Hiawatha Avenue is a difficult street to cross by foot, bike, wheelchair, or motor vehicle.  High vehicle speeds, wide crossing distances, short crossing times, and LRT signal pre-emption have contributed to the difficult pedestrian and bicyclist environment.  At the same time, the addition of the LRT line has added more pedestrians and bikers to the area. 

Hennepin County convened a working group with Metro Transit, Minneapolis, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation to develop recommendations to improve the street crossing environment at several intersections along Hiawatha Avenue:  28th Street, 32nd Street, 35th Street, 38th Street, 42nd Street, and 46th Street.  These recommendates should make it easier and more comfortable for walkers and bikers to cross Hiawatha Avenue at these intersections.  Key points of these recommendations include:

• Adding bump-outs at some corners to reduce the distance across Hiawatha Avenue.  Bump outs can also reduce traffic speeds.
• Providing more walk time for people to cross Hiawatha Avenue
• Making the crosswalks wider and more visible
• Upgrading the crosswalks to meet new ADA requirements
• Adding wider medians to provide a more comfortable place to stand for people who cannot make it across the entire intersection.

The following diagrams show recommended layouts and renderings for each of the intersections.  Email robb.luckow@co.hennepin.mn.us to provide comments.

Proposed Layouts
28th Street
32nd Street
35th Street
38th Street
42nd Street
46th Street

Intersection Renderings
32nd Street rendering
38th Street rendering
46th Street rendering

Project Powerpoint Presentations
March 2012 Presentation from Open Houses

Open Houses

Several Open Houses have been scheduled so that community members can ask questions and provide comments on the recommendations.

Monday, March 19 / 6:30 – 7:30 pm
Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church
2600 East 38th Street

Tuesday, March 20 / 7:00 – 8:00 pm
Hiawatha Flats Apartments – community room
3625 East 43rd Street

Wednesday, March 21 / 7:00 – 8:00 pm
Clare Midtown – community room
3105 South 23rd Avenue

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