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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9E - Boat Parking CITY COUNCil AGENDA REPORT September 4, 2001 ~ :~nk Boyles, City Manage~ '"\V AGENDA ITEM: CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A REPORT REGARDING THE POTENTIAL FOR INCREASING PARKING FOR INDIVIDUALS USING THE FISHING PIER AREA AND BOATERS USING THE DNR ACCESSES. DISCUSSION: History: At the August 6th City Council meeting, the Council discussed the lack of parking availability at the fishing pier / CSAH 21 bridge area, and around the two DNR boat accesses. The staff was directed to provide a report to the Council which would (1) propose how the City could provide more off-street parking in the area of the fishing pier / CSAH 21 bridge to accommodate fisherpersons; and (2) propose options to provide for more vehicle - trailer parking to serve persons using the two DNR accesses to the lake. Attached for information is a Prior Lake American newspaper article on this subject. Current Circumstances: This memorandum explores a number of alternatives for City Council consideration and direction. If Council members will identify their preferred options, then the staff can proceed to the next steps. How can the City Provide More Off-Street Parkinq in the Vicinity of the Fishinq Pier I CSAH 21? In an effort to review all possible options, we considered the possibility of moving the fishing pier. We concluded that moving the pier would not address the issue since fishing from the shoreline near the bridge occurs because that is where the fish are biting. Unless the location to which the pier is moved offers better fishing, moving the pier will serve no purpose. We also reviewed the Grainwood and Heritage Park areas. Consideration was given to developing angle parking along the entire Quincy frontage of Grainwood Park. We estimate that four new stalls could be added in addition to the two handicapped stalls. Another option is to expand the parking lot at Grainwood Park so it would extend from Quincy to the restroom shelters. It is estimated that this lot would provide eight stalls plus two handicapped. It is estimated that the smaller lot would cost $15,000 and the larger $25,000. The smaller lot has a number of disadvantages. Because it is immediately off Quincy, vehicles will need to back out onto the street when leaving. The stacking distance to CSAH 21 is also less than optimum. The larger Grainwood lot provides more stalls, allows for turn around in the lot, and is well buffered from CSAH 21, Quincy and the house next to the park. Moreover, once the lot is done, 16200 Eagle Creek Ave. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (952) 447-4230 / Fax (952) 447-4245 1:\COUNCIL\AGNRPTS\2001\PARKING - TR.A,l.Mill~A'i?~ORTUNITY EMPLOYER there is still considerable park land left. It should be signed for "No Trailer Parking" due to size limitations. Another set of options involves purchasing additional property. The City could try to purchase the tressle property. Development of a parking lot on the tressle property will require removal of the hedge which naturally buffers the park from the adjacent house. It will need to be replaced by another buffer. The City could instead purchase all or a portion of the Eaglewood East property which lies adjacent to CSAH 21 between West and Lakeside. Since land acquisition is involved in the latter two options, the total cost is less predictable but certainly will be more than the above options. On the other hand, a larger parking lot would be possible with access both from West and Lakeside. How Can More Vehicle-Trailer Parking Spots be Provided for Patrons Using DNR Accesses? At present, the DNR provides 28 parking stalls for vehicles and trailers at the Sand Point Access. The City rents an additional 15 spaces at Sand Point Park. The DeWitt access offers ten (10) parking stalls. The City could add parking to the existing Sand Point lot by re-striping. This could yield as many as 14 more vehicles with trailer spots. We would lose 28 vehicle only stalls from the parking lot. There is also sufficient property in Sand Point, or under the Crest Avenue water tower to construct a new parking lot which could accommodate 13-20 vehicle/trailer spots. To provide more parking at DeWitte, the Council could authorize the DNR to construct a parking lot on the parcel it owns. This would yield 8 to 10 stalls and, most likely, unfavorable feedback from the neighborhood. The final option is to allow boaters to park their cars and trailers at the Lakefront Park parking lot. Up to eighteen stalls would be available. This option is one of the lowest cost options, but is least convenient. The trails to the lake from this lot are indirect. Most people choose to navigate the steep hill that used to include a railroad tie stairway until they rotted. ISSUES: I believe that the Council wants to find the most cost-effective means of adding parking area for fisherpersons and boaters. The staff recommends the following: Fisherpersons: The parking lot at Grainwood Park should be expanded to provide eight stalls and two handicapped spaces. This park is convenient to the bridge. The parking lot would be well buffered from adjacent houses but observable from CSAH 21. Building the lot inside the park also eliminates backing onto Quincy. The total estimated cost of the parking lot is $25,000. Boaters: The Lakefront Park upper lot should be opened to vehicles with trailers. Initially, five or ten stalls should be re-stripped for this purpose. Adjustments can be made based upon demand. Staff recommends that the stairs or a walkway be re-built directly from this lot to Watzl's Beach. The estimated cost is $35,000. We believe that this direct access is perhaps one of the only trail needs which was not addressed by the most recent park improvements. 