Reconstruction plans for Bryant Avenue in Minneapolis trigger organized backlash

A $20 million proposal to reconstruct dilapidated Bryant Avenue in south Minneapolis passed the city's transportation committee unanimously Wednesday despite vocal opposition from some residents and small businesses.

The plan spans 2.5 miles of Bryant between Lake and 50th streets. It would reconfigure Bryant into a one-way thoroughfare for vehicular traffic, transplant its bus routes onto Lyndale Avenue, cut on-street parking by 48%, add 3.3 acres of green space and construct a two-way bike trail.

Council President Lisa Bender and Council Member Linea Palmisano, who represent the two wards affected by the project, acknowledged the deluge of comments they've received from the public in recent days. They explained their support for the plan as stemming from a need to adhere to planning deadlines and design for climate resiliency.

"This is going to be the nicest street south of downtown when it's done," Bender said.

City planners spent more than a year developing the concept, gathering feedback through numerous virtual community meetings. Yet as the plan nears City Council approval later this month, some residents and small businesses are waging an organized repudiation of what they call insufficient consideration of seniors shown and people with disabilities. The plans are the latest battle over Minneapolis' efforts to encourage people to bicycle more and drive less.

"Implementing this proposal will pose serious safety risks for the older adults who call Walker Methodist home, it will cause delays for emergency vehicles, and it will put bikers at risk for collisions with pedestrians and vehicles," wrote Scott Riddle, president of the Walker Methodist Health Center, a campus of 400 residents and 450 employees at 37th and Bryant, in an open letter. "Although bike paths are nice for able-bodied people, our residents need access to vehicles. Less than 1% of our residents on our block are physically able to ride a bike."

Smaller businesses clustered along Bryant have also protested the plan by e-mailing City Council members or displaying petitions inside their shops. Losing half of Bryant's on-street parking is their chief concern, said Matthew Perry of the Southwest Business Association, which proposed moving the bike trail onto nearby Dupont Avenue. That idea did not make headway with city staff, he said.

"The dialogue between the business association and Public Works has not been one that I would call customer-oriented," said Perry. "It was a very frustrating experience. I never felt like we were really being heard."

Unhappy residents have formed a campaign demanding the city "Slow the Roll" on reconstruction, arguing the pandemic put limitations on political participation and thorough planning on a project that is supposed to last 50 years or more.

Neighbor Gail McNutt, who lives at 36th and Bryant, balked at the $4,500 to $5,500 the average Bryant homeowner would be assessed over 20 years to raise $2.1 million in project costs. McNutt works at Home Depot full-time to support her disabled husband, who lost his job a year ago due to advancing Parkinson's disease.

"I don't have money for the government to build the road that they think is totally needed at this point," McNutt said.

In 2019, the City Council asked staff to move Bryant ahead one year in the city's list of public assets in need of repairs due to the 60-year-old street's rapidly deteriorating condition.

Once the city chose to tackle the project, Public Works published a timeline aiming to start construction next year.

"When you think about the amount of time we've spent on concept design, it's very typical and even longer than a [regular] street reconstruction project," said senior transportation planner Liz Heyman.

Property owners would be assessed the same amount for the inevitable reconstruction of Bryant regardless of final design, she added.

Plans call for one-way southbound traffic between Lake Street and 46th Street, and one-way northbound traffic between 46th Street and 50th Street. According to the city's street-use analysis, most drivers do not travel the entire length of the reconstruction area before turning off, meaning Bryant is not a true "thoroughfare." On-street parking is underused, with less than 60% occupancy on most blocks even during peak time.

Area neighborhood associations are split. East Harriet voted 6-4 for the city to delay its decision for "a little more stakeholder feedback," said President Maggie Zawasky. South Uptown submitted a hearty endorsement praising Public Works' "extraordinary community engagement effort resulting in meaningful changes," according to a letter from President Max Ellis.

The Lynnhurst Neighborhood Association chose not to take a position.

"In general, we were impressed with [Public Works'] responsiveness to public input on loss of parking, public transportation and other concerns, especially compared to some other City planning processes where the public input phase seemed much more like a 'check the box' exercise," said President Peter Nussbaum in an e-mail.

The plan is scheduled to go before the City Council on Aug. 20. Afterward, there will be a public hearing in the transportation committee on assessments.

Susan Du • 612-673-4028