CCP 10-25-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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. . . ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OCTOBER 12,2004 7 most of the residents outside of this specific area would not use the sidewalk. She expressed concern about a lack of communication with the neighborhoods. She noted the City might not get the grant and they had to take this into consideration. She stated she was not in favor of any sidewalk until they dealt with the intersection east of the bridge. She noted she was not comfortable voting for a sidewalk and invited residents to walk along the sidewalk when that intersection was so unsafe. She stated she was in favor of the bridge, but not the sidewalk until they addressed that intersection. Councilmember Larson stated he supported this and there were good reasons to support it including the pedestrians and public safety. He stated a primary duty of the Council was to protect the residents' safety. He stated they had a park plan approved by the PTRC and Council, and the top priority of the residents was they wanted trails which were rated highest. He stated he believed people wanted to have options for moving around the City and not always having to be in an automobile. He noted they had no connection between the east and west side ofthe City and this was the one place where they had the one opportunity to make an east/west connection. He stated this was on the public right-of-way and they were not taking anyone's property. He noted there was nothing they were doing that was different than what any other city would do. He indicated this was not unusual and it was something most cities did. He asked if they did not put in a sidewalk here, where would they put one in. He stated he was a biker and he probably would not use the sidewalk, but that did not mean there aren't other people, including children, who would want to be up on the sidewalk. He did not believe bikers not using the sidewalk should be an influence as to whether they should put in a sidewalk or not. He noted there would be an increase of traffic on County Road E and he believed there would also be an increase in pedestrian traffic and they needed to ensure their safety. He stated the benefits of having a sidewalk was a better alternative than leaving them in the street. He stated the City's goal was to put in trails that would keep people off the streets. He stated they needed to provide some off- road alternatives for the residents. With respect to a north side sidewalk, he believed the grade was such that if a sidewalk was put in, retaining walls would also be needed and it would not connect the park. There are also utilities in the right-of-way and a very short driveway at 3609 County Road E. If a car should be parked in that driveway, it would block the sidewalk. He stated the Council could not base their decision on where the residents were going, but the Council knew the residents crossed the bridge to use the businesses on the other side. He asked what they would gain by delaying this decision. He noted traffic would only get worse on County Road E and he did not know what they would learn later that they did not already know. He noted just because some homeowners opposed the sidewalk did not mean the Council should ignore the remainder of the neighborhood. He stated they had tried as a Council to be sensitive to the homeowners and they had come up with a compromise that would address the residents concerns that included a sidewalk up to the road and a narrower sidewalk than originally proposed. He stated the Council has a history on how they proceeded on this and every step of the way they were in support of this and the only new ingredient now was the opposition of some of the homeowners. He believed it was time for the Council to show some vision and some leadership. He stated it was important to him to represent the entire City, and for that reason he was going to support this because he wanted to protect the public safety of all of the residents. He also expressed concern if they did not go forward with this project, it would be more difficult in the future to put in trails and sidewalks into other neighhorhoods throughout the City.