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WORKSHOP ON WIDENING HIGHWAY

FOUR LANES WILL AFFECT VICTORIA PROPRETIES

A workshop was held in Victoria on March 13th with representatives from the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Carver County, and the City of Victoria.

Purpose was to review possibilities if and when Hwy 5 becomes upgraded to four lanes through the City of Victoria. Brian Shorten was in attendance as principal with SRF Consulting who was hired by a coalition of county and cities paying for the Hwy 5 Study. The group consists of Carver County, Chanhassen, Victoria, Waconia, and Norwood Young America.

“We’re reviewing things in a very preliminary kind of way and tweaking alignments,” said Mr. Shorten, adding that there would be informational open houses for residents and councilmembers.

Said Carver County Engineer Roger Gustafson, “Cities west of Hwy 41 have become engaged in the last two to three years, also with funding partnerships, to begin the instrumental steps, to see if we can come together as a corridor community, and try to isolate interim improvements, to look at the intersection of Rolling Acres Road and Highway 5 ...”

Mr. Shorten spoke of issues brought up at a recent Hwy 5 Corridor Meeting. He said people would like a trail, access to the arboretum, road realignment at Minnewashta Parkway with a full signal light at that intersection, visibility and safety corrections at Park Drive, and perhaps noise walls down the road.

Councilmember Jim Paulsen asked about constructing access under Hwy 5 for walkability, with potential stoplights also at 78th Street and Park Drive intersections, stating, “I think that bastardizes Hwy 5. I’d like to start at a higher plane.”

Stated Councilmember Kim Roden, “I don’t know if it’s the engineer who builds roads or the constituents. We’re often perceived as neighborhoods rather than a whole. Hwy 5 and Hwy 7 can become more than geographical boundaries; they become psychological boundaries ... If we could somehow preplan. The biggest complaint I hear is safety. It used to be congestion.”

Mr. Shorten itemized three reasons for upgrading Hwy 5: mobility, safety, and system linkage to Minneapolis and St. Paul.

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Mr. Shorten pointed out that a minimum width of 120 feet right of way is needed for a four-lane highway, that 130 feet gives a sidewalk along one side, that 150 feet gives further amenities.

He said that Highway 5 through Victoria has a 150-foot right of way except for a three block area through downtown Victoria where it’s only 100 feet. He said that widening that three-block right of way to either 120 feet or 130 feet would take out five parcels. Those five parcels would be the Holiday Station (due to the canopy, not the building itself) plus four single family homes. If Hwy 5 were widened to 150 feet, two more parcels would be taken.

“This is all very preliminary,” said Mr. Shorten, “but might help in making decisions regarding development. Do you want this as a gateway to the community or is mobility your priority goal? This is your chance to think about it. If you think too small, you’ll never get another chance. How should this fit into your community? Redevelopment is going to be more and more poignant.”

Continued Mr. Shorten, “Our 2030 projection says that a four-lane highway will be fine. If we can only justify a four-lane highway, that’s all the feds will pay for ... We are thinking about trails all the way to the arboretum.”

When Councilmember Paulsen asked about under-road passageways for walkers, the software engineer for MnDot said, “Pedestrian warrants are hard to meet. They can be met at universities, for instance.”`

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