5.3. SR 11-19-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Newsletter #2 October 2001 About the Project The Downtown Minneapolis Multi-Modal Station Area Plan is a study of land use, traffic patterns, and transit and pedestrian facilities w/thin a V~mile radius of the proposed Multi-Modal Station between 5th and 7th Streets along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Raikoad tracks. Tiffs rail line is adjacent to the Hennepin Energy Resource Center and the Ford Centre. The Multi-Modal station is the terminal for the Northstar Conmauter Rail Line and will serve the Hiawatha Light Rail Transit Line. In the future, tiffs station may serve other transit lines now under stud~Dan Patch and Central Corridor Commuter Rail Lines and Southwest Light Rail Transit (LRT) Corridor. Summary of Workshop 2 The second workshop for the multi- modal station area planning effort was held on September 24. Those in attendance represented area businesses, residents and public agency staff along with the consultant team. The intent of this meeting was to present alternative concepts for the study area and receive input from those who are most familiar -ith it: business and property owners ,nd residents. Framework Principles The consultant team articulated three principles--Connectivity, Activity, and Sustainability--that were used to frame development of alternatives for the study. Connectivity goals include pedestrian connections to Downtown and the River; accessibility to transit; and reconnecting the street grid across the freeway and the rail corridor. Activity goals are to use commuter rail for joint development; use light rail transit to reinforce mixed-use development patterns along the LRT route (mixed-use development with residential/employment/retail uses would increase activity and improve the perception of safety); and to extend the themes from projects and corridors west of the 1-94 freeway into the study area along Glenwood Ave. and Olson Highway. Sustainability goals for the natural environment include an expanded system of green places--a Downtown Greenway extension of the Cedar Lake Trail in the rail corridor and partial daylighting of Bassett Creek to create terraced ecological zones around restored water features. Alternatives Alternatives were developed for three focus areas in the four study districts that were defined at the first workshop. The focus areas are the Sunken Area in the Station Area Core District, that includes the rail corridor and the freeway trench, the Viaduct Area that runs along Third and Fourth Ave. to 1-94 in the North Loop District, and the Farmers Market Area between Royalston and Lyndale Ave. in the Far West District. Alternatives for the Sunken Area were organized around development of a two- level street system (see figure below) ' * Uppe Level ~~ Fourth Avenue J.,...,,...,,.~ Re~i d~ nt iai, ~=~ Greenway / t ~' ~ Comrmmia, / ~ Fletail at Street Northstar / Storage Tracks' Lower Level Comrn~er Under Building Four[' h Avenue Rail View of Fifth Street at Fourth Avenue The two-level system would reconnect the downtown street grid between Third Street (across the freeway trench) and Fifth Street along Fourth Ave. and would provide development opportunities along the rail corridor. Activity patterns were illustrated with mixed-use residential/ employment/retail buildings that would have space for commuter rail at the ground level. The two-level street system was used to develop an elevated greenway concept to bring the bikeway onto Upper Fourth Ave. between Seventh St. and Washington Ave. Variations were developed that provided for new streets at the lower level only (with the greenway also at the lower level) and for no new connections across the freeway trench. For the Viaduct Area, an alternative was developed that removed the freeway viaduct (see next page). It was replaced by making Third and Fourth Streets one way. Development potential was identified along Fourth St. The potential LRT extension to the Southwest Corridor (plans are currently preliminary and unfunded) was used to