1999-08-30 Highway 118 Trail Impacts to approved Cedar Creekr
PILOT
LAND DEVELOPMENT COMPANY
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August 30, 1999
Mayor & City Council Members
Planning Commissioners
C/o City Administrator Goeb
5975 Main Avenue NE.
Albertville, MN 55301
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RE: Hiahwav 118 Trail Impacts to approved Cedar Creek Golf Course plans
Dear Mr. Mayor and Members of the Council, City Staff and Planning Commissioners:
This letter is our second request that Albertville designate a representative to work with
Wright County Highway Department to determine the appropriate side of the Highway to
widen a shoulder for a bike path. All discussion we have had with Assistant County
Engineer Virgil Hawkins at the DOH is that the City has not yet participated. Currently,
there are no agreements by the DOH to allow a trail in any portion of any acquired or
dedicated Right of Way (ROW).
This position is unacceptable since it does not acknowledge the need for many trail
sections to be in the ROW to avoid environmental and safety cost increases around
wetlands etc. A secondary, but important reason is that it will be cheaper for Albertville
to create a community of trails if you can use a right of way that has been taken from
municipal residents for multiple public purposes. It will be cheaper because you will not
need to acquire gap easements to assure that trails built, tie together and go some where.
There are several Counties, which have created bike trails as part of the shoulder of
roadways, most notably Washington County. On the busiest roads they have used off
road designs beyond the ROW to separate trail users, but, when posed with environmental
or casement purchase obstacles, they have used the ROW.
Since there is still sufficient time, until July 200, the City could be sure that the trail work
on 118 is incorporated into the proposed design and bid plans. With all of the talk about
trails over the last 2-1/2 years, no one was responsible to add the appropriate design into
the Highway 119 upgrade. We would be disappointed if a second opportunity was
missed.
The City and their residents would be in a substantially better financial position by creating
a maintenance agreement with Wright County to widen the shoulder on 118 to allow
improved pedestrian or bike access to the clubhouse and school campus as part of the
trails master plan. Without this agreement, you will spend at least 13.00 +.08% or 14.04 a
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13736 Johnson Street NE - Ham Lake, MN 55304 - 757-9816 - Fax: 757-4094
lineal foot and waste opportunities for tax and park fee dollars to go further. My
preliminary estimates are as follows:
• Off road out of ROW trail; 2850 LF (on golf and TH. Landss) @ $14.04 LF $40,014
• Extra wide 9' shoulder @ $8.60 LF + 20% County admin. = $10.31 $29,410
• Berning Exception 430 LF plus slope easements, possible walls $6,037
$4,433
Subtotals S46, 051 S33,843
Using County ROW could yield $12,208 savings under this example.
In closing, we believe that this series of requested actions allows for a safer long term
traffic, drainage and pedestrian system, enables current planning and grading to continue,
and allows the conceptual trail plan to be implemented as presented by NAC. Thank you
for your understanding.
Sincerely,
Donald Jens
Land Development Director
cc: NAC, Pete Carlson @ SEH, Scott Dahlke @ 2vlever-Rohlin, Virgil Hawkins @ WCHD
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