Review Green Valley Road/County Road 63 Speed Zone Study Results

On April 21, 2014, City staff received the attached email from a resident living on Green Valley Road who was concerned with the 55 mph posted speed limit.  The resident requested that the speed limit be dropped from 55 mph to 40-45 mph to provide a safer environment for pedestrians and pets.

The 55 mph posted speed limit is a statutory speed limit based on the basic speed law as defined in Minnesota State Statute 169.14.  A copy of Statute 169.14 is attached.  Because speed limits are posted based on the provisions of the basic speed law, revising a speed limit is not as simple as changing a sign. To determine if a posted speed limit should be changed, a traffic and engineering investigation called a Speed Zone Study is completed. More information on this process is included in the attached speed limit brochure published by MnDOT.

MnDOT completes all Speed Zone Studies in Minnesota.  Factors considered in Speed Zone Studies include roadway type and condition, location and type of access points, types of development along the route, existing traffic control devices, crash histories, existing traffic volumes, available sight distances along the route, and radar speed samples from traffic traveling on the route during various times of the day. Using engineering judgment, MnDOT evaluates these factors in conjunction with the 85th percentile speed (the point at which 85% of the drivers on the route are driving under).  Experience has shown that a posted speed limit near this 85% value is the speed limit that a roadway should be signed at.  Once a Speed Zone Study has been completed, it is then formally authorized by the State Commissioner of Transportation, and once authorized, the road authority implements the new speed zone.

Attached is an aerial image of Green Valley Road/CR 63 which falls under the jurisdiction of Anoka County, but because the Ramsey Police Department is responsible for enforcing speeds on Green Valley Road/CR 63, the City submitted a written request to Anoka County Highway requesting a Speed Zone Study in the fall of 2014.  This request was submitted with the approval of the Public Works Committee.

Last month staff received a copy of the attached Speed Zone Study results dated March 3, 2016.  Based on the results, Anoka County is leaving the posted speed limit at 55 mph.  Staff was informed that Anoka County has informed the resident that brought this issue forward of these results.

Staff anticipates this case will take approximately 10 minutes to present and discuss.

Anoka County defers trail improvements along County Roads to the City that the road is in.  
 
Staff would not recommend constructing trail improvements along the shoulder of Green Valley Road/CR 63 as it currently exists for the following reasons.
 
1)  Segments of this road would be extremely difficult to widen enough to accommodate a bike lane without constructing retaining walls, which would then require roadside safety treatments (guardrail) unless they are located outside the clear zone.  Not only would this be an extremely expensive segment of trail to construct, it would reduce safety for drivers by introducing retaining walls and guardrail.
 
2)  No regional trail connections exist on either end of CR 63 so a trail would only serve residents living along CR 63, of which there are relatively few.
 
3)  Constructing a trail along CR 63 would result in safety issues where the trail would terminate at CSAH 5 and TH 47.  If a trail is constructed along CSAH 5 or TH 47 in the future then it might make sense to consider providing a trail along CR 63 at that time, along with crossing improvements on CSAH 5 and TH 47.
 
4)  The City regularly receives requests for trail connections and expansion improvements throughout the City, which are then prioritized.  Numerous other trail improvements currently have a higher priority based on safety concerns and benefit to the public.   

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