City employees as well as state and local representatives discussed the future of the road with the public. (Michael McKinney)
On the afternoon of August 20, a few dozen Minneapolis residents and business owners gathered at MCN6, a state-focused television network at 2nd Street and 13th Avenue, for something a bit different from the station’s usual programming.
Council Member Michael Rainville, State Senator Doron Clark, State Representative Sydney Jordan and staff members from Minneapolis Public Works were seated in armless leather chairs up front, answering questions about, as flyers put it, the “Future of 13th Avenue Northeast.”
Will Lyberg, a Minneapolis Capital Long Range Improvement Committee (CLIC) member appointed from Northeast, explained CLIC’s role in funding improvements.
The avenue’s renovation, at one time scheduled to be done by now, had been put off indefinitely. Recently CLIC put it back in the pipeline with a firm date of 2029, meaning overall city tax dollars would pay for part of it. State legislators will seek to include it in a bonding bill to reduce the costs which would also be covered by a special assessment to adjacent property owners.
According to the City of Minneapolis’s website, the 13th Avenue Northeast reconstruction project “aims to improve the right-of-way for everyone who uses the street to get around … In 2022, the City inspected the street and found that it’s not in good condition.” The site says the project is an opportunity to “install ADA-compliant curb ramps,” “add boulevards with trees,” “address sidewalk obstruction” and “install a bicycle facility.”
Business owners have endured flooded basements during hard rain events. To mitigate that, sewer work will be done before the street is renovated. A monitor to the side of the presenters showed a map of 13th Avenue and the two watersheds that direct water to the river in two different ways. The image showed work being done from Water Street — along the Mississippi — to the intersection of 2nd Street and 13th Avenue.
Rainville said he’s advocating for the project to extend past 2nd Street toward 4th Street. “If we’re going to redo the surface on 13th, let’s extend that a couple more blocks. It makes common sense to extend it to 4th.” He said RSP Architects, an architectural design firm located at 1220 Marshall St. NE, has agreed to conduct a design charrette or “planning session about what 13th Street could look like.” That would take place on a Saturday morning “so we can get as many people as possible,” but no date has been announced yet.
Katie White, senior transportation planner at Minneapolis Public Works, outlined the scope of proposed changes. Much of 13th Avenue’s infrastructure dates to approximately 1908, so there will likely need to be a “complete street reconstruction,” she said.
“That includes the sidewalks, the curbs, the catch basins that lead to stormwater drainage. That includes fire hydrants. Anything that is visible, and a lot that is invisible, has the potential to be replaced as a part of this project to create a street that lives into our values, meets our needs and supports our residents and businesses.”
After about fifteen minutes of introductions and presentations, officials opened the floor for questions.
A diagram showing the section of 13th Avenue that will be affected by reconstruction. The purple line indicates the proposed storm sewer alignment. (City of Minneapolis)
Marshall Street, ADAand bike accessibility
Elwin Loomis, a business property owner, asked about the planned reconstruction of Marshall Street. White clarified that Marshall Street is Hennepin County’s responsibility. “If there are stormwater improvements that can be made as part of the Marshall project,” she said, “they will be made.”
Terry Day, who uses a motorized scooter and claimed to be “representing the local disability community,” expressed concern about uneven sidewalks, comparing the sidewalks on 13th Avenue to “sidewalk surfing.” “I can’t ride the streetcar,” she said. “I go to San Francisco, and you have these raised places where people can get onto the streetcar.” Representative Sydney Jordan said ADA accommodations are a part of the project. Doron Clark pointed toward the recent reconstruction of Lowry Avenue: the sidewalks there “are now raised, and that’s one of the first instances of that in the city. That’s somewhere it took a while for the city to get its head around, and now (they’re realizing) it can work.”
Several other residents echoed concerns about pedestrian accessibility. “13th Avenue is an amazing road because it promotes so much tourism, so we need better sidewalks,” said CJ Jensen, vice president of Sheridan Neighborhood Organization. “We are all temporarily able-bodied, which means that at some point in time, we will need the sidewalk to be accessible to us.” Said Isayed, who owns a health care center, said a couple of his patients had tripped, ending up in the hospital.
Kelly Sharp, owner of The Barber Sharp, asked if bike lanes would be a part of the 13th Avenue reconstruction. “The short answer is: we don’t know,” White said. “13th (Avenue) is on the map for some kind of bicycle treatment, but we don’t know what that looks like. We will come to that answer by working with you and your neighbors in 2026 and 2027.”
Broadway and 13th Avenue
Another resident expressed concern about Broadway Street needing to be closed and asked if 13th Avenue will be “ripped up completely” like Lowry Avenue. Matt Lee, a Minneapolis Public Works engineer specializing in surface water and sewers, said the work there is solely “storm and sewer pipe work,” so it would be under and near the Broadway Bridge. “It’s hard to speculate right now about closures, but it would not be work that is on the surface of Broadway.”
Rainville added that “there might be potential for a longer road closure” in a manner akin to the Plymouth Avenue bridge reconstruction, which extended an additional month after construction workers found old bridge foundation underground.
As for 13th Avenue being “ripped up,” White didn’t mince words. “When we talk about a street reconstruction, we are talking about the reconstruction of the entire right-of-way. That is property line to property line.”
Drew Carmichael, whose wife owns Curiosity, a store “specializing in unique home goods” located at 1228 NE 2nd Street, asked how long they anticipated this project to take. White said she couldn’t say with certainty but that they’d work alongside the stormwater projects to ensure things moved “as smoothly as possible.” She said the City anticipated it to take about “a road year” — from April to November.
Neighborhood character
Carin Peterson asked if the City had any plans for old pavers and cobblestones, saying she’d “like for them to be used in the neighborhood if possible.” White said that largely depends upon what the pavers are made of: granite pavers are resilient and strong, but clay bricks “might start crumbling into dust” once they’re dug up. The City currently operates a program for reselling granite pavers. Doron Clark suggested that bricks and pavers could provide a “community-building aspect,” perhaps in community gardens, adding a bit of “whimsy” to the neighborhood.
Public Works is currently conducting a long-term stormwater study to determine where and in what relative volumes the water comes from, so that they can plan the new system.
Sarah Beggs, of Fiber Works MPLS, a sewing company at 158 13th Avenue NE, said its alleyway had been flooding and that water “stays in the alley for days” afterwards. Rainville took note of the alley and sidewalk complaints and promised to seek short-term fixes while waiting for the 2029 reconstruction.