The redesign of the Penn Avenue corridor is swiftly moving closer
to reality. In November interested neighbors and residents attended several
community engagement meetings that were held at various North Minneapolis
locations. The meetings were coordinated by the Penn Avenue Community Works
Project to enlist residents with their suggestions for creating a vibrant and
livable roadway along Penn Avenue. The meetings were productive and generated a
wealth of excellent ideas and excitement from residents living from Bryn Mawr
to Shingle Creek. A total of 10 neighborhoods will be impacted by this
thrilling new urban redevelopment.
As reported by the
Camden News last summer, the Penn Avenue Community Works Project has a
collaborative team comprised of Hennepin County, City of Minneapolis, and Metro
Transit employees. The project’s purpose is to enhance the economic, livability
and mobility along Penn Avenue which will ultimately improve the quality of
life for Northsiders. The team’s first project effort is to make transportation
for Northside residents both affordable and accessible by implementing Bus
Rapid Transit (BRT) that will extend from the Brooklyn Center Transit Center to
downtown Minneapolis—which will conveniently connect passengers to the light rails.
The Green Light Rail runs between the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul,
and the Blue Light Rail proceeds to the Mall of America in Bloomington.
Connecting the BRT with the light rails will affordably align North Minneapolis
residents directly to prime shopping and major Twin Cities’ attractions.
Whether passengers
are stopping at Victory 44 for lunch, going grocery shopping at Aldi’s or
catching a movie at the Mall of America, the BRT, or C Line as it will be
called, will get them speedily to their destination—it will run 24 percent
faster than local bus service and arrive at bus stops every 10 minutes. Each
designated stop will have brightly lit stations where passengers can
conveniently purchase their bus tickets from a machine before boarding. For
comfort and safety, the stations will be equipped with amenities such as
security cameras, emergency telephones, maps and route schedules. But what is
most significant for all Minnesotans to appreciate, each station will be
adequately heated to shield customers from the nippy winter chill.
Construction of the
$32 million C Line will begin in 2016 and will join two other arterial rapid
transit systems that will operate in St. Paul. The West 7th Street B Line opens
for passengers in 2016 and the Snelling/Ford A Line is slated to premier in
2017. But these first three lines are just the beginning because arterial rapid
transit system is the future, and luckily for us, North Minneapolis was chosen
to be on the cutting edge of this exciting new transit experience. Connecting
Northside residents quickly to shopping, schools, churches and libraries will
be an investment well spent.
The C Line is not the
only plan for Penn Avenue. To make it easier for pedestrians to access bus
stations and businesses, the street will narrow and have amazing lighting
features adorning both sides of the street like a string of fine pearls. Bike
lanes and alternate parking are also being considered.
For residents who are
interested in the project and want to get involved, it’s not too late to get on
board. Kelsey Dawson Walton, Penn Avenue Community Works leader, said more open
house meetings will be scheduled in January. This is a unique opportunity for
residents to share their thoughts and visions with the project team because
residents are the ones who know their community better than anyone else. And
they are the ones who will reap the benefits.
Visit the Penn Avenue
Community Works Project website, hennepin.us/penn, for dates and locations of
the January meetings.