Appendix A - PHASE II PLANNING INTRO

(Taken from WCNC Safety Committee Update:

9/8/15

Richard Logan)

I . CONTEXT/PREFACE:
First, leaders, officials and planners need to appreciate a few things about West
Calhoun:
A. West Calhoun is a residential neighborhood and commercial node with about
two dozen businesses and a large office complex.
B. The largest demographic in a population of nearly 3000 is young
professionals who rent.
C. West Calhoun also stands out as a close-in bedroom community, meaning
that only a handful of our residents actually work here. Their work is at all
points of the compass, meaning that virtually all residents have vehicles. In
some cases
D. In the summer months, with the large influx of visitors who come to the lakes,
West Calhoun takes on the features of a resort community, with large
numbers of cyclists and walkers as well as vehicles visiting the neighborhood.
E. In a time where city and county leaders want to increase urban density it
needs to be understood that West Calhoun is already and has been
extremely dense by many of the usual measures. We have a heavy
concentration of large residential complexes in a small area. With the
building of the Be and the filling up of the other two buildings in the Bigos
complex the population of West Calhoun has increased from just over 2000 in
the 2010 census to nearly 3000 today. Our density is made clear when one
looks at the number of residents in relation to the limited surface street area,
a fact that becomes clear during morning and evening rush hours. These
facts have major implications for street safety.
F. We have extremely congested street and business lot parking. During the
summer when visitors drive here to visit Lake Calhoun and can find no other
place to park much of this business lot parking is often illegal. Typically,
residents who return to the neighborhood late in the evening have a difficult
time finding a place to park.
G. We live with an over-saturated county highway commuting corridor, heavily
used both by high-speed pass-through commuters and by visitors to the lakes
area and Uptown, and yet this corridor is also our Main Street and both
residents and visitors need to cross it to get to the lake.
H. Another characteristic of West Calhoun is that it has an extremely high
proportion of young professionals who rent. Unlike many other city
neighborhoods, almost none of these residents work in the community, so
almost no one walks to work. We are a close-in bedroom community whose

residents overwhelmingly have to rely on cars to get to work at all points of

the compass around the metro. Public transit is far below adequate for their
needs. Although they have cars out of necessity, they are in fact mostly
dedicated to transit, biking, and walking.

West Calhoun Safety Group

Mission: To improve safety and walkability for pedestrians and bikers
as they walk and bike along and across the streets in West Calhoun
and Cedar Isles Dean, as they enter, exit and transit the Greenway,
and as they access, exit and transit the Lake Calhoun, Cedar Lake, And
Lake of the Isles bike and walking paths. The over-congested Lake St.
Excelsior corridor from France Ave. to Thomas Ave. with its certifiably
dangerous intersections is a major focus of our efforts. We also seek to
improve personal safety in the neighborhood through adequate
lighting, neighbors helping neighbors, and dangerous tree removal.

I.

Broad Goals:
A. Improve driver behavior -- through improved law enforcement,
improving warning signage, supporting community driver education
.. We have just partnered with the Minnesota Safety Council in
education programming, including developing PSAs.
B. Also Educate walkers and bikers on safe walking and biking practices.
(Helmets, no earbuds/phones, obey stop signs and red lights.) No
distracted biking or walking.
C. Build a dedicated and clearly marked and signed bikeway from the
Greenway to Lake Calhoun.
D. See that there is improved snow removal at all pedestrian crossings,
and on the Lake St. bridge.

II.

More immediate (even urgent) goals:

A. Get warning signs put up on east- and west Lake St. approaches to the
neighborhood, and Excelsior (and elsewhere) alerting drivers to
pedestrians and bikes crossing ahead.
B. Collect systematic observations of traffic violations at neighborhood
intersections.

The Neighborhood Council has voted to help fund many of the above efforts.

II. SAFETY COMMITTEE OVERRIDING GOALS

Goal #1 is Safety, but in addition to and beyond this we seek walkability and
connectivity.
A. Connectivity: Three categories:
1. N <-> S between Lake Calhoun /West Calhoun and Lake of the Isles;
2. NW <-> SE (across the rail line);
3. From the Greenway and the north side of Lake St. to Lake Calhoun.
B. Walkability:
1. Comfort, ease, pleasantness. This in turn means:
a. Way-finding, and informational, and cautionary signage
i.
Especially the case from the Greenway to the lake. There is
neither a clearly signed nor a safe route at present..
C. TRAFFIC SAFETY is central.
Our intersections are our main concern:
1. Foremost, Dean Parkway and W. Lake
a. High rates of traffic violations (40 per hour running red lights)
b. 5 to 6 close calls or highly dangerous driving events per hour
c. Extremely high rates of turning traffic in all directions
d. Heaviest ped/bike crossings in all of West Calhoun. (NOTE:
Market Plaza and Excelsior has the second highest.)
e. This high rate of turning traffic coupled with high rates of traffic
violations puts the heavy ped and bike crossing traffic at high
risk. This is especially true with the permitted left turns on full
green where left-turning cars head into peds/bikes in crosswalks;
f. Not only a lot of turning traffic in all directions, but much of it
turns into lanes that cars turning from the opposite side are also
heading toward, e.g. cars from both Dean and W.Calhoun
Parkway turning onto westbound Lake
g. The turning traffic in this intersection is complicated by the fact
that much westbound Lake St, traffic also changes lanes in the
vicinity of this intersection.
2. Market Plaza congestion, caused by two things:
a. Dysfunctional use of Calhoun Commons access points: Severe
overuse of Mkt Plaza access; significant underuse of main
entrance on Excelsior

b. Mkt Plaza getting filled up east-facing Lake St. traffic turning

illegally right on red from Lake down into Market Plaza.

c. Second, Market Plaza and W. Lake

d. Market Plaza and Excelsior Blvd

D. RAIL SAFETY: trains with oil and ethanol, but no evacuation plan. This is
critical given our rabbit warren of streets.
E. STREET LIGHTING still a concern in some areas W. Calhoun Blvd,
Chowen Ave. S.
F. TREES

III. TRAFFIC SAFETY ACTIONS to consider:

A. Warning signs at approaches to neighborhood (east of Thomas; west of W.
32d and on Lake St. bridge eastbound) alerting drivers of heavy bike and ped
crossing traffic ahead;
B. Left turns only on green arrow at Dean and W. Lake?? (Left turns on green not
safe for peds/bikers)
C. Place overhanging signs over westbound Lake St. at Thomas Ave., directing
drivers to the left lanes toward Excelsior Blvd and the right lanes toward W.
Lake/Minnetonka Blvd. This would be to reduce lane-changing in vicinity of
Dean Lake intersection.
D. Getting Calhoun Commons to post signs urging patrons to use Excelsior Blvd
access more and Market Plaza access much less: Virtually all left turns into
the Commons at Market Plaza are unnecessary, and a great many left turns
out are also. And it is these left turns in and out that contribute the most to
Market Plaza congestion.
E. Increase the length of the eastbound green light on Excelsior at the junction
with Lake so as to encourage more people to turn right out of the Commons
onto Market Plaza to then go east on Excelsior.
F. Place enhanced NO RIGHT TURN ON RED signs at the top of Market Plaza.
This is also to help reduce traffic congesting Market Plaza.