5.4.B. SR 04-05-2010^~/
Elk REQUEST FOR ACTION
River
To Item Number
Ma or and Ci Council 5.4.B
Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by
Administration A ri15, 2010 ohn Anderson P.E.
Item Description Reviewed by
19314 Avenue Improvement - Burandt Proposal Lori ohnson, Ci Administrator
Reviewed by
Action Requested
The City Council is asked to consider the Burandt Proposal and give staff direction on intersection
visibility improvements at the intersection of 193` Avenue and Tyler Street.
Background/Discussion
Mr. David Burandt appeared at open mike at the February 16, 2010, City Council meeting and submitted
a proposal for improved visibility at the intersection of 193` Avenue and Tyler Street. The proposal
involves providing the city's contractor access to property owned by the Burandt's at the southwest
corner of the intersection. Trees in this area would be removed and the hillside graded down to improve
sight lines between traffic northbound on Tyler Street and eastbound on 193=4 Avenue. The proposed
chain link fence on the top of the wetland retaining wall would be extended to the east approximately 131
feet to connect to the existing Burandt property line fence. The city owned property south of this fence
would then become essentially part of the Burandt's pasture. A copy of this proposal is attached. While
the grading will increase visibility, the black vinyl coated chain link fence will tend to obstruct visibility in
the sight line created by the grading. Staff does not feel that sight lines will be greatly improved by the
grading on the Burandt property because of the sight obstruction created by the chain link fence.
Attached is a memo dated February 25, 2010, reviewing the proposal. Given the options, staff
recommends modifying the stop bar and stop sign locations, monitoring traffic patterns, and reevaluating
if any additional changes axe needed in six months. The other option to consider would be to accept the
Burandt proposal for grading the slope back at the southwest corner of the intersection in addition to
modifying the location of the stop bar and stop sign on the south leg of the intersection.
Financial Impact
The cost of stop bar and stop sign modifications can be included in the existing contract with an
engineering work order and is expected to be less than $1,000. The construction cost of the Burandt
proposal is estimated at $15,000, plus costs fox developing and executing a supplemental agreement with
the contractor and Mn/DOT as well as an easement agreement with the Burandt's. The total cost of the
Burandt proposal is estimated at $20,000 to $22,500.
Attachments
^ Brandt Proposal
^ February 25, 2010 Anderson Memo
Action Motion by Second by Vote
Follow Up
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.REQUEST
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My request is to be allowed to construct Fence A and 6 and remove line fence C between Fence A and B...
This would allow access to the eyebrow and allow a tractor to mow weeds and buckthorn. Both Fence A and
B would approach retaining wall where wall is about 4 feet in height. Neither would be visible to the traffic on
193rd Avenue. All measurements are approximate.
PROPOSAL
My proposal is to allow the City to be able to remove a sufficient amount of material in S. W. quadrant of Tyler
' Street -193rd to achieve better visibility. This probably could be achieved by using the existing design. In•
exchange, City would continue the chain link fence from east end of retaining wall to N.E. corner of Burandt
property. After vegetation is established on slopeback, Line Fence C would be removed from Fence A to N.E.
corner of Burandt property. Fence A would remain.
p~-~`--
David Burandt
19118 Tyler Street NW
Elk River, MN 55330
763.441.2537
Memorandum
Date: 2/25/10
60 Plato Boulevard East; Suite 140
St. Paul, MN 55107
To: Lori Johnson
763-786-4570, Fax 763-786-4574
From: John Anderson
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RE: 193 Avenue/Tyler Street Intersection – Burandt Proposal
Overview
Mr. David Burandt appeared at the February 16, 2010 City Council meeting and submitted a
proposal to allow the City to grade back the slope in the southwest quadrant of the intersection
of 193rd Avenue and Tyler Street on the Burandt property. A copy of this proposal is attached
at the end of this memo. In exchange for allowing access to grade on the Burandt property,
they are requesting chain link fencing be installed to allow the Burandts access to the City-
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owned property between 193 Avenue and their north property line.
In his statement at the City Council meeting, Mr. Burandt is correct that his current request is
very similar to what was being negotiated with the Burandts prior to negotiations breaking
down. The City will remember that the original direction from the Council was to work with
the Burandts to negotiate a scenario that allowed some grading on the Burandt property so a
ten-foot bituminous trail could be installed on the south side of 193rd Avenue between Tyler
Street and Xavier Street. When negotiations broke down, the decision was made to remove the
bituminous trail and modify the design to eliminate the need for grading on the Burandt
property.
Existing Configuration
As it currently exists there is a retaining wall constructed 18 feet south of the south curb line of
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193 Avenue that provides sight lines needed for the intersection with Tyler Street. The slope
from the base of this wall to the curb is relatively flat (5:1). The wall is 4 feet high at its mid
point. The slope behind the wall is steeper (3:1) to connect to existing ground at the Burandt
property line. The existing stop sign and stop bar on Tyler Street are set 30 feet south of the
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south curb line of 193 Avenue. Figure 1 shows the position of the stop sign as currently
constructed. Figure 2 shows the view from a driver’s perspective on Tyler looking west from
the current stop sign location.
