After years of calling for safer streets, residents of Park Avenue in Minneapolis finally have reason to celebrate. Thanks to the efforts of local advocates — and county officials willing to step up — an interim safety project will be installed this fall, bringing immediate improvements to a street that has long put neighbors at risk.
Park Avenue residents have been pushing for safer street design since 2014. Their efforts gained momentum following a major crash in August 2024, where a speeding car left the roadway and damaged three houses. Shortly after the crash, the county announced a plan to redesign the street, starting in 2027.
A full redesign would be great…in three years. In the meantime, residents were still living on a street where wide lanes and a lack of crosswalks encouraged 91% of drivers to speed. In the hope of prompting more immediate action, residents conducted a Crash Analysis Studio in August 2025. They identified simple, low-cost ways the county could make Park Avenue safer right away. Their urgency was validated three weeks later, when another car crashed into a house on the same street.
Repeat crashes like this are all too common on streets built for speed, not safety. Often, they’re brushed off. Hennepin County officials had a different response: They listened. “Based on community input and crash data, interim safety enhancements will be installed this fall at three intersections on Park and Portland avenues,” county officials announced online. Other intersections could see similar treatment in the future.
The interim changes — curb bump-outs, chicanes, and a solid center median — align with the recommendations local advocates made in their Crash Analysis Studio. They also mimic the redesign planned for 2027, giving county officials and staff the chance to study drivers’ reactions and adjust their plans if needed.
It appears that this observation and adjustment process has already started. Resident David Safranski told Strong Towns that the county installed bollards at one intersection on Park Avenue, creating a solid center median that prevents left turns across traffic. It then removed the bollards last weekend. This concerned residents, but the removal was only temporary. A couple of days later, the bollards were back, this time with signage that makes the change in traffic patterns clearer to drivers.
This is exactly the kind of flexible iteration that makes quick-build projects so valuable. Presumably, county staff installed the bollards, observed that drivers were struggling with the change — which could make the area more dangerous — and temporarily removed the bollards while adjusting their plans to increase clarity. Since they were working with temporary materials instead of concrete, they were able to make these adjustments quickly without breaking the bank.
The Park Avenue interim project is a win for the entire community. It proves that, when local voices and responsive leadership join forces, real change is possible — and that every small act brings communities closer to streets that truly serve them.
