Location: Hennepin Ave to 5th Ave Downtown
Hennepin County will finish its reconstruction of Washington Avenue from Hennepin Ave to 5th Ave in downtown Minneapolis in 2017.
Additionally, the County will re-stripe the lanes on Washington Avenue from 5th Ave to I-35W. This re striping will reduce the outlined portion of Washington from three lanes to two, leaving room for full-time parking and bikeway. It is a fantastic opportunity to extend the protected bikeway on the reconstructed segment almost to the University of Minnesota.
Word on the Street
Washington Ave bike lane signals need to be changed
The new protected bike lanes on Washington Avenue have the potential to be great, but poor bicycle signals are making it confusing and less safe for everyone.
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Project: Washington Avenue
Location: Hennepin Ave to 5th Ave Downtown
Hennepin County will finish its reconstruction of Washington Avenue from Hennepin Ave to 5th Ave in downtown Minneapolis in 2017.
Additionally, the County will re-stripe the lanes on Washington Avenue from 5th Ave to I-35W. This re striping will reduce the outlined portion of Washington from three lanes to two, leaving room for full-time parking and bikeway. It is a fantastic opportunity to extend the protected bikeway on the reconstructed segment almost to the University of Minnesota.
Read more
Washington Ave Public Meeting Recap
The Washington Avenue public meeting was held on May 14 from 5-7pm. It was an "open house," which means that people could drop in anytime in that two hour window to see the four different options Hennepin County has designed for Washington Ave. Options were laid out in detail on giant printouts on the walls and on the table; these maps showed an overhead picture of the current Wash Ave along with the proposed changes drawn in. There was no formal presentation, but staff were available to answer questions. After viewing the different layout options, attendees were asked to fill out a small packet in which we could express our preferred vision for the future of Washington Ave.
The meeting was well attended by bicycle coalition members; a big THANK YOU to everyone who came! We are confident that our voice was heard and that we are well on our way to making Wash Ave safer for cyclists and pedestrians and more livable for all who spend time in this area.
If you were not able to attend the meeting, you can still make your opinion heard! Hennepin County's survey link is still up and will be open for at least the next few days. Be sure to check out the great blog posts here and here that detail the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition's take on the Wash Ave redesign. Take 5 minutes to fill it out, and bug all your friends to do the same: WASH AVE SURVEY
This was my first public meeting and I found the environment friendly and unintimidating. Plus, there were free cookies! Thanks again to everyone else who came out, and to everyone who has filled out the survey already.
Washington Avenue: Time for Action
Washington Avenue is an unsafe and unattractive barrier in the middle of downtown Minneapolis. It severs downtown from the Mississippi River, degrades quality of life in a growing downtown, and creates a hostile highway between the North Loop, Downtown, and the University of Minnesota.
Now is the time to change that. Now is the time to build a Washington Avenue for everyone. With Hennepin County fully rebuilding Washington from Hennepin to 5th Avenue South, there is once-in-a-generation opportunity to make that change. The new Washington Avenue should invite the redevelopment of surface parking lots and connect people to the riverfront. We want Washington Avenue to be a great place to live, work, and visit. You can help us get there!
Hennepin County is hosting a public meeting 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, May 14, at the Mill City Museum, 704 South 2nd Street. Input gathered at this meeting will help determine the design of Washington Avenue that will last for 50+ years. Please come! It will be an open house format, so you can arrive anytime from 5 to 7 p.m.
Key messages for the public meeting:
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I support a well-designed protected bikeway (or cycletrack) on Washington. We must design this bikeway to serve everyone. More details here on why a protected bikeway is right choice along with details of the options the County will present at the meeting. -
I want five car lanes - not six - with that extra 11 feet of space dedicated to more green space and improved areas for walking and biking. The County’s analysis shows that five lanes are enough to support today’s traffic. Yet they are choosing six lanes based on a guess that traffic may grow 11 to 13 percent by 2035. The consequences of that guess are longer distances to walk across the street, less space for greening, and narrower biking and walking areas. More details on five vs. six lanes will be coming soon.
If you can’t make the meeting, contact Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin with your messages, including a personal story about why this maters to you.
[email protected]
612.348.7884
Uninviting Washington Avenue today. All pavement and no life. A barrier to the neighborhood.
What Washington could look more like with new greenspace, a protected bikeway, and fewer lanes. A neighborhood asset that attracts people and businesses.
500 Letters Supporting Washington Ave Bike Lanes
500 Letters Supporting Washington Ave Bike Lanes
The Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition will present more than 500 hand-written letters to downtown Minneapolis City Council Member Lisa Goodman (Ward 7) at a 9:30 am meeting on Wednesday. All of the letters – written by downtown Minneapolis users and residents – request that the City and Hennepin County install protected bicycle lanes on Washington Ave.
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