10th Avenue Bridge
One of the things discussed last evening at our community meeting on traffic issues related to the bridge collapse was the opening of the 10th Avenue bridge.
Now that the last victim has been recovered we will need to reach a decision about this very soon. There will also be a great deal of pressure to open it fully before the University semester begins on September 4th.
Suggestions range from keeping it closed to opening:
- only to bikes and pedestrians,
- or to bikes, pedestrians and public transit,
- or to all of the above plus official University vehicles,
- or to all traffic.
Even if we open it to all traffic, there have been some ideas about making that work better including:
- adding a fence to the upstream side to increase safety in case people walk or bike out and want to see the site and
- putting in a physical barrier of some kind (perhaps semi-permanent plastic bollards) to prevent northbound cars exiting 35W at Washington Ave from changing lanes and taking a left at 15th Ave S (near the Holiday Inn) to cross on the 10th Ave bridge. This would prevent the 10th Ave bridge from becoming the de facto northbound detour of I-35W.
It would be useful to me to use this blog to hear your thoughts and concerns about this and perhaps engage in a little discussion before the decision is made (this week perhaps). That way I can provide feedback to our City staff.
posted by Cam Gordon @ 11:58 AM
10 Comments:
This is a great find for me this morning. I am happy to see these considerations.
My vote is for BIKE and PED only. Of course, emergency vehicles are already permitted up there. But I think opening it as a Ped + Bike bridge, just like the S.A.B (Stone Arch Bridge) would be very true to Minneapolis.
AND I THANK YOU Mr. Cam Gordon!!!
I think the bridge ought to be open to all traffic, and I like the idea of preventing it from becoming a detour for 35W. Part of me wants to see some kind of privacy fence along the entire bridge to prevent gawking, but that's probably not realistic, and not especially useful since cleanup is starting soon.
I am one of your neighbors to the South (Longfellow neighborhood) and I have many friends who live in NE as well as enjoy many businesses in NE. Having the 10th Ave bridge closed forces me into the downtown traffic mess (or all the way over to St Paul). Those of us who choose to live in the city have to be able to get around. That bridge should be opened to all traffic (and I like the idea of not allowing the left turn off of Washington...the bridge should not be an alternate to 35W.) I think someone needs to look at the impact that the closed bridge has on an already overly congested traffic pattern across the downtown bridges (not to mention just getting to them.)
I am a resident of NE Mpls. and employed by a company located downtown Mpls, I say it is time to open the 10th street bridge for ALL traffic!! The morning and afternoon rush hour congestion could be alleviated if there was an additional route for traffic to flow through Mpls.
I am glad to find this blog. Please we are begging you to open the bridge to all traffic by the start of Fall semester. A lot of students live in Marcy-Holmes area and we have to get to the West Bank. Not having that bridge at least doubles the travel time to West Bank regardless of your transportation choice. You can place a higher protective fence on the 35W side to make sure there are no accidents but please open the bridge to ALL TRAFFIC as soon as possible. Thanks.
The 10th street bridge needs to be open to all traffic as soon as possible. Many people, including myself live right next to the 10th street bridge and this is our way to and from home. We have been very patient weaving through the university to get back to the highway. This adds an additional 20 minutes to my commute. There is no reason the bridge should not be open to all traffic. When the University opens the traffic will be horrenous. I will be forced to move if this bridge is not opened.
Yes, I agree with Kelly! I also live right next to the bridge. Most people don't realize it but to many of us in this area, this isn't merely an inconvenience. We DEPEND on that bridge to get to 35W north and the Quarry (i.e. grocery store, Target, etc.) and Rosedale for pretty much all of our basic shopping needs. Going through downtown or through campus simply isn't practical in the slightest!
I like to have this open to local traffic. People traveling between Two university campuses will not have to waste too much time.
Having to bike through gawkers walking in the "Bike Only" path on the Washington Ave. bridge has left me to wonder why there haven't been more accidents. For this reason, I think that it would be much safer to only open the 10th Ave. bridge for bike & pedestrian traffic only (please). This would also encourage those driving from Marcy Holmes to the U to be more environmentally savy commuters and to not drive!
Having to bike through gawkers walking in the "Bike Only" path on the Washington Ave. bridge has left me to wonder why there haven't been more accidents. For this reason, I think that it would be much safer to only open the 10th Ave. bridge for bike & pedestrian traffic only (please). This would also encourage those driving from Marcy Holmes to the U to be more environmentally savy commuters and to not drive!
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