Council casts doubt on Rochester’s Peace Plaza paver plan

A majority of Rochester’s elected officials Monday told city staff their plan to replace parts of an art installation at Peace Plaza doesn’t go far enough.

The Rochester City Council instead asked for the recently redesigned plaza to be smoothed over amid concerns the area’s uneven pavers are tripping hazards.

“This problem has been evident for a long while and we’ve gotten feedback for a long while,” Council Member Norman Wahl said. Wahl told city staff he’d be a “really hard sell” on any additional work on the plaza that doesn’t involve smoothing things over, which several council members echoed.

Destination Medical Center (DMC) officials last week approved $175,000 to address concerns from disability advocates and critics who say the plaza’s walking area is a tripping hazard that makes it difficult to get around.

The raised pavers that make up the sidewalk, intended to be tactile, are part of a poetry installation by renowned artist Ann Hamilton.

Jamie Rothe, DMC’s community engagement director, told the council the work was meant to be abstract, rather than read line by line, while disability consultants supported the project during the prototype stage. Yet she said the city’s proposed plan turning some of the printed pavers over to the smooth side would preserve the art as people pick out different words to read each time they pass through.

“We feel like we’re in the area of keeping the integrity of the art,” she said.

Work on the plaza, set to begin in early spring, comes amid criticism from community members about the safety risks of the pavers installed as part of the city’s $19.4 million Heart of the City project. Critics say the raised pavers are especially problematic for people with limited mobility, including those seeking treatment at Mayo Clinic.

City and DMC officials acknowledged the concerns last summer, adding signs around the plaza warning of uneven surfaces caused by the raised lettering and shifting of pavers. DMC later hired a consultant to engage about a dozen people of differing abilities about potential modifications.

Deputy City Commissioner Cindy Steinhauser said workers will replace pavers first on the east side of the plaza near the Galleria at University Square, followed by signage helping disabled residents find their way on the smooth path. It could also involve expanding some of the pathways and potentially removing pavers altogether near 1st Avenue SW.

Steinhauser told the council that further work could be done incrementally but cautioned it would cost more to do additional design work if “the community is not satisfied with this solution.”

“That’s just the reality,” she said.

Most of the council appeared ready to spend more to smooth over the plaza entirely. Council Member Andy Friederichs urged city staff to smooth the plaza over all in one go rather than stop and start repairs. Council Member Dan Doering wants tree grates installed after he nearly got his foot stuck in a hole near a tree at the city’s Latino Fest last year.

“I’m pretty physically able, but I could have definitely broken an ankle or a leg,” Doering said.

City officials say there hasn’t been a difference in trip-and-fall accident reports since the Peace Plaza was redesigned.

Steinhauser told the council that further analysis may be needed to see if other factors are disturbing the pavers, such as water runoff from a nearby building. She also said further changes will happen only after the city tests fixes to ensure the community approves.

The council appeared set for a new approach altogether.

“My observation is there is a gap here between what staff perceives the problem to be, and what the public and what this council has heard,” Council Member Patrick Keane said.

Sean Baker of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.