Politics & Government

Maplewood QuikTrip Vote Tabled Before Final Vote

The city, the school board and QuikTrip are working on compromises.

Maplewood city council put the brakes on the QuikTrip relocation Tuesday night, unanimously tabling the final vote.

QuikTrip would like to move from its present location on South Big Bend to the northwest corner of Manchester Road and Big Bend, into a new "Generation 3" store.

The tabling gives time for compromises between QuikTrip, the city and the Maplewood Richmond Heights School Board. The school board has opposed the move since it was announced on grounds of safety for students who walk to school at the intersection.

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“There’s a lot more information now to digest,” councilman Shawn Faulkingham said. “The school board has given council recommendations what they would like to see. Now, here we are at the last hour. We’re going to take into consideration all that.”

At the Sept. 11 council meeting, when the first vote was taken, Faulkingham made amendments to the ordinance. At the Tuesday meeting, school board member Nelson Mitten outlined the board’s requests. Some of those expanded on Faulkingham's amendments.

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Board member Francis Chmelir said superintendent Karen Hall and Maplewood City Manager Marty Corcoran have worked well together in the past two weeks.

“Our board took some time to dive into the issues and provide some real food for thought–very specific recommendations," he said. "I think they’re doing the wise thing taking more time, hopefully continuing the dialog for the next couple of weeks.”

Mitten said the tabling wasn't a total surprise.

“Some of the council members had already indicated publicly that there were serious questions,” he said. “They wanted to make sure things were correct before they moved forward.”

The MRH school board's recommondations for the new QuikTrip location:

  • QuikTrip must replace and reconstruct no less than 435 feet of sidewalk [west] of Martini Drive from Manchester Road north to the northernmost property line of the site.
  • Install pedestrian controlled traffic signals to be placed at the intersection which
    • a. Restrict right turns and left turns during pedestrian crossing.
    • b. Expressly indicate “No Right Turn” for southbound Big Bend right turn only lane when pedestrians are crossing.
  • A crossing guard must be provided by QuikTrip at the corner of Manchester Road, South Big Bend Blvd. and Martini Drive if requested by the MRH School District. Any cost would be paid for by QuikTrip.
  • Erect a permanent barrier across half of Martini Drive from the northeast corner of the proposed QuikTrip project to prevent any QuikTrip northbound traffic on Martini Drive. The open lane on the west side of Martini Drive will be one-way southbound for MRH school buses only.
  • Develop a pork chop road configuration at the south end of Martini Drive at Manchester allowing only right turns in from Manchester Road and right turns off Martini Drive onto Manchester Road.
  • Add speed bumps to east side of Martini Drive adjacent to proposed QuikTrip property.
  • Purchase adjacent property to replace lost parking on Martini Drive.
  • Install concrete bollards along the side of the sidewalk east of Martini Drive from Manchester Road north to the northernmost property line of the site.

More on Patch on the Maplewood QuikTrip:

  • MRH School Board Cements its Opposition to QuikTrip Move in Public Meeting
  • District expresses concern of QT relocation in Maplewood
  • Study Assesses Traffic Volume and Pedestrian Safety at Proposed QuikTrip


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