Hennepin County is building a new southwest LRT corridor connecting the City of Minneapolis to the Neighboring cities of St Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie. The introduction of LRT to the Southwest corridor is an important step towards providing enhanced mobility for the people who live, work, study and play along the line. While over the longer term the investment in rapid transit will help to support the creation of more transit supportive places, it will be important to ensure that amenities are put in place for opening day to make it easier for people to walk, cycle, take transit or drive to the LRT.
Urban Strategies, in partnership with HKGi developed a series of transitional station area plans for the 17 stations along the corridor. The plans identify immediate, near term and long term strategies to make the most of the transit investment, enhancing access to the stations on opening day and establishing a framework for new transit-oriented development over the long-term.
A key element of the project was the completion of a corridor-wide assessment of TOC opportunities to understand the potential for development and place-making along the line. The assessment accounted for soft sites and potential areas of change within each station area, the potential role of each station along the corridor, and critical regional connections to be facilitated through redevelopment.
Key Team Members
Melanie Hare
