25th Ave. Streetscape Review

The City of Edgewater completed and approved a Traffic Calming and Mobility Plan in 2019. This plan identified the need to make changes to the 25^th Ave. corridor, to better support pedestrians and bicycle users. Through this public outreach process of this plan, Edgewater Partners learned that the largest barrier to active transportation was high motorist speeds and a lack of safe pedestrian/ bike infrastructure. 25^th Avenue was identified as one of the priority traffic calming streets and a location for a demonstration project or pop-up “living preview” of potential treatments. Following the 2019 Traffic Calming and Mobility Plan the City of Edgewater received a 2019 Active People Active Places Grant to host a Pop-Up Traffic Calming Corridor to test some of what was recommended through the Traffic Calming and Mobility Plan.

The pop-up traffic calming corridor gave the community the opportunity to experience and share in the creation of the street design, while educating the greater public (including the greater metro area residents that frequent Edgewater) and further build public awareness and support for future long term projects. This process further tested some of what the Traffic Calming and Mobility Plan set out.

With the COVID-19 Pandemic the corridor was changed to a single direction so additional outdoor seating areas could be added. The one-way street has proved to calm traffic and has made the corridor more inviting to pedestrian and bicycle patrons.

The City of Edgewater hired a design team to finalize the designs for this corridor after utilizing all of these processes. This team has provided outreach to the public and business owners to better understand the needs of all stakeholders. Through this process the current designs have been developed and final construction plans completed.

View the Construction Plans here.

Edgewater was also able to work with West Metro Fire Protection District to make sure any improvements would provide acceptable emergency access. The designs were drawn on the street and the Fire District spend a few hours driving equipment through the corridor and looking at the physical changes that Edgewater was envisioning. Changes were made following the test to support this need.

Edgewater’s goal with this project is to improve safety for all through the 25^th Ave. Corridor. Edgewater believes with these improvements the City will address a number of issues including narrow commercial sidewalks by finding ways to provide more space for outdoor seating, eating, and greenspace and better manage traffic speeds through the corridor. All of this will provide a safer “Main Street” for Edgewater by supporting all forms of transportation.

Edgewater has a lovely main street which encourages walkability and livability. Redesigning the street to encourage social interaction would provide businesses with a needed boost. Outdoor dining becomes a possibility when the street is greened and traffic speeds and volumes come down. The main street design is flexible and encourages many uses - including closing the street at regular intervals for festivals, gatherings and commu­nity events.