One example of the "floating" bus stations that could be on Hennepin in 2020. Photo by Adam Coppola Photography

City planners are making the first move to reconstruct Hennepin Avenue — something that hasn’t been done in decades — with a new style of protected bike lane and fewer turn lanes.

In order to apply for federal funding, the City Council is expected to approve a concept in June for a completely overhauled Hennepin Avenue. While the reconstruction isn’t slated until 2020 and major planning will be done in coming years, a conceptual plan necessary for the application will mold a basic layout for the project.

In the current proposal, the city’s Public Works department is looking to make Hennepin between Washington and 12th more welcoming to bikers and pedestrians through a new style of bike lane and a narrowed roadway with fewer turn lanes.

Simon Blenski, a transportation planner with the project, is proposing seven-foot protected bike lanes on the sidewalk level instead of today’s shared lane. He told The Journal that these sidewalk bike lanes, first used in cities in Europe and then in some around the United States, would be the first in Minneapolis.

The latest proposal shows these protected bike lanes near the curb of the sidewalk on blocks without a bus stop and wrapped behind bus shelters on blocks with stops, creating a separated waiting area, or what some call “floating” bus stops or “bus islands.” Blenski said their goal in using the unique configuration is to reduce conflicts between the various modes of transportation on Hennepin.

“For this design, the details are really important to make it work for everyone,” he said. “The toolbox that we could use is really big, everything from the markings, the material choice for the pavement, other visual cues we’re giving people… all that stuff is going to be explored going forward.”

The bike lanes are possible thanks to an approximately 11-foot reduction in the average width of the stretch of roadway. The current proposal would have four lanes with northbound turn lanes only at Washington and 3rd Street, instead of every other block.

The proposal also reduces Hennepin’s sidewalks from an average of 20 feet to 18 feet, though Blenski said they could reverse that in future planning through additional cuts to the street.

Along with the new bus stop configuration, the stations themselves will likely get a makeover. Blenski said Metro Transit is planning new stations for Hennepin that will resemble the upcoming stops along the agency’s A Line, the region’s first arterial bus route, that will primarily stretch along Snelling Avenue in St. Paul. Blenski said these transparent stations will have real-time transit information, along with heating and lighting components already a part of Hennepin’s stops.

“This area becomes similar to a light rail platform,” he said at an April 25 presentation.

The station design and the exact lane dimensions are not a binding part of the application for federal funding. Public Works is looking for $7 million through the federal grant for what could be a more than $15 million project, though that estimate is very preliminary and based on a standard reconstruction, Blenski said.

Peter Wagenius, Mayor Betsy Hodges’ policy director, said the city will plan more than a standard street. Thanks to its size, which ranges from about 90 to 100 feet wide from building face to building face, Hennepin provides room to bolster “non-functional” bike lanes, preserve wide sidewalks and balance all modes of transportation, he said.

“This is a wider street than most. It has wider sidewalks than most. It has that opportunity to rebuild from scratch and shrink down the roadway, which means it should be possible for us to achieve peaceful coexistence and have all of these modes work together,” Wagenius said.

Tom Hoch, president and CEO of the Hennepin Theatre Trust and chair of the Downtown Council and Downtown Improvement District, said he’s unsure Hennepin can hold all these modes while maintaining the pedestrian experience.

“I think that we’re putting a lot on Hennepin. I’m just not sure we can manage all of it,” he said. “We have to be sure to design [Hennepin] sidewalk-out and not street-in.”

Hoch said there is an obvious concern for people leaving the trust’s theaters along Hennepin and inadvertently walking into the bike lane. He suggested that fewer lanes of traffic could be a remedy for unclogging Hennepin.

“These situations where you’re looking for a way to create all winners and no losers just make it harder to get to that point, but that’s what we’re trying to do, [to] make sure this is a winning street for everyone and every mode of transportation.”

Council Member Jacob Frey, whose ward includes much of the reconstruction, said the project should remedy the thoroughfare’s unevenness, especially in the Gateway District near the downtown riverfront. Hennepin County controls Hennepin north of Washington near the Hennepin Avenue Bridge.

“We’ve got to be collaborating with the county to ensure consistency,” he said. “If we’re trying to create a beautiful gateway, we need a consistent flow.”

Staff will seek City Council approval in early June for a preferred street concept and submit the federal transportation grant application in July.

Public Works will dive into more detailed design work in 2017 with advanced utility work slated to begin in 2019 and construction in 2020.

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For more information on the Hennepin Avenue reconstruction or to comment on the project, visit the project page.