Strides Toward a More Walkable Downtown Minneapolis
November 22nd, 2006,I was delighted to read two Star Tribune articles recently regarding efforts to make the city of Minneapolis more pedestrian friendly. The first article, “Makeover proposed for downtown,” details a plan that makes pedestrians a higher priority and creates a more pleasant downtown environment:
The 10-year transportation plan proposes to restore two-way traffic on Hennepin and 1st and possibly Park and Portland Avenues, to remove buses from many streets downtown and eventually bring streetcars back to the city landscape.
The goal, [Mayor R.T.] Rybak said Thursday, is to make the city more walkable, livable and inviting, to use transit investments “to re-create the Minneapolis we grew up in”…
Nicollet Mall, where people walk and eat at sidewalk cafes, would be freed of the noise and fumes of commuter buses.
The proposal calls for strictly spaced local buses on the mall — the quiet, clean, hybrid models — that would offer free shuttle service through downtown.
The return of streetcars would be a huge change, and a fairly expensive one at $30 million a mile. But it really would bring back an aspect of the old Minneapolis that I used to hear about from my grandparents. They often talked about taking streetcars.
The second article concerns “a privately led effort…to establish walkways that will enliven the environment for pedestrians”:
A foundation called Walking Minneapolis launched itself last month to explore a safer and prettier pedestrian environment for downtown, then to raise private funds to actually build it, maintain it to the highest standards, and sustain it over time. If the plan goes forward, a 10-mile network of enhanced walkways — linear parks of a sort — will connect nearly all of downtown’s major destinations. The walkways would also link new residential clusters to the Nicollet Mall shopping district.
This is especially interesting as a public-private partnership - something that will undoubtedly help it to be realized. (Note: I could not find a web site for Walking Minneapolis.)
Of course, I’m still keeping an eye on Minneapolis’ role in the federal Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program, as coordinated by Steve Clark of Transit for Livable Communities. The program has over $21 million dollars to work with. They’ve published a newsletter article on recent activities as they get under way. They’ve formed a Bike-Walk Advisory Committee with over 30 members! Reading the newsletter I also came across a link to Active Living Ramsey County. There’s clearly a movement going on!