Note: This action alert has passed. We were successful! You can send a thank you to this same list. Council Members Lisa Goodman and Lisa Bender were the primary leaders on this and especially deserve our thanks.
Misinformed opponents want to delay action on the Hennepin-Lyndale design in hopes of more traffic lanes at the expense of everything else.
No matter where you live in the City, if you see this before 10:00am Tuesday, September 9, please send an email in support. We don't want this project delayed or potentially derailed because of this. The Transportation and Public Works Committee will vote on this shortly after that.
To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Message: I support Hennepin-Lyndale proposal
Potential reasons why (you don't need to be too elaborate with your reason):
--I'm excited to hear that the walking and biking areas will be separated along here.
--I'm exited they are adding greenspace and making it a little shorter to cross the street
--I'm excited they are adding a new pedestrian crosswalk and making it safer to everyone
--I would have loved to see more done in this area, but I think the proposal balances the needs in the area
Background
The Hennepin Avenue-Lyndale Avenue commons area in front of the Walker Arts Center is being reconstructed in 2015. This is a great opportunity to make big improvements in the area. Staff have come a long way to present a proposal that gets at most of our top priorities for the corridor. It is a proposal worthy of strong support. The project also has the support of a Community Task Force that includes Lowry Hill Neighborhood Association, Citizens for a Loring Park Community, Downtown Council, Walker Arts Center, the Minneapolis Pedestrian Advisory Committee, us, and a number of other local residents and institutions.
The key aspect of the proposal is removing a northbound lane in the area. That change provides the space to separate the walking and biking areas along the Loring Bikeway and add some greenspace. It also allows for a new crosswalk on the northside of the Groveland intersection and shorter crossing distances. Engineers have estimated that this change will lead to only an average of about 15 seconds of traffic delay during rush hour because of traffic signal improvements that can be made because of changes in intersections (mainly traffic on Hennepin/Lyndale will no longer have to wait ridiculously long at the Groveland intersection). Outside of rush hour, traffic will actually move faster through the corridor than today.
For those who attended the August public open house, this proposal is an improved version of the Option 2 presented there.
In summary: The proposal will:
--improve the safety and comfort of the area for people walking and biking AND
--make it a more attractive area overall with new green space AND
--allow the average driver throughout the day to get through faster.
Despite that some opponents are calling for delay of the project to "give more time for public awareness and to create a better, more balanced plan for all - walkers, commuters in cars, on bicycles, on buses and in trucks." They must be confused because that is what the current plan does. We didn't get everything we want, but it is a good balance and deserves our support. I hope you will offer yours.
