Safe pedestrian crossings goal of Hiawatha Avenue project

Minnehaha-Hiawatha Community Works focuses on pedestrian/bicyclist safety at 32nd St., 38th St. and 46th St.

by Tesha M. Christensen

Frustrated crossing Hiawatha Avenue either on foot or on bike? You’re not alone.

After learning this is a safety concern of local residents, Minneahaha-Hiawatha Community Works (MHCW) began working to do something about it.

The plan is to target three intersections: 32nd St., 38th St., and 46th St. A number of changes will be made, according to Robb Luckow of Community Works.

The timing of lights will be adjusted so that people have more time to cross the wide street. Federal standards have recently changed, and these new recommendations will be followed. This project will tie into the traffic signal changes that will be done this year to help traffic flow better.

The area between the north and south lane will be widened so that those who haven’t had time to cross will have enough space to safely wait for the next opportunity.

Bump-outs will be added to not only make motorists more visibly aware of pedestrians and bicyclists, but also to narrow the width of the crossings so that it doesn’t take as long.

Several of the crosswalks are crooked; these will be straightened out and widened. The intersections will also be upgraded to meet standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Luckow acknowledged that often people aren’t using the intersections to get to the light rail transit stations, particularly at the 46th Street station where the station is located north of the intersection. The hope is that when the intersection is improved, people will walk down there to cross because it will be much safer and more convenient.

“Biking on Hiawatha is not a pleasant experience not only from the high speed traffic, but the way cars stop and enter from the side streets,” observed DeWayne Townsend, co-chair of the Longfellow Community Council Environment and Transportation Committee.  “Cars block bike lanes by pulling out to far and turn without looking for bikes.” He added that all the intersections are dangerous because of the high traffic on Hiawatha but he thinks the higher bike and pedestrian usage at the LRT stops make 38th and 46th the most likely to have an accident.

“Anything that improves pedestrian use and safety is a good thing,” observed Longfellow Community Council (LCC) Executive Director Melanie Majors. She noted that the biggest complaint she hears from residents is the traffic timing at the lights on Hiawatha.

Townsend believes that when the timing on the lights is changed, it will cut down on folks crossing against the light because they are tired of waiting.

“If the changes bring about the improvements that are expected it will significantly improve transportation in and out of the community,” Townsend stated.

The success of commercial and residential development is closely tied to whether people can get around by bike, car or foot, Majors pointed out. If people can’t access an area, they won’t go there. She applauded the county for pre-planning rather than treating pedestrian improvements as an afterthought, especially in light of the pedestrian safety concerns that will come this year with the new commercial/residential development on the southeast side of the 38th/Hiawatha intersection.

“Hennepin County is essentially heading those off by moving on the pedestrian improvements,” Majors said.

In mid-March, Hennepin County, Longfellow Community Council, the Corcoran Neighborhood Organization, and Standish-Ericsson Neighborhood Association hosted three open houses to talk about recommendations to improve pedestrian crossings along Hiawatha Avenue.

The next step for Community Works is to identify potential funding sources to implement this project. According to Luckow, the total cost will be $500,000.

Once the funds are obtained, the work will begin.

WHAT IS COMMUNITY WORKS?

A project of Hennepin County, Minnehaha-Hiawatha Community Works collaborates closely with the city of Minneapolis, Met Transit and the Minnesota Department of Transportation -- all the entities that have jurisdiction along Hiawatha. “It’s a nice partnership between these four organizations,” Luckow stated.

The pedestrian improvement project is one of 16 projects laid out in the MHCW Strategic Investment Framework that was recently adopted by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners. These infrastructure investments aim to:

•  Improve the ability to walk, bike, drive, and travel to and through the corridor;

• Support business vitality and job creation;

• Create a diverse set of housing, commercial, and employment opportunities to serve the community;

• Enhance the sense of community while honoring its history; and,

• Promote environmental sustainability.

There are several positions open on the steering committee, which will oversee implementation of these projects. For more information, contact Robb Luckow at 612.348.9344 or Robb.luckow@co.hennepin.mn.us.