Sight Distance Measurement
The sight distance required at this intersection is based on a formula in the AASHTO Policy
on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets. This formula calculates the gap acceptance
for a passenger vehicle given a number of factors including slope of road, reaction time, and
number of lanes to cross. This calculation is based on the driver of the vehicle on the minor
Street (Tyler Street) being located 14.5 feet south of the south curb line of the major street
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(193 Avenue). The AASHTO policy on the calculation of intersection sight distance
BDM Project # 226069C
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specifies the measurement of sight distance be taken at this location. Figure 3 shows the view
from the driver’s perspective stopped on Tyler Street 14.5 feet back from the curb line looking
west.
Figure 1 – Existing Stop Sign Placement
Figure 2 – View to west at stop bar
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Figure 3 – View to west at 14.5 feet south of 193 Avenue
The stop sign and stop bar are located farther south than this for a number of reasons such as
the sign visibility, curb radius and the pedestrian ramp. The sight distance required for the
intersection based on this calculation is 352 feet. The sight distance as constructed is 360 feet.
Review of site condition with MnDOT
The intersection was reviewed on site with the MnDOT District State Aid Engineer in the fall
of 2009. He has agreed to allow the stop sign and stop bar to be moved closer to the
intersection and placed in the curb radius; a non-standard placement. This will shorten the
distance a vehicle has to "creep" up to achieve a line of sight to the west. Because it was too
late in the fall for striping when the review was completed, this work will be part of the spring
2010 project punch list.
Placement of the stop sign / stop bar
The stop sign and stop bar location on the south leg of the intersection as they currently exist
were selected to provide a clear line of sight of the stop sign as you approach from the south
and to stop a vehicle south of the pedestrian ramp at the southeast quadrant of the intersection.
There is a utility pole along the east boulevard on Tyler Street immediately south of the stop
sign. If the stop sign is moved too far north and east along the curb line to facilitate moving
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stopped vehicles closer to 193 Avenue, the stop sign becomes obscured by the utility pole to
the point where it would be difficult to see the stop sign as a driver approaches the intersection
from the south. It is not uncommon to set either the stop sign or both the stop sign and stop bar
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well back from where a vehicle needs to be positioned to see cross traffic and decide to
proceed. A couple examples of these situations are the intersections of Jackson Avenue with
Highland Road and Twin Lakes Road with CSAH 12. In both cases the stop signs are set well
back from the intersection due to the large radius on the curb line. Figure 4 shows the stop
sign and the stop bar set well back from the intersection. When you are in a vehicle at the stop
bar and look to the south it is not possible to see traffic because your view is obscured by the
trees along the west side of Jackson Avenue. Figure 5 shows the intersection of Twin Lakes
Road and CSAH 12 in 2003 when the intersection had a stop condition on Twin Lakes Road
and CSAH 12 was not controlled at the intersection. As you can see in the picture the stop
sign is set back from the stop bar and the crosswalk. In Figure 6 the same intersection shows a
car queued on the south leg of the intersection waiting for a gap to cross. In order to see traffic
and prepare to cross the intersection the driver had to “creep” into position.
Figure 4 Highland Road and Jackson Avenue
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Figure 5 - Twin Lakes Road and CSAH 12 with Vehicle
Figure 6 - Twin Lakes Road and CSAH 12 with Vehicle Queued
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Grading
Currently the area near the stop bar is at an elevation of approximately 938. The elevation at
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the base of the retaining wall is 941. The elevation of the approaching traffic lane on 193
Avenue 360 feet west of the intersection is at 942. The existing elevation at the top of slope
just south of the Burandt property line fence is 950. Given all of these elevations any changes
to the grading at the southwest corner would require the elevation to be cut to approximately
the 941 elevation in areas in which sight lines are to cross.
Fencing
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The construction of 193 Avenue includes installation of chain link fencing along the top of
the retaining walls that are more than 4 feet in height. The proposed fencing is 6 feet high
black vinyl coated chain link. The fencing along the top of the retaining wall west of Tyler
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Street and on the south side of 193 Avenue begins approximately 140 feet west of Tyler
Street and runs west for approximately 360 feet. Currently only the end posts are in place, the
rest of the fence was not in place when construction was suspended in November of 2009 so
the Burandt's request is for grading and installation of 140 feet of additional fencing.
One concern if this request by the Burandts is undertaken, there still may be the feeling that a
driver on Tyler Street has to "creep" forward to achieve a sight line on 193rd Avenue. This
would be due to the curvilinear six-foot high chain link fence that will appear somewhat solid
to the driver's eye, so they will want to look around it rather than through it. It is important to
remember that the original design (prior to negotiations breaking down) was to accommodate
the installation of a ten-foot pathway and not just for sight lines.
Cost
The cost of the work proposed by the Mr. Burandt is estimated to be $15,000. This would
include removal of the retaining wall, tree clearing, grading, restoration, temporary fencing
and permanent fencing. In addition there would be a cost associated with preparing a
Supplemental Agreement to accomplish the work and a cost of negotiating, preparing and
executing the necessary easement document with the Burandts. Finally, there has already
been dollars spent on the retaining wall that is in place.
Conclusion
If the City wants to move forward on this request, the contract with RL Larson is still open, so
it could be accomplished by Supplemental Agreement. The Burandts would also need to
execute a grading easement which would allow the removal of vegetation, grading of the
property and maintaining the established grade into the future.
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