Penn Avenue S. Phase I Reconstruction Update April 5, 2013

This is an update specific to Phase 1 (2013 Construction) of the Penn Avenue S reconstruction project.  The Phase 1 limits are from the crosstown to 100 feet north of 54th Street W.

Upcoming events on Penn Ave. S:

Beginning April 10, 2013, Penn Ave. will be closed to thru traffic between W 60th St and W 54th Streets. All east west cross-streets, including W 60th and W 54th Streets, will remain open until further notice. All Penn Ave businesses will remain open. Local access to businesses will be maintained as much as possible.

Starting Wednesday April 10, the Minneapolis Park Board will begin removing Ash Trees along Penn Avenue between Mn-62 and W 54th St. Due to the large size of these trees, sections of Penn Ave will be closed while the trees in that area are being cut. NO PARKING signs will be posted early next week for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of next week. Expect roadway closures for short durations (4-6 hours) while trees are being removed in each section. Tree removal should be completed by April 15. The tree stumps will be ground out at a later date by the Contractor.

Starting Monday April 15, both CenterPoint Energy and Meyer Contracting will mobilize to the site and begin setting up to start work.

In the next few days you will be receiving a letter from the City which outlines what you can expect during construction. In addition to sending out update notifications the Penn Ave web site will be updated on a regular basis.

If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me.

For more information contact:

Stephanie Malmberg, P.E.
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Office: (612) 673-3365

City of Minneapolis
Department of Public Works
309 2nd Avenue South - Room 201
Minneapolis, MN 55401

April showers bring May flowers and door-to-door solicitors. Do you know if they are legitimate sales people or are they con artists or worse, burglars?

It’s known that burglars will sometimes pose as solicitors in order to knock at doors to determine if anyone is home. If there is no answer, the suspect will continue to knock on nearby addresses, circle back and break into the home which they believe the residents are not inside. Usually they work in pairs and have a vehicle parked nearby. Sometimes, the vehicle will be parked in the alley with the second party waiting the all clear.

If someone comes to your door and you don’t want to open it, let them know that you are home by turning on the outside lights or yelling through the door stating that you aren’t interested. If you do answer and the person claims to be selling something, ask to see their city-issued photo ID card.

Hello Neighbors.  Just a reminder of our upcoming Armatage Annual Meeting, Tuesday March 19^th.    There will be a safety meeting from 6:00-6:30.  Amy Lavender and Inspector Anthony Diaz will be our guest speakers.  The Annual Meeting will begin at 6:30.  We have a great lineup of local leaders:

Park Board Commissioner, Brad Bourn

Minneapolis City Council Member, Betsy Hodges

On behalf of Senator Al Franken, Matt Croaston (point person on transportation)

State Senator, Scott Dibble

Speaker of the House, Paul Thissen

All speakers will allow time for questions from residents.

We are also looking to residents to vote on Armatage Neighborhood Priorities.  This will give residents a chance to be heard on the vision and direction of the Armatage Neighborhood.  We will also be holding Armatage Neighborhood Board elections.  A light dessert will be served.

Hope to see you there!

Dear Resident or Business Proprietor,

The City of Minneapolis is preparing to reconstruct Penn Avenue S between Highway 62 and 50^th Street W. A location map is below. The project will include new pavement, curb and gutter, and coordinated utility work. Construction is planned for 2013 and 2014 as shown on the location map.

The fifth public meeting with adjacent property owners is scheduled for March 21^st at 7:00 PM. The meeting will be held in the multi-purpose room of the Armatage Recreation Center.

            Armatage Recreation Center

            2500 57^th Street W 

            Minneapolis, MN 55410

Public Works will discuss the paving and utility construction work. The discussion will be focused on the 2013 phase scheduled to begin this spring.

I look forward to meeting with you again and introducing you to Stephanie Malmberg and the rest of our construction engineering staff. If you have questions and can not attend the meeting, please contact me at (612) 673.2363 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Stephanie at (612) 673.3365 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

This is an update specific to Phase 1 (2013 Construction) of the Penn Avenue S reconstruction project.  The Phase 1 limits are from the Crosstown to 100 feet north of 54th Street W.

The public hearing for street reconstruction, street lighting and areaways was held on Jan. 29, 2013. About one dozen property owners attended and spoke in opposition to the lighting project assessment, and some also spoke in opposition to the street reconstruction assessment. At the end of the hearing, the Council Committee recommended the street reconstruction proceed and that the street lighting portion of the project be denied. The full City Council passed action as recommended by the Council Committee. Therefore, the street lighting proposal and assessments associated with it are canceled, and the street reconstruction and related assessments will proceed.

