Commentary; Posted: 6/8/05
Key meeting June 15 for Broadway project
By Cliff Buchan
Construction wonít start for well over a year but now is the time for area residents and business owners to be educated and speak their minds if they have concerns for W. Broadway Ave. in Forest Lake.
By this time next year a design plan for CR-2 (Broadway) from Lake St. (US-61) to I-35 should be in place and a new bridge and interchange plan for the I-35 crossing will be drafted. A possible second overpass of I-35 utilizing SW 11th Ave. (CR-83) may also be on the table for serious consideration.
Itís all about traffic, the ability to move traffic to and from the west side of I-35 and safety for this heavily traveled corridor. It is the county road with the highest crash rate (Broadway at 12th St.). Broadway carries nearly 30,000 vehicles a day and that growth is projected to reach nearly 50,000 vehicles a day by 2028.
In short, the time is now to address current problems and plan for this increased growth that will impact Broadway and everyone living here and anyone trying to get off or on I-35 at this major interchange.
Planning is never an easy task and pleasing everyone is an almost impossible job. But we have to commend planners from the city of Forest Lake and Washington County for the efforts they are taking to involve the public and collect input. A mass mailing clearly explaining the problems and solutions has been mailed to households and businesses in Forest Lake.
Other steps are being taken, too.
Forest Lake City Council will conduct a workshop at 6 p.m. next Monday to review the roundabout intersection that is being explored at a number of key intersections in the city.
Washington County and the city will co-host a Broadway Open House from 4-7 p.m., Wednesday, June 15 at Century Junior High School, 21395 Goodview Ave. The informal session will be a chance for planners to meet one on one or with small groups to explain the process and what comes next.
Planners have made it clear that the new Broadway will likely be built with a raised center median. The raised median will eliminate the current center turn lane that provides some help but has led to collisions.
A central piece to the Broadway plan is construction of a new city road, NW 1st Ave. from NW 7th St. to the business area behind BP and the AmericInn Motel. The construction of this street is now back in play for the city. And thatís the way it has to be.
The city in recent years has cooled on the idea of seeking the needed approvals to build the street because of reluctance by the Army Corp of Engineers and other regulatory bodies. These agencies need to remember this road plan was once reviewed and approved in the late 1980s only to have a new council change city plans.
The current city should use every measure available to push for agency approval. North side Broadway business owners need also be on board to make sure this ring road that utilizes new signals at 7th St. is built.
Next week is the night to start getting involved for those who have been sitting on the sidelines. A year from now, perhaps even six months from now, it may be too late to provide input that can be used by those in charge.
Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605