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Home My WebLink About2018-07 06-25 CCOCITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held on the 251I day of June, 2018, at 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard at City Hall, 6301 Shingle Creek Parkway, to consider an ordinance related to median safety. Auxiliary aids for handicapped persons are available upon request at least 96 hours in advance. Please notify the City Clerk at 763-569-3306 to make arrangements. ORDINANCE NO. 2018-07 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 25 OF THE CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES REGARDING MEDIAN SAFETY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Article I. Brooklyn Center City Code, Chapter 25 is hereby amended by adding the following new sections regarding median safety: MEDIAN SAFETY Section 25-1100. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. The city has three high-capacity arterial roadways that are heavily travelled thruways with traffic counts on Brooklyn Boulevard of 17 ,300 to 30.500 vehicles per day, on Bass Lake Road of 11,400 to 16,100 vehicles per day. and on Trunk Highway 252 of 59,000 to 69,000 vehicles per day. Trunk Highway 252 is also considered an expressway that is one of the most heavily traveled highways with stoplights in Minnesota and has a high number of crashes, including one high-traffic intersection that is ranked the 2nd highest crash cost intersection in the state. These arterial roadways have posted speed limits that range from 35 m.p.h. to 55 m.p.h., contain high-traffic intersections, and have relatively narrow or obstructed medians. The medians on these roadways are traffic separation structures that were not designed, and are not maintained, to accommodate either any pedestrians, or only those who are temporfy crossing at a designated crosswalk. Most of the medians also contain landscaping, traffic control devices, and other obstructions that are inconsistent with use by pedestrians and those who att e mpt to walk around the obstructions are at an increased risk of being struck by a vehicle. The city has experienced an increase in the number of pedestrians remaining on medians at high-traffic intersections for extended periods. It is not safe for pedestrians to remain on these medians as they are at risk of being struck by the large volume of traffic travelling through these intersections at high rates of speed. Their presence on the medians also distracts drivers focused on not striking them as the y navigate through these high-traffic intersections. The purpose of these sections is to establish a narrowly tailored regulation intended to protect public safety related to pedestrians in roadways and drivers passing through high-traffic intersections on the identified arterial roadways within the city . Section 25-1101. DEFINITIONS. For the purposes of Sections 25-1100 through 25-1104, ORDINANCE NO. 2018-07 the following terms shall have the meaning given them in this section. a. "Arterial roadway" means the following roadways within the city: I. Brooklyn Boulevard (CS AH 152); 2.Bass Lake Road (CSAH 10), located between the western jurisdictional boundaries of the city and Trunk Highway 100; and 3.Trunk Highway 252. b. "High-traffic intersection" means the following intersections on arterial roadways controlled by traffic signals: 1.Brooklyn Boulevard and 69th Avenue; 2.Brooklyn Boulevard and 68th Avemie 3.Brooklyn Boulevard and 1-94 Westbound Ramps; 4.Brooklyn Boulevard and 1-94 Eastbound Ra mp s ; 5.Brooklyn Boulevard and 63rd Avenue; 6.Brooklyn Boulevard and 65th Avenue 7.Brooklyn Boulevard and Bass Lake Road 8.Brooldyn Boulevard and 55th Avenue; 9. Brooklyn Boulevard and TH 100 Southbound Ramps; ift Brooklyn Boulevard and TH 100 Northbound Ramps; 11.Bass Lake Road and Xerxes Avenue: 12.Bass Lake Road and Northway Drive (eastern most -intersection ); 13.Bass Lake Road and Shingle Creek Parkway; 14.Bass Lake Road and TH 100 Southbound Ra m p s ; 15.Bass Lake Road and TH 100 Northbound Ramps 16.Trunk Highway 252 and 66th Avenue; ORDINANCE NO. 2018-07 IL Trunk Highway 252 and 70th Avenue: and 18. Trunk Highway 252 and 73rd Avenue. ç "Median" means a paved or unpaved area dividing a street or highway that separates lanes of traffic traveling in opposite directions, or, in the case of separated turn lanes, vehicles traveling in the same direction. th "Roadway" means the travelled portion and median of a street or highway. Section 25-1102. PROHIBITION. No person shall be on a median within 300 feet of a hi g h-traffic intersection unless the person is in the process of legally crossing the roadway. This prohibition applies to both the median on the arterial roadway and the median on the intersecting roadway. A person shall not be considered to be in the process of legally crossing a roadway, and it shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section, if a person stays on a median through two consecutive opportunities to cross the roadway in accordance with the crossing signal and state law. Section 25-1103, EXCEPTIONS. The prohibitions in Section 25-1102 shall not apply to any of the following: a.Any person engaged in law enforcement or rescue activities, including providing assistance to an injured or disabled vehicle or person; b.Any person engaged in the emergency repair of their vehicle; or c. Any public works staff or public contractors engaged in the maintenance, repair, or improvement of a roadway or related public facilities, or public utility workers installing, maintaining, repairing, or removing public utilities. Section 25-1104. PENALTY. A violation of Section 25-1102 is a petty misdemeanor offense and shall also constitute an administrative offense subject to issuance of an administrative citation and civil penalties as provided in Sections 18-201 through 18-212. A person who violates Section 25-1102 may be issued a petty misdemeanor citation or an administrative citation, but not both for the same violation. A person may be charged with a misdemeanor offense if that person violates Section 25-1102 within 12 months of the first of two prior median safety violations. For the purposes of this Section. "prior median safety violation" shall be defined as either: (a) a petty misdemeanor conviction of a violation of Section 25-1102; or (b) the payment of an administrative citation containing a violation of Section 25-1102. Article II. This Ordinance shall become effective after adoption and upon thirty (30) days following its legal publication. ORDINANCE NO, 2018-07 Adopted this 25thday of June , 2018. : Mayor ATTEST: PILt/QeUk ,LWA City Clerk Date of Publication July 5, 2018 Effective Date August 4, 2018 (Strikeout indicates matter to be deleted, double underline indicates new matter.)