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Franklin Avenue reconstruction

County Road 5 in South Minneapolis

Hennepin County, in coordination with the City of Minneapolis, is evaluating ways to improve safety, accessibility and comfort for all road users along Franklin Avenue (County Road 5) between Lyndale (County Road 22) and Chicago avenues.

Project timeline for the Franklin Avenue reconstruction project
 
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In its current form, this segment of Franklin Avenue includes a four-lane, undivided roadway (meaning there is no median in most areas) with off-peak parking at certain locations and no facilities for people biking. There are opportunities to improve transportation for all users of Franklin Avenue:

  • Provide designated space for different travel modes.
  • Provide safer pedestrian crossings at intersections
  • Allow for better community connections along the corridor
  • Support local businesses and institutions with improved access
  • Enhance the visual character with lighting, trees, green space and furnishings
  • Minimize traffic delay for people using transit and driving

As one of the first steps we are completing an alternatives analysis, where we review possible layouts, share for public input and select a preferred alternative for design.

View our one-pager on changes to Franklin Avenue (PDF)

Franklin Avenue is a key east-west corridor in South Minneapolis with dense land uses and mixed-use buildings.

  • Franklin Avenue from Lyndale to Chicago avenues is a four-lane undivided roadway with off-peak parking at certain locations.
  • Franklin Avenue from Chicago to Bloomington avenues is a three lane roadway with on-street parking at some locations.
  • There are no bike facilities along this segment of Franklin Avenue, and sidewalks and curb ramps are generally in a poor state of repair.
  • This corridor is part of the City of Minneapolis’ Vision Zero High Injury Network, meaning that there are existing safety concerns for all people using the corridor.
  • Franklin Avenue is served by Metro Transit’s bus routes 2 and 9.
  • Both the Hennepin County Bicycle Transportation Plan and the City of Minneapolis Bicycle Master Plan denote Franklin Avenue as a future bike route.

Franklin Avenue corridor study one pager (2019) (PDF)

Join us on 10/3 for an open house

We invite you to join us for an open house on Monday, October 3, at Plymouth Congregational Church (1900 Nicollet Ave S) from 4-7 p.m.  At this open house, you will have an opportunity to share your ideas and feedback for the future of Franklin Avenue directly with the project team. Feel free to come when you are able, grab some food from Franklin Avenue's own Capitol Café and discuss the project.

If you cannot make it to the open house, materials will be posted to this website after the event. We also encourage you to sign up for project email updates below, as there will be future opportunities for engagement coming soon.

Share your thoughts

We have already begun efforts to get input from people who live, work and travel on the corridor. Now is the time to share your thoughts about your current concerns and the future needs for the roadway. This will keep things moving forward so we can complete work in 2026.

Look for more information about upcoming events here and at places along the corridor. 

Previous outreach

Hennepin County performed a corridor study of this segment of Franklin Avenue between July 2019 and March 2020.

The county hosted open houses on November 21, 2019, and March 5, 2020. View the open house materials (PDF).

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