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City staff recommend ditching costly pedestrian bridge at 80th & Normandale; present three lower‑cost alternatives
Summary
Staff presented a feasibility study that estimated a pedestrian bridge over 80th Street and Normandale Boulevard could cost about $5 million and carry significant environmental and right‑of‑way risk. The council heard three at‑grade alternatives and directed staff to refine options and costs.
City engineering staff and traffic consultants presented study findings June 30 on pedestrian and bicycle safety at West 80th Street and Normandale Boulevard and recommended removing a planned pedestrian bridge from the Normandale Lake District plan in favor of at‑grade safety improvements.
Civil Engineer Jeremy Melquist and traffic engineer Mike Larson (Bolton & Menk) said the planned pedestrian bridge would be expensive — roughly $5 million — and would require a long footprint with potential impacts to parkland, trees, wetlands and soils. Larson also noted travellers are likely to avoid a bridge that significantly increases walking distance, reducing its effectiveness.
Consultants presented three at‑grade alternatives: (1) left‑turn reduction to create pedestrian refuge islands and shorten crossings; (2) low‑entry‑angle redesign of channelized right turns to slow turning vehicles and improve driver sight lines; and (3) a hybrid design that converts some channelized right turns to signal‑controlled right‑turn lanes, allowing additional signal‑based pedestrian controls. They reported the intersection is the city’s highest traffic volume crossing but noted crash history is “performing pretty well” with no pedestrian or bicycle crashes in the last 10 years.
Council members questioned tradeoffs among pedestrian comfort, signal timing and vehicle queueing during peak periods. Several members recommended testing lower‑cost short‑term improvements (signing, striping, wayfinding to underpasses) and studying the traffic impacts of lane‑removal options before committing to major capital work. Council member Moore urged preservation of an isolated pedestrian crossing if it would prevent a serious crash, while Council member Carter and others stressed cost‑effectiveness and recommended alternatives such as improved underpass wayfinding and aesthetic upgrades.
Staff said they will refine the alternatives, produce cost estimates, test combinations of measures, and coordinate with Hennepin County where county right‑of‑way is involved. Removing the bridge from the district plan would require an amendment to that plan and further public engagement as part of a full plan update.
