Pavement Management -– 2025 | St. Louis Park, MN

Latest updates

Nov. 8, 2024

In 2025, the city will reconstruct some streets in the Cedar Manor, Kilmer Pond and Westwood Hills neighborhoods.

The city will be hosting the final open house where community members can review staff recommendations, ask questions, learn what to expect during construction and meet the staff who will be working on the project.

We want everyone to have the chance to be involved in this process. Here's how to participate:

In-person open house - Tuesday, Dec. 17, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
- Westwood Hills Nature Center (Willow and Aspen rooms) - 8300 W Franklin Avenue
- No formal presentation is scheduled; attend any time during these hours.
- The information from this meeting will be posted here by the end of the day on Dec. 17.

Contact Aaron Wiesen to set up a virtual or in-person meeting to view the design layouts and discuss any concerns you may have.
- Email awiesen@stlouisparkmn.gov or call 952.924.2673.

2025 Pavement Management Open House #2 letter - Nov. 7, 2024

Project recommendations

Sidewalk: New sidewalks were evaluated along all streets scheduled for reconstruction based on the city's sidewalk planning framework. The framework has a goal of having continuous sidewalk on one side of the street on low-volume roads. To see if one side worked better than the other, sidewalks are looked at on both sides of the street. The preliminary sidewalk designs were shared at the open house in October.

Since the first open house, staff reviewed the preliminary sidewalk designs. Following this review, staff is only recommending building one of the sidewalk segments included in the preliminary design. Staff recommends the sidewalk on the east side of Boone Avenue between Cedar Lake Road and 25th Street.

All the other sidewalk segments are not recommended for various reasons. The reason for this recommendation varies from street to street, but the major factors were tree impacts, traffic volumes, limited right of way and impacts to private property.

Staff recommends that the project includes the following improvements:

New pavement
No change to street widths
Replacement of the sanitary sewer on Gettysburg Avenue between Flag Avenue and 400 feet west of Flag Avenue
Replacement of storm sewer manholes and catch basins based on condition and need
Replacement of sanitary sewer manholes based on condition and need
Replacement of sections of curb based on condition or drainage
Installation of new curb on both sides of Parker Lane

The 2025 pavement management project is included in the Capital Improvement Program approved by the St. Louis Park City Council. These improvements are proposed to be paid for using city funds; there are no proposed assessments to property owners for this project.

Next steps

Open House #2 – Dec. 17, 2024
Public Hearing (city council meeting)- Jan. 20, 2025
Project approval (city council meeting)- Feb. 3, 2025

Frequently Asked Questions during construction

Private improvements in the right of way
- The city's contractor will be working in the public right of way. If you have private improvements such as underground sprinklers, electric wiring, perennial gardens or invisible fences within 15 feet of curb, it is likely that they are in the public right of way.
- Depending on the approved work in the right of way in front of where you live, the removal and reinstallation of these items will be the responsibility of the property owner. Please contact city staff prior to construction if you have questions on the potential impacts to private improvements in the right of way.

Access: We realize that construction activities can be an inconvenience, and we appreciate your patience during construction. The contractor will be directed to provide you with access to your property during construction. There will be times during working hours when access may be temporarily impacted or require alternate routes. If you have special access needs, please contact city staff.

School buses and emergency services: City will be in contact with the school district, bus company, police and fire departments during construction. School buses will continue to pick up at their existing location.

Garbage, recycling, organics, mail and deliveries: City will work closely with various providers that service your neighborhood to ensure continued access.

Private utility work: Private utilities companies are notified of the construction project. The utility companies may decide to replace or add new infrastructure either before construction or during construction. CenterPoint Energy is currently in the process of replacing gas main and services in the neighborhood this fall and will continue into the spring.

Streetlights: The city heard feedback from the neighborhood for additional streetlights. The city will review the existing streetlights against the city's streetlight practice. More information will be shared at the December open house.

MnDOT coordination: MnDOT has a 2026 project to reconstruct the traffic signals at Jordan Avenue and Cedar Lake Road and reconstruct Jordan Avenue from Cedar Lake Road to the Highway 169 ramps to the south. MnDOT is working on the design of a sidewalk on the east side of Jordan Avenue from Cedar Lake Road to south of the Highway 169 ramps. Jordan Avenue will be narrowed by 5 feet to create room for the sidewalk installation. More information will be shared at the December open house.

Schedule and phasing: Once a contractor is awarded the project in March 2025, a schedule and phasing will be created. The project will be broken into phases, so only portions of the project are under construction at the same time. The schedule and phasing plan will be shared with the neighborhood prior to work beginning. Construction typically starts in early May.

Public engagement

Feedback requested

During construction is the most cost-effective time to make changes to the street, including building new sidewalks on one side of street, repairing existing sidewalks, fixing drainage issues and addressing safety concerns.