1:\COUNCIL\AGNRPTS\2001\PARKING - TRAILERS.DOC FISCAL IMPACT: The estimated $60,000 cost for the parking improvements would be drawn from the Capital Park Fund, the balance of which is $1,232,998.00. ALTERNATIVES: (1) Accept the staff recommendations and direct that more firm quotations be obtained. (2) Direct the staff to analyze other options. RECOMMENDED MOTION: Alternative (1). 1:\COUNCIL\AGNRPTS\2001\PARKING - TRAILERS.DOC .. . ....,. .. I . ~. . .~.. ..., ) I I "I think we keep I moving the problem further and further away. Wa'ra not addressing the problem, which is that there are no adequate spaces." vexing issue By Caroline Burau Staff Writer If you've ever tried to launch a boat on Prior Lake on a sunny Sat- urday afternoon, you're probably aware that the parking supply doesn't meet the demand. So who's responsible for supply? Not the local homeowners, ac- cording to the Prior Lake City Council. The city council voted 3- 2 to approve no parking signs for Candlewood Circle and the remain- der of Cedarwood Lane last week. The two streets were virtually the only areas remaining without "No Parking: Vehicles with Trail- ers" signs posted. Signs were post- ed everywhere else in the neighbor- hoods surrounding the Sand Point public boat access two years ago, amid similar controversy. Councilmen Jim Ericson and Mike Gundlach voted against in- stalling the signs. Installing addi- tional signs, Ericson said, is just treating a symptom of a larger prob- lem: lake parking. : Unless you live on the lake, there's no guarantee you'll be able to park your vehicle and boat trail- er within walking distance of the lake on a weekend or holiday. Boat- ers are known to parkas far away from the Sand Point access as the Rainbow Foods parking lot on Highway 13 and County Road 42. And there are .only 20 parking spots at the Dewitt Access on Upper Pri- or Lake. Ericson and Gundlach contend that more needs to be done to give the public better access to public waters. After the vote, Ericson di- rected city staff to look into solu- tions to the problem, such as alter- nate parking at Lakefront Park. "I think we keep moving the problem further and further away," Ericson said. "We're not address- ing the problem, which is that there are no adequate spaces." Mayor Wes Mader reminded the council that the issue at hand dealt with only two streets and not with the larger parking problem. Mader and councilmen Jim Peters- en and Joe Zieska voted in favor of the signs, which were installed Wednesday (Aug. 15). Whose problem is it? Standing outside his home on Councilman. Jim Ericson Candlewood Circle, Burt Peterson said he doesn't know who's respon- sible for providing more parking spots for boaters, but he's glad it's no longer his. Peterson and his wife, Rita, cir- culated a petition to get the no park- ing signs installed because he and his neighbors we;:~",.w:;~aving limited access to their own homes. Candlewood Circle.i1ia sRwewhat small cul de sac with limited space between driveways. Still, Petersen said, boaters desperate for a spot tried to cram their cars and trailers anywhere possible. , He described how his next-door neighbor "'chased one guy cut". of his driveway. Another boater tned to park "something the size of a semi': in the middle of the narrow street. "If we have visitors, there's no place for them to park," rete~son said. Another of Peterson s neIgh- bors has had sod ruined by vehi- cles driving over it. "Sure it's a public area, but how mucll does Prior Lake have to accommodate outsiders?" Peterson said. . At the council meeting, Zieska raised the point that fewer parking spots may deter boaters from co.m- ing to Prior Lake, thereby keepIng it less crowded. To that, Ericson countered: "Why should we be deterring peo- ple frqm the lake? The lake b~longs to residents and non-resIdents alike." Some say the lake is too crowd- ed as it is. So how many boaters are too many? Donna Mankowski of the Prior Lake Association (PLA) said ve- No parking to page 13 No parking g1gL57 continued from page 1- : hide and trailer parking is not a . "Often, we can't get enough new issue in Prior Lake. And the property (for parking) because PLA is continually trying to edu- lakefront property is so expensive," , cate boaters about boating regula- Willhite said. He added that the .' tions on an increasingly busy lake. minimal amount. of DNR parking Should more parking be made spaces is not an attempt to limit available? boat traffic. "I don't know that we've ever The DNR does not interfere taken a stand on it," Mankowski with the city's right to provide ad- said. But she said she feels celtain ditional parking elsewhere, such as that more parking spots will mean' on streets or in other parking lots. more boats. "If you put in 500 spac- Willhite stressed. that the lake es, you're going to get 500 more is public space that belongs to ev- boats on the lake." eryone. She said the DNR's formu- Boat overload la of one boat per 20 acres is more ~ than generous to lakefront owners, The problem of "boat overload" giying them about half of the lake is a problem unique to metro area to themselves. That is, if no addi- lakes, according to Suzann Will- tional parking is put in. hite, trails and waterways area su- "In the metro, there's much pervisor for the Minnesota Depart- more demand than there are spac- ment of Resources (DNR). es," Willhite said. Lake accesses are owned,and .. Is the lake too crowded? "It all operafed by the DNR;,.wmch a;sd. depends on your perspectivet she pro,vide a minimum of parking said. "If you've lived on the lake spaces with every new access. The for 20 years, then you'd probably DNR tries to provide at least one say it's too crowded. It's hard to space per 20 acres of lake, which balance the rights of lakeshore would mean about 58 spaces for owners with those who still have upper and lower Prior Lake. Still, the right to use public waters. there are only 12 DNR spaces at "It's hard to balance everyone's the Dewitt access and 28 DNR desires." spaces at the Sand Point access. <