by Dennis Dalman
After years of residents’ concerns about Grizzly Lane in Sartell’s “The Wilds” neighborhood, that roadway is about to be fixed, but will residents be satisfied with those “fixes?” Some clearly won’t, according to a public hearing at the Feb. 24 Sartell City Council meeting.
The public hearing was held as a preliminary assessment hearing, as well as consideration of a final-design approval for the Grizzly Lane project.
Two-lane Grizzly Lane, a state-aid road, runs east to west through The Wilds residential neighborhood. To its south and north are homes, along with the large Wilds Park (north and south segments). To the east of the neighborhood is Pinecone Central Park.
The 36-foot-wide Grizzly Lane was constructed almost 30 years ago. As Sartell grew larger, so did an increase of traffic on that roadway with many observed instances of speeding and/or reckless driving. Some Sartell people and out-of-towners began to use Grizzly Lane as a thru-way from east to west and vice versa. Many times throughout the years, residents there expressed a variety of concerns, not just about a large volume of traffic and speeding and pedestrian safety, but because of quite frequent major flooding in the neighborhood, and the poor condition of the road and driveway access problems.
Grizzly Lane allows for parking on both sides of the road.
At the Feb. 24 hearing, Sartell City Engineer April Ryan presented details of what the Grizzly Lane improvement project will entail: stormwater-and-drainage improvements. Those costs will not be assessed to property owners; Sartell received a grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to finance those water-related improvements. The road project will include total reconstruction of Grizzly Lane to make it a bit narrower (by 22 inches) and with a sidewalk added all along its north side, a couple of feet from the roadway.
The total estimated cost of the project will be $2,056,000, with estimated assessments to residents along that road estimated at $370,000, total. There will be a cap on what each property owner would pay – no more than $8,000 or 8 percent of the market value of their property. There may be a lesser amount assessed for residents who live along that roadway who are retired or disabled and living on limited incomes.
Residents’ input
About a dozen residents of The Wilds spoke at the public hearing – most of them men. The following is a summary of their comments/concerns:
Some insisted putting in a sidewalk will not improve safety for children or other pedestrians. One man said a sidewalk would be piled high with plowed snow and road salt that would create inconvenience, safety hazards and ruin lawns.
One man said Grizzly Lane and that road and infrastructure was not designed properly to begin with so why should residents now be asked to “pay for past mistakes?”
Efforts to increase safety are dubious at best, a resident said, because all of the traffic that keeps increasing there, partly due to the presence of Pinecone Central Park to its east. He suggested the city pay for the lion’s share of the project and reduce assessments.
Another speaker said he is worried about his three young daughters’ safety. Adding stop signs previously did not work, he said. The volume of traffic and speeding is still the major problem, he said. But he added that he’s talked to many neighbors who do want a sidewalk, as he himself does too.
(Sartell Police Chief Brandon Silgjord, who was also at the meeting in his official capacity, said the police do their best with traffic enforcement on Grizzly Lane. He also said accidents with pedestrians can happen anywhere with or without sidewalks, but he added that a sidewalk by Grizzly Lane would not hurt.)
A speaker said the best way to reduce traffic is to have another east-west thru-way road in that vicinity to relieve congestion on Grizzly Lane.
(Sartell Mayor Ryan Fitzthum said that when 15th Avenue north of The Wilds gets built, that should be a big help in that regard – decreasing traffic on Grizzly Lane.)
One man suggested narrowing that road dramatically, which might slow down traffic.
Another man called the addition of a sidewalk an “asinine” development, adding he is not aware of any bad vehicle-pedestrian accident ever happening there. Water is the major problem, he said, as it sometimes overflows into the neighborhood from a nearby ditch.
A woman said she moved to The Wilds seven years ago and that it is all often a “swamp” in recent years. She maintained things were not done properly when the road and other projects were done nearly 30 years ago. “Why should I pay for past mistakes?” she asked.
Another woman said her place has been flooded three times. As another speaker had said, children and others bike, run and roller-blade all through that neighborhood, including at the edges of the road and through yards. A sidewalk, she added, would not help safety in that area.
April Ryan comments
After the public hearing was closed, Engineer April Ryan gave some comments based on the concerns she heard during the hearing.
Ryan said the following:
That road cannot be narrower than 32 feet, she said, because of state-aid road restrictions.
Plans are to raise the height of the roadway a bit, but how high will depend upon issues that might occur during grading of the under-soil, which is clay-like in structure.
There will be parking allowed on the new road.
Installing too many stop signs would probably only serve to increase people’s sense of false security, with some motorists just ignoring the stop signs.
Ryan also said in her communications with residents along Grizzly Lane, at least as many of them are pro-sidewalk as anti-sidewalk.
Sartell City Administrator Anna Gruber noted any changes or updates to the Grizzly Lane project will be posted on the city’s website as they occur, if they occur. She also noted the St. Cloud Area Planning Organization (and its member cities) are working to make changes on many other roads in the area that just might help eventually ease the traffic on Grizzly Lane.
Mayor Fitzthum said there may have to be trade-offs/compromises as the plan continues to develop.
Council votes
The city-council members voted 4-0 to approve the preliminary assessments (member Tim Elness was absent). Another “final assessment” public hearing will be scheduled in the near future.
The mayor then made an amended motion to approve the final-design plans for the Grizzly Lane project, adding city staff should re-examine a 36-foot-wide road option with alternate sidewalk options that would meet legal specifications. The council voted for the motion, 4-0.
Timeline
June-July 2025: The start of construction on the Grizzly Lane Project.
Fall 2025: The final assessment public hearing for the project.
October-November 2025: Total construction of the road’s pavement will likely be completed.
Spring 2026: All aspects of the project should be finished.
