Public hearing set for Phase 2 of Raymond Ave. repaving project
The St. Paul City Council will hold a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, on the second phase of a three-phase reconstruction of Raymond Avenue.
Phase 2 will stretch from Hampden Avenue to Energy Park Drive. If the City Council approves the project, it will begin next summer and be completed by November 2015, according to project engineer Barb Mundahl.
Mundahl hosted a public meeting about the project on Nov. 19 at Langford Park Recreation Center. More than 30 area residents attended that meeting. The project is aimed at making Raymond Avenue more pedestrian friendly and slowing traffic on the avenue. Phase 2 will include widening boulevards, adding grassy or landscaped medians and creating 6-foot bike lanes on each side of the street.
The plan to rework the street began in October 2004, when the District 12 Community Council held a public meeting at which residents expressed concerns about traffic and pedestrian and bicycling safety. Residents told stories of motorists taking curves too fast, particularly in the winter, and landing in their yards or hitting fences and trees. Two years later, the St. Anthony Park Community Council formed the Raymond Avenue Traffic Calming Task Force, which initiated the project.
The plan was finalized and approved by the community council in 2010 and subsequently approved by the St. Paul City Council. The first phase of the project—from University Avenue to Hampden Avenue—was completed in 2013.
You can see Mundahl’s slideshow of the proposed project at the St. Anthony Park Community Council website, www.sapcc.org/raymondphase2. Questions concerning the project can be directed to Mundahl at barbara.mundahl@ci.stpaul.mn.us or 651-266-6112.
