City Council Approves County’s Proposal for Rebuilding Lake Street

Plans for a newly designed Lake Street cleared Minneapolis City Council today on an 11-to-1 vote, keeping Hennepin County’s reconstruction on a tight schedule to have the segment between 5th and 21st Avenues ready for the opening of the Midtown Exchange at Chicago and Lake in early 2006.

Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, a prime mover for improving Lake Street, said the approved design was the product of 19 months of advisory committee work by volunteer neighborhood, business and other community representatives, including city council members, who evaluated several options forwarded by Hennepin County for the roadway's design. He said that City Council members saw parking as a critical issue for Lake Street businesses and residents. Today’s approval included refinements that maintain as much on street parking as possible.

"We've had a lot of give and take in the neighborhoods and in City Hall to decide the right balance of pedestrian, transit, traffic and parking interests," said McLaughlin. “From the beginning we sought community participation in the design process because of the many legitimate competing interests for use of this important 80-foot cross-section of real estate in south Minneapolis.”

Council Member Sandy Colvin Roy, chair of the city council’s Transportation and Public Works Committee, said the city’s large stake in the outcome of Lake Street’s reconstruction added urgency to the approval vote.

"The City Council again sent the message that Minneapolis is doing all it can to get Lake Street ready to provide accessibility to the Midtown Exchange when it opens to more than a thousand new jobs in early 2006."
She added that the adoption of the community-driven Lake Street plans was consistent with supporting the “enormous number of smaller businesses along this major street.”

County Commissioner Gail Dorfman commented on the vote by saying, “We were committed from the beginning to making Lake Street a great street for the 21st Century. This will be a big step in that direction.”

Today's approval covers Lake Street (County Road 3) between 5th to 21st Avenues. This segment will be the first of three between DuPont Avenue and the Mississippi River to be rebuilt by Hennepin County. Sidewalks will also be expanded and major streetscape elements added.

Hennepin County will invest more than $4 million in streetscape improvements and amenities including pedestrian lighting, trees and transit facilities. The 5th to 21st Ave segment is scheduled for completion in late 2006, and the entire project by 2009.

The last time Lake Street was significantly rebuilt was in 1954, when streetcar lines were removed. The roadway has since deteriorated significantly, and Hennepin County concluded that reconstruction was necessary.

More information: www.lakestreet.info.

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