The project area includes 28th Street south to Minneahaha Creek. The three intersections where changes will be made to improve pedestrian safety were identified as the top priority by residents at a variety of meetings over several years. Input was gathered at the Midtown Farmer’s Market, LCC annual meeting, Longfellow corn feed, light rail stations, door-to-door, and via the web site.

“People are looking forward to the opportunity to make changes in the area,” stated Luckow.

 This story printed in the April edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.

Keewaydin playground location set

New equipment and pool will go to the southeast of park building

by Tesha M. Christensen

Although the parks department doesn’t yet know when the playground will be replaced at Keewaydin Park, it does know where it will be located.

After a community meeting in March, the decision was made to position the playground and pool to the east of the park building, on land that once housed tennis courts.

The playground equipment will be displaced by the expansion of Keewaydin School. The groundbreaking on a $16 million addition that will double the size of Keewaydin School will be held in June; work is expected to be underway by the third week of June and continue for one year. At that time, part of the existing playground will be off limits.

“The K-12 play structure and wading pool will be open for use throughout and after construction,” noted Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board Project Manager Deborah Bartels.  “The pre-K structure, the swings, and the Galaxy spinners will be removed to facilitate construction.”

Since a design of the school expansion was first released to the public in January, the school district has continued to modify the footprint. “There has been a concentrated effort to compact the building so there would be more play space to the southern end,” observed Doug Walters of the Nokomis East Neighborhood Association who serves on the school construction steering committee.

This not only lowers the construction cost of the school building, but also may allow the pool to remain where it is until the parks department is able to set aside funds for its replacement, he said.

In the first expansion design, the addition was located on top of the existing playground and pool. It will no longer extend that far south.

TWO CONCEPTS PRESENTED

At the March community park meeting, attendees evaluated two concept plans. Concept one included one ball field, two soccer fields, two tennis court, and a playground/pool area where on ball field is currently located on the southwest side of the park property.

While this would position the playground close to the school, some residents were concerned about policing as the area would be difficult to see from the street, noted Bartels.

This would place the playground and pool near the school loading dock and garbage area, as well as next to a large gymnasium wall without windows, pointed out Walters. Additionally, the soil in this area is peat, and in order to put a playground there better soil would need to be hauled in, upping the cost of the project. In the past, this area was a swamp and a dump. The school will need to drive pilings in 90 feet in order to construct its addition in the area.

A representative from the Minnehaha Falls Athletic Club (MFAC) told attendees that their biggest need is for ball fields for youth games. “There are no other baseball diamonds in our area,” said Walters. “They are all booked.” The diamonds at Bossen Field are heavily used by adult leagues that pay rental for the fields.

With that knowledge, participants favored concept two, which retains two under-12 ball fields and two soccer fields.

The other big difference between concept one and two was the inclusion of tennis courts in concept one. However, given that there are new courts at 15th Avenue and Minnehaha Parkway, as well as at Lake Hiawatha Park and Lake Nokomis Park, the tennis courts were given a lower priority, according to Walters.

The concept favored by attendees locates the playground and pool in the southeast corner of the park land, in an area that has been open space since the tennis courts were removed in 2007 because they were in poor condition.

However, community members thought that the playground/pool concept number two as presented was too “formal” and instead preferred the “ambiguous” and “organic” design of concept one, stated Walters.

Bartels is currently working to revise concept two. It will be presented to neighborhood residents at another community meeting; a date has not yet been set for this meeting. “The full extent of the improvements that will be presented in the plan will be determined at the next meeting,” stated Bartels. “We know that a wading pool and playgrounds will be included in the plan.”

The parks department hopes to present the revised plan for Keewaydin Park to the Parks and Recreation Board in May for approval.

COST AND TIMING

After the final design has been approved, the parks department will solicit cost estimates. Then it will begin looking for funding sources. Because the school project was approved last November, the parks department was not able to work these changes into its budget. A new wading pool/splash pad will cost about $500,000, and a new playground about $300,000. It could cost $200,000 to fix the drainage issues on the athletic fields. The parks department has budgeted $500,000 total to split between the service area of Morris, McRea, and Pearl in 2013.

