Minnesota Department of Transportation

511 Travel Info

University Avenue Northeast/Highway 47

Minneapolis

Design

There are several transportation challenges on University Ave. N.E. We know this based on past studies in the area, community feedback from the Hwy 47/65 Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study.

What we know about the project area:

  • Speeding is a big issue on University Ave. N.E. that needs to be addressed to improve safety and reduce accidents.
  • Sidewalks are too close to moving traffic, creating a safety risk for pedestrians.
  • Some locations – like the intersection at Lowry Ave. N.E. – are not safe because there is not enough room for vehicles to turn properly, which results in collisions with buildings, business signage, and other vehicles.
  • Existing sidewalks are too narrow and sometimes have obstructions – like telephone poles – that block people’s path. The current sidewalks are also difficult for people who use wheelchairs and do not align with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These sidewalks need to be updated to comply with federal law.
  • People have a hard time crossing the road, especially when there isn’t a traffic signal.
  • The bicycle experience can be improved.
  • Snow and ice removal is essential for a good travel experience, yet there often is not enough space to store shoveled snow.

Last spring, we developed design ideas and asked people who live, work, and travel through University Ave. N.E. what they thought of the proposed changes. More than 2,000 community members shared their input. Much of the feedback was positive and supportive. You can review this input on our community engagement webpage.

Proposed design for University Ave. N.E.

We now have one proposed design for University Ave. N.E., informed by what community members shared with us earlier this year. This proposed design will increase safety and make University Ave. N.E. easier for everyone to travel on.

Features:
  • Narrowing the road to three lanes.
  • Creating larger boulevards that separate sidewalks from the road.
  • Widening the sidewalks to six feet.
  • Adding curb extensions on side streets. These visually and physically narrow the roadway to create shorter crossings for pedestrians and increase visibility.
Benefits:
  • Slower vehicle speeds, improved safety for everyone traveling along the road, better accessibility for people walking and rolling on sidewalks, more room for shoveled snow and utilities.
Example map that shows proposed improvements for University Avenue Northeast between 14th Avenue Northeast and 15th Avenue Northeast. Improvement ideas include making the road three lanes, expanding grass boulevard and sidewalks, and adding curb extensions on side streets.

Features:
  • Adding a bike lane between Central Ave. and 1st Ave. This is part of the City of Minneapolis’ Transportation Action Plan.
  • Making bike crossing improvements. At intersections that have bike lanes crossing University Ave. N.E., we would set the bike path back from vehicles on the road and provide a dedicated path through the intersection. People biking would also have the right-of-way over people in vehicles who are turning.
Benefits:
  • Safer and easier travel experience for people biking.
Example map that shows proposed roadway improvements for University Avenue Northeast between Hennepin Ave. and 1st Ave. Improvement ideas include making the road three lanes and adding raised bike lanes.

We recommend adding medians between travel lanes in select places on University Ave. N.E. Medians can help people cross the road because they allow you to cross one direction of traffic at a time.

We recommend adding medians in the following places on University Ave. N.E.:

  • Between 1st Ave. and 3rd Ave.
  • 7th Ave. intersection
  • 9th Ave. intersection
  • 12th Ave. intersection
  • Between 16th Ave. and 17th Ave.
  • 18th Ave. intersection
  • 22nd Ave. intersection
  • 26th Ave. intersection
Benefits:
  • Improved safety, easier street crossings for pedestrians, slower vehicle speeds.
Example map that shows proposed improvements for University Avenue Northeast between 6th Avenue Northeast and 7th Avenue Northeast. Improvement ideas include making the road three lanes, expanding grass boulevard and sidewalks, and adding curb extensions on side streets.

Features:
  • Removing on-street parking along a lot of the road.
  • Keeping key parking spots between Central Ave. and 1st Ave.I
  • Keeping key parking spots near 6th Ave. N.E. and University Ave. N.E.
  • Keeping key parking spots near 18th Ave. N.E. and University N.E.
Benefits:
  • Better meet current parking demand and future needs, allow space for widening sidewalks to align with required American Accessibility Act standards.

Potential designs for Broadway St. N.E. and University Ave. N.E. intersection

The Broadway St. N.E. intersection has many safety issues that need to be improved.

High crash rate:

  • This intersection has the second highest number of crashes along University Ave. N.E., after Lowry Ave. N.E.
  • There are more places where crashes can occur. This is because of the skewed intersection design (meaning streets don’t intersect at the standard 90 degrees) and the separate right turn in the southwest corner.

