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REVISITING THE SUMMER OF 2012 AND THE HAUNTING ISSUE OF RUMBLE STRIPS "We are not proposing a discussion on rumble strips tonight, but whether it should be placed on the agenda for future discussion," said City Manager Don Uram at the start of the January 28th city council meeting. Rumble strips were installed down the center of Highway 5 when the road reconstruction was completed last summer. Under the Open Forum part of the Agenda, resident Brad Johnson got up to speak. "My home backs up to Hwy 5," he said. "I'm here representing a neighborhood group. We've been meeting the last couple of months to discuss the issue. The rumble strips were installed last summer. We've complained about the noise but no action was taken by the former council. We're asking this council for the time and opportunity for meaningful dialogue at a later date." "Our group has grown beyond the neighborhood," said Mr. Johnson. "We've been told by MnDOT that it's a city issue. We would like to be heard by the council. We would like the rumble strip removed." Stated Mayor Tom O'Connor, "We respect your fortitude and position. We typically don't react to the Open Forum, only listen. But it might be helpful for you to hear the opinions of the councilmembers, whether the issue should be referred to a future council date. We followed MnDOT's recommendation to install the rumble strip." Mr. Johnson said that MnDOT had to wait last summer for the City of Victoria to make a recommendation for or against the rumble strip. Said Councilmember Jim Crowley, "I still remain very challenged by this. Two main issues a city hears are 1) Don't raise taxes and 2) Don't threaten my safety. The one accident that occurred in that area involved a very good friend of mine. I don't fully understand your perspective because I don't live in your neighborhood. If there is an opportunity to save one life, the rumble strip is worth it. I remain unchanged on this." It was reported that 16,000 cars per day now travel Highway 5 through Victoria, which can add up to a lot of rumble noise. Said Councilmmber Tom Strigel, "This is not a simple matter, not a comfortable conversation. My vote was primarily based on safety. We had just endured a pretty big hardship to upgrade Hwy 5 for more traffic. I researched if lower speed might help but MnDOT wouldn't pass that. Safety remains paramount for me. I'm still in favor of keeping as is." Said Councilmember Lani Basa, "I look forward having the opportunity to discuss this. For me, personally, I'd like to hear what the residents have to say. I'm not for or against at this time." Said Councilmember Joe Pavelko, "I ask myself what would I want if I lived there [next to the highway]. Obviously people living next to a highway will hear highway noise, but we don't have to add noise. There's a line between noise and safety. There's a whole bunch of other things. Just citing safety concerns is a little far fetched. A decision was made, but that doesn't mean it was right. I'd like to open this up. The cost isn't very high to take out rumble strips. There are a lot of people here tonight and that's telling me we should open it up for discussion." Said Mayor O'Connor, "I'm not fundamentally in favor of revisiting this ... But we're all in favor of information. I'll keep an open mind." Mr. Uram stated, "We'd certainly be willing to facilitate a meeting with MnDOT, the City of Victoria, and residents. I'd be willing to scheduled it as soon as possible." He suggested that could be within a month or so. Said Mr. Johnson, "Our group would like it to be a public meeting. If you look at city ordinances related to noise, the City of Victoria is daily violating the ordiance with the rumble strips." Councilmember Crowley pointed out that any time there are three or more councilmembers persent, which is a quorum, it has to be an open meeting. Said the mayor, "We want the decision to be based on the best information available." City Engineer Cara Geheren will be contacting MnDOT to set up a meeting with the city, the rumble strip neighbors, and anybody else who is interested.
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February 2013 |
