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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL-April 13,2009 9 <br /> Councilmember Grant stated that there was a roundabout in Eagan and it was <br /> amazing to watch the drivers yielding or not yielding at the appropriate times. The <br /> roundabout did get plugged up. The size of the roundabout does matter and as the <br /> size increases there is more capacity. He stated that five roundabouts in such a <br /> short distance could be problematic and the City may be designing into something <br /> that they would not be able to design out of. This particular design needs to be <br /> signalized intersections. <br /> Councilmember Holmes stated that at previous meetings it was stated that it was <br /> not recommended that roundabouts be mixed with signalized intersections. She <br /> asked why the City would consider mixing the two in this particular design. <br /> Mr. Tolaas stated it is correct that this would be a concern. He offered that during <br /> the additional work with the State Traffic Office on forecasting and trying to model <br /> the interim solution, if they ran into a problem and could not make it work and <br /> provide adequate service at this interchange, they could come back to the City and <br /> ask them to review their decision. Mn/DOT's review has even changed in the last <br /> couple of weeks as the City and County have wrestled with this issue. <br /> Councilmember Holmes stated that she has advocated for four-way stops at the <br /> two entrances and exits Like the ones that are on County Road E. She also stated <br /> that a signal was not needed on Old Highway 8. A four-way stop would provide a <br /> more measured traffic flaw into the roundabouts. <br /> Mr. Tolaas stated that there are currently about 15,000 cars per day in the area <br /> approaching Interstate 35 and at Old Highway 8 the westbound to southbound <br /> Highway 96 left turn was 825 cars at peak time in 2006. A signal at this <br /> intersection will help in keeping it from breaking down. Old Highway 8 starts to <br /> load up and affects the interchange itself and a signal would allow traffic to move <br /> more quickly and effectively. <br /> Councilmember Holmes asked if this was more a problem in the morning peak <br /> travel time versus the evening peak travel time. <br /> Mr. Tolaas stated that it would depend on the movement that was being discussed. <br /> Signals can balance out the traffic more by changing the timing based on the time of <br /> day. Unless there are geometric changes at the intersection signals will only help <br /> with timing and distribution of the traffic. <br /> Councilmember Holmes stated that she had talked with an engineer who had <br /> stated that the typical progression for an intersection was to move from having no <br />