2619 East Franklin Avenue,   Minneapolis, MN 55406   *  Telephone: 612.338.8729   *  Fax: 612.399.0739

FRANKLIN AVENUE LRT STATION DEVELOPMENT IMPLEMENTAITON PLAN (TOD) (2005)

Purpose: The purpose of this Implementation Plan for the Franklin Avenue LRT
Station Area is to optimize development potential resulting from this new and promising transit option.

The study seems to assume that a developer would be found land would be available at reasonable cost and the area developed in three phases. First phase completed in five years, second in 10, third in 20 years.

The area was approximately Bloomington Avenue to 21st Ave, I 94 to 22nd Street (but not including current large apartment buildings)

Site-Specific Opportunities and Initiatives (In English, Goals):

1. Enhancing the area's image by creating an identifiable urban district unique to the Franklin / Cedar area, making this area a destination.
2. Furthermore, connecting Ventura Village and Seward neighborhoods in a significant manner.
3. Respecting the diverse history, development pattern and culture of the area.
4. Encouraging a variety and mix of land uses appropriate to the area.
5. Creating a focus on the Franklin/Cedar node with architectural creativity and building height.
6. Promoting diversity by providing a variety of housing types, sizes and styles.
7. Creating more opportunities for green space, streetscape, and public art.
8. Building an architectural and/or symbolic connection that unifies all four corners of the Franklin/Cedar intersection and Augsburg College with the LRT Station.
9. Ensuring that the margins of redevelopment are compatible with the scale, design and use of adjacent neighborhoods.

Prior studies and plans

1. Hiawatha LRT Corridor TOD Market Study December 1999
2. Franklin Avenue LRT Task Force (March 2000)
3. Franklin/Cedar-Riverside Master TOD Plan (August 2001)
4. Market and Financial Feasibility Analysis for this project. (June 2005 (with Redesign)

Transportation Analysis
Pedestrian
Pedestrian connectivity is key to effectively supporting transit.However, pedestrian connectivity in the station area is compromised by four elements.

1. The placement of the LRT station above street grade over Franklin Avenue, which is an extension of the depressing of Franklin Avenue under Hiawatha Avenue.
2. The suburban style of design employed on the depressed portion of Franklin Avenue that results in a wide divided roadway with wide side slopes.
3. The diagonal connection of Minnehaha Avenue to Cedar Avenue north of Franklin Avenue.
4. The placement of the overhead high voltage transmission line along the western edge of Cedar Avenue.

There are three pieces to achieving better pedestrian connectivity in the station area:

Provide for at-grade movement of people to the transit station from Cedar Avenue and Bloomington Avenue. This argues for developing additional pedestrian circulation along Franklin at the LRT level and fronting development on this space to activate it.
1. The sidewalk at street grade on Franklin needs to be activated with building frontage. Recover the space lost to side slopes along the roadway by coming out to the sidewalk, either in a terraced fashion or by bringing the building fa�ade to sidewalk grade and making up the grade change with uses inside the buildings. Perhaps two level development along Franklin in trench area.
2. The gaps in the system created by Hiawatha, Minnehaha and the transmission lines need to be addressed to provide for a more continuous frontage along the sidewalk.
3. Lighting and sidewalk treatments in the areas under the bridges at the LRT and Hiawatha also need to be addressed from a security and safety standpoint.

Traffic
The confluence of these three major streets in the station area coupled with the traffic from the larger area served by these streets places a higher degree of emphasis on roadway width and lane patterns than would otherwise be the case in a station area.

1. Cedar requires four lanes
2. Franklin requires 3 lanes
3. No money to narrow Franklin from Bloomington to Cedar
4. Realign Minnehaha with 20th at Franklin.
5. Connection between Minnehaha and Cedar south of Franklin

Other
Proposed to re-align the HVTL to the median of Cedar Avenue to allow street frontage development on west side of Cedar

Intersection and street changes

1. Addition of right turn lanes on the Cedar Avenue approaches at Franklin Avenue
2. Redesign of the intersection of Franklin Avenue and the LRT yards and shops access road to a Tee
3. Addition of curb extensions and parallel parking on Franklin Avenue between LRT overpass and Hiawatha overpass
4. Minnehaha Avenue north of Franklin Avenue to intersect with 9th Street rather than Cedar Avenue.
5. 9th Street between Old Cedar and Cedar Avenue to align with 20th
6. Extend 22nd Street/Snelling Avenue to provide a new connection between Minnehaha Avenue and Cedar Avenue south of Franklin
7. Remove19th Street north of Franklin Avenue to Cedar Avenue/9th Street
8. Remove North frontage street along Franklin Avenue west of CedarAvenue
9. Remove Old Cedar Avenue south of Franklin Avenue to the internal street on the Cedar Box/Ambles site.