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6. Request to use Teton Lane for School Bus I CITY OF il .. ..,':, ' 'li . .. „ : . '11111 - AI CHANHASSEN ,. , , 690 COULTER DRIVE • P.O. BOX 147 • CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA 55317 I (612) 937-1900 • FAX (612) 937-5739 MEMORANDUM 1 TO: Mayor and City Council IFROM: Don Ashworth, City Manager DATE: November 6 , 1989 ISUBJ: Request to Use Teton Lane for School Bus Access, Minnetonka School District 1 Attached please find a request from the Minnetonka School District asking advice from the City as to whether Teton Lane will be closed. Closure will force the school district into 1 changing it' s current routing and may force children from the neighborhood to walk distances longer than established under school district policy. I have notified Mr. Schmidt that I would Iprocess his request as quickly as possible. Also attached please find a copy of a petition from the Curry Farms neighborhood asking that Teton Lane remain open. Their I primary objective appears to be the potential hazard created for children if changes in bus routing is required. I Ironically, the petition presented is reminiscent of the road problems in the Near Mountain neighborhood. During platting stages , the developer and property owners on Pleasant View reached agreement as to how to design the goofy roadway currently I leading into that development. Staff did not recommend that design. However, the Council was in a difficult position in that all parties appeared to favor the developer' s proposal. After I the development occurred, the developer disavowed any involvement and the City is left holding the bag in terms of how to correct design errors. The neighborhood itself is now the vocal party. 1 The closure of Teton Lane has many similarities to the Near Mountain area, i .e. a relatively minor number of homes affected by the subdivision did not want to see Teton Lane used as a I potential access. The developer was in agreement with this and, accordingly, the City Council approved it' s closure. The ability of the developer to obtain releases of the underlying easements I from this same group of owners has thwarted efforts to cause the closure. I I do not know when Teton Lane will be open to thru traffic; but based on similar experiences in other cities, opening of the I 1 1 I r I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Mayor and City Council November 6 , 1989 ' Page 2 ' roadway will almost assuredly occur. I do not know if the opening will be a result of maintenance problems by Public Works, safety concerns from Public Safety, new petitions from the Curry ' Farm area or the neighbors to the north - but something will trigger the necessity for the opening. If it turns out to be the latter factor which causes the opening (petition from the neigh- bors to the north, such would assuredly be ironic. In that ' instance, we would be paying those owners for giving up their easement rights and then turn around and give those same rights back through such opening. The last factor that I would have guessed to potentially stimulate an opening would have been school bussing. One of the factors which will continue to be used by the neighbors, to the north is the traffic which will be generated in front of their homes if opening is allowed. That argument is correct, but the owners in Curry Farms also have a correct argument in that dispersing traffic generally reduces safety concerns for all parties - not one or the other. Additionally, the argument does not consider the fact that Teton Lane was used for a number of ' years as the only access for Pat Jensen' s riding stable. The dust, trailer traffic, noise associated with the continuous rodeo activities was a continuous source of problems for that neigh- borhood and the City. The only difference appears to be that the ' developer has now paved the roadway albeit not to full City stan- dards. The roadway could operate to serve both neighborhoods (north and south) until such time as subdivision was requested ' and therefore necessitate the need for utility extensions by neighbors to the north and road upgrade. If Teton is opened prior to upgrading, a problem will exist on Lilac as no improve- , ment to that roadway was made. This also begs the question as to which City Lilac is in. If the Council believes that conditions may have changed ' warranting reconsideration, the Council may wish to table action and resubmit such to the Planning Commission and Public Safety Commission for their input. ' Easement Acquisition Update: Tom Boyce of Centex has met with me on two occasions following the last Council meeting at which this was considered. As the Council will remember, Mr. Boyce was given until December 1st to acquire the underlying easements from the neighbors to the north. It currently appears as though one easement has been obtained and an offer accepted on another ( signature was not received at time of our last meeting, but was expected that afternoon) . Mr. Boyce is hopeful that he will be able to achieve acquisition of all easements with the exception of Mr. Franco Loris. Mr. Loris appears to be looking for payment in excess of $10, 000. I would anticipate having this item back on the agenda for November 20th. I . 