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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - JULY 23, 2007 9 Councilmember Holmes stated that she hasn't made a decision yet. She finds these meetings very valuable. She needs to hear the human factor. She is concerned with safety. She asked if the flyover is safer, can we find a solution for noise, and then maybe we all win. She believes the noise is something we can find a solution for. She stated that the input has been valuable. Councilmember McClung stated that he appreciates the residents coming to the meeting. He ac1mowledged that it is a hard issue, and that it is his belief that if the project was truly being done for safety, there wouldn't be access into TCAAP. He doesn't think this is for safety' he believes it is development-driven. He stated that if it is really for safety, why wasn't it done five years ago. He said he cannot say he is supporting it. He doesn't believe the City has looked at all possible options. He stated that it takes three votes to move forward, they haven't voted yet, and that residents should continue to talk to Council until the vote is taken. Mayor Harpstead stated that we all have to make decisions as they impact the entire community. A decision was probably needed twenty years ago. The reality is that unless there are viable alternatives, traffic will continue to go up. We cannot ignore decisions, we have to make them. The City is looking for rational options. A resident stated that there should be more options. Ms. Poucher asked what is the benefit to Arden Hills? Mayor Harpstead responded that it is an opportunity to address a difficult intersection. There is no bike/pedestrian access, they could open up some neighborhoods and open up for more movement in the future. Dealing with this today can provide opportunities. A resident said that he doesn't believe it will make the City more cohesive, rather, will split it apart. Mayor Harpstead stated that it is already a highway. A resident stated that the negative impacts will be noise and air pollution. We need to find a way to not make it worse for some people in order to make it better for others. A resident asked if an EIS or AUAR has been done. Mayor Harpstead stated no. A resident asked who pays for the AUAR. Mayor Harpstead responded that the developer via the development agreement is funding the AUAR. The resident noted that the AUAR is very important to this discussion and that a larger study area should be considered. Another resident stated they were alarmed at how easy it will be to take out the signal and become an expressway. Mr. Haick said that traffic from the NW quadrant and Chesapeake will bottleneck at 1-35W and Highway 96; attention should be on that area. Mayor Harpstead stated that there are seven major intersections in Arden Hills and we have to balance them all. Mr. Haick said we need to see a broader plan. Ms. Poucher asked ifMn/DOT and the County can provide numbers on the current ad future Highway 10 traffic. Mr. Roy stated that he did not have the numbers with him. Mark Benson of SEH provided some background information and explained the Metropolitan Council traffic modeling and how it works. Jamie Sloboden of SEH stated that 50,000 cars are entering the intersection at 10 & 96; in the future it could be 80,000.