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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, March 12,2007 Page 8 7. James Addition Alternative Access Public Works Director Duane Schwartz provided meeting minutes of the Public Works, Environment and Transportation Commission (PWET), since the City Council had referred the James Addition alternative access issue to them on August 21, 2006, for further study and to seek consensus by the neighborhood. The staff report, dated March 12, 2007, addressed the six original alternatives available, with the three most viable options presented to the neighborhood at the PWET October of 2006 meeting for resident feedback. Mr. Schwartz provided the options and summarized public reac- tion to those three options. The overall findings of the study reported: · Resident feedback indicated a preference for leaving access as it exists today; · Overwhelming opposition from the 20 residents attending to any alterna- tive access that would remove homes from the neighborhood and pre- ferred to live with the closure if the Minnesota Department of Transpor- tation (MnDOT) moved forward versus the alternatives studies; · MnDOT continued to hold firm on full closure of the median at Oakcrest on Snelling A venue after allowing the City to fully study alternative ac- cess and implement improvements; and · Additional traffic analysis would be required to determine if any signali- zation on Fairview Avenue would be beneficial to neighborhood access. Councilmember Ihlan thanked staff and the PWET for providing discussion and receiving public input; and suggested that, given Councilmember Kough's interest in this access, and his involvement at the PWET level, that this item be put on the next Study Session agenda for further discussion and to provide additional staff direction when he can attend. Councilmember Ih- Ian further questioned whether MnDOT had given consideration to public safety issues and emergency access to the neighborhood, and specifically to the assisted living facility most dramatically impacted by full closure of the access. Mr. Schwarz advised that such consideration may be a good point to raise with MnDOT; and to request a knock-down barricade, in addition to com- municating the access change to emergency providers.