Receive Neighborhood Petition Requesting Change to Current Traffic Control

On October 3rd 2016, staff received a petition from several residents near the intersection of 139th Ln/Feldspar St/Riverdale Dr  requesting that the city change the current 3-way stop at  the above intersection to a 4-way stop condition.  Our current policy requires that a petition with signatures from 5 residents within 500 feet of the intersection be received by the city before any changes to traffic control will be considered. A  petition was received from the neighborhood and it has meet that requirement. The petition also requested that the intersection's crosswalks be painted to further help motorists be aware of pedestrians traveling to the park. Staff received the accident history from Ramsey PD, and that report is attached.  Staff also checked the sight line distances and feels they are adequate in all directions. 

10 minutes

The intersection is currently configured as a 3-way stop with south bound Feldspar St. being a through condition.  3-way stop intersections can be confusing to motorists and pedestrians alike.  When motorists are required to stop at a residential intersection with low traffic volumes, they tend to assume everyone else has to stop as well.  That is not the case at this intersection and has reportedly created some close calls.  This intersection also serves as a direct link to Riverdale Park for the approximately 118 town home units to the west of  the intersection.    MnDot will be contacted to see if they have any concerns with possible traffic stacking at the intersection, because of the close proximity to Hwy 10.  There concern could be that traffic could possibly back up on Hwy 10, because of the added stop sign, but staff has never witnessed this condition and feels it's not a concern. Staff is in agreement with the petition and recommends installing the additional stop sign and striping to increase safety for the pedestrians crossing to the park.

Traffic Engineering

Staff recommends that the attached petition be accepted by the full council and that the traffic control modifications suggested in the petition be made.  Those modifications include installing an additional stop sign on south bound Feldspar St. and striping the crosswalks on 139th Ln and Riverdale Dr.

Motion to accept the staff recommendation, or reject the staff recommendation, and approve an alternative based on committee discussion.