by Rich Larson
In what is now becoming a theme, the Northfield City Council had a lengthy discussion last night during their meeting about traffic
congestion and safety concerns along Lincoln Parkway outside of Greenvale Park Elementary School during student drop off and pick up times.
The area of the recently constructed elementary school and refurbished Community Education Center has seen a larger increase in the amount of traffic than anticipated since the new school opened, as many parents have chosen to drive their children to and from school for various reasons, including the Covid-19 pandemic. The problem seems to be compounding as well. As more people are choosing to drive their kids to school, fewer parents are comfortable allowing their children to walk to school and are therefore driving them to school as well.
City Engineer Dave Bennett gave a presentation illustrating many of the issues in the area. Speed on the road is a problem. Many drivers ignore the crosswalk regulations as well and choose to not yield to pedestrians. Many drivers are also having trouble distinguishing the north shoulder on Greenvale from a turn lane and are parking their cars in that lane as they go into the school to retrieve their children, creating backups.
Bennett and his department proposed several changes to be taken in the short term, deferring long-term fixes until after the school district completes a traffic study scheduled for the latter part of 2022.
A motion was proposed to include a flashing, full-stop, pedestrian activated crossing at the intersection of Lincoln Parkway and Linden Street, along with the temporary measures proposed. While the motion did pass, the district was encouraged to speed up the timetable on the traffic study in order to address what appear to be serious safety issues as soon as possible.
Last week, the Northfield School District announced it will change the traffic flow at Bridgewater Elementary School to alleviate traffic problems on Jefferson Parkway.
Chamber Raffle and Gala set for Friday
The Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce will give away a 2021 Jeep Trailhawk on Friday night. It is the Grand Prize of the annual Chamber fundraiser raffle.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, like most other non-profit organizations, the Chamber of Commerce had to cancel its fundraising events in 2020 and was forced to get creative in finding ways to raise money. The raffle was created to fill that void, and with a Grand Prize of a 2020 Chevy Equinox, along with several other prizes, the raffle was a great success.
This year, said Jane Bartho, the Chamber Director of Events and Membership, the decision was made to “up the ante.” The velvet red pearl Trailhawk is a well rated mid-size SUV that, according to automoblog.net is, “rugged but not monstrous, and comfortable without being over the top in terms of luxury.”
Other prizes to be given away in the lottery include two $1000 Chamber Bucks packages, 2 $500 Chamber Bucks packages, and 10 $100 Chamber Bucks packages. There is also a night’s stay at the Contented Cottage Bed & Breakfast, a $100 Slumberland Gift Card, a golf foursome at the Northfield Golf Club, and tickets to see the Twins play the Yankees at Target Field next summer.
The drawing will be one of the main events at the Chamber’s Fifth Annual Fall Gala, on Friday night. The evening will include a social hour and dinner, followed by live entertainment provided by Chad Johnson and The Minnesota Transplants. Bartho said the drawings will be interspersed throughout Johnson’s set.
The Chamber has made 750 tickets available for the raffle at $100 each. For information on where to get tickets, as well as the Fall Gala, visit northfieldchamber.com.
ReCharge Northfield brings electric vehicles to Northfield on Saturday morning
Northfield Shares and the Northfield Rotary Club along with several other partners will host an electric vehicle showcase event on Saturday
called ReCharge Northfield. The event will introduce Northfielders to the ins and outs of owning, maintaining, and operating an electric vehicle.
Attendees will learn about electric vehicles and the benefits of owning one. Notably, they will have the opportunity to drive an electric vehicle, as well as talk with owners of electric vehicles, learn about charging options, and the environmental and economic benefits that EV’s bring.
Along with Northfield Shares and Northfield Rotary, the event is sponsored by the City of Northfield and Recharge America, which is a nonprofit organization that seeks to bring awareness to electric vehicles.
After two very successful events in Mankato, Recharge America approached Northfield Shares this summer about holding an event in Northfield. Coincidentally, the Northfield Rotary’s Climate Action Team, or RCAT, was beginning the process of putting a similar event together, so the two groups decided to collaborate.
Jon Olseth, a 1990 graduate of St. Olaf College, and one of the founders of ReCharge America, said that not only are EV’s good for the environment, but they also support local economic development. His organization estimates, on average, an owner of an electric vehicle can save $1000 a year on fuel and maintenance over a standard vehicle. That, he said, can add up quickly.
“What that means for a community like Northfield, is if we have 1000 electric vehicles in that community, that’s a million-dollar annual fuel savings that remains in that community. So, what we’re talking about is literally, a million-dollar annual initiative.”
Other participants in the event include both Carleton and St. Olaf Colleges. Even local girl scout troops will be involved.
Recharge Northfield is set for Saturday in the Greenvale Elementary School parking lot. The free event will run from 10am until 1pm. For more information visit the Northfield Shares website at northfieldshares.org.
Listen to Jon Olseth and Kirk Brown of ReCharge America discuss the ReCharge Northfield event here
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
