The legacy imposed by regional freeways and the Burlington Northern Sante Fe rail yards has resulted in St. Anthony Park being separated from most adjacent neighborhoods, and the division of St. Anthony Park into separate components. This physical disconnect¬edness is both a blessing and a curse. These trans¬portation systems create readily identifiable edges and a sense of identity for St. Anthony Park as a contained small town. However, they also limit pedestrian acces¬sibility and enforce reliance on the auto as the primary means of moving between the various areas. Raymond Avenue is the only connection across the rail yards be¬tween north and south St. Anthony Park. Furthermore, the industrial and trucking land uses in South St. An¬thony Park use University Avenue as an arterial route with regional freeway access, imposing a large traffic burden on South St. Anthony Park. Large trucks, high speeds and wide roads negatively affect pedestrian safety and increase air, noise and light pollution for resi¬dents. Without mitigation and a greater reliance on other transportation choices, suburban style develop¬ment patterns are likely to continue along major road corridors in South St. Anthony Park.
Potential redevelopment of both the Southeast Minneapolis Industrial Area (SEMI) and the industrial area of District 12 from industrial uses to other higher traffic-generating uses will have a significant impact on traffic in the area. The existing industrial uses in these areas generate relatively low levels of traffic compared to certain commercial uses. A traffic study conducted by University United concluded that redevelopment of these two areas to commercial and high-density residential uses could result in over 100,000 new trips. In an additional assessment of traffic, the City of St. Paul has documented (see map at right) existing traffic and projected average daily traffic for the year 2020. This study shows traffic increases of 20 to 30 percent on University Avenue, Raymond Avenue and Energy Park Drive. Additional road connections and increased use of transit will be important parts of meeting the overall demand for new trips.
The introduction of LRT along or near University Avenue is a distinct possibility in this plan’s time frame and provides enormous opportunities to restructure transit and transportation systems (and land use) in South St. Anthony Park. Part of this restructuring could include creating the still missing parkway link connecting the Grand Rounds to the Mississippi River. This link through St. Anthony Park could serve as a significant bikeway route, and was included in the original park system plan developed by H.W.S. Cleveland.
