Vol. 5 No. 2
Prepared and paid for by the City of Cologne
April 2012
POSTAL PATRON PRST STD ECRWSS US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 120 COLOGNE, MN
Cologne ¾ Intersection with U-turns Hwy 284
(February 22, 2012)
3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, April 28 Fire Station
CSAH 53
• • • • • •
Standard & Poor’s Fire Affirms Department Bond Rating Steak Fry
Revised layout based on Nov 14, 2011 public meeting comments All Hwy 212 movements are retained Accommodates heavy trucks Vastly increases intersection safety Delays are minimized Construction to start in August, 2012
MnDOT finalizes Hwy. 212 intersection plans
A
fter several months of discussions and meetings, MnDOT has finalized the Hwy 212/284/CR 53 intersection. The City of Cologne initiated the discussions with a June 6 Resolution 11_15 requesting a stop light and/or slower speed limits on Hwy 212. Throughout the discussion process MnDOT was adamant in not allowing stop lights and slower speeds. The state agency was convinced neither of those options would provide a safer intersection. MnDOT’s first proposal was an R-Cut design that would require a majority of North/ South traffic to use Village Parkway to cross Hwy 212. After public meetings and input from the community, MnDOT redesigned the intersection to include U-turns so that North/South traffic could continue to cross at Hwy 212.
Emergency vehicles will have access to go straight across the intersection while normal traffic will need to make a right turn and use the U-turns 800 feet away to access north/south bound traffic or east/west traffic in lieu of left turns. The city was able to persuade MnDOT into extending the U-turn lanes closer to the north/south bound intersections, allowing a quick crossing into the U-turn rather than merging on the highway and then crossing over. This should also allow tractor/trailers a safer crossing into the U-turn lane. The $1.3 million dollar project will be paid for with 90 percent federal and 10 percent MnDOT funding. A $250,000-$300,000 stop light would have been paid for by the local taxpayers had it been allowed to be installed. A fall construction is planned.
New R-Cut highly successful in Willmar
Hwy. 212 free right access removed
L
ate in the discussion a nd t he prel i m inary design stage, MnDOT notified the City of Cologne that the free right access to Hwy. 212, and the acceleration lanes, were being removed. This will cause all north/south bound traffic to come to a complete stop while waiting for access onto Hwy 212. While M n D O T ’s s e n i o r staff was in favor of maintaining the free rights, their technical staff felt it was a safety issue. Their concern was a motorist may use the free rights as access to the U-turns to jump a head of traffic at the stop sign. This maneuver would cause the motorist to merge over three lanes of traffic in a short distance.
M
n DOT recent ly installed an R-Cut U-turn intersection on Hwy. 71 near Willmar. Highway officials claim the intersection should reduce accidents by at least 80 percent. So far there has been 100 percent reduction in accidents, according to Jon Henslin, MnDOT traf-
fic engineer for the Willmar area. Dick Arne, a Willmar insurance adjuster for 17 years, was sure they made a “huge mistake...what were they thinking of? But I lived to fi nd out I was way wrong because they haven’t had any accidents and it’s been
over a year.” Arne has driven through the intersection many times from different directions and finds it easy to use. “It’s hard to make a mistake there now, just follow the signs.”
The Cit y wa s extremely disappointed in the late change of design plans. Instead of a llow ing all east/west bound traffic to merge with accelerating speeds on the free right, they will now be forced to a complete stop and then attempt to merge with traffic traveling an average of 67 mph.
S
ta nda rd & Poor’s p e r formed a rev iew of t he City’s financial standing in Febr uary of 2012. After the S&P review they determined the City was to maintain it’s A+ bond rating with a stable outlook.
Commercial improvements planned
L
ocal operators of M & M Home Contractors, Inc. have purchased the old Cologne Meat Market building located next to Holiday Stations and car wash. They are looking to transform the building into office space and storage for their insulation and contracting business. The City allowed a utility easement waiver and will work with the property in regards to storm water runoff. Congratulations to M & M Contractors on a very nice improvement to the business district.
COMMUNITY CENTER • Wedding Receptions • Graduation • Baby & Bridal Showers • Family & Class Reunions • Community Functions
Seating for 400 Super Sound System Variable Lighting
952-466-2064 www.ci.cologne.mn.us 1211 Village Parkway • Cologne, MN
Dance Floor Serving Kitchen Community Room
Source: Article from the West Central Tribune, January 11, 2012.
City of Cologne
Cologne City Council
Park & Recreation Board
1211 Village Parkway, P.O. Box 120, Cologne, MN 55322 Web site: www.ci.cologne.mn.us or www.Cologne-iSP.net
Mayor Bernie Shambour Don Meyer Scott Williams Matt Lein Jill Skaaland The City Council meets on the 1st and 3rd Mondays at 7 p.m.
Craig Pexa Scott Rynerson Open Park Board position
Planning Commission
District #108 Community Education
Marcia Tellers Joel Sievers Kenton Exner David Reif Don Meyer (Council Rep) The Planning Commission meets on the 1st Monday at 6 p.m.
531 Morse Street, Norwood Young America, MN 55368 Phone: (952) 467-7390 Web site: www.dist108ce.org
Contact Us City Hall/Clerk’s Office ........................................(952) 466-2064 John Douville, Administrator ............ douville@ci.cologne.mn.us Public Works .................................... Terry Bullock, Jeff Wildung Cologne-iSP .........................................................952-466-2184 Emergency/after-hours public works pager..............................................(612) 579-7054
Mark Kalstas Mark Willems