City Briefs

New Civil Rights Director
Michelle Phillips has been hired as the city’s new Director of the Civil Rights Department. She previously worked as inspector general for Oakland, Calif. and as deputy inspector general in Baltimore. She will oversee enforcement the Minneapolis civil rights ordinances, investigating discriminatory practices, and promoting the understanding of civil rights throughout the city and the operations of the police conduct review process.

Midtown Greenway Plan
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) may add the Greenway to the Metropolitan Council’s regional trail system. The draft plan needed to do so was open for public comment until Aug. 5. A public hearing will likely be held later this year. The plan needs to be approved by MPRB and Metropolitan Council before implementation.

Budget workshop
Ward 7 Council Member Katie Cashman is hosting a workshop for Ward 7 stakeholders with the city’s budget director and the chair and vice chair of the city council’s budget committee, Ward 10 Council Member Aisha Chughtai and Ward 11 Council Member Emily Koski. At the workshop, on Thursday, Sept. 26 at the Woman’s Club (410 Oak Grove St), information about the budget process and proposal for 2025 will be presented. People will be invited to share priorities and ideas.

Hennepin Dunwoody Bikeway
The city is making improvements to the bikeway along Hennepin and Dunwoody Aves. Changes will include better pedestrian ramps, curb extensions, pedestrian refuge medians, traffic signal improvements, and utility improvements. The layout was approved in 2023, and construction will begin soon. The city hopes this will better connect Lowry Hill and Bryn Mawr to Loring Park and downtown, as well as Dunwoody College, Minneapolis College, the Basilica of St. Mary and a new Green Line Station.

Cedar Lake Road Bridge
The concept layout and necessary easements have been approved for the reconstruction of the Cedar Lake Road bridge over the BNSF railroad in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood. The project, slated to take place in 2027, involves the entire right-of-way, and will include bridge replacement, new sidewalks, pedestrian ramps, bicycle accommodations, pavement, curb and gutter, and utility improvements. The project will also include lighting improvements, new signs, and new pavement markings.

Uptown Safety Ambassadors?
The city has funded a safety ambassador pilot program for the Uptown that has yet to be started. The city’s 2024 Budget included $3 million for 10 community safety ambassador pilots throughout the city, including $300,000 for Uptown. This could cover over 5,000 hours of ambassador time, according to Ward 7 Council Member Katie Cashman, who is seeking support for implementing the pilot soon. She held a meeting to discuss it on Aug. 21 at the Walker Library. It could be modeled after the program downtown where 55 ambassadors have been working for several years cleaning public spaces, connecting people to services, and providing guidance to visitors in the area.

Airport updates
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hosted two webinars to discuss departure procedure updates for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) in early August. There they presented information about management of airspace, new departure procedures and the feedback from the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) and the Noise Oversight Committee (NOC) on the design of those procedures. The FAA indicated that the webinars will be made available to view online.

CenterPoint Work
CenterPoint Energy is upgrading their natural gas infrastructure in the Morris Park and the Wenonah Neighborhoods in Minneapolis along between from 54th St. to 56th St. and on nearby streets. They will move some inside meters outside and replace some natural gas lines.