Board approves easements for Seventieth Street, 70 Third Street Safe Routes projects

The Richfield Public Schools board on April 21 authorized permanent sidewalk/trail, drainage and utility easements and a temporary construction easement to the city of Richfield to allow Safe Routes to Schools infrastructure work near the STEM and RDLS campuses on Seventieth Street and along 70 Third Street adjacent to Centennial School.

Board Chair Eric Carter said the items would return for execution after the board’s authorization; then the board voted to approve the easement instrument.

Craig Holge, chief human resources administrative officer for Richfield Public Schools, told the board the easement instrument was drafted by the city’s counsel and reviewed by the district attorney. He said the project is funded by a federal grant that requires the city to offer $20,000 in compensation for the easement rights; the district’s administration recommended accepting the easement while declining long‑term maintenance responsibility. “We don’t think that that’s necessary. And we would prefer not to have responsibility for maintaining that, those, that equipment or those easement, requirements there,” Holge said.

Joe Powers, the city engineer with the city of Richfield, and Jake Whipple, the city civil engineer and project manager, described the work: Seventieth Street will include a separated cycle track and sidewalk, north-side bike lane and corridor bump‑outs to shorten crossing distances in front of STEM and RDLS. The 70 Third Street plan for Centennial includes a multimodal trail (with sidewalk), raised crosswalks and new crossings at Cedar Avenue, Sixteenth Avenue and Bloomington Avenue to connect to the regional trail on Cedar.

Powers said the raised crosswalks planned on the 70 Third Street corridor will be the first in Richfield and have been shown elsewhere to reduce speeds by about 10 miles per hour. He said both projects have been on planning lists for more than a decade and were developed with public engagement: the city held four open houses over the past 12–18 months and staff observed demonstration projects and conducted surveys to shape the permanent designs.

District and city staff said construction is planned for the summer months after school ends and to be completed before the next school year begins to avoid disrupting normal school operations. The city warned of temporary closures and impacts to some resident driveways and said it will coordinate directly with affected households and school staff.

During board Q&A, members asked about traffic calming evidence, how the designs will affect pickup and drop‑off logistics, and maintenance/plow access. City staff said the geometrics (bump‑outs and narrower lane sections) are among the most effective infrastructure measures to reduce vehicle speeds and that raised crosswalks are flat enough for snow plows to pass over.

The board motion to approve the permanent sidewalk/trail easement, permanent drainage/utility easement and temporary construction easement was moved by Director Paulson and seconded by Director Liss; the board voted in favor and the chair cast the affirmative vote.

The city will finalize the instrument and coordinate execution with the district; staff also noted a separate title correction is needed because Centennial School property records remain under the older ISD 12 title and must be updated to the district’s current title.