the area. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />O'Keefe stated that MNDOT's Planning Section and Traffic <br />Section have recently met to determine which of the four <br />alternatives under study are actually possible. He added <br />that MNDOT's current position is that Option 4 has been <br />found to be an unacceptable option unless nearby local <br />streets are proven to have substantially higher safety <br />concerns as a result of keeping the Snelling/51 intersection <br />cl osed. <br /> <br />O'Keefe said he admires the activism of the Arden Hills <br />community in trying to resolve this issue. <br />