On Tuesday night, the Northfield City Council heard a presentation about the traffic situation on Lincoln Parkway in front of Greenvale Park Elementary School during the school’s dropoff and pick up times.
In a word, the situation is a mess.
Because of the heavy amount of traffic at peak times combined with the standard traffic on the road it is difficult for parents to get into and out of the parking lot, so many will improvise by entering the lot in the wrong lane, or parking illegally on the south side of the road. The problem is exacerbated by the school bus traffic, which does not always receive the respect from some drivers that is necessary.
The area is also commonly marked by speeds higher than the posted limit, and the study showed two incidents where crossing guards were simply ignored.
Northfield Mayor Rhonda Pownell said the situation can be flat out confusing.
“Oftentimes, there’s just a lot of confusion about where the parking is or where they are supposed to park and where the waiting, or the pickup line is. Previously the pickup line and the parking line were all in the same spot. So, people didn’t know where they are supposed to be.”
The problem on Lincoln Parkway is only expected to get worse over the course of the next two years as the Kraewood housing development is completed and more families move into the area.
Bolton & Menk Engineers, the organization that has been doing the study, made some recommendations to the council to help mitigate the problems.
Among the recommended improvements to the area are roundabouts that would be constructed at the intersections of Lincoln Parkway and Dresden Avenue and at Lincoln Parkway and Cannon Valley Drive. Lanes would be narrowed to slow the speed at which people drive. Off street bike lanes would be constructed throughout the area, and some changes to the parking at both Greenvale Park Elementary School and the Northfield Community Education Center would be made.
An Open House was held recently for people who live in the area at Emmaus Church, which Mayor Pownell said was well attended, and she said she was especially pleased to hear from many of the younger families who do not typically comment on public works projects such as this.
Northfield City Administrator Ben Martig said no timeframe has been set up for the construction of the improvements. The project is still in the design phase, and information is still being gathered from the Northfield School District, families of the students, and residents of the area. However, Martig said, after hearing the report on the way things are working right now, he said the city will have to prioritize, and put some things in sooner than later.
“So, we’re looking at a full buildout to try and come up with what we think would be the right design for that corridor. Even though we always will have peak demand challenges around schools, there are improvements that must be made in the Greenville area, now that we see how things are functioning down there with the new school.”
Martig said he expects a full plan to be put before the Council by the end of the year.
Return of Ag Education also means the return of Northfield FFA
Two years ago during the first round of necessary budget cuts due to declining enrollment, the Northfield School District proposed cutting agricultural education from the curriculum as a cost cutting measure and ending a partnership with the Randolph School District. Despite the fact that very few Northfield students were enrolled in the program at the time, the outcry to cutting Ag Ed was a resounding one. The School District received phone calls and emails, and several people addressed the School Board asking them to please preserve the Ag Ed program.
The partnership with Randolph Schools was indeed ended, but that was only because, after receiving such a passionate amount of feedback, the decision was made to not only preserve the curriculum, but to bring it back to Northfield as well.
When a pair of Technical Education positions opened up last year, the School District hired TJ Austin, who had been teaching Ag Ed in St. Paul, to come to Northfield and help revive the program.
Northfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann said he is very impressed with Austin, who, by Hillmann’s estimates, already has the program two years ahead of schedule.
After years of no Agricultural Education being taught at Northfield High School, the school is now offering two classes each semester. Hillmann said the response by the students has been swift and enthusiastic. No longer having to take the class at Randolph means many more kids are registering for the class.
“You know when you can see a program getting traction. You start to see that flywheel turning where all of the conditions are in place. Kids are having a good experience. Families are having a good experience. It just – it is really very exciting.”
The return of the Ag Ed program also means the school is reviving the Future Farmers of America program, and they are offering a monthly outreach class as well for kids in 7th-12th grade. The first outreach class was held on Monday night, and Hillmann said nearly 40 people were there to participate. One family, he said, even brought one of the original FFA Northfield signs from the original Northfield FFA program and donated it to the High School.
The turn of events is a remarkable one, as the school has gone from looking at discontinuing the program to now offering something more robust than Northfield High School has seen in years. Hillmann said this is an example of how the school board will listen to opinions and feedback from the general public, and will respond when it is appropriate.
“As a school district and as a board, we take all feedback seriously. We don’t always meet everybody’s expectations. I wish that we did, but it’s just not humanly possible. But I think this is an example of how we listen to all feedback and when we’re able to activate it and work on it and bring something to fruition that that happens.”
According to Dr. Hillmann some students have wasted no time and are already participating in some of the FFA contests, and he believes that number will only continue to grow.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
