1.0 Introduction

There are over 1,000 miles of streets in Minneapolis. Approximately 22% of the land area of the city is held in trust for the public within our streets (often called the public right of way). Streets include sidewalks, transit stops, bikeways, and roadway space. They provide space for trees and include critical infrastructure such as pipes for drinking water, stormwater drains to collect rain, and cables for electricity and communications. They are the common canvas for public art and community gathering places.

Minneapolis streets are the backbone of people’s daily routines and we want to make sure they work for everyone, no matter your race, gender, or background, or how you choose to get around. This Street Design Guide seeks to support our streets as places for people and as an invaluable asset for broader outcomes of creating a more sustainable, equitable, safe, and prosperous city.

The City has adopted a Climate Action Plan (2013), Complete Streets Policy (2016 with 2021 update), commitment to Vision Zero (2017), Transportation Action Plan (2020), and Racial Equity Framework for Transportation (2023), all of which take a fresh approach to thinking about how we design our streets and how street design can impact people’s choices of how to travel. This Street Design Guide ensures that Minneapolis street design reflects these priorities.

1.1 Purpose

The Street Design Guide informs the planning and design of all future street projects in Minneapolis, including how the City will approach projects lead by partner agencies such as Hennepin County and the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The guide should also be used to inform adjustments in the street right of way in coordination with private development and utility work.

The guidance in this guide advances adopted City policy and supports the goals of the Transportation Action Plan. This guide is a key step to make walking, bicycling, and transit real options for people of all backgrounds and in all neighborhoods of Minneapolis, eliminating all traffic deaths and severe injuries, and addressing the effects and lessening the causes of climate change.

The Street Design Guide replaces the Access Minneapolis Street and Sidewalk Design Guidelines.

Keep Reading

• 1.1 Introduction & Purpose
• 1.2 Policy Guidance
• 1.3 Relationship to Other Standards & Guidance
• 1.4 How to Use