Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout9A - Draft Report Regarding Snowmobiles A~~ PRIOR (" f... '7 '- ~ U I'rJ 1;'NNESO'\1'> 16200 Eagle Creek Avenue S.E. Prior Lake, MN 55372-1714 MEETING DATE: AGENDA #: PREPARED BY: AGENDA ITEM: DISCUSSION: CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT OCTOBER 1,2007 9A BILL O'ROURKE, CHIEF OF POLICE STEVE ALBRECHT, CITY ENGINEER CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A DRAFT REPORT REGARDING SNOWMOBILES Historv The purpose of this agenda item is to report on the progress of the Snowmobile Task Force, established by Council resolution on June 4, 2007, and to seek Council input and guidance before the Task Force proceeds. Current Circumstances The Task Force is made up of broad community representation and includes city, county and state officials, local snowmobile club members, and residents. As per Council's direction to staff, the Task Force is examining issues related to snowmobiles in Prior Lake. Specifically, the Council had directed that the Task Force consider: · Appropriate roads and trials to use · Noise · Hours of operation · Speed · Destruction of public and private property · Enforcement · Communication At their initial meeting, members of the Task Force were provided a brief history of Scott County Sno- Trails, a system started in 1977, There currently are five snowmobiling clubs in the county and Scott County Sno- Trails does the grooming of the trail system, According to information provided by Snow-Trails there are 6,000 snowmobiles registered in Scott County (3,000 in Prior Lake) but when completing the registration information for their sleds, over 7,000 riders indicated that they primarily ride in Scott County. The Snowmobile Task Force has evaluated the following areas and is requesting City Council comment/direction prior to completing the final Task Force report: APPROPRIATE ROADS AND TRAILS CR 82 (Eliminated as a Trail) Previously the approved snowmobile trail for CR 82 ran from Prior Lake to Freemont Avenue to the north side of CR 82 and then west to CR 17. This trail serves as the primary western route from Prior Lake to www.cityofpriorlake.com -.-" .._..,~ -..----.-.--.- RCcunciAger1a RepG:is\2007\10 01 OTFgeiljapff8A~n9S2:1t47.423(Je 9reF~5f'952:447.4245 R Rsports'2007\ ~ J Shakopee. As part of the CR 82 Project scheduled to be completed late this fall there will no longer be a ditch or unused right-of-way for use by snowmobiles. The new CR 82 will have bituminous trails on both sides of the roadway. For this reason the County has reviewed the existing trail and is recommending allowing snowmobiles to exit the existing trail from Spring Lake at CR 17 and travel along CR 17 north to the existing snowmobile trail along CR 17 which currently begins at CR 82, This change reduces the number of trails in Prior Lake and eliminates issues related to snowmobiles encroaching on private property along CR 82 and Freemont Avenue, It utilizes the existing Spring Lake trail system and adds a trail along CR 17 which is currently a rural roadway corridor with ditches, It will increase the number of snowmobiles crossing Northwood Road and CR 12 which are existing trail crossings. This route is consistent with the Spring Lake Park Master Plan. CR 21/Credit River Road (Trail moved from South to North right-of-way) Previously the approved trail for CR 21 ran along the south side of CR 21 from CR 87 to TH 13. This trail served as the primary eastern access to Prior Lake, As part of the CR 21 Project, to be completed later this fall, the vacant right-of-way on the south side of CR 21 will no longer exist as the City's trail has been pushed south, onto private property. For that reason the County has approved the relocation of snowmobiles to the north side of CR 21, There are several issues related to this proposed change: 1. Unless the City Council revises the existing ordinance, the snowmobiles would be allowed to use Credit River Road as part of the trail system, The new CR 21 does not have sufficient right-of-way at the west end due to a narrow boulevard. This results in snowmobiles having to use Credit River Road, 2. The residents on the north side of Credit River Road are not use to having snowmobile traffic on that side of CR 21, 3. The CR 21 right-of-way at the eastern city limits is steep which may result in additional traffic or the need to utilize the Credit River Road ditch, City Staff has previously recommended delineation of a portion of Credit River Road for controlled use by snowmobiles and snow storage for plowing. At the September 1 ih City Council Meeting the Council expressed concerns regarding the utilization of Credit River Road and commented that a neighborhood meeting should be held and that if the move to the north right-of-way is approved it should be reviewed for issues next year. Crest Avenue/Sand Point Park (Adds as a new trail) Currently there is no authorized snowmobile access along Crest Avenue and through Sand Point Park to Prior Lake. According to enforcement ,~SP)rt Snm:,r1i':Jt,ile C.J:TTit:ee Draft Repo:tdoc 2 agencies represented on the Task Force, snowmobiles currently use this route illegally and it is an ongoing enforcement issue. The Task Force recommends that the City Council consider a trail connection from the approved CR 18 trail to Prior Lake. Currently the northern access to Prior Lake is located to the west across the Vierling property, Most likely when this area develops that access will go away and there will not be a northern access to Prior Lake for snowmobiles. The Task Force recommendation is to consider allowing snowmobiles on the west side of Crest Avenue in the boulevard and to allow a crossing into Sand Point Park. Within the park the access would be delineated with fencing to minimize impact on the park. When evaluating this trail there are several issues that should be considered: 1, This is a new trail and