MANKATO — When a new Starbucks was proposed as the latest commercial development in a hilltop Mankato residential neighborhood, homeowners brought their objections to the City Council.
The Starbucks, which demolished a trio of modest single-family homes, was approved in 2023, but the council promised to take a closer look at residents’ concerns about the future of their neighborhood.
One of the first visible changes from the resulting Hilltop Area Planning Study is now set for construction next summer when Long Street is slated to get a makeover totaling roughly $5 million — double the original price tag for updating pavement and utilities on the half-mile-long residential street. The proposed layout, which will be presented at a neighborhood meeting in August, includes mini-roundabouts at three Long Street intersections, continuous sidewalks on both sides of the street and a narrowing of the street at its intersection with Marsh Street to slow down vehicles and make it easier for pedestrians to cross.
Long Street, along with the two blocks of Emerson Lane on either side of Long, was originally scheduled for a standard reconstruction project in 2026. The one-year delay brought more time to refine improvement plans as well as obtain a $1.5 million Local Road Improvement Program grant from the state of Minnesota for safety upgrades.
Public preference for traffic circles — one of three possible tactics to slow vehicle speeds — was a major motivation in choosing to include mini-roundabouts in the final project recommendations. But city staff recommended the City Council not defer to homeowners’ opposition to filling in missing sections of sidewalk on the east side of Long Street. Most residents offering opinions in an online survey and at a public meeting supported only the replacement of the existing west-side sidewalks.
“Staff is proposing proceeding with sidewalks on both sides of Long Street,” Assistant City Engineer Joe Smith told the council earlier this month.
Filling the sidewalk gaps aligns with the city’s 2015 Critical Link Sidewalk Plan and would be an important safety enhancement in a neighborhood that is home to churches and elementary schools, according to the report presented by Smith.
Council member Michael McLaughlin said homeowner resistance to new sidewalks is understandable but a comprehensive network of walkways has value.
“I don’t think I’ve every been in a neighborhood where we’re adding sidewalks and most people are in favor of it,” McLaughlin said. “We’re just looking at the connectivity piece.”
After the proposed Long Street plan is presented to the public in August, the council is expected to authorize the completion of final designs through the fall and winter. Construction would occur next summer with a fall completion.