INFORMATION #1 08-02-1993
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JUl 'l 7 1991
_ / } ~ ~ ~ ~ CONSUITING ENGINEERS
~_I Maier Stewart & Associates Inc.
July 26, 1993
File: 230-175-20
INFORMATION
Mr. Pat Klaers
City Administrator
City of Elk River
P.O. Box 490
13065 Orono Parkway
Elk River, MN 55330
R~: SCHOOL STREET/JACKSON AVENlJE INTERSECTION
Dear Mr. Klaers:
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Last Thesday, July 20, 1993, I met with the Elk River School District regarding the City's plans
for upgrading and signalizing the intersection of School Street and Jackson Avenue. In
attendance at the meeting were Dr. David Flannery, Mr. Lloyd Brutlag, Ms. Vera Bergoyn, and
Mr. Mike Gorman from BR~ Inc., the School District's traffic engineer. At the meeting, I
briefly reviewed the construction plans for the upgrading of the intersection, including the
signalization. I indicated the City felt that a 4-lane roadway was the best long-term solution for
the traffic problems on School Street.
The School District has serious reservations regarding a 4-lane facility on School Street. Their
concerns are two-fold: first, they have a great concern about school children crossing a 4-lane
road between Jackson Avenue and Highway 169 in the location of the two elementary schools.
Their second concern is the difficulty of getting bus and vehicle traffic from the parking lots out
onto a 4-lane facility. Mr. Gorman has been hired by the School District to analyze their overall
transportation needs. This includes looking at internal routing of future roads, timing of vehicle
traffic, and possible pedestrian and/or vehicle signalization on School Street. Dr. Flannery also
indicated the School District is considering some changes in the High School/Junior High
alignment which may have an impact on the traffic on School Street. Decisions relative to these
potential changes will not be known until early next year.
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I indicated that the City's current plans would not preclude the potential for a 3-lane rather than
a 4-lane design along School Street. We discussed that a 3-lane design would likely be of similar
width to a 4-lane design, only with a different striping configuration. I asked Dr. Flannery what
his desire would be, given two options: the first to proceed with the City's plans to upgrade the
intersection as designed, and consider the upgrading of the overall length of School Street and
Jackson Avenue at a later date, or the second alternative, to put the current plans on the shelf,
allow the School District time to go through their planning process, and come back with a 1994
project which hopefully would meet both the goals of the City and the School District. Dr.
Flannery's choice would be the latter, that is to wait until 1994. He indicated he would take an
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Mr. Pat Klaers
July 26, 1993
Page Two
informal poll of the School Board members and try to get an official response from them at their
next School Board meeting. I indicated to Dr. Flannery that I would report back to you, but felt
that no decision would be made until Dr. Flannery had an opportunity to solicit input from the
School Board members and pass it on to the City.
If you have any questions regarding this information, please call.
Sincerely,
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Terry J. Maurer, P.E.
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175-2605.jul