Our Streets

West Bank: Now and Then
2024-05-06 18:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | Merriam Park Library, 1831 Marshall Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55104, United States
Be a part of the neighborhood conversation! Join West Bank Business Association, Our Streets, and St. Catherine University for an event to talk about the past, present, and future of the West Bank.
At the event, you can:

Enjoy free light refreshments

Learn more about MnDOT’s Rethinking I-94 alternatives for the neighborhood and beyond

See photographs by West Bank residents

Digitize your neighborhood history (bring your old photographs – we’ll have a scanner on hand!)

Check out the results from St. Kate’s PhotoVoice study that collaborated with West Bank business owners to talk about their experience of the West Bank

About Photovoice

In Fall 2023, MnDOT announced its intention to engage business owners along I-94 about how the highway impacts them and their goals for the future. Our Streets and St. Kate’s Master of Public Health program partnered to ensure experiences of business owners and Community members of Cedar Riverside are included.

In February 2024, Our Streets and St. Kate’s collaboratively hosted a PhotoVoice community conversation with interested business owners and community organizers about their stories, experiences, and the highway’s impacts on their businesses and communities. The participants took photos of their community that will be displayed at the West Bank: Now and Then event.

The St. Kate’s team will share their research findings and are excited to engage with the Cedar-Riverside community and continue to expand the dialogue of restorative justice. To learn more about the PhotoVoice project and St. Kate’s research, contact Dr. Susi Keefe at slkeefe162@stkate.edu.

A New Neighborhood Vision for I-94
2024-05-04 10:30 - 12:00
What would happen if I-94 was replaced by a boulevard? Discuss key findings from a new report at this free community presentation by Union Park District Council Transportation Committee. Seating is limited, please reserve your spot on the Eventbrite page.

Reserve your free spot

A 7.5 mile section of I-94 between downtown Saint Paul and downtown Minneapolis has reached the end of its structural life. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is conducting a multiyear effort to decide what comes next. Among 10 current alternatives are proposals for an at-grade boulevard.

Cities around the world are successfully replacing highways with boulevards. This presentation will take a deeper look at a local highway-to-boulevard conversion, focusing on the findings in a new report that features surprising information on who uses the highway today, shows what a boulevard might look like in specific neighborhoods, reveals where current highway traffic would go, and calculates how much land a boulevard would unearth for new jobs, housing, economic development and green space in our neighborhoods.
