6. Staff Report-Olinda Trail Safety CrossingSCANDIA
Staff RepoVt
Date of Meeting: August 5, 2014
To: City Council
From: Kristina Handt, City Administrator
Re: Pedestrian Crossing/Safety at Olinda Trail and 209th St N.
Background:
The Scandia Farmers Market is now in its fourth season at Gammelgarden. Over the last couple years it
has grown in popularity resulting in more folks having to park in the lot off of 209th St N and along
Olinda Trail. Some members of the Council have expressed concern about the safety of pedestrians
crossing Olinda Trail and even cars coming out of the Gammelgarden parking lot having visibility
obscured due to all the traffic.
Following these concerns I contacted Washington County Public Works as Olinda Trail is a county road
and asked about a crosswalk or no parking near the entrance to Gammelgarden on Farmers Market days.
Issue:
Should the City request no parking on Olinda Trail near the entrance to Gammelgarden?
Proposal:
Washington County placed a camera at the intersection to observe traffic patterns on a farmers market day
in July. Their observations were as follows:
There is certainly plenty of activity at this intersection, with many cars and pedestrians coming in
and out.
Some drivers were definitely parking very close to the intersection, restricting sight distance and
turning radii.
Drivers were often doing goofy, unpredictable things as they hunt for parking, stop to talk to
neighbors, etc. Several drivers made u-turns or wide left turns within the intersection as though it
were a roundabout.
Pedestrian facilities on the west side of the road are non-existent, which led to several issues:
o Without a sidewalk on the west side of the street, cars were parking far from the curb to
allow passengers to exit the vehicle more easily. Parking from the curb further restricts
the sight distance, forcing drivers and pedestrians to edge out closer to the lanes to see
around the cars.
o Many pedestrians were walking along the west side of the road, either along the edge of
the lane or in the grass behind the curb.
o Pedestrians were sharing the relatively narrow driveway space with both inbound and
outbound traffic, since there is no sidewalk in or out of the site.
Pedestrians were not waiting more than a few seconds to find a safe gap to cross County Road 3.
Traffic is light enough that there are plenty of safe gaps in which to cross, but drivers and
pedestrians sometimes had to get uncomfortably close to the lanes to look for those gaps.
Marking or signing a crosswalk might actually reduce safety if it causes pedestrians to be less
cautious.
Even when parked cars blocked sight lines, the hill to the north meant that all but the shortest
pedestrians could still see over the parked cars and see the southbound traffic.
Based on these observations, a temporary parking restriction is indeed recommended by County staff.
State law says that drivers can't park within 20 feet of a crosswalk, and if that distance was based on cars
parking close to the curb, then it should probably be higher when cars are parking far from the curb.
Based on what was observed, County staff would recommend that parking be banned 30 feet from the end
of the driveway radius on both sides of the driveway. This could be done with permanent (i.e. "No
Parking Wednesdays 3pm-8pm" or with temporary signing. The City would need to pass an ordinance in
order for permanent signage to be enforceable. Temporary signs may also require a permit from
Washington County Public Works to place them in the public right of way.
County engineering staff has also suggested it may be beneficial to install sidewalk facilities along the
cemetery and into the parking lot.
The County would also be willing to issue a permit for the use of an in -street pedestrian sign at the
intersection (i.e. State Law — Yield to Pedestrians within Intersection). With all of the turning traffic
though, this might be a maintenance concern for the City. The City of Stillwater installed one at a
crosswalk on County Road 5 but it got hit so often by turning vehicles that the city used it for only one
season. With all of the turning traffic at this location, similar results might be expected, and it would not
be expected to have any significant impact on pedestrian delays. Washington County could provide the
sign for the city to use, but the City would be responsible, under permit, for placing and removing the
sign and for repair of any damage.
Options:
1) Permanent No Parking signage
2) Temporary No Parking signage
3) Install Sidewalk
4) In -Street Pedestrian Sign
Recommendation:
Temporary Signage, direct staff to apply for a permit from the County