10-24-2022 City Council Work Session MinutesCHANHASSEN CITY COUNCIL
WORK SESSION
MINUTES
OCTOBER 24, 2022
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Ryan, Councilman McDonald, Councilwoman
Rehm, Councilwoman Schubert, and Councilman Campion.
COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None.
STAFF PRESENT: Laurie Hokkanen, City Manager; Matt Unmacht, Assistant City Manager;
Charlie Howley, City Engineer/Public Works Director; George Bender, Assistant City Engineer;
Jerry Ruegemer, Park & Recreation Director; Erik Henriksen, Project Engineer; and Kim
Meuwissen, City Clerk.
PUBLIC PRESENT: None.
Mayor Ryan called the Work Session to order at 5:30 p.m.
SPEED LIMIT DISCUSSION
At the August 8, 2022 Work Session, the City Council asked staff to research lowering the speed
limit from 30 mph to 25 mph to include what other cities have done and their results, how it
would affect Chanhassen streets, study it, take a position on it, and document it. Public Works
Director/City Engineer Charlie Howley performed the requested research and presented his
findings. He noted that this process related to residential neighborhood streets only, not collector
streets. Ties to the City’s Strategic Priorities include Operational Excellence (operational
effectiveness) and Communications (improved understanding of city operations – survey
results). In 2019, State Legislature gave municipalities the authority to govern speed limits on
streets under their jurisdiction. Prior to this authority, changes were required to be approved by
MnDOT. Mr. Howley noted that all four states surrounding Minnesota all have a statewide 25
mph speed limit.
A map of Chanhassen was displayed showing local speed study data that indicates there is not a
pronounced speeding issue in the City. Also, crash data over the past 10 years where speeding
was the cause totaled 5 crashes, none of which were with pedestrians. Mr. Howley then
presented a video prepared by the City of Crystal showing that many speeding
complaints/concerns are perceived. Traffic Safety Committee data from the previous year was
presented as well as FlashVote survey responses. Speeding is the third most common complaint
(1/4 of all complaints). The FlashVote survey results showed 80% thought speed limits were
okay or too low.
Project Engineer Erik Henriksen presented a Safe Systems Approach versus a strictly speed
study approach. The slower people are driving, the more reaction time is available.
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Mr. Howley reviewed the other cities that are studying or have reduced speed limits: Victoria
(reduced to 25 mph), St. Louis Park (reduced to 20 mph), Edina (reduced to 25 mph), and
Golden Valley (currently studying). Minneapolis, St. Paul and Rochester were not comparative.
As far as the results of changing the speed limits in these cities, no follow-up metrics have been
developed. MnDOT did a number of speed zoning studies in 2019. MnDOT uses the term
“Drivers read the road, not the signs.” The City of Boston reduced the speed limit from 30 mph
to 25 mph. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) did a study on Boston’s speed
limit reduction which showed no reduction in 85th percentile speeds.
The cost to implement a speed limit reduction is estimated at $13,000 for signage only, not
including staff time for installation. This cost also does not include outreach materials and
associated staff time.
Regarding enforcement, the Carver County Sheriff’s Office has no strong opinion on whether to
lower the speed limit or not. Operational parameters for enforcement would not change. If
lowered, additional patrol and stops (warnings) could be considered but are not accounted for in
the existing level of service.
Implementation would include a full communications campaign, potential open house or public
hearing, resolution, and order and installation of signage. The rollout timeframe would be
approximately six months.
Alternatives would be to continue with existing strategies such as education, enforcement for
super speeders, speed trailer deployment, and physical improvements (but not speed
bumps/humps/tables due to winter maintenance), go with a case-by-case scenario, wait as there
is a reasonable chance the State will eventually lower the statutory speed limit to align with
neighboring states and the current industry trend, and/or wait for other cities to do their follow-
up studies. Pros and cons of lowering the speed limit were presented.
Recommendations include the following:
• The Traffic Safety Committee majority favors leaving the speed limit as is.
• The Engineering Department has no strong recommendation as there are merits either
way, a case-by-case basis has some merit but needs clear qualifiers, and to continue with
existing strategies.
• Law Enforcement recommendation is to leave the speed limit as is.
Options include maintaining the current 30 mph Statutory speed limit, defer making a decision
pending additional information or further discussion, or proceed with next steps on lowering the
city-wide speed limit to 25 mph. The City has started using driver feedback signs that collect
speed data; however, they cost a minimum of $10,000. Permanent feedback signs are currently
being installed on collector roadways, i.e., State Aid routes. Temporary feedback signs require an
annual license fee. Finalizing the Crosswalk Policy and installing the associated improvements
will help.
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Council discussed the installation of driver feedback speed limit signs, traffic fatalities due to
increased traffic, and if speeding could be related to the pandemic. Collectively, there was no
strong opinion expressed on supporting lowering the speed limit. Traffic calming ideas were
supported as well as possibly defining specific study areas, and focusing on implementing the
Crosswalk Policy.
DISCUSS STAFFING STUDY
City Manager Laurie Hokkanen discussed the purpose of performing a staffing study including
how many employees should we be building a new city hall for, as a result of changing growth
profiles of the City, does the staff we have now meet future workloads, and the Carver County
Sheriff’s Office is asking for an additional deputy in 2023. The study would help us review the
policing contract and potentially suggest a model to understand the workload. This is in line with
the long-term planning taking place. If the staffing study is authorized, it will take about 16
weeks to complete.
CITY COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE
Council discussed a request to change the city code to reflect sustainable building practices.
There was some interest in finding out what neighboring communities have done. The overall
consensus was to have staff research the idea.
FUTURE WORK SESSION SCHEDULE
Date Item
November 14 • Canvass Election Results
• General Fund & Property Supported Funds
• CIP, Debt & Utility Rate Study Discussion
• Financial Policy Discussion
November 28 • CIP, Debt & Utility Rate Study Discussion (if needed)
• Civic Campus Update
• Tree Policy Discussion
December 12 • Work Session Cancelled
The work session adjourned at 6:56 p.m.
Submitted by Laurie Hokkanen
City Manager
Prepared by Kim Meuwissen
City Clerk