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Council narrowly approves MnDOT's Broadway/Highway 14 layout despite safety objections
Summary
After a lengthy public hearing dominated by pedestrian, transit and disability advocates urging denial, the Rochester Common Council approved MnDOT's geometric layout for the Broadway and Highway 14 intersection by a 4'to'3 roll-call vote. Critics said added left-turn lanes widen crossings; MnDOT said the design improves pedestrian green time and overall safety.
The Rochester Common Council voted 4 to 3 on May 19 to adopt the geometric layout for MnDOT's Broadway Avenue South/Trunk Highway 14 intersection improvement project (J6073, state project 5502-109), approving a plan MnDOT says will make a longstanding crash-prone intersection safer.
Supporters, led by MnDOT project manager Tom Austin, framed the work as a safety-driven complete-streets redesign. Austin told the council the corridor is being rebuilt on a 30-mph design speed and that recent engineering work found dual left-turn lanes on Highway 14 would not increase through capacity but would allow signal timings that give more pedestrian green time. He also said the total project is about $19.5 million, with a city share of roughly $5.7…
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