Midtown Greenway
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The Midtown Greenway is a mostly-completed 5.7 mile bicycle and pedestrian corridor running east-west in Minneapolis, Minnesota about a block north of Lake Street for most of its length. The partially below-grade greenway follows a former Milwaukee Road railroad line along 29th Street, abandoned west of Hiawatha Avenue. East of Hiawatha, the rail line is still active as part of the Minnesota Commercial Railway, so the trail passes just south of the railroad line. On the west end, the trail connects to the Southwest Regional LRT Trail (so named because it runs along a proposed light rail transit corridor, called the Southwest Corridor), which connects to St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie. On the east end, the trail connects to the West River Parkway trail, which runs along the Mississippi River and is a part of the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway. In between (moving from west to east), it connects to the Kenilworth Trail (which in turn connects to the Cedar Lake Trail). East of the Kenilworth Trail junction, trail users can access Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles, also a part of the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway. Immediately east of Hiawatha Avenue, the Midtown Greenway connects to the Light Rail Trail, a 1.7 bike path that carries cyclists to the east side of downtown. The trail features one two-way bike path (16 feet wide) and one two-way walking path (though they are combined in some places with restricted space). It is also lined with various community gardens.
As of late 2006, the first three phases of the trail are complete, starting at the entrance of 31st Street and Chowen Avenue, and ending at the Mississippi River. The fourth phase, slated to open in 2007, will carry cyclists and pedestrians over Hiawatha Avenue and the Hiawatha light rail line. The fifth phase, which has an unknown date of completion, would carry cyclists across the Mississippi River. Planners have hoped to continue across the river to the city of Saint Paul via the Short Line Bridge in the future, though the Canadian Pacific Railway (the successor to the Milwaukee Road) has not been receptive to the idea.
The Midtown Greenway connects many parts of the cities, including the Midtown Public Market, an international marketplace in the Twin Cities, as well as public parks, such as Brackett Park.
The possibility of using the greenway as a future mass-transit corridor has also been studied, with planners favoring a simple heritage streetcar line initially built using single track in most places.
Half of the Midtown Greenway is located in a trench making it nearly impossible to view it from surrounding neighborhood. This creates special challenges to keeping it safe from crime. Emergency call phones, occasional patrols, and a few security cameras are used in the effort to keep criminal activity down. The city’s main strategy is the hope that if enough pedestrians and cyclists are there it will keep the criminals away. [1]
The trench is the result of a project mandated by the City of Minneapolis in 1910. The Milwaukee Road rail line was originally built between 1879 and 1881 to give the railroad a direct line to wheat fields in western Minnesota. Rail traffic and industrial development increased along the corridor, prompting pressure from local residents to remove the at-grade crossings. The Milwaukee Road constructed a trench and a number of bridges across the tracks between Hiawatha Avenue and Irving Avenue. [2] The trench, bridges, and retaining walls are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Grade Separation. [3]
[edit] References
- ^ Midtown Greenway FAQ
- ^ Bennett Lumber Site Environmental Assessment Worksheet (pdf). City of Minneapolis (2006). Retrieved on July 6, 2006. (page 19)
- ^ National Register of Historic Places Listings - June 10, 2005. National Park Service (2005). Retrieved on July 6, 2006.
