Edina, MN 加

Greetings,

I writing in concern of the intersection of Wooddale and Garrison. The traffic safety issue is multifaceted but to give context, this intersection is a part of a bike and walking path corridor with the Wooddale path just south and the bridge to Rosland Park (despite being currently down foot and bike traffic is still high). This intersection is also just south of a busy business district as well as several large apartment buildings which often causes a lot of people to use the intersection as a turn around spot. There is heavy off and on parking due to new construction in the area and due to the M.A. Peterson offices. Just north of the intersection is a very steep hill and two corners of the intersection have obstructed views due to trees and vegetation. The NW corner is also the bus stop for over 15 EPS students each day.

I am the resident of the NW corner at 4500 Garrison and spent a lot of time in my front yard. Daily, I witness very close calls between cars as well as cars and pedestrians (particularly kids). Many of the factors I listed above lead to behavior by both car drivers and sometimes bike riders that create safety concerns for pedestrians. These safety concerns are most frequent when car/bike/pedestrian traffic is high during morning and evening commutes and the weekends.

I have also had many neighbors stop me and share concern over that intersection. As the bridge is slated to open up again, this will increase the pedestrian traffic and thus the safety concerns. I am wondering if someone from the city could meet with me and neighbors to discuss possible solutions?

I felt compelled to write today and try to create a safer space as well as formally document the issues with this intersection.

Thank you,
Lana Peterson

Hi!
A couple/few years ago our neighborhood had requested that the city assess the intersection of Garrison Lane and Wooddale Avenue.

A stop sign was placed at the intersection, positioned so that cars heading east on Garrison Lane, towards that intersection at Wooddale, need to stop at Wooddale (before turning left/north) to head out of the neighborhood by going up the hill to the intersection at Townhall Station.

The cars leaving our neighborhood appear to rarely be speeding, so I think we were all surprised that it got placed in that spot. As that hasn't been an issue.

We live at this corner, that I am referring to (4501 Garrison Lane) and my office is on the front of the house. So, by default, I see the cars going through the intersection all day.

We had all expected the stop sign to be placed so that the cars driving south down the hill into our neighborhood via wooddale, would need to stop at Garrison before entering the neighborhood. As those cars are absolutely flying down the hill into the neighborhood.

We have so so many kiddos living in our neighborhood and the cars are going so crazy fast into our neighborhood, whether they are going straight through our intersection (wooddale & Garrison) or turning on Garrison. It's terrifying watching kids going down the street and a car flys around the corner without even looking.

As I mentioned above, it felt like it was almost a mistake that the stop sign was placed facing that way rather than positioned to stop the traffic heading south down Wooddale towards Garrison.

Would it be possible for you to look into it or have this intersection re-evaluated?

Thank you so very much! Our whole neighborhood truly appreciates your help and all that you do!

Hello-

We moved to Edina three years ago for safety reasons. We really would appreciate more speed control ok France Ave from hwy 62 to 50th. There are cars everyday going 50 miles an hour. I never see cops there and would really appreciate more speed contrail and cops giving out tickets. If five tickets were given out each day, the city would save accidents and also generate $365,000 per year. You can give out five tickets at $200 each in a hour on that part of France. Please help. 16 year old kids and 80 year old people can’t react when people are driving that fast. Thank you.

This crosswalk continues to be a safety concern for pedestrians. Vehicles don't stop or yield for pedestrians waiting on either side of the crosswalk. My personal experience with my family including a dog and our child in a stroller,
vehicles still don't understand or care to yield.

This can cause issues, especially for kids that think vehicles will be yielding. This combined with the lack of speed control on Brookside makes for a dangerous situation. The road design of Brookside encourages drivers to speed and discourages them from being aware of pedestrians or bicyclists.

Please look at options to improve safety at this intersection specifically and Brookside / 44th in general.

Suggestions:
- A standing crosswalk cone/sign in the middle of the road
- "State law stop for pedestrians" signage added to the current sign
- An actual signaled crosswalk with lights that flash when a pedestrian is crossing. ( What is the minimum requirements for this?)
- Bump outs
- Other options to slow traffic on Brookside: Bollards, street paint identifying the pedestrian zone, adding a median, reducing the lane width