>Transportation > Central Corridor > Construction

Minimizing Central Corridor construction-related impediments

The project will eliminate or reduce construction-related inconvenience and impediments by:

Posting signs in construction zones

• Informing bus riders about relocated bus stops
• Indicating that businesses are open in a construction zone
•  Identifying sidewalk and road closures and detours

Providing access via portable foot bridges over sidewalk construction to provide access to buildings.

Limiting construction of each segment on University Avenue to two-thirds at a time while maintaining a lane of traffic each way on the other third.

Requiring contractors to restore the street in front of any business within 150 days and the sidewalk within 15 days.

Implementing a contractor incentive program to encourage responsiveness, create a partnership between contractors and the community and promote cooperation. Evaluation criteria will include conformance with notification requirements, timely response to public concerns, maintenance of vehicle access and accessible pedestrian routes and cleanliness of construction sites.

Communicating via

• Weekly email updates to provide the public with advance notice of routes that are closed and their alternates.  Sign up online to receive the email updates:
• Public  meetings for businesses and the public to get updates and a look ahead from project staff and utilities.
• Construction hotline number - 651-602-1404 will be posted prominently throughout a work zone.
• Multilingual outreach coordinators who serve as liaisons between the project and the public throughout construction.
• Brochures about construction information and how to reach Central Corridor staff will be distributed to corridor businesses and residents.

 

Parking issues

The City of Minneapolis is working to mitigate the loss of on-street parking by

• evaluating parking conditions to assess current and future needs;
• working with businesses on maximizing use of remaining parking;
• retaining some high-turnover spaces near consumer-oriented businesses on University Avenue; and
• exploring options for parking on side streets that support both businesses and neighborhoods. 

For more information contact Haila Maze, City of Minneapolis at haila.maze@ci.minneapolis.mn.us or 612-673-2098.

The City of Saint Paul is exploring a number of approaches to address parking concerns, including

• A report “Mitigating the Loss of Parking in the Central Corridor”,
• a parking management toolkit
•  Neighborhood Commercial Parking Pilot Program that awarded 25 grants in June 2010 to businesses and property owners to help mitigate the loss of parking along University Avenue.

More information is available on the City of St. Paul website or through Craig Blakely, senior planner, City of St. Paul Planning and Economic Development, at craig.blakely@ci.stpaul.mn.us or 651-266-6697.