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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—August 9, 2010 13 6. B. Mn/DOT Interstate 694 Improvement Project—Public Hearing (continued) Councilmember Holden stated the accident ratio in the area that will be redesigned is currently 5.6%. She asked if this figure would increase during construction. Mr. Wayne Norris, North Area Manager with Mn/DOT, stated due to the limited access during the construction phase the number of accidents is expected to reduce but there are no studies that have been done by Mn/DOT in this respect. Mayor Harpstead opened the public hearing at 8:45 p.m. Mr. Gene Gjerdingen, 2553 Fisk Street, Roseville, stated he is a bike commuter. He provided _ the Council with information from Mn/DOT's bicycle design manual. He stated that according to this information Mn/DOT has the responsibility to provide a safe pedestrian or bicycle crossing and this should have been part of the planning and design of this project. Mr. Maurice Gieske, 1817 Janet Court, Arden Hills, stated he had participated in the NAC and understands that Mn/DOT will not be providing a noise wall. He suggested alternatives that have not been considered, such as utilizing the large amounts of dirt that will be removed to build a berm which will help reduce noise levels for neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are already above the maximum decibel level set by the State and having the increase in traffic will only make this worse without some sort of noise barrier in place. Mn/DOT should be able to provide some compromise for these neighborhoods. Ms. Chris Lustig, 1901 Todd Drive, Arden Hills, encouraged the Council to deny Municipal Consent at this time because, as the Mayor pointed out, the plans are not complete and Mn/DOT has not been able to provide answers to the questions that have been brought up by the residents and the Council. Ms. Linda Hansohn, 1124 Amble Drive, Arden Hills, stated she is happy that Mn/DOT is looking at redesigning this section of the system because this area needs to be made safer for people to travel on. She encouraged the Council not to shut down the project even though it is not perfect because something needs to be done in this section of the highway. Mr. Tom Valind, 1463 Arden View Drive, Arden Hills, stated concerns about the noise and the need for some sort of noise abatement. He also stated that a stop sign at County Road F would cause problems in the future as the traffic count increases. Ms. Toni Morgan, 1565 Briarknoll Drive, Arden Hills, moved to Arden Hills in 1987 and at that time there was no noise. Each project has brought changes to the noise levels but Mn/DOT continues to say that this change will not be significant. All these changes over time add up and something needs to be done about the noise levels. Mr. Steve Gjerdingen, 2553 Fisk Street, Roseville, agreed that the project is incomplete and the main reason is because it lacks a bicycle and pedestrian crossing. He asked if there had been any contact with the railroad regarding the possibility of a bridge or underpass. He stated Mn/DOT could make a better design.