by Rich Larson
Last week, the Northfield City Council approved a mill & overlay project feasibility study for the Northwest section of the city.
This will be a large update to the streets and roads in a section of Northfield that is growing and getting busier, and the plans for the project reflect the changing concerns and values that the city is showing for public safety and transportation.
The project has detailed plans for bikeways on St. Olaf Ave, North Ave, Lockwood Drive, Forest Avenue and Thye Parkway. It also calls for trails and sidewalks to be further developed throughout the area. While these projects are not popular with all residents of the area, as was made clear by the public comments at the meeting, Mayor Rhonda Pownell said new safety and environmental concerns have become important facets of the city’s street planning process.
“In addition to identifying he different roadways that received updates, were some sidewalk and trail updates to make sure that our roadways and right-of-ways are safe for not only our motorists, but our bikers, our walkers, our moms & dads pushing strollers – we see lots of them – or someone using a walker.”
Another controversial aspect of the plan involves the necessary measures that must be taken in order to develop a railroad quiet zone from Highway 19 to St. Olaf Ave. City Administrator Ben Martig said that for years the city has looked for ways for trains passing through that section of Northfield, which is almost completely residential, to not have to sound a horn. Developing a quiet zone in the area is possible, but it requires detailed development including lowering gates on both sides of the tracks and medians in the road to prevent cars from driving around those gates.
The plan approved by the council calls for medians to be built on the east side of St. Olaf Avenue. However, Pat Ziegler, one of the owners of Ziggy’s Gas Station said that building those medians would preclude fuel trucks from being able to get into their lot. Councilor Brad Ness offered an amendment to the plan removing the median from the project that was ultimately not approved, but the council did direct city staff to continue to work with both Ziegler and the property owners to find a solution to the issue.
The Norhtwest Mill & Overlay project is scheduled for next year.
Cannon River Watershed Cleanup set for Saturday morning
Clean River partners will coordinate the 13th Annual Cannon River Watershed Cleanup on Saturday. They are asking for volunteers to help in Northfield, Faribault, Cannon Falls, Owatonna and several other communities along the Cannon River.
In Northfield, the clean-up areas will be in Lions Riverside Park and in the Carleton Arboretum. Clean River Partners Community Engagement Coordinator Kevin Strauss said volunteers will primarily pick up litter around the riverbank areas. While some volunteers will be on the river working from boats, he said the portion of the cleanup they are coordinating is all work on dry land, which can be challenging enough.
“We do sometimes find some big stuff. We’ve found grills, we’ve found barrels. If they are things that are easy to move, we pull them out, but if they aren’t easy to move, we just mark where they are, and we talk with the city or other organizations to try to get those bigger things out of the river.”
Strauss said those not wishing to attend a community event right now can still participate by registering to do a Clean Up at Home. CRP staff will deliver gloves and bags left on volunteers’ doorsteps so they can pick up litter in their own neighborhood.
The event will begin at 9am. To register, visit cleanriverpartners.org/cleanup. For more information email Kevin Strauss at kevin@cleanriverpartners.org.
Northfield Public Broadcasting showing ‘The Bookers’
September is proving to be another good month for viewers of Northfield Public Broadcasting who are interested in the various
goings-on about town.
NPB Station manager Sam Temple highlighted several new programs that have either debuted recently or will debut in the coming weeks, beginning with the Northfield Public Library Booker Awards. Over the summer, one of the projects students in the Northfield Public Schoos Blast Program were given, was creating stop motion films using only an iPad and Legos. Temple said the results of that program are spectacular, and NPB is showing not just the films but the award ceremony itself.
The presentation given by Northfield historian Susan Hvistendahl last week at the Northfield Public Library on the history of the Archer House was filmed and will debut on Northfield Public Broadcasting on September 24.
The Northfield Police Department is featured in three different videos on NPB right now. One focuses on the department’s Lights Out program which informs people when they have a taillight or a headlight out while another talks about the new body worn cameras being used by Northfield Police, and the public’s rights regarding the footage those cameras capture. And Temple said he rode with Chief Mark Elliott during the Night to Unite in August and has created a highlight film of the evening seen through the eyes of the Northfield Chief of Police.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with NPB Station Manager Same Temple can be heard here
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