would be located adjacent to the rear and side yards of residences along the west side of Crest Avenue, many of which have a fence along the property line, 2, There is a concrete sidewalk on the west side of Crest Avenue that would see increased degradation over time. 3, The City would most likely have to make grass repairs along Crest Avenue and through the park annually, Grainwood ParklCR 21 (adds a way to get from upper to lower Prior Lake) Currently the only connection between upper and lower Prior Lake is by traveling under the Wagon Bridge (CR 21). This is noted as a less than optimum location by Task Force enforcement agencies, The Task Force is requesting City Council comment on a proposal that would allow snowmobiles to utilize Grainwood Park to cross CR 21 at-grade thereby creating a safer crossing, The City would need to delineate an access area in the park and would most likely need to repair some grass areas annually. Park and Ride Snowmobile Lot (adds a park and ride lot at Sand Point) The Task Force also recommends the plowing of the parking lot at Sand Point Park and making this one of the "Park and Ride" snowmobile locations with trail and snowmobiling ordinance signage, TRAIL MARKING Scott County Sno- Trails is funded with grant-in-aid money from snowmobile registration and as such has the ability to put up signs, They have offered to go to homeowners that have issues and put up the appropriate signage to deal with each situation or to help in anyway they can with their concerns. R\Coune-ii\,'"\gsr<:L3 R:fpc:is''20:J7\iO:ii C:!",;,IJ8'nja ~ep(;n: Sric\:/m,:,biie CDn~:r::'.ee Draft Repc1JDC 3 STREET MARKING Main Avenue is the only city street that snowmobiles are prohibited from operating on - they can cross it at right angles, Consideration should be given to posting Main Avenue with appropriate signage. ENFORCEMENT From the perspective of the law enforcement agencies represented on the Task Force (DNR, Scott County Sheriffs Office, Prior Lake Police) the majority of complaints have to do with private property trespass and noise issue, The residents on the Task Force have offered trespass and hours of operation as their biggest concerns, These issues can be addressed in a couple of ways; through the communications piece (see below) and via a heightened enforcement period at the beginning of the season. The DNR has a number of snowmobiles in the metro area that can be brought together with the Scott County Sheriff's snowmobiles for this enforcement effort. Such a strategy is of course dependent upon the scheduling of personnel and the weather. The Prior Lake Police Department is limited in its' enforcement efforts due to the lack of equipment (snowmobiles, ATV's, snowmobile suits, helmets, etc,). However, one of the strategies suggested is the make sure that every squad car has current snowmobile trail maps, stops the violators and provides them with a map, HOTLlNE/COMMUNICA TION The Task Force is recommending the establishment of a snowmobile hotline for the reporting of violations and complaints, The location of the complaints and the issues complained about can be mapped out and these maps given to the various enforcement agencies, A very important piece to increased compliance with the snowmobiling laws is communication with the riders - both living in and outside of Prior Lake. One of the suggestions is to obtain the addresses of all snowmobiles registered in the City and to send each owner a letter regarding the rules of operating snowmobiles in Prior Lake along with an up to date trail map, The Task Force also believes that the establishment of designated "Park and Ride" lots in the city, with large informational signs showing a trail map and highlighting local ordinances would go a long way in educating both local and out of town riders to our rules, ORDINANCE REVISION It is likely that some of the recommendations, if adopted by the City Council, will necessitate revisions to the existing Snowmobile Ordinance, Even without any changes, the current Snowmobile Ordinance must be amended to be consistent with the Park Ordinance. PspGis\20:J7\iO CT'j~,ger:=a ~e~c:t SnCAI1l<:,ciiie C':),Ii~rtee D:-aft P.epctjDc 4 FINANCIAL IMPACT: AL TERNATIVES: RECOMMENDED MOTION: PROCESS The Snowmobile Task Force is meeting on October 2,2007, to review the comments and input from the City Council. Following their discussion a public meeting will be conducted the week of October ih to get feedback from those neighbors most impacted by any suggested revisions to trails. It is important that the final report from the Task Force be brought to the Council at the October 15th meeting as Scott County Sno- Trails must forward their new route mapping to the DNR by November 1st to remain eligible for grant in aid funding. While a total cost estimate is not available at this time, below are some comments on this subject: · Trail signage has been the responsibility of the snowmobile clubs, We expect that this will continue to be the case. · Street signage on Main and a snowmobile rules sign at Sand Point Park would be City responsibility. · The snowmobile trail map will continue to be a Sno- Trails cost. · We are investigating the possibility and costs of mass invitation mailing to snowmobile owners and residents impacted by these proposals at City cost. · The hotline could be incorporated into the City phone system much as our Park and Recreation hotline has been, · There will be costs to revise the ordinance but they are contained in the 2007 and 2008 City budgets. · The biggest cost would be associated with enforcement. It is our intent to work cooperatively with various groups to share such costs to assure the enforcement action is effective, 1, Provide staff feedback on any and all aspects of the draft report, 2. Direct staff to proceed with the process as proposed or with amendments, Repoc1s".2C07\ i 0 rnatives 1 and 2, P'2ccn D~3ft P,epGitd.:;.: 5