*Photo courtesy of the Main Street Coon Rapids Facebook Page
On March 29, the city of Coon Rapids placed cones along the curbs of Fifth and Main Street to test the idea of a potential curb extension bump-out project to add additional amenities to the downtown district. After hearing community input on the 25’ extension being too challenging to navigate in larger vehicles like trucks or when hauling a trailer, Katie Mason, Community Coordinator for Coon Rapids, says this is why they are running the tests, to ensure vehicles of all sizes will be able to access Main Street.
The idea comes from a streetscaping plan developed by ISG Engineering after studying the city’s downtown last November. The main project behind the streetscaping project addresses stormwater drainage and underground water and sewer lines. Mason says the curb extensions were never the focus of the project.
ISG Engineering recommends curb extensions to increase pedestrian safety, improve visibility, slow traffic down by narrowing the street, and increase accessibility as the bump-outs would feature a curb ramp. In the proposal, the streetscaping project would also reduce driving lanes to 14 feet each, giving two feet back to widening the sidewalks. Mason says the curb extension tests will run for two weeks, with a town hall meeting scheduled to gather more public input.
Again, the town hall meeting is scheduled for April 24 at the city council chambers from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. It will be a come-and-go event, so residents do not need to stay the entire time to get questions answered or to see the proposed plan.
