Future of Wayzata Boulevard Remains Unfocused

The scope of a major reconstruction project that could transform a signature Wayzata roadway remains undefined as city council members wrestle with cost, resident wishes and a ticking clock.

Overhauling Wayzata Boulevard is among about 20 municipal projects the city has long planned to pay for using more than $6 million in tax increment financing, all of which must be allocated by this time next year. The initial budget set for the Wayzata Boulevard project was $1.6 million, of which $1.2 million would be TIF funds. The remainder would come from city reserves.

What began as a simple mill and overlay, however, has morphed into an undertaking that could now surpass the $2 million mark.

“It all comes down to money,” Mayor Ken Willcox said.

Several options for the future of Wayzata Boulevard were presented earlier this month at a well-attended open house. Possible improvements entail some combination of:

• Narrowing the thoroughfare
• Linking existing sidewalk segments
• Adding what are known as bump outs—which shorten crosswalk distances at intersections by 10 or 12 feet. 
• A parkway concept, centering on a raised median without landscaping or irrigation ($1.8 million)
• A landscaped and irrigated median coupled with tree plantings on both sides of Wayzata Boulevard (more than $2.3 million)

“We have prioritized the tax increment financing funds that we need to spend,” Mayor Willcox said. “We have looked at all of the needs around town, and dedicated a certain amount to Wayzata Boulevard.”

Now city leaders face what Willcox called a “robbing Peter to pay Paul” situation that could result in other planned projects being delayed or nixed altogether. Exactly what those projects might be has not been discussed.

Wayzata resident Karen Heinrich is among what appears to be a majority favoring a landscaped median in the center of Wayzata Boulevard but says she's wary at the pace council members are moving.

“My main concern about the project is that it feels like we’re rushing into it and we’re not doing everything we can to maximize the safety and the beauty,” she said.

Willcox responded by saying the city had been looking at this project for more than five years and that TIF funds must be allocated by mid-2012.

Narrowing Wayzata Boulevard and installing a landscaped median would translate into an elimination of street parking—a sore spot for some residents.

But Heinrich says she and other neighbors are willing to give up street parking for improved aesthetics, which she said would boost property values and be good for local businesses.

“If people see just a plain old road with no trees in the middle or anything, they just say ‘eh, I’m just shooting through to get to the highway,’” she said. “I think that’s kind of what we have now.”

Steve Anderson feels differently. Elimination of street parking would, he said, result in making an already hazardous exit from his driveway even more perilous. Anderson worries that less parking along Wayzata Boulevard could result in more pedestrians crossing the roadway during busy times of day.

“With the parking spots that are currently there, we have the ability to pull out and kind of merge with traffic,” Anderson said. “If you take away those parking spots, we’ll be pulling out directly into essentially one lane of traffic, and I haven’t heard that the speed limit would be reduced at all.”

Anderson added that his daughter currently uses Metro Mobility for transportation. He said that vans pulling in and out without a shoulder would pose a safety hazard.

“As far as narrowing the road to calm traffic, it won’t reduce traffic at all, and it certainly won’t reduce the bus traffic,” Anderson said.

City staff conceded that narrowing Wayzata Boulevard would result in traffic being blocked by Metro Transit and some Metro Mobility buses stopping to pick up passengers.

Wayzata resident Sarah Showalter said options being presented to the public involved “a lot of concrete” and she's concerned about how cost estimates were obtained. Citing a $125,000 estimate for trees and median landscaping, Showalter questioned the accuracy of estimates being presented to the public and pressed council members on why figures were not gathered in a competitive bidding process.

“I think the bidding could come in better than what you’re seeing here in these estimates,” Showalter said.

Jason Wedel, a senior project manager with WSB & Associates—the firm hired by the city to consult on the project and prepare the set of preliminary options—stood by the numbers and said they reflect present market conditions.

“We have bid other projects in other municipalities, and so when we put estimates together we use current pricing,” he said. “We do put some contingency in there, and there is a possibility bids could come in a little bit less.”

Longtime Wayzata resident Joe McCarthy, who sits on the city’s Heritage Preservation Board, sees Wayzata Boulevard as an important part of the city’s history and stressed his belief that the construction project being discussed would be a key cog in defining the city’s identity in the decades to come.

“Did we lose sight of what Wayzata is?” he asked. “I’m afraid that we’re going to end up continuing to look like Hopkins or Plymouth or some of the other wide-street communities.”

McCarthy pointed out that an overwhelming majority of comments made by residents during the Wayzata Boulevard project’s planning process and recent open house favored installation of some sort of median.

The idea of installing a center median in two segments also has been discussed as a way to potentially reduce construction time and cost, but city staff are recommending construction in one phase.

“There are efficiencies in doing it all at once,” City Manager Orsen said.

Sidewalks:

The sloping topography of Wayzata Boulevard, particularly in the area around Wells Fargo, makes linking sidewalk segments a costly task that would require narrowing Wayzata Boulevard by 6 feet on both sides.

“There is a trade-off when you narrow the road,” Councilman Andrew Mullin. “You’re trading off the sidewalk connection, which you can add back but with a spendy retaining wall to shore up that sidewalk connection.”

School Safety

Previous safety studies conducted on both St. Bartholomew’s and Wayzata West Middle School recommended making the approximate half-mile stretch between the two buildings one contiguous school zone. Those studies were again cited this week, and residents, parents and school administrators overwhelmingly favor lowering the speed limit between the two schools and expanding the school zone.

While no official decision on expanding the school zone or lowering the speed limit in the area has been made, city council members are expected to address the issue as finalized plans for the Wayzata Boulevard project come into focus. 

Bumpouts

Residents have expressed concerns bump-outs bring with them—problems ranging from traffic flow and plowing efficiency to creating mismatched identities within the city. No Wayzata intersections are currently outfitted with bump-outs.

“They would be problematic, but someone told me years ago that snowplows have steering wheels,” Public Works Director Dave Dudinsky said.

Additionally, large “winged” snowplows would not be able to navigate a narrowed Wayzata Boulevard with a center median outfitted with bump outs.

Other notes:

• Because it is scheduled to be reconstructed as part of planned development to the south, the intersection of Superior and Central avenues at the eastern end of the project zone will only receive a simple pavement overlay.
• Nno curb replacement is planned east of Superior Avenue as part of the Wayzata Boulevard project.
• Narrowing Wayzata Boulevard will result in the loss of most street parking in the 500, 600 and 700 blocks.
• The construction project will stretch west to the city’s public works building near the intersection of Wayzata Boulevard and Hwy. 12.
• Overhauling the area from Ferndale Avenue to Highway 12 was originally slated as a separate project, but was combined with the eastern renovations of Wayzata Boulevard to maximize efficiencies and decrease cumulative cost.