In St. Paul's Lowertown, Sixth Street runs along the north side of picturesque Mears Park, but "it's a bit of a freeway offramp," says
CapitolRiver Council Chair Kim Hyers. That is one reason that calming traffic by widening sidewalks into the parking lane is an attractive idea.
The council is asking the St. Paul City Council to consider pushing sidewalks out into the street along Sixth. The move would give restaurants a lot more room for outdoor seating, although Hyers also says "there's a flip side"--public property would be given over to private businesses' use.
An open question is whether, when widening sidewalks, the city should make the changes permanent--literally set in concrete--or temporary, with seasonally installed wooden risers.
The issue arises at a time when things are looking up for Lowertown and downtown. Hyers says she sees "a lot of momentum, with new restaurants and signs of positive change and growth." Hyers says she was excited recently to hear a developer call Lowertown the "gateway to the city."
She cites the Penfield project, still slated for construction, which will include a Lunds grocery store, the kind of full-service, larger store downtown has been lacking. And the Saint Paul Saints minor-league baseball team's pursuit of a new stadium on the old Gillette site in Lowertown is fueling anticipation about related development. A long-range task force is set to hire an outside consulting firm to chart the area's future development--independent of, but complementary to, the city's official vision.
Source: Kim Hyers, CapitolRiver Council
Writer: Chris Steller