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<br />ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - April 14, 2008 <br /> <br />13 <br /> <br />Councilmember Grant stated that page 4 figure 4.3 seemed to show some discrepancies <br />because areas that were relatively close to the road had the same decibel readings as areas that <br />were considerably further from the road. <br /> <br />Mr. Maul stated that vegetation, landscape (hills, valleys, or open prairie), and weather could all <br />affect decibel readings. <br /> <br />Councilmember Grant asked if there were topographical mitigation measures that could be <br />taken such as utilizing the extra fill that would come from creating a grade separated road and <br />increasing existing berm. He also asked what would be better: mitigation, berms or sound <br />walls? <br /> <br />Mr. Maul stated that this could be done but it does depend on the size because the height of the <br />berm would determine the amount of space needed and many areas do not have that type of <br />space. He also stated that he would not say that either method was better that than the other <br />because there are a lot of factors to look at. <br /> <br />Councilmember Grant stated that there was no review of the data for the stretch of road from <br />Highway 10 to Highway 694. There are a number of homes in this area and the residence state <br />there is excessive noise. <br /> <br />Mr. Chromy stated that this data was not part of the Highway 10 noise analysis but that it was <br />reviewed in the Highway 694 Environmental Assessment. He also stated that the City may want <br />to direct Staff to look at the cost effectiveness of other noise abatement methodologies such as <br />berms. <br /> <br />Mr. Maul stated that the decibel numbers from the Interstate 694 EA were very similar to those <br />for the TH I 0 Project and even lower in some areas. <br /> <br />Councilmember McClung stated that he had issues with the methodology used in determining <br />the number of houses most impacted by noise. <br /> <br />Mr. Chromy stated that if the City were to initiate a study that did include homes further from <br />the highway they would probably find that the cost per resident per decibel would go higher by <br />including homes outside of the primary ones along the highway. <br /> <br />Councilmember Holden asked for clarification if there was already a decision that sound <br />barriers or walls would not be done for the residents on Norma. <br /> <br />Councilmember McClung stated that this information was included in the 694 EA Report and <br />there had been a couple of public hearings already. <br /> <br />Councilmember Holden asked how many times testing was done at a specific site. <br /> <br />Mr. Chromy stated that the data included in the documents was based on a model for today and <br />in the future. <br />