For Edina residents who live on W. 70th Street between France Avenue and Hwy. 100, the road might as well be a raceway. It's nearly impossible to back out of their driveways during busy parts of the day, let alone walk with children across the street to parks or to Cornelia Elementary School.
Though the speed limit is 30 miles per hour, many drivers who take 70th because it is an easy route to Southdale shopping center and the Galleria drive 40 or even 45 mph, residents say.
A city advisory committee and a consultant have studied the issue for a year. This week, residents got their first look at ideas to calm traffic, including adding roundabouts and traffic signals.
While some residents say almost anything to slow traffic would be welcome, others are not so easily placated.
Joshua Sprague, chairman of the Greater West 70th Street Homeowners Association, was not happy with what he saw. His group of about 160 people wants the street turned into a people-friendly parkway, with a speed limit of 25 mph, bike lanes and plenty of crosswalks.
"It was a joke," he said of the committee's ideas. "They bastardized our concept. They are fixated on this idea of roundabouts. ... They are not listening to us."
Les Wanninger, chairman of the Edina Transportation Commission and leader of the study group, said the goal of this week's meeting was to present ideas and make clear the pros and cons of different methods to make the street safer. Actual proposals probably won't be made until February, he said.
"We're a long way from decisions on this," he said. "We called these 'concepts' on purpose."