Difficult pedestrian experience:

  • Sidewalks are too close to moving traffic. A guardrail was installed on the sharp curve on the southwest corner to help protect pedestrians from vehicles because of frequent safety issues.
  • Driveway access located close to the intersection creates safety concerns and limits the ability to provide pedestrian improvements.
  • Pedestrians, especially people with disabilities or families with small children, often must navigate around telephone poles and other obstacles in the sidewalk due to lack of space. The current sidewalks do not align with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and need to be updated to comply with federal law.
  • Many students from the nearby Las Estrellas Elementary School cross the road, emphasizing the need for safe crossings.

Below are two potential designs we have developed to help address these issues.

With this design , we would make the intersection a roundabout. This design feature includes one-way traffic flow around a curve, with drivers yielding before entering.

Benefits:
  • Improved safety, including lowering the expected crash rate, reducing vehicle speeds, removing the skew of the current intersection, and removing the separate right turn in the southwest corner).
  • Short, single lane crossings for pedestrians. Roundabouts tend to be safer for pedestrians, with a 2023 study finding a 70% decrease in fatal and serious injury crashes for bikes and pedestrians.
  • Boulevard space to separate the road from the sidewalk.
  • This design does not impact any commercial or residential building structures.
Trade-offs:
  • More traffic delays for all users.
  • More difficult to navigate for visually impaired pedestrians.
  • Additional pedestrian and bicyclist travel time needed due to crosswalk locations.
  • Three strips of private property, including potential gas station infrastructure, and two driveaway access points would be impacted. (We are in communication with property and business owners.)
Graphic showing the intersection as a roundabout. This design feature includes one-way traffic flow around a curve, with drivers yielding before entering.

With this design, we would keep a traffic signal at this intersection. Changes include removing the separate right turn in the southwest corner to reduce conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians. Boulevard space would also be added between the roadway and the sidewalk.

Benefits:
  • Removes the separate right turn in the southwest corner).
  • More direct connections for pedestrians crossing the road.
  • Provides boulevard space to separate the road from the sidewalk.
  • Traffic signal provides audio cues for visually impaired pedestrians.
  • Less traffic delays for all users.
  • This design does not impact any commercial or residential building structures.
Trade-offs:
  • May not reduce the number of crashes. 
  • Maintains the current skew of the intersection, which negatively impacts safety.
  • Would not reduce vehicle speeds.
  • Longer crossing distances for pedestrians.
  • Three strips of private property and two driveaway access points would be impacted. (We are in communication with property and business owners.)
Graphic showing the intersection with a traffic signal at this intersection. Changes include removing the separate right turn in the southwest corner to reduce conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians. Boulevard space would also be added between the roadway and the sidewalk.

Potential designs for Lowry Ave. N.E. and University Ave. N.E. intersection

The current intersection at Lowry Ave. N.E. has many safety problems for all users that need to be addressed.

High crash rate:

  • The rate of crashes at the intersection is five times the statewide average for similar intersections. More than 40 crashes resulting in injuries have happened at this intersection over the past five years, a high number for this type of intersection. Crashes also cause costly damage to nearby buildings, fire hydrants, business signs, fencing and signal equipment.

Not enough space for all users:

  • One of the reasons safety is a problem at the Lowry Ave. N.E. intersection is because there is not enough space for all users.
  • Sidewalks are too close to moving traffic and contain obstructions, making it dangerous for pedestrians. Pedestrians often move into the road to go around obstacles due to lack of space.
  • Sidewalks do not align with required Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. The intersection is particularly difficult to navigate for pedestrians with disabilities and families with small children. It does not have wide enough sidewalks for people who use wheelchairs or curb ramps. These sidewalks need to be updated to comply with federal law.
  • Vehicles, especially larger vehicles, cannot turn easily, causing traffic delays and safety concerns. Both Lowry Ave. N.E. and University Ave. N.E. are freight corridors, which means trucks frequently use the roads. These freight corridors are needed to move goods to and from nearby businesses.

Below are four potential designs we have developed to help address these issues.

With this design, we would make the intersection a roundabout. This design feature includes one-way traffic flow around a curve, with drivers yielding before entering.

Benefits:
  • Improved safety, including a lower expected crash rate and room for right turns to reduce sideswipe crashes.
  • Room for a trail on Lowry Ave. N.E.
  • Single lane crossings for pedestrians. Roundabouts tend to be safer for pedestrians, with a 2023 study finding a 70% decrease in fatal and serious injury crashes for bikes and pedestrians.
  • Shorter crossing distances with a median between lanes.
  • Space for larger turning freight vehicles.
Trade-offs:
  • Longer crossing distances for pedestrians.
  • More traffic delays for all users
  • More difficult to navigate for visually impaired pedestrians.
  • This design requires that MnDOT acquire a portion of the land at 2500 University Ave. N.E. We are in contact with the property and business owner.
  • Seven strips of land and six driveway access points would also be impacted. (We are in communication with property and business owners.)
Graphic showing the intersection with a roundabout. This design feature includes one-way traffic flow around a curve, with drivers yielding before entering.

