Rebuilding half-mile of road has no curb appeal

Eden Prairie has turned all but 10 miles of its original rural roads into curb-and-gutter urban streets, but now residents want to save one remaining country half-mile of Riverview Road near the Minnesota River as a "historic representation of Eden Prairie's beautiful past."

They have asked the city to "reclaim and repave" the wooded, curving stretch of bumpy asphalt near Hwy. 169 rather than "reconstruct and ruin" Riverview's charm.

"The neighborhood wants to keep the road with this lovely country road feel," said resident Anita Phillippi. "What we are trying to hold on to is the feeling -- that charming, that wonderful old flavor. It's like an historical road."

Neighbors consulted an outside engineer for an opinion on the road's condition and were advised that a simple repaving -- costing about $100,000 -- would make it serviceable again. They say the city's proposed project -- estimated at $850,000, including an accompanying trail, storm sewer and water main -- would be overkill.

"The city should spend its resources on slowing traffic on Riverview Road, not speeding it up, destroying its charm and angering the citizens who drive it every day," homeowners said in a letter to the city.

Eden Prairie Public Works Director Gene Dietz has recommended that the strip of road be upgraded like the 225 miles already modernized. "We are an urban city. We are not rural America, and our standards and our policies are centered around an urban city."

The reason for upgrading streets is to make them safer, more durable, longer lasting and easier to maintain, Dietz said. "I don't think that we have to assume that because we are going to build this project that we are going to totally destroy this neighborhood. That is an overassumption."

The half-mile stretch in question has been patched but not repaved in recent years because it has been slated for reconstruction since 1990, when the Bell Oaks subdivision was developed, Dietz said. Segments of Riverview on either end of this stretch have already been rebuilt, although Phillippi said residents fought that project, too, some years ago.

Those sections "went from being a lovely old Riverview Road to kind of an eyesore," she said.

The half-mile in question is asphalt, about 24 feet wide, "and it runs into grass along the edge and there is no proper drainage," Dietz said. A true rural section would have ditches on either side and proper drainage with culverts, he said.

Phillippi said water concentrated by the storm sewer in the new sections is causing erosion problems whereas rain is absorbed into the ground in the old section.

If rebuilt, Riverview would again be paved with asphalt, but with concrete curbs and gutters added. The new road would be 28 feet wide, flanked by an 8-foot-wide asphalt trail on the north side.

Lots along the street would be assessed $3,970 for the improvements through a previous agreement reached at the time of development, Dietz said. If the council gives the go-ahead, the work would start in July and be substantially completed by November.

"There are maybe two roads left in Eden Prairie that aren't urbanized," Phillippi said. "From an historical perspective, what is wrong with holding onto something that is a little bit old? Beauty is what nurtures us. The overwhelming consensus is we like it the way it is."