CC_Minutes_2011_1017 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Regular City Council Meeting Monday, October 17,2011 Page 8 and permanently vacate the 175' section of C-2; opining that a common solution to traffic issues on Josephine Road would never be found, and by opening C-2, it would only further divide the community. Mr. Chris LaPalm,2891 Merrill Street Mr. LaPalm provided several visuals from the HRA's "Living Smarter" cam- paign, including the website and banners, designed to attract the next generation of Roseville residents moving into the community. Mr. LaPalm opined that open- ing C-2 was the antithesis of a living smarter campaign; and that opening C-2 would destroy his neighborhood. Mr. LaPalm opined that the City Council has a fantastic opportunity to make sure "Living Smarter" is not just a campaign, but a guide to the future of Roseville; and that if they chose to open C-2, they needed to change the banner to show, similar to his mocked-up samples, the negatives of such an action, increasing traffic congestion similar to freeway congestion. Mr. LaPalm noted that the traffic studies indicated there was no need for opening C-2, since east/west traffic was not now nor would it be higher in the future. Stewart Shwiff, 1233 Josephine Road Mr. Shwiff thanked the City Council for their due diligence in understanding the issues; and provided the history of C-2, opining that this 175' of C-2 affected thousands of people daily, not just those living on that section; and spoke in sup- port of opening C-2 to serve its intended purpose as a collector road, opening up C-2 for the best long-term interest of the greater Roseville community as a collec- tor road. Mr. Shwiff questioned why Josephine Road and other Roseville roads should be forced to carry C-2 traffic, when all were neighbors and had obligations to each other. Mr. Shwiff noted that the "Share C-2" group had only asked throughout this discussion that Josephine Road residents be treated equitably. Mr. Shwiff referenced his personal discussions with road crews trying to clear snow from the C-2 cul-de-sac; concerns of the retail community attempting to keep their business viable in the current economic market; and countless zoning changes made to keep Roseville moving forward. In the aggregate, Mr. Shwiff opined that opening C-2 as a collector between Lexington and Hamline Avenues was the next step, and urged the City Council to make the right decision by open- ing C-2 in the most cost-effective way possible, by including it in the Josephine Woods redevelopment project. Jeff Strobeck, 1297 County Road C-2 Mr. Strobeck opined that opening C-2 was not valid and not wanted, and summa- rized his comments made at previous meeting. Mr. Strobeck opined that there was huge opposition to opening C-2 from C-2 and neighboring residents, represented by the 200 name petition the City Council has on file. Mr. Strobeck advised that opening C-2 would serve to degrade safety and livability, increase traffic volumes, and was not a prudent use of funds during a time of declining property values and in a depressed economy; with the creation of another tho- roughfare only further decreasing property values. Mr. Strobeck paraphrased the