Once funding is identified, the parks department will determine when the equipment will be installed. “There is a push to get the playground open by fall,” said Walters.

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Concept 1 – Central playground with SE tennis courts

PROS

• Playgrounds located closer to school for use by students.

• Parents can easily observe three play containers from a single vantage point.

•Wading pool is near rec center for bathrooms and supervision.

• Tennis courts fill void in geographic distribution in SE metro.

• Tennis courts provide recreational activity for a different age group.

CONS

• Loss of one additional ball field.

• No buffer between fields and playground – possible safety issues.

• Possible expensive and extensive soil corrections required for pool and playgrounds.

• Policing: centrally located playgrounds behind buildings are less visible from the street.

• Retaining walls needed – athletic field grades are three feet lower than rec center.

Concept 2 – SE playground with athletic field

PROS

• Playground buffered from athletic fields by trees and topography

• No fields lost – 2 ballfields and 2 soccer fields

• Policing: area is very visible from the street

• Soils are good; construction less expensive.

CONS

• Distance of playground from school

• Distance between Pre-K structure and K-12 structure will make parental observation more difficult.

•  Wading pool distance from building; supervision more difficult

• No tennis courts

• Close to street:  fencing needed at perimeter of playground to meet current playground safety standards.

This story printed in the April 2012 edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.

Sabo Bridge closed to pedestrians, bicyclists

Street crossing keeps bicyclists, pedestrians moving along Greenway

by Tesha M. Christensen

When the $5.1 million Sabo Bridge was closed on Feb. 19, 2012, it affected people traveling three ways. Lightrail trains were prohibited from crossing under the bridge until Friday, and passengers were shuttled through that area via bus. Vehicles were rerouted from Hiawatha Ave. onto Cedar for a week. And bicyclists and pedestrians were no longer able to take the bridge and keep out of traffic; instead, they all had to cross at the street level.

Until Minnesota’s only cable suspension bridge is reopened, those bicyclists and pedestrians will continue to dodge vehicles at the 28th St. and Hiawatha Ave. stoplights.

At this point, no one knows when the Sabo Bridge will be reopening. It is, however, stabilized now, pointed out Minneapolis Public Works deputy director Heidi Hamilton.

“Before we design a fix, we want to know what went wrong,” stated Hamilton.

Until that happens, the cost of repairing the bridge is also unknown.

The city is not releasing any opinions on what may have caused the cracks because no one knows what went wrong and won’t until all the facts come in, said Hamilton. “There’s not a lot of value in speculating,” she added.

The bridge had most recently been examined in October. City inspectors gave the cable anchors the highest rating for soundness.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BRIDGE?

At 10:06 p.m. Feb. 19, a citizen reported finding a pair of cables lying on the Sabo Bridge deck. City workers responded, and discovered that a partly rusted diaphragm plate had fallen 100 feet from the mast, and released the topmost cable, number nine. A bridge inspector arrived at 2 a.m. to examine the mast, and discovered a second crack in diaphragm plate eight. Crews detoured vehicle traffic away from the site. The problematic effort to shore up the eastern end of the bridge began. These supports will remain in place until the bridge is fixed. One lane of northbound Hiawatha is closed to accommodate these supports.

The main focus the first week was making sure the bridge was stabilized and opening Hiawatha Ave. back up to traffic. Now the focus has shifted to discovering what went wrong.

Minneapolis and Hennepin County have awarded Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc. of Illinois a $100,000 no-bid contract to investigate the cause of anchor plate fractures; the two entities will split the bill. A determination could take four to eight weeks. Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates also received a $2 million, no-bid contract to investigate the cause of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse in 2007.

Representatives of Wiss, Janney and Elstner were on the scene by Wednesday, Feb. 22; they shipped the fallen plate to to Lehigh University in Pennsylvania for forensic analysis.

