Minutes

Franklin Vision Implementation Committee

Overview of Current Site Conditions
Tuesday, January 19th , 2010

Agenda Item Lead/Facilitat Time

or
1. Background/Context Noel 1:00 – 1:05
2. Introductions - name, where you All 1:05 – 1:10
work or live
3. Overview of the Committee Process Noel 1:10 – 1:15
& Schedule
4. Review of Franklin Vision Process Katya 1:15 – 1:25
and Feedback
5. Overview and Discussion of Current Noel/Heather 1:25– 1:40
Conditions at Focus Crossings
6. Overview of Policies and “Menu” of Noel 1:40 – 1:55
Potential Improvements
7. Evaluation and Next Steps Noel 1:55 – 2:00

MEETING MINUTES:

In attendance:
Noel Nix, Seward Redesign
Tilahun Hailu, City of Minneapolis Public Works
Shane Morton, City of Minneapolis Public Works
Heather Kienitz, Traffic Engineering Consultant, SEH
Robin Garwood, Ward 2 City Council Office
Katya Pilling, Seward Redesign
Steve Clark, Transit for Livable Communities
Joe Buck, Seward Civic and Commerce Association
Lars Christensen, Augsburg College
Sally Holzapfel, Seward Redesign
Bob Byers, Hennepin County Transportation

Absent:
Bruce Johnson, Seward Redesign
Gretchen Nicholls and Charlie Hoffman, Seward Neighborhood Group
Jim Welna, Seward Civic and Commerce Association
Background and Context
 Franklin Vision Project Purpose: Identify opportunities to enhance ease of movement
for pedestrians traversing and crossing East Franklin Avenue as well as the Franklin
Avenue Light Rail Transit Station Area and propose feasible solutions.
 Redesign received a grant from the University of North Carolina Highway Safety
Research to fund this project.

Overview of the Committee Process & Schedule

Three intersections identified as problem areas
- 24th Avenue S and Franklin
- 26th Avenue between Triangle Park and Seward Towers West
- 26th Avenue and Franklin

How do we react to the opinions voiced from the community?

Discuss changes? Should they happen, and if yes, could they happen?
Overview of the project calendar.

Review of Franklin Vision Process and Feedback

 Background information on Franklin Vision Project is on-line in PDF’s format at
Redesign website.
 Read through core values defined by the community, strong statement on biking and
walking in the neighborhood. The key to connecting the neighborhood is crossing
between the South and North sides of Franklin, due to the fact that the housing is on
one side and the commercial services are on the other.

Overview and Discussion of Current Conditions at Focus Crossings

 Examining these three intersections because the community said they are problem
areas.
 Franklin Ave between 22nd and 26th Avenue is a high density living and commercial
area with no traffic signal.
 Data collected at 24th Ave and Franklin, was before or after the collapse of 35W?
 Average daily vehicle traffic 24th and Franklin is somewhere between 13,000-15,000,
with a 0.5% increase each year.
 The intersection of 23rd and Franklin was brought up as a problem area in meeting,
may look at intersection at end of project.
 Examined crash data at intersections, need to break up that data into crash types, such
as side swipes, pedestrians and bicycle accidents.
 There are usually 3-4 factors involved in a crash, best to examine the crashes, find the
commonality and fix the problem.
 Pedestrian and bicycle data is raw data, count is along Franklin Ave, not crossing it.
 Examined bus passenger data, need 40 people daily at a bus stop to receive a shelter.
 Triangle Park is a private and belongs to the Seward Towers, residents should be able
to access park safely.
 Discussed whether a road should be a two lane or a four lane. Franklin should stay a
 two lane, with turning lanes.
 Intersection of Franklin with greenway, should it change from a four lane to a two
lane.
 Discussion on who should collect the data of pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
 Discussion of Complete Streets, MN Dot and Access Minneapolis.
 Access Minneapolis and the State divide streets into categories with different design
standards.

Overview of Policies and “Menu” of Potential Improvements

 Information packet titled Crossing Enhancements

Evaluation and Next Steps

 Collect bus rider ship data at 23rd and Franklin
 Collect pedestrian count at the intersections of 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th Avenue and
Franklin Avenue, during peak time of 4-6pm.
 Person counting at 26th Ave intersection, keep an eye at mid-block crossing point.
 Find out standards of street types from Access Minneapolis, and what category
Franklin falls into.
 Base camp of reports and information will be set up on-line.
nd
 Next meeting is on February 2 at 1pm at Redesign, Inc. (See email from 1/27 –
changed to 2/16)