Preliminary coordinated work will include maintenance by Minneapolis Water Treatment and Distribution Services and tree removal by the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board.

Fire hydrants at 56th Street and 61st Street are tentatively scheduled to be replaced on February 21-22. The work is expected to require some temporary traffic control, parking restrictions, and bus stop closures which should last less than a day at each location.

February 2013 from Council Member Betsy Hodges

As many of you are aware, there were flight changes proposed last fall that would have a significant impact on Ward 13. Thanks to the many residents who worked hard to have their voices heard, your overwhelming response to this issue was heard and had an impact! For those of you unfamiliar with the proposed changes, here is a summary of the policy, timeline and current status.

The most recent Federal Aviation Policy bill requires the FAA to implement the next generation of airplane navigation, conveniently known as NextGen.  The law requires FAA to implement NextGen at the 35 largest airports by 2025.  The FAA states, “NextGen enhances safety, reduces delays, saves fuel and reduces aviation's environmental impact.” (http://www.faa.gov/nextgen/)   A portion of NextGen is a series of departure and arrival procedures known at RNAV.

Under current departure procedures, airplanes leave the runway and are told to turn a specific direction, but the plane is still at the mercy of how quickly it can become stable in the air before making the initial turn, and the winds aloft, so the path of the planes can vary significantly depending on the type of plane, how heavily it is loaded, and the weather.  Under RNAV, planes would take off and then all aim for a specific point that is a couple miles out from the airport.  Therefore, the closer to the point the planes get, the more flights there are all flying a very similar path.  Since the points would be the same every day, those paths are very predictable.  This change is very good news for airports that have a freeway, rivers, industrial corridor or other land that does not have homes on it.  The planes can be routed over these compatible land uses, lessening the impact of airplane noise on residential homes.

Message from Council Member Betsy Hodges:

Thank you to all of you who have called, emailed and signed the online petitions about the proposed changes to the airport flight patterns. I would also like to thank Council Member John Quincy and the Fulton and Kenny residents who spoke on behalf of the City at the Noise Oversight Committee (NOC) public hearing yesterday. Unfortunately, despite the compelling testimony, the NOC voted to advance the “Area Navigation” RNAV changes to the Metropolitan Airport Commission (MAC).

I am very concerned that the plans for these proposed navigation changes for the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport could have serious impacts on our neighborhoods. We are asking the MAC to delay the decision to better understand what is proposed and engage properly with community members.

Your help is needed to have the City’s voice heard. Please continue to contact the MAC and the Federal Officials who have a voice in this process, prior to Monday’s vote.

We are advocating for:

• More time and opportunity for community input
• A more rigorous environmental review which includes analysis of both RNAV and the Long Term Comprehensive Plan (LTCP)
• A delay in implementation of these changes, at least for flight-paths over Minneapolis
  

From City Council Member Betsy Hodges:

There is an important and fast-moving issue that I have heard from many of you about. In a nutshell, the airport wants to change where they fly planes in a way that will have more of them flying over our homes. They are not seeking sufficient public input on the change or doing appropriate environmental due diligence. Your help is needed to have the City’s voice heard. There are more details below.

MSP Airport is working on implementing new navigation techniques. These techniques could expose some people – including some of you – to an even greater intensity of noise. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is trying to push these changes through on an accelerated pace and without sufficient public input.

A rough description of these navigation techniques called “Area Navigation” or “RNAV” is that planes fly much more precise routes and they fly the same routes continually. After planes take off, they take a straight line (as much as possible) to a certain permanent location in the sky. Flying the most direct route possible saves fuel (and money) and it also reduces emissions. However, I’m very concerned about those of us who live beneath these routes.

Penn Avenue in Armatage Scheduled for Paving in 2013

Project Type: The project is located in south Minneapolis on Penn Avenue South between Minnesota Highway 62 and 50th Street West. Project Website: Penn Ave Project

Project Limits: The project will include removal and replacement of the pavement, curb and gutter, driveway aprons and storm drain inlets. 

Construction Start Date: Currently scheduled for 2013

Layouts, Detours, Images: Layout 1  Layout 2   Layout 3 
Assessment Area Diagram

Project Updates:

August 6, 2012:

The result of the street lighting petition on Penn Ave S - Phase 1 (between MN-62 and 100 feet north of 54th St) is that we received petitions opposed to the lighting which represent 63% of the influence area.  Therefore, the lighting project is scheduled to proceed in coordination with the 2013 street reconstruction.