The Hiawatha neighborhood is part of the Longfellow Community, a natural fit given their names. As I described when walking around Lake Hiawatha, the Hiawatha name comes from Longfellow’s imaginary Indian, part of a broader “Cult of Hiawatha” that pervades this part of the city. (Oddly enough, Lake Hiawatha is not in the Hiawatha neighborhood nor […]
I returned to the Hiawatha neighborhood, having previously walked most of the area north of 43rd Street. This time I started at 46th Street and Hiawatha Avenue, where I could cross the avenue from the 46th Street Station. Initially I walked north on Hiawatha to 45th Street—that’s the block shown in purple—then did the main blue loop […]
Hiawatha Avenue – Image via www.lightrail.com Hiawatha Avenue has been a thorn in the sides of south Minneapolis residents for years, and it has been the source of much discussion, including here on Streets.mn. In a recent post called The Urban Future of Hiawatha Avenue, Sam described the corridor as follows: Hiawatha is […]
It is time to stop letting the highway standards dictate pedestrian safety improvements along Hiawatha Avenue. Anyone who has crossed Hiawatha Avenue on foot or by bicycle knows it’s a pretty rough go. Even with an actual walk signal illuminated the experience feels like taking your life in your hands, and I constantly rubberneck […]
It is time to create a more humane, livable Hiawatha Avenue. I believe a portion of Hiawatha Avenue should become an urban boulevard that unites neighborhoods rather than divides them, particularly near light rail stations where pedestrian counts have steadily increased since light rail service began and development continues to occur. More exciting is Hennepin County, through […]
Lake Hiawatha is an easily overlooked member of the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes, but that has always been one of its most appealing characteristics. Lacking the hustle and bustle of Lake Calhoun, the poshness of Lake of the Isles, or even the size of Lake Nokomis, Lake Hiawatha has a sleepy and natural feel […]
Minnehaha Regional Park is well known; the adjacent Veterans Home ought to be as well. Both are in the southernmost part of the Hiawatha neighorhood, where Minnehaha Creek flows into the Mississippi River. Like the rest of the neighborhood, they lie between Hiawatha Avenue and the river. Unlike my first three walks, they lie south of Nawadaha Boulevard. However, this […]
This week was the 10 year anniversary of the Metro Blue Line (formerly known as the Hiawatha Line) in Minneapolis. There’s lots of great stuff in this video and everyone is 10 years younger. Video from June 26, 2004, the Grand Opening of the Hiawatha Line by John Akre of greenjeansmedia.
The Hiawatha Avenue crosswalk improvements at 38th, 42nd and 46th Streets are largely complete. For a reported cost of $850,000, curb bumpouts have been created in most places to reduce crossing distance, pork chop islands have been enlarged and center refuge islands widened, curb cuts are now ADA compliant, the crosswalk along the south side […]
The City of Minneapolis is asking citizens for input on the signals at major intersections of Hiawatha Avenue. Yesterday evening, when the “smart” pavement sensor recognized my car and gave me a green light, I passed a pedestrian stranded on a porkchop island who should have had a Walk signal as part of that light phase. […]