Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Downtown Mobility topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council endorses corridor concept for 6th Avenue, picks an interim First‑Avenue bike connection after debate
Summary
After months of outreach, council adopted a concept plan to rebuild 6th Avenue West with a two‑way cycle track and boulevards funded largely by DMC dollars; after competing options and a long debate about parking, safety and Mayo Clinic coordination, council selected an interim First‑Avenue option (option B) to reconnect north–south bike access and directed staff to continue coordination and monitoring.
The City Council moved forward on two linked downtown mobility actions on March 2: it adopted a corridor concept for 6th Avenue West and provided direction on how to reestablish a north–south protected bike connection through downtown.
For 6th Avenue West, the city and consultant Tool Design Group presented a preferred corridor concept from Civic Center Drive to Second Street SW featuring wider sidewalks, boulevards, two 10‑ft vehicle lanes and a 12‑ft two‑way cycle track on the east side. Project manager Mike Collins said the design prioritizes pedestrian safety near the Mayo Clinic and provides signalized intersections where mobility‑device users and high pedestrian volumes require clear controls. Staff said DMC funding allocated $8.75 million for the corridor; design and construction estimates leave roughly $7.7 million for hard construction after early design costs. Council voted to adopt the corridor concept and authorized final design preparation and bid document development for reconstruction from Civic Center Drive to West Center Street (motion passed).
On the broader goal of reconnecting the downtown mobility network (lost when Third and Fourth avenues were vacated), staff presented four corridors for study—First Avenue, Second Avenue, Sixth Avenue and Broadway—and three incremental options for First Avenue (options A, B, C) with differing curbwork and parking implications. Tool Design presented parking estimates: Option A (First Avenue restripe) would reduce on‑street stalls by 33; Option B (a variant that jogs under a ramp) would reduce ~16; Option C (extending north to West Center) would reduce ~49 if fully implemented. Second Avenue was presented as a desirable mid‑term route that would require coordination with Mayo Clinic and possible easements through Annenburgg Plaza; Broadway was described as a long‑term reconstruction candidate requiring separate funding.
Council debated trade‑offs—business access and parking loss, safety at peak hours, the need for data collection, and Mayo Clinic operational constraints during ongoing construction. After motions and discussion, the council selected Option B (First Avenue configuration as the preferred interim north–south connection), with explicit direction to monitor impacts, coordinate further with Mayo Clinic and pursue data collection and outreach. The vote on the First‑Avenue interim direction passed 4–3. Several council members and public commenters said the First‑Avenue interim should be treated as a staged change with monitoring and the expectation of revisiting permanent solutions (including Broadway or a reconstructed Sixth Avenue south of Second Street) as funding and construction sequencing permit.
Speakers and staff emphasized the project’s staged nature and the need for data to measure pedestrian and cyclist use and business impacts before permanent curb changes are made.