According to Hamilton, the next day, workers removed tension from diaphragm plate eight, which was also cracked. The number eight cable was detached by engineers on Friday.

Wiss, Janney and Elstner began magnetic particle testing to examine the rest of the bridge’s 18 steel anchors for cracks. A minor defect was discovered and fixed on plate seven, and cracking found on plate five. A temporary redundancy fix was completed the second week of February.

At the same time, the broken edge of plate number nine was removed. “There is a lot of interest in looking at that,” Hamilton pointed out. This piece will also be shipped to Lehigh University for analysis, and will be used to determine why the plate failed.

Some residents have speculated that too much weight on the bridge the day before may have contributed to the plates breaking. Gabriel Hoffman, the Seward representative on the Midtown Greenway Coalition Board, noted, “The situation people seem to be concerned about was the Friday night before the cables snapped, when there was (apparently) a police car, an ambulance, and a fire truck up on the bridge. Now, it is designed to carry that load, so my understanding is that if there wasn’t some underlying problem with the cable supports, it shouldn’t have been a problem.  If there is a problem with the supports, that load may have been the proverbial straw for the camel, but not being an engineer, I would not care to offer an opinion on the matter.”

“The bridge was designed to carry service vehicles,” Hamilton pointed out. The bridge needs to be plowed, and emergency vehicles are able to respond to calls on the bridge.

The city did a good job with the bridge closure, according to Eric Hart, a Cooper resident who doesn’t own a car, but instead bikes wherever he needs to go. “I heard about it fairly quickly and the city was very transparent about what went wrong and what they needed to do to make it safe for the LRT to run and the car traffic to be able to go under it.”

IS THE CROSSING AT 28TH AVE. SAFE?

Until the bridge is back in service, bicyclists and pedestrians will continue to cross at the street level.

As the weather warms up and more pleasure bikers join the commuters, Midtown Greenway Coalition Executive Director and Longfellow resident Soren Jensen anticipates that there will be crowding at the 28th St. lights. Already during these warm spring days there have been long lines of bicyclists waiting to cross. “It could be even more dangerous as bikers at the end struggle to get across,” said Jensen.

“As we get into the summer, and the cyclists on the Midtown Greenway includes more recreational cyclists (as opposed to people doing serious training or commuters), it will be more of an inconvenience, since they tend to feel less comfortable crossing at Hiawatha,” observed Hoffman, who travels on the Greenway every day.

There are several issues with the crossing at 28th and Hiawatha, according to local bikers.

“Drivers tend to be more aggressive on highways and not respect pedestrian right-of-way at crosswalks. They’ll inch forward into the crosswalk,” observed Longfellow resident Mike Jones, who bikes between three to 30 miles each day.

Hart noted, “The lane merging onto Hiawatha on the east side (coming from Lake Street) is probably the most dangerous part of intersection since it is unclear if the cars will stop and they are coming fast most of the time,” Hart said. “The right turn lane off of 28th to southbound Hiawatha is also problematic since cars don’t always look for pedestrians or bicycles before they turn right.”

Five years ago before the Sabo Bridge was constructed everyone used the street, but since then bicycle use has greatly increased in the Minneapolis, Jensen noted. Over 4,000 people use the Greenway each day. Minneapolis is currently second highest in the nation in the number of people commuting to work via bicycle, at 4% of the population; Portland has 6%. And as gas prices increase, Jensen believes more people will ditch their cars for bikes.

Most riders view the Sabo bridge as a safer and faster way to get across Hiawatha, according to Jensen.

“The more we can get people out of traffic, the more they want to bike,” Jensen observed. “People won’t bike unless it is safe.”

He added, “The bridge is part of a network that makes people feel safe. It’s a good investment.” Jensen pointed out that creating bike lanes, fashioning curb bump-outs and creating trails like the Greenway is much cheaper than building roads.

“The Greenway makes getting across south Minneapolis a breeze, and I think the fact that its free of cars and intersections, have encouraged a whole new group of bicyclists to try commuting and getting around by bicycle for the first time and get ‘hooked,’” observed Hart. “I’ve been biking in the city for 20 years and it is much more pleasant to go across south Minneapolis on the Greenway than on 31st or 32nd Streets.”