With this design, we would reduce traffic to one lane in each direction. We would also add truck aprons, which are raised areas at the center of a lane that allow larger vehicles to navigate the intersection without hitting people or fixed objects.

Benefits:
  • Direct connections for sidewalk and trail crossings.
  • Traffic signal provides audio cues for visually impaired pedestrians.
Trade-offs:
  • No significant safety benefits, with no anticipated changes to the crash rate. It also does not address the need for more space to accommodate all vehicles safely.
  • No space for a full trail in the northwest corner.
  • Pedestrians would need to cross multiple lanes of traffic to get to the other side of the road, increasing the risk of potential crashes.
  • Pedestrian crossing distances would remain the same or similar.
  • More traffic delays for all users.
  • No space for larger turning freight vehicles.
  • This design requires that MnDOT acquire the land at 312 Lowry Ave. N.E. We are in contact with the property and business owner.
  • Four strips of land and four driveway access points would also be impacted. (We are in communication with property and business owners.)
Graphic showing reducing traffic to one lane in each direction. We would also add truck aprons, which are raised areas at the center of a lane that allow larger vehicles to navigate the intersection without hitting people or fixed objects.

With this design, we would shift Lowry Ave. N.E. to the south. This would include sidewalk and trail improvements that provide more space for pedestrians, as well as more space for freight vehicles to safely turn within the intersection.

Benefits:
  • Improved safety, including a lower expected crash rate and room for right turns to reduce sideswipe crashes.
  • Space for a trail on Lowry Ave. N.E.
  • Direct connections for sidewalk and trail crossings.
  • Traffic signal provides audio cues for visually impaired pedestrians.
  • Would cause less traffic delays than design 1 (adding a roundabout) or design 2 (reducing lanes).
  • Provides space for larger freight vehicles turning.
Trade-offs:
  • Pedestrians would need to cross multiple lanes of traffic to get to the other side of the road, increasing the risk of potential crashes.
  • Pedestrian crossing distances would remain the same or similar.
  • This design requires that MnDOT acquire the land at 312 Lowry Ave. N.E. We are in contact with the property and business owner.
  • Nine strips of land and three driveway access points would also be impacted. (We are in communication with property and business owners.)
Graphic showing Lowry Avenue Northeast shifted to the south. This would include sidewalk and trail improvements that provide more space for pedestrians, as well as more space for freight vehicles to safely turn within the intersection.

With this design, we would shift Lowry Ave. N.E. to the north. This would include sidewalk and trail improvements that provide more space for pedestrians, as well as more space for freight vehicles to safely turn within the intersection.

Benefits:
  • Improved safety, including a lower expected crash rate and room for right turns to reduce sideswipe crashes.
  • Space for a trail on Lowry Ave. N.E.
  • Direct connections for sidewalk and trail crossings.
  • Traffic signal provides audio cues for visually impaired pedestrians.
  • Would cause less traffic delays than design 1 (adding a roundabout) or design 2 (reducing lanes).
  • Provides space for larger freight vehicles turning.
Trade-offs:
  • Pedestrians would need to cross multiple lanes of traffic to get to the other side of the road, increasing the risk of potential crashes.
  • Pedestrian crossing distances would remain the same or similar.
  • This design requires that MnDOT acquire a portion of the land at 2500 University Ave. N.E. It also requires that MnDOT acquire land at 2501 University Ave. N.E. We are in contact with the property and business owners.
  • Seven strips of land and two driveway access points would also be impacted. (We are in communication with property and business owners.)
Graphic showing Lowry Avenue Northeast shifted to the north. This would include sidewalk and trail improvements that provide more space for pedestrians, as well as more space for freight vehicles to safely turn within the intersection.

Share input on the intersection designs

Please share your input on the potential intersection designs! Take our survey by Fri, Feb. 28 to learn more and provide feedback.

If you have questions or comments on this proposed design, please contact the project team.

Next steps

Later this year, we will seek municipal consent from the City of Minneapolis to move forward with these improvements. When approved, the agency will work with local partners to seek funding. With funding, we could start making improvements as soon as 2027, with possible utility work in 2026.