Stanley Avenue Sidewalk

Update 12/16/2024

The City Council provided a resolution of support for Staff to move forward with a funding application in the Minnesota Safe Routes to School Infrastructure solicitation to narrow the road and construct sidewalk along Stanley Avenue.

This means Stanley Avenue will be removed from the 2025 overlay project and held until there is a SRTS funding decision for this roadway.

The grant application is due January 17, 2024. Funded project selection will be announced by April 30, 2025. Check back here for updates in April 2025.

Background

At the public open house with the Stanley and Nine Mile Creek Parkway residents earlier in the summer of 2024, several residents indicated that having sidewalk along Stanley Avenue would be a safety improvement for the walkers in the neighborhood. Since there is sidewalk along Nine Mile Creek Parkway and along W 84th Street, there is a gap in the sidewalk network along Stanley Avenue. At that time, City staff indicated they would explore options for sidewalk and bring them back to the residents.

Stanley Avenue is a priority location for sidewalk for the following reasons:

• The Active Transportation Action Plan lays out a plan for improving active transportation options and safety across the City; and
• Stanley Avenue carries higher traffic volumes than a typical local roadway (greater than 1000 vpd) which is a best practice threshold for providing pedestrian facilities separated from traffic; and
• There is a gap in the sidewalk network through Stanley Avenue (to connect sidewalk on Nine Mile Creek Parkway to sidewalk on W 84th Street); and
• Stanley Avenue is within the walking boundary of Poplar Bridge Elementary and sidewalk on Stanley is identified as a targeted safety improvement in the Safe Routes to School Plan for Poplar Bridge Elementary.

A public open house will be held on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, from 6 PM to 7:30 PM in the Poplar Bridge Elementary School Cafeteria, to discuss the option of adding sidewalk along Stanley Avenue between W 84th Street and Nine Mile Creek Parkway.

Sidewalk (preliminary) design options to consider:

• Construct sidewalk on the west side of Stanley Avenue;
• Construct sidewalk on the east side of Stanley Avenue (this option is ruled out because of the grades of the yards on this side of the road and the need to construct retaining walls if built on this side); and
• Narrow the roadway and construct sidewalk on the west side of Stanley Avenue (would help to preserve some trees and provide some road narrowing traffic calming results, but would require not allowing parking on one side of the road).

Based on the response from the neighborhood, if it seems like sidewalk construction is still of interest, we may postpone the planned street overlay to try to apply for some funding to assist in the cost of the sidewalk and potential road narrowing costs (these costs are outside of the scope of a typical street overlay).

All residents are welcome to attend. If you are unable to attend, feel free to reach out to City staff to discuss. You can join the open house at any time between 6:00 pm and 7:30 pm as this will be an open house format and there will be no presentation.

Open House boards will be added shortly after the open house.