Minneapolis Has Closed More Miles Of Road To Cars Than Any City In America

From the Minnesota Reformer:

By Max Nesterak, April 9, 2020

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has closed more miles of road to cars than any other city in America.

Minneapolis’ park system, rated No. 1 six years in a row, has a new title: most miles of road closed to cars during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since March 27, when Gov. Tim Walz’s stay-at-home order first took effect, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has closed more than 18 miles of road around lakes and the Mississippi River to car traffic, allowing for greater social distancing for pedestrians.

Globally, Minneapolis ranks second, trailing only after Bogota, Colombia, which has closed 22 miles of road to car traffic, according to New York-based urban planner Mike Lydon, who’s been tracking the closures.

“There’s a huge need for it,” Lydon said. “When it’s nice outside, which is increasingly everyday, people are out because they don’t want to be inside.”

The park board made some adjustments Thursday, closing a stretch of parkway along Bde Maka Ska and reopening a stretch along West River Parkway, bringing the total mileage up to 18.3 miles (maps below). The closures stay in effect through May 3 along with Walz’s extended stay-at-home order.

Lydon notes of the 20 or so cities he’s counted, most are already in the habit of closing streets to car traffic throughout the year for recreation as part of the Open Streets movement.

The idea started in Bogota, Colombia, which closes 76 miles of roadways to cars once a week for people to use for recreation. Open Streets Minneapolis has seven scheduled road closures across the city throughout the year.

“A lot of cities knew how to do this already, and they’re just repurposing it,” Lydon said. “Moving forward, I think what these cities can learn — particularly the cities that are doing it through their park systems — is that these closures may be appropriate all the time or seasonally or a time of the week.”

Duluth and St. Paul have also closed roads to cars, 2.5 miles and 1.66 miles, respectively.

Reminder: The streets are for walkers and joggers, while bikers are required to stay on the bike paths.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell..