| The Lake Street Bridge across the Mississippi River is the east gateway to Minneapolis. The river lies in a relatively narrow, deep gorge at this point, a unique geological condition found nowhere else along the entire length of the river. In response to environmental degradation, the Longfellow neighborhood, which borders the valley’s west rim, recently commissioned and adopted a Master Plan that calls for aggressive preservation and restoration of natural systems along the River while allowing controlled recreational use. The first phases of the plan are currently being constructed. The Minneapolis Rowing Club has completed design work for their new building in the gorge below the Lake Street bridge.
The Midtown Greenway will connect with the existing trails along the Mississippi River at River Road; with potential future links to St. Paul via the existing railroad bridge. This provides an opportunity to create a trail gateway amenity to announce the Greenway and an important open space connection through south Minneapolis. River Road itself is an important recreational link along a beautiful corridor of national significance. The boulevard is part of the nationally designated Great River Parkway that runs along the Mississippi from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. River Road connects north to downtown and south to Minnehaha Park and Creek as part of the Minneapolis’ Grand Rounds Park system.
Residential neighborhoods at the east end of the corridor are well maintained and have retained their value over the years. Housing consists primarily of single family residences, although there are duplexes and multi-family apartments as well. Commercial and institutional land uses are less concentrated at this end of Lake Street, but convenience stores and surface parking continue to fragment the street edge. The former Union 76 gas station site, located at the bridgehead, provides a tremendous opportunity for an innovative, architecturally significant mixed-use development incorporating commercial, office or residential use.
As in focus areas to the west, the repaving of Lake Street will provide excellent opportunities to improve the quality of the public realm, providing safer crossings of the street and better amenities for transit users, bicyclists and pedestrians. | | |
