City Briefs - November 2023

On Oct. 18, a proposal for several trail connection improvements in Nokomis-Hiawatha Regional Park was presented to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB). These upgrades were approved as part of the Nokomis-Hiawatha Regional Park Master Plan in 2015. More recently, after funding became available, MPRB held three open houses and used an online tool to get feedback on potential upgrades. The proposed short-term projects include: a connection at Triangle Park and 54th Street; a pedestrian-only loop around Lake Nokomis lagoon; revised walk/bike trails to the Cedar Ave. Bridge; an enhanced crossing at Cedar Avenue and 52nd St.; revised trails at 22nd Ave. and Lake Nokomis Parkway; and a new pedestrian-only bridge over Minnehaha Creek next to Lake Hiawatha. Visit the park board website to see the concept drawings of the improvements. 

 

The city, county, and park and recreation board have started a pilot project to improve the Cedar Ave. intersection with Lake Nokomis Pkwy. and Edgewater Blvd. This includes preventing left turns at Edgewater by closing the median for six weeks, restriping one northbound lane on Cedar only allowing left-turns, creating a pedestrian refuge island and improving existing traffic signals. People may provide feedback by taking a survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/CedarTrafficPilot  

 

Garbage days on the week of Nov. 27-Dec. 1 will be the last pickup day of leaves, brush and other yard trimmings for Minneapolis residents this year. The yard waste collection season is permanently extended through the end of November to accommodate late-dropping leaves. People may set yard waste out in reusable containers, compostable bags or bundled with string or twine by their waste carts by 6 a.m. on their pickup day.  Reusable containers must be 32-38 gallons in size and at least 26 inches high with sturdy handles.  Any container or bundle must weigh less than 40 pounds. Branches must be less than 3 inches in diameter and less than 3 feet long.

 

The city began fall street cleaning on Oct 17. “No Parking” signs should be posted at least 24 hours before a street is cleaned.  Anyone who parks on the street will need to follow posted parking rules or their cars may be ticketed and towed. People can use the city’s online Street Sweeping Schedule Map to find out when their street is scheduled to be cleaned. On the weekend before each of the four weeks, the schedule for the upcoming week will show which day of the week streets are scheduled to be swept. The street sweeping is expected to be completed within 4 weeks.

 

Through the end of October the city  is accepting applications for more than 50 volunteer-based boards, commissions and advisory committees that help shape policy, and provide a community perspective to city programs and services. Find more information about the openings on the city website - https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Boards/CurrentOpenings.  

 

The city has announced that the housing discrimination amendments to the civil rights ordinance, approved by the City Council in March 2017, that prohibits property owners from refusing to rent to people because they use public assistance, is now in effect and enforceable. This followed years of court challenges and means that landlords cannot discriminate against people using Section 8 housing choice vouchers. Renters who believe they have faced discrimination may contact the city Civil Rights Department at 311 or 612-673-3012.

 

The Minneapolis city council has unanimously confirmed Mayor Jacob Frey’s nominee, Enrique Velazquez, as the city’s new Director of Regulatory Services which oversees animal care and control, parking enforcement, housing and building code enforcement, and encampment response. 

 

Hennepin County Commissioners are proposing a resolution to plan for the closure of the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC). Each day the HERC burns roughly 1,000 tons of garbage downtown that is collected from throughout Hennepin County. It is the only remaining garbage burner operating in the county. The resolution would set the closure for some time between 2028 and 2040, and is expected to be voted on at the Oct. 24 board meeting.