Highway 55 in Minneapolis (Hiawatha and Olson)

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minneboom
Nicollet Mall
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Joined: October 28th, 2015, 6:05 pm

Highway 55 in Minneapolis (Hiawatha and Olson)

Postby minneboom » October 28th, 2015, 6:37 pm

I know that many people have already written about Highway 55 and Hiawatha Ave, but I believe it is a worthwhile topic to revisit. I am concerned about the inability of our city and state to develop a positive vision for this corridor. While it is a complicated situation, it seems that there is a desperate need to develop a comprehensive plan. With the future expansions of the Blue Line, this corridor has tremendous potential and it is an opportunity that we should capitalize on.

One approach that might be useful as a precedent would be the RIverFirst competition. The competition identified a corridor that was blighted with old industrial buildings and disassociated parks. Then this competition created a comprehensive plan that helped identify different sites and strategies that could transform this area.

A project like RiverFirst would be a great way to develop guiding documents that inspire our city and state to act on much needed improvements to this corridor.

Wedgeguy
Capella Tower
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Re: Highway 55 in Minneapolis (Hiawatha and Olson)

Postby Wedgeguy » October 29th, 2015, 8:28 am

At least with Hiawatha I believe that there have been a few design charettes and "What If's" done over the years. The biggest problem with Hiawatha is the still semi-active freight rail and some of the NIMBYism that seems to happen when anything over 3 stories is proposed. But the Blue line has been open for over a decade so I would agree that we should have an up date to see what has happened, how we can improve the corridor, and just get some fresh ideas on what amenities need to be added to improve the area.

With the Blue line possible coming on line in 2020. I would agree that Olson is due for some ideas to improve that stretch of highway.

kellonathan
Nicollet Mall
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Location: Minneapolis, MN
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Re: Highway 55 in Minneapolis (Hiawatha and Olson)

Postby kellonathan » October 30th, 2015, 9:47 am

Thanks for 'restarting' the discussion! As a former commuter (as a Blue Line rider and as a driver,) I've been always wondering about those two corridors.

One thing to consider is that both Hiawatha Ave and Olson Hwy are still state highways and designated 10 ton truck routes---Hiawatha, especially, is a 'Twin Trailer and 10 Ton Truck Route'---I would very much love to see both of the corridors decommissioned and turned into multimodal urban boulevards, but without addressing the plan for rerouting/accommodating the existing truck traffic, it will be quite of a challenge.
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froggie
Rice Park
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Re: Highway 55 in Minneapolis (Hiawatha and Olson)

Postby froggie » October 30th, 2015, 10:13 am

It might be possible to turn Olson into a multimodal urban boulevard and still retain it's state highway designation and truck traffic needs. More on that later (yes, that's a hint).

minneboom
Nicollet Mall
Posts: 181
Joined: October 28th, 2015, 6:05 pm

Re: Highway 55 in Minneapolis (Hiawatha and Olson)

Postby minneboom » October 30th, 2015, 9:33 pm

Yes! It is a corridor with such tremendous potential to link two of the best parks (Minnehaha Falls and Theodore Wirth) with two developing downtown neighborhoods (North Loop and Downtown East). Furthermore, it could become an amenity that starts to gather currently disconnected communities (Longfellow and Powderhorn/Corcoran, Harrison and Willard Hay/Near North) It is also one of the first things that many visitors experience when they visit Minneapolis.

It would be great to get all the stakeholders together (MNDOT, City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, various neighborhood groups) and start a positive discussion about improvements. Hopefully this could lead to a master plan and some renderings that could help guide this corridor, and at least get people excited about different projects. Who would be the appropriate entity to lead this discussion and how can we start generating some creative ideas?


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