9. Stop Signs on West 78th St. 1 CITYOF
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CHANHASSEN
690 COULTER DRIVE • P.O. BOX 147 • CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA 55317
' (612) 937 -1900 • FAX (612) 937 -5739
MEMORA 'y ' UM
TO: Mayor and City Council
t FROM: Don Ashworth, City Manager
DATE: January 11, 1993
1 SUBJ: Stop Signs on West 78th Street
Our downtown consulting engineers, Strgar- Roscoe - Fausch, have informed Charles and me that
the state would, in all likelihood, allow us to place four -way stop signs along West 78th Street.
1 The allowance would recognize that the Council has authorized signals at these locations.
I had an opportunity to meet with Councilman Senn in regards to this item. During his campaign
1 work, he found that the primary concern of most residents living in the Western Hills area was
their lack of ability to get onto West 78th Street. I have placed this item on to the agenda at the
request of Councilman Senn.
' Installation of four -way stop signs would improve entry onto West 78th Street from the various
side streets. It would also, in all likelihood, reduce the number of vehicles cutting through town
and speeding. However, the downside is quite significant. Mainline travel would be difficult.
Typical delays at each of the four -way stops would be 6 -8 vehicles, with that increasing to 20
or more vehicles at peak periods. With it taking almost one minute for a vehicle to move
through the intersection, the delay for mainline traffic could be far more significant than the
current delays felt by the side street traffic. Another major downside of four -way sign
' installations is a recognition that once installed, they cannot be removed. A vehicle which has
become accustomed to having the West 78th Street traffic stop at Market or Kerber could easily
pull out into the path of a vehicle going 40 -50 mph. The danger of posting four -way stops and
' then learning that you have made a mistake is far more dangerous than not installing them in the
first place. If we learn that we had made a mistake, the only logical choice would then be to
assign an officer to that intersection during peak periods (a resource we don't have and the
problem becomes compounded if numerous intersections are posted).
Other issues which should be reviewed before considering installing four -way stops would be the
effect of such to downstream traffic. For example, installing four -way stops at Market may
- improve the access for Market Boulevard vehicles. However, unless Kerber was also posted,
Kerber traffic would find more difficulty in getting onto West 78th Street than they currently
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Mayor and City Council
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January 11, 1993
Page 2
have. The stop sign at Market would release traffic on a consistent 100 -150 ft. interval without 1
allowing for the gaps that currently exist. Again, there are a number of issues which should be
thoroughly discussed and researched before the Council makes a decision to install four -way 1
stops.
As stated earlier, Councilman Senn has asked that this item be placed on to the agenda and I 1
would anticipate that he wishes to relay comments he received during his campaign. However,
should the Council feel that stop signs may be warranted, I would suggest that this item be
forwarded to the Public Safety Commission for them to review each of the potential advantages
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and disadvantages associated with four -way stop installations and to forward their
recommendation to the Council. I would anticipate that their review would include input from
1 the Carver County Sheriff, Public Safety Director, City Engineer, and our consulting engineers.
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