Roseville Council Receives County Road C2 Traffic Study

More than 50 Roseville residents opposed to making County Road C2 a heavily-traveled east-west artery attended this week's Roseville City Council meeting.

Most wore blue-and-white “Keep C2 closed” signs, signaling their opposition to connecting separate segments of County Road C2 between the busy north-south arteries of Snelling and Lexington Avenues North to ease traffic on Josephine Road.

Josephine Road residents earlier this year proposed connecting the sections of County Road C2 – their fourth such proposal since 1988 – to ease traffic volume near their homes.

Roseville Council members delayed taking testimony until their Aug. 8 meeting after Mayor Dan Roe and other Council members sensed a lengthy string of testimony from C2 residents and Josephine Road residents who favor a connected C2.

Dave Miliotis, who heads an informal group called Save C2 Neighborhood Association, said Tuesday that the effect of building a 175-foot section of road to make C2 an east-west connection between Lexington and Snelling avenues is like “putting a birthday candle out with a fire hose. We’d be turning what is now a quiet residential street into a major artery.”

Miliotis referred to an expected increase in traffic volume create a variety of safety concerns among residents of the now-quiet segment of C2. He lives at 1128 County Road C2, a short stretch of road that extends west from Lexington Avenue North to a cul de sac.

Miliotis said C2 residents already expect increased traffic from Pulte Homes’ planned 28-home Josephine Woods development south of Josephine Road. Construction of that development has not yet started.

“We are fully expecting 28 homes, and we welcome our new neighbors,” said Miliotis, who added that he expects some commuters not living in the area to pass through the area to the Josephine Woods’ connection to the now-isolated C2 sul de sac.

That’s because the west edge of the Josephine Woods development will have an entrance from Fernwood Street, which extends south toward C2 from Josephine Road near the southern tip of Lake Josephine.

According to anti-C2 connection sentiment on www.SaveC2.com, “We simply feel that opening the entire cul de sac is too much, too soon – it is not necessary given the traffic projections from the developer and from the Roseville 2030 Comprehensive Plan.”

Roseville residents on both sides of the issue sat politely Monday as a traffic volume survey was presented to Council members by Deb Bloom, Roseville’s city engineer, and a representative of SRF Consulting.

SRF was hired by the city earlier this year to compare 2011 traffic volume at 12 intersections in the C2 area with projected 2030 traffic levels.

According to data gathered by SRF, the lone intersection that could become busy enough by 2030 to require a traffic light was Lexington Avenue North and C2.

The Traffic Study is available at www.cityofroseville.com/cordc2.