St. Paul Park council gives staff consensus to add two feet to 3rd Street lanes, considers speeding contractor work

City of St. Paul Park officials on May 4 gave staff consensus to pursue a cost-neutral option that would widen the driving lanes on 3rd Street by two feet while shrinking an adjacent trail, and discussed allowing a contractor to accelerate parts of the reconstruction with an extra crew.

Morgan, the city engineer, told the council the 3rd Street reconstruction (Broadway to 14th Avenue) originally narrowed lanes in phase 1 to provide passive traffic calming. Residents later raised safety and truck-traffic concerns, and staff identified an option to restore some lane width by taking two feet from the planned 10-foot trail, reducing it to 8 feet. "It's practically a net 0," Morgan said, noting widening costs are about $22,000 while the trail reduction saves roughly $20,000, leaving an approximate $2,400 delta.

Morgan outlined lane-width trade-offs: before reconstruction the travel lanes were about 13 feet; phase 1 was built at 11 feet, and the proposed compromise would give 12-foot lanes. He said the additional roadway width would come from the east side; parking on the west side would remain unchanged. Morgan warned that curb-line changes can affect hydrant locations and underground utilities and said staff factored those impacts into the option presented.

Council members pressed on alternatives. "I would feel better if there was an extra foot for people to open doors or for a delivery truck to pass," Council member Conrad said, urging that staff consider striping solutions that could put the extra width toward parking lanes if preferred. Morgan said striping could be adjusted late in the project to create more buffer without changing the hard curb line and proposed several striping options (for example, a wider parking lane on the west side or asymmetrical lane widths) to balance traffic calming with additional space for maneuvering.

On timing, Morgan asked the council for a consensus so contractors could be given direction before further utility work. Several council members, including Swenson and Conrad, voiced agreement; Mayor Frank asked staff to confirm details with the contractor and to return any necessary formal actions at a later meeting. Council indicated the change could proceed as a staff-directed adjustment rather than an immediate ordinance or resolution.

Morgan also reported the contractor had offered to add a third utility crew to begin work earlier in phase 3 (Pullman to 14th Avenue) than the contract's original sequencing, which could shorten the project schedule. He said the contractor provided a traffic-control plan and would construct a temporary two-way road inside the right of way to preserve access for residents and emergency vehicles. "We think the risk is relatively low," Morgan said when council asked whether the decision would imperil the city's borrowing capacity; he added that temporary roads would be maintained by the contractor and required to remain passable for fire apparatus.

Council members asked whether accelerated work would increase disruption for through travelers. Morgan said acceleration would mean a longer section under construction at once but would likely shorten the overall construction window and the period when detours are needed. He emphasized staff would require the contractor to maintain safety, traffic control and temporary roads and that any additional widening beyond the cost-neutral 2 feet would add cost and draw on state aid funds.

What happens next: council gave consensus direction to staff to pursue the presented cost-neutral widening option and to continue working with the contractor on acceleration plans; staff said they would finalize details with the contractor and report back to council as needed. No formal vote on the widening or contractor acceleration was taken at the May 4 meeting.