Lowry Avenue between Queen Avenue and Theodore Wirth Parkway reopened on August 14, two months ahead of schedule, with new on-street bicycle lanes, wider sidewalks and intersection improvements.
The public is invited to the official ribbon cutting ceremony that will be held during the Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 10 at the Lowry/Penn intersection from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will be big, the streets will be blocked off, and there will be lots of entertainment; a Brazilian band, Hmong dancers, break dancers, choirs from local churches and Camden Music School, artists displaying their wares, an antique car show, a parade of the Patrick Henry High School Band, a kid's zone with showmobile and moonwalk, a farmer's market, food, family activities and all around fun. The idea of a little celebration started last year with a few of the local business owners who wanted to have a little fanfare to celebrate the opening of Lowry Avenue - and it's turned into a huge event.
Lowry Avenue reconstruction has occurred section by section, year by year. First, the section between Interstate 94 and Girard Avenue was rebuilt in 2006, followed by the segment between Girard Avenue and Queen Avenue in 2008, and the segment between Queen Avenue and Theodore Wirth Parkway in 2009. Tree plantings and other improvements are scheduled to be done by the Park Board either this fall or next spring.
The County also approved funding for bike and pedestrian improvements for Lowry. The board approved a $108,000 grant from the Bike Walk Twin Cities program, administered by Transit for Livable Communities, to install bike and pedestrian facilities along the western portion of the Lowry. The grant will be used for the following amenities: Pedestrian countdown timers at the intersections of Penn, Fremont, Emerson and Lyndale Avenues; bicycle racks at the intersections of Penn, Fremont, Emerson and Lyndale Avenues; a pilot bike shelter - the first bicycle shelter in Minneapolis; and destination or motivational markers - sandblasted text into the concrete sidewalk for pedestrians, identifying distances to key destinations within the corridor.
Lowry Avenue reconstruction was funded through a variety of sources. Hennepin County contributed $25 million, the State of Minnesota contributed $5 million, the U.S. Government contributed slightly more than $1.8 million, and the Mississippi Management Watershed Organization contributed $75,000.