Minnetonka: 400 trees to fall for road expansion

To preserve the city's woodsy look, Minnetonka is preparing a new tree protection ordinance for approval early next year. But soon, the City Council is expected to sign off on a road-widening project that will mow down 427 trees, many of them large hardwoods.

"That's more than a little ironic considering we're probably the most tree-hugging city in the metro area," said City Manager John Gunyou.

The trees will be lost to Hennepin County's widening of Shady Oak Road from two to four lanes between Bren Road and Excelsior Boulevard.

"We live in a suburban wooded community, and they are making it look like Blaine," said Ken Anderson, who lives off Shady Oak Road.

Mayor Jan Callison said "We hate to lose trees in Minnetonka. ... The environment is one of Minnetonka's values.

"We also value safety for people on roads." Almost anything the city does requires balancing competing values, she said.

The Minnetonka City Council approved the preliminary plans in October 2004 and is expected to give them final approval on Dec. 3. The $25 million, 1.4-mile project promises to improve safety, reduce traffic delays and add a trail for bikes. Work will start next year and should be finished in 2010.

Minnetonka limited the number of trees taken by the project, said city engineer Lee Gustafson. "We go out of our way to save trees. We take it very seriously."

On the Shady Oak project, "We are spending $1.3 million in decorative walls to minimize right of way and to save trees," he said.

Another $290,000 has been budgeted for landscaping and replanting trees once the road is done. And the roots of 800 trees near the path of the project will be cut carefully to prevent them from being torn and damaged by bulldozers.

Still, 115 trees that would be considered high priority for protection under the new tree ordinance will be lost. Of those, 98 are deciduous trees (including 10 oaks, some basswood and sugar maples) and 17 are large, healthy evergreens, said natural resources manager Jo Colleran.

"The landscaping budget for the road project more than compensates for tree removal, consistent with our proposed tree ordinance," Gunyou said.

If the proposed tree ordinance were applied to the project -- though that's not the plan -- it would require planting 827 new 2-inch deciduous trees and 91 new evergreens. Gustafson said trees will be replanted where they will fit and can survive, and it's unlikely there will be space for 800 new trees.

An 8-foot-wide trail for bikes and pedestrians will be built along the road to Shady Oak Lake. The project also will include storm water runoff ponds that will improve the water quality of the lake, cleaning runoff before it enters the lake, said Gustafson. Now, water runs off the road directly into the lake.

A design debate

Traffic projections for future use of Shady Oak Road convinced the city that it's necessary to widen the road. A design calling for four lanes with turning lanes and a median received preliminary approval from the council in October 2004.

Some who live along Shady Oak would prefer a three-lane design with a center turn lane and the trail, instead of four lanes, a 6-foot median and turning lanes as planned.

"They are making a freeway in a residential area," said Anderson.

Shady Oak resident Ulrich Bonne and other residents spoke before the Planning Commission last week in a last-ditch attempt to change the plans.

"We know our case is not going to be easy, but as long as they haven't started construction, I thought we would give it another try," Bonne said. "Now, suddenly, we are informed that they are going to cut down 427 trees. We had never been told about that before."

Residents do welcome the trail, Bonne said. "Many of us like to walk around the lake, and right now we have to walk on the road to do that. That will definitely be an improvement."

But Bonne said Hennepin County's design should be reconsidered in light of concerns over global warming and rising fuel costs. From the beginning, "we never could get any meaningful discussion going outside of the four-lane version with a cement median."

Brent Lindgren, a design engineer for Hennepin County, said this section of Shady Oak road serves the Opus Industrial Park and other commercial buildings in addition to homes. With 16,000 cars a day now and an estimated 25,000 cars a day in 20 years, Shady Oak Road is not considered a residential street but a minor arterial that is an alternative to freeways, he said.

The county wants to build big enough to accommodate more traffic because the construction may have to last for 50 years, Lindgren said.

Gunyou said that the city considered a three-lane design but that officials thought four lanes would better accommodate future traffic demand. Shady Oak is four lanes now on both its south end at Bren Road and its north end at Excelsior Boulevard, Gunyou said. "So this project essentially completes the four-lane section between these existing intersections."

Gustafson said the design is not something residents could change because the state and federal money available for the work is provided with the requirement that the project is big enough to accommodate future demand.

But Gustafson said the city did move the route of the road as far to the east as possible to minimize its impact on residents and the lake. "The road itself -- if you look at the curb line or the edge of pavement now -- will be in almost the exact [same] location. It's not getting any closer to the lake," Gustafson said. "What is getting closer to the lake is this nice 8-foot trail."

Laurie Blake • 612-673-1711

Laurie Blake • lblake@startribune.com