Update: Brooklyn Park Approves Trail Along Brooklyn Boulevard
The Brooklyn Boulevard trail would transform a current sidewalk into a 10-foot multimodal trail from Hampshire to the 7900 block of Brooklyn Boulevard.
The project comes with a $1 million price tag, some of which includes burying utility lines, and that cost could be partially offset with grant money.
The city says the trail would create a critical pedestrian and non-motorized transportation connection between the Brooklyn Boulevard transit hub and commercial center and the Village Creek neighborhood.
In the future, the BLRT project would extend the 10-foot trail from 7901 Brooklyn Boulevard to West Broadway. The current sidewalk is 5-foot wide, which the city says is not adequate for pedestrians, bicyclists and people with mobility challenges. A wheelchair requires 3 feet of space to operate, which would leave only 2 feet of space for a bicyclist or pedestrian to pass. Additionally, existing pedestrian ramps were installed in 1982 and do not meet current ADA (American with Disabilities Act) standards. A new trail would include updated ADA and updated safety requirements.
The city secured $100,000 in Hennepin County Bikeway grant funds in 2017 and those funds must be spent by June 30, 2021. Staff is also submitting a grant application to cover additional costs.
The Brooklyn Park EDA approved this measure on Tuesday. You can read more here.
