No exit — or entrance? Merchants worry Waconia road project will hurt business

Business owners and city officials in Waconia are at odds over plans to remake a short but busy stretch of Hwy. 5 — a key corridor that connects the exurb to the west metro area.

Projects to improve traffic flow and safety on Hwy. 5 have been going on along various segments for about five years. The current controversy involves a mile-and-a-half stretch near Ridgeview Medical Center. Besides easing congestion and reducing accidents, the aim is to help traffic access to the hospital, according to City Administrator Susan Arntz.

A two-lane segment of the highway east and west of the hospital will be expanded to four lanes, divided by a median.

That will eliminate some of the easy in-and-out access off the highway to cross streets — a change that has incensed nearby merchants who think the new configuration will reduce customer traffic to their shops and stores. One business owner commissioned a market study that has forecast his annual sales will drop by about 34 percent.

"Why would the city of Waconia shut off access to its local businesses?" said Jackie Schneewind, owner of a gas station and convenience store in a recent letter to city officials.

Schneewind and others have voiced their concerns on several occasions and now are scheduled to meet with Arntz and project engineers next month. Work on the project is scheduled to start in May and be completed in October.

The standoff in Waconia mirrors others that have cropped up elsewhere in outer-ring communities, where old two-lane trunk highways are expanding to improve traffic flow and safety.

Plans for another recently completed project to rebuild a four-lane segment of Hwy. 36 through Oak Park Heights were modified to preserve some access points, after business owners grouped along the highway objected. "Convenience is key to having people stopping at your place," said Joe Kohler, who owns Joseph's Family Restaurant just off the highway.

In Waconia, Steve Erhard acknowledges traffic has grown considerably since he opened his Subway sandwich shop across the highway from the medical center in the late 1980s. But he's concerned "people will just keep on going right past" his store because after the redevelopment, westbound drivers no longer will be able to make left turns leading to his business.

"You could always drive further down and circle back," Erhard said. "But realistically if you're that far down the road you're probably not going to turn around." He's worried about the market study he commissioned that found the new road configuration would result in a substantial drop in sales.

Schneewind, whose Colony Plaza has operated in Waconia for almost 40 years, says the changes will make it difficult for large trucks to get to and from her business because they either will have to make U-turns or travel on an adjacent road so narrow that it is little more than a paved alley.

"We have diesel trucks coming in for fuel and delivery trucks," she said. "How are they going to make these tight U-turns?"

"Part of this project is trying to balance community growth and safety in the community," she added. About 13,000 cars a day travel through Waconia on Hwy. 5, close to its capacity of 15,000. By 2030, daily traffic is expected to be 24,500 vehicles.

And while the $10.6 million project itself is city-led, some its funding will come from MnDOT, which requires the city to meet certain state agency standards, she said.

"For the 15 years I have worked for the city, all I have heard from the community is the need to do improvement on Hwy. 5. We are trying to balance all of that."