Saint Paul holds public hearing on MnDOT Robert Street reconstruction; community wins commitment to oversight task force

MnDOT and Saint Paul Public Works presented a proposed full reconstruction of Robert Street from Annapolis Street to Kellogg Boulevard at a public hearing Thursday, and community members urged the council to formalize a local oversight group to monitor construction impacts.

The hearing matters because Robert Street is a major, decades‑deferred corridor with elevated crash risk, planned bus rapid transit (G Line) routing and aging infrastructure; residents and business owners said reconstruction presents an opportunity to improve safety but also a risk of disrupting small businesses and displacing neighbors during prolonged work.

Chris Bauer, project manager for MnDOT, told the council the corridor needed more than resurfacing after engineering reviews and community input. “It is the only high‑injury street in the Lehi Side neighborhood,” Bauer said, and MnDOT secured $32 million in federal grants to cover reconstruction. Reuben Collins of Saint Paul Public Works described the municipal‑consent step as a procedural milestone; no council action was required at the hearing.

Community speakers urged safeguards for small businesses, regular communication during construction and steps to limit displacement. Monica Bravo, executive director of the Westside Community Organization (WESCO), asked the council to “officially recognize the Robert Street accountability task group” and to ensure the project manager or a designee participate in task‑force meetings so MnDOT and the neighborhood coordinate more closely. John Traxler, co‑owner of Captain Ken’s Foods, said uninterrupted truck access and utilities were critical to his food‑processing business and thanked MnDOT for prior coordination.

Speakers representing longtime West Side residents, youth and business owners described daily safety problems for pedestrians and students and urged design attention to wider sidewalks, protected bike facilities and crossings near Humboldt High School. Several speakers — including Gretchen Long, whose home will be acquired as part of the project — supported the reconstruction while urging better mitigation and accountability based on lessons from prior projects such as the Arcade Street reconstruction.

Bauer said MnDOT has held nine public meetings, three surveys with more than 2,000 responses, monthly office hours and repeated outreach since 2020, and that the agency revised plans in response to community input. He said MnDOT would consider a roundabout at Curtis Street to reduce speeding but acknowledged concerns about circulation, parking and construction impacts. “We need to learn some lessons from [the Arcade project] and apply those to this project,” Bauer said.

After public testimony, Council President Naker and council members voiced support for the task force concept. Naker said the council would work with MnDOT and the Westside organization to produce a municipal‑consent resolution that would formalize the accountability task force’s membership and responsibilities before council action on consent. Council members emphasized the importance of preventing business displacement and improving communications during construction.

The council closed the public hearing; municipal consent and any formal council action will return to the council at a later meeting. MnDOT and Public Works committed to continuing community engagement and to participate in an oversight task force representing residents, business owners, the Ward 2 office, MnDOT and city agencies.

Looking ahead, the council indicated it will draft a municipal‑consent resolution that could enshrine the task force structure and mitigation commitments before final consent is considered.