Edina updates residents on major 50th Street safety project
The Edina City Council discussed a $3.2 million safety improvement project at 50th Street and Grange Road during its March 15 retreat. The construction, which began in June with detours in place, aims to make the intersection safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers through multiple design changes.
The project near City Hall includes several key safety upgrades completed and planned. New roundabouts were already installed in 2023, and crews are adding a dedicated turn lane for eastbound 50th to northbound Dale, new medians on 50th Street, and wider sidewalks. The intersection with Grange Road will receive a new traffic signal with dedicated left turns and new crosswalks on all sides.
City officials emphasized that the design prioritizes safety across all transportation modes. One strategy involves narrowing traffic lanes to naturally slow vehicle speeds. "The traffic lanes will be more narrow that'll hopefully constrict the flow of traffic and slow people down," a city representative explained. The overall goal, officials noted, is "making it safer for all modes of transportation."
Residents in the nearby Sunny Slope neighborhood had previously raised concerns about pedestrian safety along 50th Street, which the project directly addresses. For drivers navigating the closure, city officials recommend using Eden Avenue as the primary detour route for local trips, connecting at Vernon Street.
The project is expected to wrap up by the third week of August. While no formal votes were recorded during this retreat discussion, the presentation provided residents with crucial details about the timeline, detour routes, and specific improvements coming to the intersection.
This story was created by artificial intelligence (a large language model) based on the proceedings captured in the video below.
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▸Meeting Analysis
“it's really trying to make it safer for all modes of transportation”
“The traffic Lanes will be more narrow that'll hopefully constrict the the flow of traffic and slow people down”
“after our project you're going to see a new traffic signal here that'll have dedicated left turns new crosswalks on all legs of the intersection”
“with the road closure on 50th the best route for those local trips is Eden Avenue”
▸Source Document
[Music] summer is the season for finding road construction in your path and Edina is no exception big safety improvements are being made to the area of 50th inrange Street next to City Hall but to complete them the area must be completely closed to traffic if you're asking what changes are being made and how you navigate the detours Edina TV has the answers if you've walked or cycled along 50th Street near City Hall you know traffic is never far away the Sunny Slope neighborhood had lot of concerns about being able to walk safely you can see the cars going by they're right on the edge of the road the sidewalks right on the edge of the road a transportation study confirmed more can be done including traffic improvements new roundabouts near City Hall were added in 2023 now phase two begins what's the light at the end of the tunnel for residents when it comes to this traffic like this traffic situation here good example right so yeah we just saw uh somebody trying to make a left turn on the Dale there will now be a turn lane for that eastbound 50th to Northbound Dale so we won't have the people honking near misses and all that stuff it's really trying to make it safer for all modes of transportation in addition to that turn lane there will be new medians on 50th Street combined with those wider sidewalks the traffic Lanes will be more narrow that'll hopefully constrict the the flow of traffic and slow people down more changes are coming to the intersection with Grange Road after our project you're going to see a new traffic signal here that'll have dedicated left turns new crosswalks on all legs of the intersection this intersection will look a lot different with a big retaining wall right behind me new trees will be planted when the work is done on June 10 The Detour signs went up for this $3.2 million project drivers began the process of learning how to circumnavigate a familiar Road for local residents with the road closure on 50th the best route for those local trips is Eden Avenue and that Eden Avenue connection connects at Vernon and it connects through south of City Hall connects back to 50th Street so eastbound or westbound your best choice is Eden Avenue a road construction project well on its way so all users of 50th Street can be on their way by Summer's end I'm Dan Carpenter for Adina TV the 50th Street and gra Road Improvement project is expected to be completed the third week of August before school starts in the fall visit betterto together.org for detour maps and the latest updates on the project
This story was created by artificial intelligence (a large language model) based on the proceedings captured in the video below.
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