Cedar Avenue United

Meeting Announcement:

Big meeting on it's way! Wednesday June 3rd (this Wednesday).

I have a couple of things to put out there. One of them is a draft of the Agenda:



Welcome/Introduction (Start 6:30pm, Sibley Park Community Center, 1900 East 40th Street -Multipurpose room)

-Will – quick history of the group

-Anyone else from CAU?

(10-15 min?)

-Introduction of quests – Hen. County Public Works, Commissioners Office, City Council Members – Each introduce themselves and give their interest in meeting (?)

(5 min?)

-Hennepin County Public Works – description of the roadway and a rundown of what has been done/is being done on the roadway.

(10-15 min)

-Hennepin County and City council - response to pre-submitted questions.

(30 min?)

-Open question, dialogue etc.

-Projected end time 8:00 pm



AND here is a list of the submitted questions, in no particular order:

Questions for June 3rd meeting:
-Which Hennepin county roads in Mpls are rated for the same traffic load as Cedar Ave?

-How does the traffic volume on Cedar compare to these same-rated roads?

-Might any of these same-rated roads provide a model for how a Cedar Ave road and business
corridor might look?

-Does the county consider Cedar Ave’s highest purpose to move traffic through Mpls or move traffic into and out of adjoining neighborhoods? Put another way, should Cedar Ave look and perform more like 35W or more like stretches of either Nicollet or Lyndale in So Mpls?

-What type of a road is Cedar Ave; what are the defining features of that grade of road (arterial, collector etc)?

-What is the current timeline for maintenance on Cedar Ave.?

-Does this take into consideration the changing conditions created by over capacity traffic and heavy MNdot traffic?

-Are there are any significant plans to improve safety on Cedar Ave – structural, enforcement, cameras, otherwise?

-What sorts of things have been done to Cedar to control traffic?

-What sorts of things can be done about vehicle safety?

-What sorts of things can be done about vehicle noise (leq 71+)?

-Can improvements be made in the name of the newly adopted complete streets policy?

-What sorts of devices (speed tables, bump/bulb-outs etc) are being used elsewhere in Hennepin County?

-Where does the county stand on using roundabouts?

-Could temporary solutions be used until permanent work can be done (i.e. temporary rubber curb bumpouts, etc)?

-Can studies be done to determine the environmental impact of overcapacity traffic on Cedar Ave?

-Who does environmental studies in this situation? (Noise, etc)

-Who does traffic studies in this situation?

-How do we get these studies underway?

-Who enforces state roadway noise standards on county roads?

-Can the dedicated parking lane be delineated between Minnehaha Parkway and 42nd Street?

-How can pedestrian crossings be made safer for neighborhoods?

-Why is the speed limit by the park 35 when all other roads on park are 25?

-Who enforces speed laws on county roads?

-Are there any restrictions on Heavy industrial traffic and 18 wheelers in residential areas? (time restrictions etc.)

-Can we increase enforcement?

-Do we know of any plans for a left turn arrow at 42nd & Cedar with the addition of a left turn lane on Cedar?

-What can we do/what will it take to make the same changes on Cedar Ave as were made on Lyndale Ave.

- Can paint be used as a traffic calming technique?

- Additional speed limit signs?

- Can trash cans be added to make the street more pedestrian friendly?

-Can a dedicated left turn lane (or roundabout) be put in at Fat Lorenzo’s in the northbound Cedar Ave?

-Would the county/city reconsider a prior proposal to redesign the Cedar/Edgewater intersection?

- Cedar does not seem to be an adequate thoroughfare for four lanes of traffic north of Lake Street. Can the street be reconfigured similar to 50th Street in SW Minneapolis and Lexington Ave in Saint Paul?



Sorry for the long post... Just wanted to make certain that all of this info was available prior to the meeting. If you have any additions feel free to bring them up in the open questions period of the meeting. At this point I don't expect all the questions to be answered, as many of them may be important questions for a later date. This material may change between now and Wednesday, but not too much.

I expect this to be a very useful conversation and hope that all of you will attend! Thanks!!

Will