The city’s traffic division is monitoring the situation at 28th and Hiawatha, according to Hamilton. Changes have been made to the signal timing, but there are no plans to make other changes at the intersection. “Our hope is that this is not a long-term thing. We don’t want to put money into something that is for a short duration,” Hamilton explained.

“We are interested in getting the bridge back in use as soon as possible,” Hamilton said. “We recognize it is a really important crossing for bikers.”

Will people trust bridge when it reopens?

by Tesha M. Christensen

Will people trust the Sabo Bridge when it is reopened?

Longfellow resident Kevin Baumgartner isn’t sure they will. “Its safety record, and the confidence and comfort that goes with it, has been shattered. People may possibly never again have as high of a confidence level with that bridge, and that, in itself, is unfortunate and concerning,” Baumgartner stated.

People he knows in other states have a lowered respect for Minnesota due to the collapse of the 35W bridge in 2007 and the issue associated with the Sabo Bridge now.

“The question I get most is ‘What is wrong with you guys and your bridges?!’” Baumgartner remarked.

He added, “Also, within in 24 hours of the Sabo bridge closure, the Washington Avenue bridge had Central Corridor construction debris (the size of large bricks) fall onto West River Parkway below it.  So, three bridges, all within approximantly one mile radius of each other, have had safety problems that causes the closures of roads. So, a poor public perception of bridges in the state/city by locals and others is natural.”

On the other hand, Longfellow resident Katherine Debertin isn’t any more concerned about crossing bridges now than she was before. “I kind of think of bridges the same way I do about flying - I learned to breathe through crossings and I learned to breathe through take-offs and landings whenever I’m flying,” Debertin stated.

Just as there are investigations into airplane crashes, they are into bridge issues. “I hope that  it translates into better inspection or construction or design or to prevent future incidents,” remarked Debertin.

Howe resident Eli Effinger-Weintraub also hopes that the failure in the Sabo bridge is another wake-up call to examine infrastructure inspection and maintenance procedures and schedules.

Eric Hart, Longfellow’s former representative on the Midtown Greenway Coalition Board, doesn’t see a connection between the I35 bridge collapse and the closure of the Sabo Bridge. “This bridge was in no danger of falling down and nobody was hurt,” he pointed out.

Hart added, “I think the Sabo bridge is unique enough that it won’t effect people’s confidences in other bridges.  There are dozens of standard concrete bridges in the city and there haven’t been dramatic problems with them. The Sabo bridge is unique and the first in the state, so, if anything, people will be critical that they tried to experiment with something that was never tried in Minnesota, etc.  (or shouldn’t have spent so much to make it look flashy).”

Avid bicyclist and Longfellow resident Mike Jones agrees with Hart that the Sabo Bridge damage is different than what occurred with the 35W bridge because it wasn’t a catastrophic failure. He does however see how people would make the comparison “since the same contractor was hired for both bridges.” The Illinois-based engineering firm Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. investigated the collapse of the 35W bridge and has been hired to determine what went wrong with the Sabo Bridge.

“As people are already using the bridge by going around the barricades, I think people will still use the bridge,” Jones said. “I do think that some people will realize crossing at the light at 28th and Hiawatha is fairly quick and a way to bypass the large grade change in the bridge and will thus not use the bridge.”

DeWayne Townsend, co-chair of the Longfellow Community Council Environment and Transportation Committee has not changed his opinion on the safety of bridges in the area. “Two bridges among the thousands does not indicate a trend,” Townsend said. “I still trust bridges.”

ABOUT THE BRIDGE

The Sabo Bridge was designed by engineering consulting-firm URS. It opened in November 2007, two months after the 35W bridge over the Mississippi collapsed. The bridge has a total length of 2,200 feet with the main span over Hiawatha at 220 feet. While Hennepin County oversaw construction of the bridge, it transferred ownership to the city of Minneapolis in 2008.

This story printed in the April edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.