04-7:16 L 445 Minnetonka Public Schools ~i` We're working hard, working well. October 2, 1989 , 91-k Mr. Don Chmiel , Mayor City of Chanhassen 690 Coulter Drive Chanhassen, Mn. 55317 i Dear Sir: This is to advise the City Council of one difficulty that has developed in I the area of Teton Avenue and Ashton/Teton Lane. Since the 1989-90 school year began I 've been contacted by both residents who are in favor of keeping vehicle access between Lilac Lane and Teton Avenue open and residents who are opposed to the same. If throughway access to this neighborhood is denied by the erection of a barricade, the only alternative that school buses will have is to drive in through Bretton Way and turn around by backing up at the corner of Bretton Way and Teton Avenue. The backing up of school buses is an undesirable practice and is only sanctioned where absolutely necessary. When backing time is necessary along bus routes, more buses are need to do the job at a nominal cost to the taxpayers. ' Please understand that the school district strives to offer the best school bus service possible to residents, but that the extent of this service is limited by accessibility in areas such as Teton Avenue and Ashton Court/Teton Lane. Thank you for your consideration. ' Best Regards , m Schmidt Transportation Supervisor c Randy Karl , Business Office 261 School Avenue Excel,ii.r, Minnesota 55331 (612)470-3400 . . . • 7ee L ' de Cc /0/9 ley October 9, 1989 • ' Mayor Don Chmiel City of Chanhassen 690 Coulter Drive Chanhassen, MN. 55317 Dear Mayor: I would like to ask you and the city council to again review the closure of Teton Lane to through traffic. I understand that this ' closure was part of the development contract with the Centex Corporation in granting the development project. I have also been advised by Gary Warren that it was at the request residence who ' then bordered Lilac and Teton. From their perspective I can understand the reasoning that went into the decision, however, as I stated at the September 25th council meeting, I don't feel the interests of the people living in the Curry Farms development were well represented. Attached you will find a petition that was circulated to the residents of the south side of Teton and Ashton Court indicating their interest in keeping it the road open. As a tax payer who will continue to provide funds for the maintenance and snow removal of both ends of Teton Lane and one who contributed to the current improvements to the north end of Teton Lane through my building costs, I feel that new review of the issue would be in the best interest all parties affected. ' The barricading of Teton Lane has many positive and negative . attributes. There are -probably many things that are not know to the residents in the area about this closure. That's why I feel ' it is important to bring the issue to the table again and would appreciate your considering the attached petition. I have visited the city council meetings and know how concerned the ' council is in continuing to make Chanhassen a thriving and safe community for all of us to live in. All I ask is that we give all of the residents a clear and fair hearing about the issue. ' Thank you for your consideration. Regards, ' Randy L. Karl 6391 Teton Lane Chanhassen, MN. 55317 ' Attachments I 11 PETITION FOR KEEPING TETON LANE OPEN I October 2, 1989 1 OVERVIEW: I Currently Teton Lane is schedule to be barricaded to traffic by the end of November 1989. The Chanhassen City Council approved the I closer as part of the Curry Farms Development Project. The closure was determined to be necessary due to the condition of the road and to keep traffic flow low for existing residence. I SCOPE: This petition is an opportunity for the affected residence in the II area to voice their current opinion the closer of the road. KEY ISSUES: I 1. The closure of Teton Lane will have an negative affect on the II bussing oft children to and from schools in the area. The closure will require the busses to be backed up which is safety concern. It will require a longer period of time for the bussing process I thus increasing the cost in taxes. In the event that the safety is determined to be to great the bus stop at the corner of Teton Lane and Bretton Way will be deleted and the children in the area Iwill be required to walk down dark streets an additional two to three city blocks to meet the bus. The alternate bus stops are Lilac and Powers Blvd. or Bretton Way and Devenshire Drive. These streets do not have sidewalks and portions of them have a I significant grade. The potential hazard to the children in inclement weather could be increased. See attached map. 2. The closure will also force all traffic for people in the second I phase of Curry Farms to use the Bretton Way and Devenshire Drive as their access streets. This will increase the amount of traffic flow on Devenshire Drive and Bretton Way. The use of Teton Lane I and Lilac would provide a balance of traffic with two accesses. Additionally the speed and visibility of traffic on to Powers Blvd. is some what better from Lilac than Devenshire Drive. There is a I down hill grade for north bound traffic coming up to Devenshire and a curve for south bound traffic. South bound traffic coming up to Lilac is coming out of a 35 mph speed zone and the north bound I traffic has longer visibility than to Devenshire Drive. 3 . The road surface on the south part of Teton Lane and on Lilac are not rated as well as the new part in the Curry Farms III development. II IIPETITION FOR KEEPING TETON LANE OPEN Page 2 I4 . The lighting on the south part of Teton Lane is currently limited. IThese are a few of the issues related to the road closure. If you would like additional information about the details of the road closure please contact Gary Warren the Chanhassen City Engineer. I I I II I I I I I I I II I PETITION FOR KEEPING TETON LANE OPEN I Page 3 i Please indicated your preference to the future status of Teton Lane. 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