Eden Prairie staff to revise pedestrian-crossing guidelines to allow more rapid‑flash beacons

Eden Prairie — City staff told the City Council on Sept. 16 they will bring amended pedestrian‑crossing treatment guidelines to the next meeting to expand where rectangular rapid‑flash beacons (RRFBs) can be installed, a move staff said is in part a response to a recent accident at Mitchell and Chestnut.

Public Works Director Robert Ellis summarized the existing evaluation criteria and the changes staff will propose. "We have approximately 5,200 intersections, crossings citywide," Ellis said, and the city currently maintains 388 marked crosswalks and "8 rectangular rapid flashing beacons." He said the guidelines use pedestrian counts, type of pedestrian (children, elderly, people with disabilities), trip generator (parks, schools, transit stations, regional trails), posted speed limit, number of lanes, and average daily traffic to determine treatments.

Ellis told the council staff proposes four main changes: adding a roadway‑classification score (distinguishing minor collectors, major collectors and arterials); lowering the vehicle‑volume threshold for RRFB eligibility from about 9,000 vehicles per day to around 5,000; counting sufficiently wide shoulders (6 feet or wider) as an additional lane for scoring; and using known pedestrian‑vehicle crash history as an eligibility factor. "If these new criteria as proposed were applied, I would expect 21 new intersections potentially meeting those guidelines for RRFB," Ellis said, and he named the intersection of Mitchell and Chestnut among the potential candidates.

Why it matters: city staff and several council members framed the changes as a targeted safety response that could be phased into the 2026 budget. Ellis said installation costs vary and often rise if curb ramps, concrete work or drainage adjustments are needed to meet ADA standards; "we're finding that the average installation is around $40,000," he said. "If we did have 21 new intersections and they're $40,000 a piece, the price tag could be close to $840,000." Ellis and council members repeatedly emphasized the cost would likely require multi‑year budgeting and that grants could offset some expense.

What the council heard: council members asked whether the guidelines account for forthcoming light‑rail travel patterns and for grant funding. Toomey asked whether the analysis includes crosswalks serving light‑rail stations; Ellis replied, "It it does. So, transit stations are 1 of those categories that because it serves the transit station, it elevates that and it gives it additional consideration." On grants, Ellis said the city has secured outside funding for installations before: "we are installing 2 RRFBs this year that we were able to work with the police department, and we secured grants for those."

Staff described two RRFB installations planned this year: Dell Road at Geisler and Anderson Lakes Parkway at Amston Boulevard. Ellis said the city’s streets crew will perform at least some installations to reduce cost: installing with internal crews "could probably cut the cost in half." Council members asked about portable or lower‑cost alternatives; Ellis said he was not aware of commercially manufactured portable RRFB units and noted the devices typically require concrete footings for winter and snow‑plow durability.

Discussion versus action: the council did not vote on a guideline change Sept. 16. Ellis said staff will bring the updated guidelines to the next council meeting and the council indicated support for prioritizing higher‑risk crossings first. The presentation followed a Sept. 2 discussion and was prompted in part by the recent accident at Mitchell and Chestnut.

Next steps: staff will draft amended pedestrian‑crossing treatment guidelines incorporating the four proposed changes and present them at the next City Council meeting for possible adoption and budgeting. Grant funding will continue to be pursued and staff will evaluate doing some installations with in‑house crews to reduce unit costs.