2025 Pavement Management postcard #1 - April 2024

Feedback summary

Residents had provided input via interactive map to help staff understand what improvements the city might include in the project.
2025 Pavement Management feedback summary - Aug. 2, 2024

Sidewalk FAQs

Why is the city proposing sidewalks?
- Sidewalks allow pedestrians, including those in a wheelchair or visually impaired, to safely move around the city by means other than a vehicle.
- Sidewalks enhance connectivity and promote walking.

How did the city determine where to evaluate sidewalks?
- The city's sidewalk planning framework has a goal of having continuous sidewalks on at least one side of the street on low-volume residential roads.
- As a part of our street projects, the existing sidewalk system is reviewed, and new sidewalks are evaluated to close gaps and create a well-connected and equitably distributed sidewalk network.

What are the impacts to boulevard trees, retaining walls, landscaping, etc.?
- The city values our healthy mature boulevard trees. As part of the design of the proposed sidewalks, the city will look at all options to minimize and preserve as many trees as possible.
- This project is currently being designed. Preliminary plans that show the design of the sidewalk and impacts will be shared at Open Houses held later this year.
- The impacts of the proposed sidewalks, along with the cost and resident feedback, will be presented to the city council to assist them with their decision.

Why is the city proposing a sidewalk that does not connect to another sidewalk?
- About a third of the city's streets do not have sidewalks adjacent to them.
- Waiting to build a connected network all at the same time is not feasible at our current funding levels. So, a project-by-project approach is used to incrementally build out the system.
- When adjacent streets without sidewalks are under construction in the future, the city will evaluate sidewalks on those streets as well.
- The sidewalks will allow people to move around the neighborhood.

Are the sidewalks already approved for construction?
- Inclusion at this stage in the process does not predetermine final recommendations.
- Staff recommendations will ultimately be based on context-sensitive design solutions. This will include factors like traffic volumes, tree impacts, private property impacts, available right of way and cost.
- It is possible that not all sidewalks evaluated on a project will be recommended or approved for construction.
- The decision on whether to construct proposed sidewalk segments will be made by the city council as a part of the project approval process in January- February 2025.

Open House #1

2025 Pavement Management Open House #1 letter - Sept. 4, 2024

Open House #1 Layouts

Open House #2

2025 Pavement Management Open House #2 letter - Nov. 7, 2024

Project details and background

A number of streets in the Cedar Manor, Crestview, Kilmer Pond, Westdale and Westwood Hills neighborhoods are scheduled for rehabilitation during the 2025 construction season. The project includes street reconstruction, drainage repairs, sidewalks and underground utility work.

The city's Pavement Management Program proactively addresses the condition of the residential streets within the city. The program was developed in 2003 to extend pavement life and enhance system-wide performance in a cost-effective and efficient way by providing the right pavement strategy at the right time. In addition to the street and utility work, the city council has provided city staff with direction to look at all aspects of the neighborhood livability and "living streets" considerations as a part of our transportation projects. As part of the project development, city staff reviewed the street, utilities, sidewalk network, stormwater runoff, traffic management, and tree preservation.

The 2025 pavement management project is included in the Capital Improvement Program approved by the St. Louis Park City Council. These improvements are proposed to be paid for using city funds; there are no proposed assessments to property owners for this project.

Project scope overview

Street rehabilitation and curb replacement
- The streets included in the project will have pavement replacement and segments of concrete curb replaced to fix drainage issues.
New sidewalks
- As a part of this project, new sidewalks are proposed. Sidewalks allow pedestrians, including those in a wheelchair or visually impaired, to safely move around the city by means other than a vehicle. Sidewalks enhance connectivity and promote walking.
- The city's sidewalk planning framework has a goal of having continuous sidewalks on at least one side of the street on low-volume residential roads.
- Inclusion at this stage in the process does not predetermine final recommendations. Staff recommendations will ultimately be based on context-sensitive design solutions. This will include factors like traffic volumes, tree impacts, private property impacts, available right of way and cost.
- It is possible that not all sidewalks evaluated on a project will be recommended or approved for construction.
- The decision on whether to construct proposed sidewalk segments will be made by the city council as a part of the project approval process in January-February 2025.
- The sidewalk segments proposed as part of this project will be designated as neighborhood sidewalks, and snow removal will be the responsibility of the property owner.
Public utilities
- The city will repair existing storm and sanitary structures and pipes.
Private utilities
- This project is also an opportunity for private utility companies to replace or add new facilities in the neighborhood. The private utility work is not part of the Pavement Management project, but the utility companies will schedule their work to be completed in the fall of 2024 or spring of 2025 before construction begins.

Open House #1 layouts

What to expect during construction

In the video below the city explains a typical construction process, service impacts, property impacts, restoration activities, private utilities, what the end of construction looks like and more.