its partners made major investments in a new traffic signal management system
and other equipment to slash wait times for vehicles along and crossing
Hiawatha Avenue. Drivers who use Hiawatha know firsthand how traffic flow can
be disrupted by the Metro Transit’s Blue Line. Nowhere else in the country can
you find a fast (45 mph or faster) commuter train running parallel to a
highway, forcing frequent stops to side street traffic along the way. Now, the
City is reexamining traffic in light of those investments and changes to see if
any additional improvements can be made.
Traffic signal operation improvements along Hiawatha in 2013 included the
addition of 160 in-pavement traffic detectors, the activation of a traffic
signal control system that wasn’t available when the light-rail line started
service in 2004 and a revision of traffic signal sequences. These investments
drastically improved traffic flow with average delays decreased by 32 percent
and the number of vehicles waiting two minutes or longer cut in half.
This spring the City of Minneapolis will reexamine the systems to see if
additional adjustments could further improve traffic signal operation affected
by the Blue Line. This is being done in anticipation of having more drivers
using or crossing Hiawatha Avenue during the reconstruction of Minnehaha
Avenue, which begins in April and will continue through fall 2016.
While crews will be making new observations and adjustments, they won’t be able
to catch every traffic snarl or delay. For that information, they’re asking for
help from residents who use Hiawatha Avenue and its cross streets daily. Anyone
who sees unusual traffic signal operations or experience unusually large delays
as they walk, bike or drive in the corridor should call 311 or email
HiawathaSignals @ minneapolismn.gov by March 1, 2014. Reports should note the
location of the incident and describe in detail what happened.